Rewards Training Recruitment Consultancy Limited

Published date 13 July 2011 Inspection Number 366051 Unique reference number: 54113

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Name of lead inspector: Joy Montgomery HMI

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Victoria Gate 119 – 127 South Road Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 4LR Telephone number: 01444 413745 Rewards Training Recruitment Consultancy Ltd

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Information about the provider

1. Rewards Training Recruitment Consultancy Limited (Rewards) was established in 1989 to provide opportunities for women returning to the workplace. For many years Rewards delivered programmes on a sub-contracting basis and in 2008/09 started contracting with the Skills Funding Agency for Train to Gain programmes and apprenticeships in England. Rewards also holds contracts with learndirect, the Scottish Qualifications Agency for programmes in Scotland, and sub-contract agreements for the delivery of the Department of Work and Pensions programmes. These programmes were not inspected. Rewards delivers National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) and apprenticeships in the South East from its head office based in Haywards Heath, Sussex. Delivery of qualifications in Scotland is managed through the office in Edinburgh.

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Information about the provider

2. This was Rewards first inspection and at the time the Train to Gain learners were completing their programmes in health and social care, road passenger vehicle driving, information and communication technology (ICT), warehousing and distribution, administration and business management. The range of number of learners on apprenticeships is increasing. In addition to the Train to Gain subjects, Rewards offers apprenticeships in early years, hairdressing and hospitality. Three subject areas were inspected, covering the 93 learners in health, public services and care, 160 learners in road passenger vehicle driving, and the 75 learners in business, administration and law. Evidence from the 77 learners in retail and commercial enterprise, ICT and direct learning support contributed to the overall judgements.

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Information about the provider

3. The following organisations provide training on behalf of the provider:  ChildsPlay Training Ltd (early years provision)  Early Years Childcare PLC (early years provision)  Gateway Training Solutions Ltd (taxi driver provision in Birmingham)  Indigoskills Ltd (hospitality provision)  Partners 4 Training Ltd (hairdressing provision).

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Employer provision:

Train to Gain Apprenticeships 160 learners 245 apprentices

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Summary report

Grades: 1 is outstanding; 2 is good; 3 is satisfactory; 4 is inadequate

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Grade

Leadership and management 3 Safeguarding Equality and diversity

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Subject Areas

Transportation operations and maintenance 3

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Overall effectiveness

4. The overall effectiveness of Rewards provision is inadequate. Rewards has been slow to implement improvements relating to the changes from Train to Gain to apprenticeships programmes. Issues relating to a large group of health and social care learners who failed to complete have not been fully addressed. Current learners are making satisfactory progress and more are completing their qualifications in the timeframes expected. Apprentices in several subject areas are developing good vocational skills and making an effective contribution to the employers’ businesses.

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Overall effectiveness

5. Well-planned off-the-job training, using a good range of training materials and resources, is offered on many programmes provided by sub-contractors. Training on Rewards’ own programmes takes place in the workplace and, although the range of resources is narrow, learners benefit from the coaching provided by vocationally knowledgeable assessors. However, training is not effectively planned to improve learners’ language, literacy and numeracy skills. Employers and learners find the qualifications offered meet their needs well, although Rewards does not always make sure everyone understands the different elements that make up the apprenticeship frameworks. 6. Rewards wants to make sure learners have a positive experience whilst on a learning programme, but sometime changes in staffing have resulted in long delays between visits from assessors. Arrangements for ensuring that learners are safe are satisfactory and equality and diversity are effectively promoted.

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Overall effectiveness

Quality assurance processes are incomplete and Rewards does not involve employers and learners sufficiently well to ensure they understand what improvements need to be made. Managers are aware of many of the issues found by inspectors, but the actions needed to address them are either underdeveloped or not yet implemented.

