HYA Training Limited

Further Education and Skills inspection report Date published: February 2014 Inspection Number: 407133 URN: 52418 HYA Training Ltd

p.1

Summary of key findings for learners

 Too few learners achieve employability qualifications and the proportion that progress to further education, apprenticeships or employment is low.  Learners have insufficient work experience opportunities and they do not develop their employability skills sufficiently.  Targets set for learners do not drive their progress sufficiently or cover all aspects of the study programme.  Individual learning plans focus too narrowly on qualification outcomes and insufficiently on learners’ barriers to progression.  Trainers do not integrate English and mathematics well in vocational subject areas and do not highlight spelling errors on marked work.  Managers do not use performance measures or reports sufficiently to monitor the progress or effectiveness of actions designed to improve the provision, and targets for improvement are not sufficiently challenging.

p.1

Summary of key findings for learners

 Learners make good progress in improving their English and mathematical skills in lessons for these subjects, which all learners now attend in response to the requirements of study programmes.  Learners develop good attitudes to learning and they improve their personal and social skills considerably.  Learners receive good information, advice and guidance at all stages of their learning programme that enable them to make informed choices and deal more effectively with personal issues.  Leaders and managers are very committed to providing a good range of financial and personal support to learners.  Very good promotion of equality and diversity improves learners’ awareness of cultural issues and assists in creating a harmonious and respectful environment in lessons and around the training centre. Inspection dates 14–17 January 2014

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good-2 Outcomes for learners Requires improvement-3 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement-3 Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement-3

p.1

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Monitor learners’ progress through study programmes more thoroughly and provide them with sufficient support and challenge to increase the proportion that gain qualifications and progress into further education or training, apprenticeships or employment.  Improve learners’ employability and work-related skills by: - developing relationships with more employers - making better use of existing partnerships and networks to increase the range and number of work placement and work-taster opportunities that these can provide - providing learners who are not yet ready to carry out significant work experience with interesting and purposeful employment-taster activities that will increase their readiness to do so.  Improve target-setting in reviews and individual learning plans by: - ensuring that they cover all elements of the study programme including incremental steps to work