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Main findings

 Overall, apprenticeship success rates are satisfactory. Framework success rates are high for sub-contracted provision in early years, hospitality and hairdressing, compared to the sector averages. Framework success rates were high for business administration in 2009/10, but have declined in the first nine months of 2010/11.  Overall success rates for Train to Gain learners were very low in 2009/10 when one large group of health and social care learners failed to complete their qualifications. Rates improved slightly in 2010/11 and the vast majority of taxi drivers are successful, although too many take longer to complete than expected.  Learners on most programmes increase their confidence and many take on additional responsibilities in the workplace. Employers appreciate the skills learners develop whilst on apprenticeship programmes. Taxi drivers on Train to Gain programmes value the opportunity to confirm and certificate their

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Main findings

competence.  Learners state that they feel safe within their workplaces. They demonstrate satisfactory working practices and understand what actions should be taken to protect themselves and others. Arrangements to safeguard learners are satisfactory.  Assessments for early years apprentices and Train to Gain taxi drivers are well planned, frequent and thorough, whereas for health and social care arrangements in place to ensure successful delivery of the recently-introduced apprenticeship programmes are unsatisfactory.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory with most sessions delivered in the workplace by Rewards’ assessors. Sub-contractors provide a wider range of well-planned off-the-job training sessions for learners. Learners value and appreciate the guidance received from vocationally knowledgeable trainers and assessors.  Initial assessment is not always used to plan individual teaching and learning

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Main findings

programmes for learners. Few learners identified with low levels of language, literacy and numeracy receive specific support to develop these skills and achieve their full potential.  Employers are complimentary about the expertise of the provider staff and how the programmes meet their needs. However, employers and learners do not always fully understand the different qualifications that form the apprenticeship framework and are critical about the communication at the start of the programme and information around learners’ progress.  Effective partnerships are in place with five sub-contractors to provide a good range of learning opportunities to meet the aspirations of learners and employers in different subject areas and locations. Although communications with sub-contractors are good, arrangements to ensure the quality of the sub- contracted provision are unsatisfactory.  Leaders and managers aspire to high standards and the culture is positive and

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Main findings

supportive. Managers are well aware that a wide range of improvements are needed as they change from Train to Gain programmes to apprenticeships. However, implementation has been very slow and many plans are still at an early stage of development.  Rewards does not have a clear strategy to involve learners and employers. They seek and collate the views of their own learners who complete but it is unclear how effectively they have addressed concerns raised. Views of employers, learners who leave early and those with other providers have not been sought on a formal basis to effect improvement.  The self-assessment report accurately identifies a few strengths and areas for improvement. However, it makes no judgements about the leadership and management of subject areas and is insufficiently detailed to inform improvement. It does not take account of sub-contracted provision.

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What does Rewards need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the initial information, advice and guidance process, used in business administration, is adopted by other areas to provide a prompt start, a clear understanding of the framework requirements and effective communication with employers so learners can progress in the timeframes expected.  Ensure initial assessment processes provide an appropriate diagnosis of learners’ needs to better plan learning programmes and to ensure learners receive additional language, literacy and numeracy support when needed.  Develop more targeted quality improvement plans that are well understood by staff and are more quickly implemented to ensure the apprenticeship programmes are effective and success rates improve.  Take a more structured approach to gathering the views of users and sub- contractors and make effective use of these in the self-assessment process to establish a broader view of the provision and a clearer identification of areas for

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What does Rewards need to do to improve further?

improvement.  Further develop the quality improvement processes to assure the quality of teaching and learning and quality of sub-contracted provision.

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What learners like:

 developing confidence through the programme  learning new skills and reinforcing current knowledge  being assessed at work through professional discussions  the knowledgeable and helpful staff  learning and studying again.

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What learners would like to see improved:

 fewer changes of assessors  better guidance on learning resources and the opportunity to study on-line  more challenging targets  better information about how much work is involved  more frequent visits.

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What employers like:

 the flexibility of the programme to fit in with work patterns  the credibility of the assessors and their relationship with staff  learners being able to bring new ideas to the workplace  the greater understanding learners have of policies and procedures and the improved standard of their work.

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What employers would like to see improved:

 more frequent visits to encourage learners to progress more quickly  better communications and information about the programme  greater contact with the assessors during their visits to discuss learners’ progress  more continuity through better stability of staffing in the provider.

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Capacity to make and sustain improvement Grade 4

7. Rewards has not demonstrated satisfactory capacity to make improvements. In the first nine months of 2010/11, Train to Gain success rates improved but remain well below national averages and apprenticeship success rates declined slightly. The provider recognises the need to improve delivery arrangements following problems with a large cohort of health and social care learners and changes from Train to Gain to apprenticeship programmes, but the implementation of effective systems is too slow. Staff absences and changes in staffing have hampered Rewards’ ability to make the required improvements. Many plans for improvement are still at the early stages of development and have yet to impact on learners’ experience.

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Capacity to make and sustain improvement Grade 4

8. Quality improvement arrangements are incomplete and have not secured continuous improvement. The self-assessment report recognises a number of areas for improvement but fails to cover all aspects of provision. The quality of sub-contracted provision is not included and Rewards does not review the self- assessment reports from sub-contractors.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

9. Success rates for the sub-contracted Train to Gain taxi driver programme are very good and the vast majority complete within the expected timeframes. Taxi drivers on the programme with Rewards had several changes of assessor and progressed more slowly. The resulting rate for completion within the planned timescales is below the national average for the sector. In 2009/10 a large group of health and social care learners failed to complete their qualification and the overall Train to Gain success rates for Rewards were 66%, well below the national average.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

10. Framework success rates for apprenticeships were just above the national average in 2009/10, but these have declined slightly in the first nine months of 2010/11. The decline is mainly in the subject area of business administration. Other subject areas compare well to sector averages particularly early years, hairdressing and hospitality.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

11. Learners from minority ethnic groups perform better that the majority of learners from White backgrounds. Success rates for female Train to Gain learners are below that of males and national averages due to the stereotypical profile in health and social care. Female apprenticeship success rates are higher than males.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

12. In business administration, early years and hairdressing the apprentices’ improved confidence leads to learners taking on additional responsibilities and making good progress at work. Taxi drivers do not take the opportunity to develop and improve their language, literacy and numeracy skills to enhance their future employability.

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Outcomes for learners Grade 3

13. Learners say they feel safe. Health, safety and well-being form an integral part of many qualifications and are appropriately prioritised. Learners understand the need to ensure they keep themselves and others safe, especially children and vulnerable adults. Employers appreciate the professional manner learners take to safeguarding.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

14. Teaching, training and assessment are satisfactory with some examples of good assessment practice. Assessments for taxi drivers and apprentices in early years are well planned, frequent and thorough, whereas in health and social care arrangements are inadequate to ensure successful delivery of assessments for the apprenticeship programmes. A wide range of well-chosen assessment methods are often used, such as professional discussions in business administration and audio recording for taxi drivers. Although visits are usually frequent, assessors do not sufficiently involve employers in the reviews of learners’ progress.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

15. Off-the-job training sessions in hairdressing and early years are carefully planned by the sub-contractors to meet learners’ needs. Rewards delivers all training in the workplace. However, insufficient training materials and resources are available to support and extend learners’ knowledge and understanding. Some learners are directed to web-based resources, but this is not effectively monitored. Assessors are enthusiastic and vocationally competent and many use this expertise effectively to coach and encourage learners.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

16. Initial assessments are not used effectively by Rewards to plan individual teaching and learning programmes for many learners. Few learners receive any help to develop appropriate numeracy, literacy and language skills to support their progress and develop appropriate skills to enable them to achieve their full potential. Hairdressing and hospitality learners receive appropriate support with their key skills qualifications.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

17. The range of programmes provides a good choice of subjects and progression opportunities to meet the career aspirations of the learners. Rewards responds well to requests from employers and provides programmes that meet local and national needs. Assessment visits are closely matched to learner shift and work patterns.

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The quality of provision Grade 3

18. Effective partnerships with a range of other providers extend the range of opportunities for learners. Partners value the provider’s regular communication, responsiveness and support. Employers express mixed views about the training programmes. Some employers are complimentary about the skills and expertise of the staff and the value added to their organisations, whilst others are more critical about the levels of communication and information received. 19. Assessors establish effective and supportive working relationships with learners and most learners speak highly of the support, help and encouragement they provide. Information, advice and guidance are adequate and most learners are able to make an informed choice about the units in their programmes and are aware of further training and employment opportunities. However, several learners and employers are unclear about the apprenticeship framework.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

20. Rewards aspires to excellence, having a positive and supportive culture which focuses on ensuring that individual learners have a positive experience. Managers set demanding targets for success rates in their business plan and share these with assessors. Rewards responds well to local and national priorities and is working with partners to broaden the range of apprenticeship provision that it offers in line with government strategy. Staff are closely involved in the operational management of the subject areas. Regular meetings provide satisfactory opportunities to set standards and to share ideas among team members.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

21. Arrangements for safeguarding learners are satisfactory. The quality manager is the designated person and has contact details for the local safeguarding board. Suitable policies and procedures are in place and appropriate checks are conducted on staff. All staff have taken advantage of externally provided training by experts to ensure that they understand and meet their obligations. Rewards conducts risk assessments with employers to ensure that appropriate health and safety arrangements exist in the workplace. Rewards responds appropriately to learners’ welfare concerns. Learners seen during inspection demonstrate safe working practices.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

22. Promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. Staff receive training and the company has revised its procedures to comply with current legislation. Equality and diversity are covered during learners’ inductions and during reviews. Although the provider monitors and assesses the performance of different groups of learners, it is not clear that Rewards understands this sufficiently well nor what actions are being taken to ensure that all learners and employers receive the support they need to narrow the achievement gaps. Much of the provision continues to show stereotypical gender imbalances in participation rates.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

23. Rewards does not have a clear strategy to involve learners and employers in identifying areas for improvement. Rewards gathers and collates learners’ views from those who achieve, although the response rates are low. It is not clear how Rewards takes account of feedback from those who do not achieve or those who are with sub-contractors. Rewards has yet to establish trends in levels of satisfaction over time or to show how they have improved provision in response to concerns raised. Employers’ views are not sought on a formal basis and Rewards recognises the need to revise its processes for gathering and acting on employers’ feedback. 24. Management of contracts with sub-contractors is effective. However, arrangements for quality assurance of this provision are inadequate. Rewards does not gather and review the sub-contractors’ self-assessment reports or check their quality assurance arrangements. Effective processes for monitoring

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Leadership and management Grade 3

and evaluating performance and tackling weaknesses in Rewards’ own provision are incomplete. A draft quality-improvement handbook has been developed but not yet adopted. Internal verifiers provide detailed written feedback to assessors to monitor the quality of assessment practice and support improvement. In a few cases, assessors are not working to the standards expected. No formal observations are made of learners’ experience during training sessions and progress reviews. Rewards has correctly identified some key areas for improvement in the self-assessment report and actions are noted in the quality improvement plan. However, several planned actions have not been implemented and those that have are not yet making a difference to learners and employers.

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Leadership and management Grade 3

25. Good resources exist to support learners on hairdressing and early years programmes. Taxi drivers being supported by the sub-contractor attend classroom-based sessions which they value. The development of e-learning materials has been successful with some groups of learners doing hospitality programmes. However, some learners on health and social care courses cite a lack of resources to support teaching and learning as an issue.

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Context

26. Rewards provides health and social care training and two sub-contractors provide early years training to 93 work-based learners. Of these, 51 learners are taking health and social care programmes and 42 learners are taking early years programmes. The vast majority of learners are now on apprenticeships; 39 learners are apprentices and 47 are advanced apprentices. Five health and social care learners are completing a level 3 Train to Gain programme. The vast majority of learners are female.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for learners are inadequate. Overall success rates on the Train to Gain programmes in health and social care are considerably below national averages at 21% in 2009/10 and 61% in 2010/11. Learner progress is slow. Success rates for the small number of learners completing the early years apprenticeship are just above the sector national average, at 75%, at period 9 2010/11.  Learners on early years programmes develop good vocational skills. They make good and productive links between theory and their vocational practice, increasing their range of communication and child care skills. They develop increased confidence in the workplace and, as a result, are given increased responsibility. Several learners have progressed to higher level qualifications.  Teaching, training and assessment are satisfactory. On early years programmes a wide range of well-chosen assessment methods are used effectively to

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Key findings

provide evidence well matched to the level of award. Assessors provide clear and affirming feedback with clear guidance for learners’ development. Portfolios are well ordered and clearly cross-referenced to the qualification requirements.  On health and social care programmes teaching and learning are insufficient. Initial assessment is not used to plan teaching and learning strategies. Appropriate learning resources are not in place to meet the needs of individual learners. Some care learners are unclear of the requirements of their apprenticeship programme and are unclear about the progress they are making.  Programmes meet the needs and interests of learners well. The recently introduced apprenticeship frameworks meet the statutory requirements of the sector and the personal and professional needs of learners. Optional units are carefully selected according learners’ job roles. Rewards works effectively with

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Key findings

its sub-contractors in the delivery of early years programmes.  Partnerships with employers and managers are satisfactory and assessors take appropriate account of training events provided by employers. In the best settings, managers are integral to the planning of learning. In other settings, managers take little part in organising training for learners and have little knowledge of the framework or learners’ progress.  Support for learners is satisfactory. Assessors provide good pastoral support. They are flexible in arranging visits to fit in with learners’ work and personal commitments, and respond swiftly and helpfully to learners’ queries and concerns. In early years and in clinical settings support from workplace supervisors is particularly good.  Leadership and management are inadequate. Planning for the introduction of apprenticeship frameworks in health and social care was unsatisfactory.

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Key findings

Learners and managers are often unclear about the key skill and technical certificate requirements and the planned time for their completion. Learners are recruited to programmes before it is confirmed that their basic skill levels are appropriate for the award.  Management of staff shortages and unavoidable absences from work is unsatisfactory. Learners have not always understood why appointments have been seriously delayed or cancelled. These learners are making slow progress. Managers in health care settings often provide specialist assessment support, but their availability and suitability are not confirmed until after the learners have started their programme.  The self-assessment for the subject area is weak. The report is very brief, with superficial consideration of the reasons for the poor success rates, little discussion of the quality of provision, and no judgement made on the leadership

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Key findings

and management of the programmes. The quality of provision from the sub- contractors who provide early years training is not included in the report.

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What does Rewards need to do to improve further?

 Use the results of initial assessments to ensure that appropriate support is in place for learners with low levels of literacy and numeracy and that learning programmes are personalised and meet individual needs.  Ensure that learners have a clear understanding of the requirements of the apprenticeship framework and that realistic and clear action plans are in place to support completion within expected timeframes.  Develop a range of suitable learning resources that are available to support all health and social care learners.  Ensure that where staff in clinical settings are providing specialist assessment support their availability, and suitability is confirmed prior to starting the learner’s programme.  Ensure more detail and rigour in the self-assessment of provision, covering all aspects of the Common Inspection Framework, clearly identifying strengths and areas for improvement and appropriate actions to address areas of concern.

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Context

27. Rewards provides training in road passenger vehicle driving at level 2 to 160 Train to Gain learners. Of these, 91 learners are in sub-contracted provision in the Birmingham area. For those managed directly by Rewards, the delivery follows a workplace assessment-only model, while those in the sub-contracted provision receive between six and eight half-day off-the-job sessions to further develop their knowledge before on-the-job assessments. The vast majority of learners are male taxi drivers.

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Key findings

 Overall success rates are very high and significantly above the national average at 97.5% in 2010/11. However, completion within the expected timeframes is 10 percentage points below the national averages for the sector, except for those learners in sub-contracted provision where the rates are in line with the overall success rates. Learners enjoy their training and greatly value the opportunity to refresh their skills and confirm their competence.  Development of learners’ confidence is good. Taxi drivers work in an industry where they are potentially vulnerable in many situations including working hours, location of work and the handling of money. They gain added confidence in resolving potentially difficult situations and dealing with awkward customers. Learners say they feel safe.  The standard of learners’ work is satisfactory and complies with the requirements of the awarding body. For many taxi drivers, knowledge and

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Key findings

understanding are recorded on digital audio recorders and collated with photographs and video into the evidence portfolio by the assessor. Learners make very limited contributions to their portfolio. Evidence towards driver competence is by assessor observation reports.  Assessment practices in the workplace are good. Most assessment is of observations of real-work activities in which employers and customers are very supportive and understanding. Assessments are frequent and effectively planned to match learners’ work and shift patterns. Vocationally competent assessors make good use of their knowledge and skill to encourage high standards of performance in the learners.  Literacy, numeracy and language support for learners is poor. The initial assessment process is not routinely used to plan learning activities or identify any specific additional learning needs. Learners are offered support but few, if

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Key findings

any, take up this offer, even though it is clear most would benefit from developing their literacy and English language skills.  The programmes are planned to meet the needs of learners and employers well. The central taxi controllers are very positive about the flexibility of the programmes and comment favourably about the improvement in learners’ skills. Learners appreciate the opportunity to confirm and certificate their competence.  Good partnership arrangements with a sub-contractor have provided a pathway for a large group of learners in Birmingham to have their competence and skills certificated. Rewards has worked effectively with the awarding body and external verifier to establish this partnership to meet both national and local priorities.  Information, advice and guidance are satisfactory and learners are clear on the structure and requirements of the award and its importance for their licensed

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Key findings

status. Assessors work very well with the learners and provide effective individual support, care and encouragement that enable them to demonstrate their competence.  Operational management of the area tends to be reactive and lacks a realistic strategy for the planning and development of the learning programme. Data on learner numbers are not used effectively to plan the appropriate availability of resources. Success rates within expected timeframes are low for one group of learners due to a lack of flexibility in staffing and shifting organisational priorities.  Arrangements to ensure learners are safeguarded and protected are satisfactory. Health and safety are prioritised and monitored and safe working practices, together with defensive driving techniques, are well developed in the skills of the learners.  Rewards’ approach to equality and diversity is ineffective. Learners demonstrate satisfactory awareness of equality and diversity to meet the requirement of the

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Key findings

qualification. Further development of learners’ understanding throughout the programme is superficial. Questions asked during progress reviews are often cursory and responses are rarely extended to broaden learner understanding.  Self-assessment and improvement planning are under developed and insufficiently self-critical. The report fails to make any judgement about leadership and management of the programme but did identify some of the key areas for improvement found by inspectors. Planned improvements have yet to impact on learners. Stakeholder views are sought. However, these are not routinely used to inform the self-assessment process.

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What does Rewards need to do to improve further?

 Ensure staffing levels are appropriate to allow learners to be assessed regularly and complete within the timeframes expected.  Improve the use of initial assessment results to plan learning and ensure learners receive the support they need to develop their literacy, numeracy and language skills.  Develop appropriate mechanisms to incorporate the views of stakeholders into quality improvement practices to avoid an insular approach to improvement.  Initiate arrangements to share some the good practices in assessment across the provision to improve consistency of learner experience and raise standards.

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Context

28. Rewards provides training to 75 learners in business administration, management and customer services. Fifty-two learners are working towards apprenticeship frameworks in administration, eight in business management and 15 learners are on Train to Gain programmes. Sixty-one learners are female and fourteen are male with 12% from minority ethnic heritage. All learners are employed and are trained and assessed solely in the workplace.

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Key findings

 Outcomes for learners are satisfactory. The overall success rate for apprentices was high in 2009/10 at 82.5%, well above the national average. In the first nine months of 2010/11 the rate declined to 64%. Rewards is aware of this and is taking action to address the issues. Success within expected timeframes for Train to Gain learners was low in 2009/10 at 60.7%. Most learners are making at least satisfactory progress.  Learners develop personally and improve employability skills. They develop good administration skills and increase in confidence, but some are not adequately challenged. Most are able to take on a good range of administrative duties. One previously quite shy apprentice now confidently handles telephone enquiries, increasing telephone sales for the employer.  Teaching and learning are satisfactory. All training is provided as one-to-one coaching. While training is responsive to individual needs, a lack of formal

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Key findings

planning means that topics are not always covered in a systematic and efficient manner. Tutors are supportive, confident and friendly and most learners enjoy the training. Resources to support learning are limited in scope and quality.  Assessment practices are satisfactory. Learners particularly like the use of professional discussion as a method of demonstrating competence. Internal verification is adequate. However, sampling focuses mostly on the assessors and is not sufficiently developed to risk manage every aspect of assessment.  Target setting and progress monitoring are of variable quality. Initial assessments are not used effectively to plan support and coaching sessions. Learning plans are not always fully completed and some key milestones are omitted. Learners are not always aware of when specific components of the framework should be completed. Learners’ progress is not always adequately

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Key findings

monitored prior to learners sitting external assessments.  Provision meets the needs of most learners and employers. Rewards is responsive to employers’ needs and plans visits to avoid key peaks in workload wherever possible. Most employers value the contribution apprentices make to their businesses and find it helpful that they are able to take on new projects and tasks.  Employers and assessors provide satisfactory support to learners. Employers offer good general support but do not always have a sufficiently detailed understanding of apprenticeship frameworks. Rewards has recently improved the employer induction to provide increased information. Actions are being taken to reduce delays at the start of training.  Management of the subject area is satisfactory. Improved clarity of individual roles and responsibilities and quality initiatives have recently been implemented. Staff share resources and discuss practices. The self-assessment report is very

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Key findings

limited in scope but broadly accurate in areas it does include.  Safeguarding, equality and diversity and health and safety are satisfactorily covered at induction. Staff have a checklist prompting them to revisit these topics at progress reviews, but this is rather limited in scope and does not always extend learner understanding. E-safety does not feature in the learner handbook.

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What does Rewards need to do to improve further?

 Improve planning for learning and increase resources to support learner progress and develop.  Extend and develop internal verification and tracking to assist managers in monitoring the quality and effectiveness of the programmes more closely.  Make better use of target setting to help learners understand the framework requirements and make better progress.  Further promote and challenge learner understanding of equality and diversity to enable learners to apply understanding within the workplace.

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Information about the inspection

29. One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and four additional inspectors, assisted by the provider’s head of quality, as nominee, carried out the inspection. Inspectors also took account of Rewards’ most recent self-assessment report and development plans and data on learners and their achievements.

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Information about the inspection

30. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and emails to gain the views of learners and employers. They also looked at questionnaires learners and employers had recently completed for the provider. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. Inspectors collected evidence from programmes in each of the subject areas the provider offers. Record of Main Findings (RMF) Rewards Training Recruitment Consultancy Ltd. Learning types: 14 – 16: Young apprenticeships; Diplomas; 16-18 Learner responsive: FE full- and part-time courses, Foundation learning tier, including Entry to Employment; 19+ responsive: FE full- and part-time courses; Employer responsive: Train to Gain, apprenticeships

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Information about the inspection

Outcomes for learners 3 3 How well do learners achieve and enjoy their learning? 3 How well do learners attain their learning goals? How well do learners progress? How well do learners improve their economic and social well-being through learning and development? How safe do learners feel? 3 Are learners able to make informed choices about their own health and well being?* How well do learners make a positive contribution to the community?* Quality of provision 3 3 How effectively do teaching, training and assessment support learning and development? How effectively does the provision meet the needs and interests of users? 2 How well partnerships with schools, employers, community groups and others lead to benefits for learners? How effective are the care, guidance and support learners receive in helping them to achieve? Leadership and management 3 3 How effectively do leaders and managers raise expectations and promote

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Information about the inspection

ambition throughout the organisation? How effectively do governors and supervisory bodies provide leadership, direction and challenge?* How effectively does the provider promote the safeguarding of learners? 3 How effectively does the provider actively promote equality and diversity, tackle discrimination and narrow the achievement gap? How effectively does the provider engage with users to support and promote improvement? How effectively does self-assessment improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for learners? How efficiently and effectively does the provider use its available resources to secure value for money? *where applicable to the type of provision Grades using the 4 point scale 1: Outstanding; 2: Good; 3: Satisfactory; 4: Inadequate Overall Employer responsive Approximate number of enrolled learners Full-time learners 405 405

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Information about the inspection

Overall effectiveness 4 4 Capacity to improve 4 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231 or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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Information about the inspection

To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann’s Square Manchester M2 7LA

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Information about the inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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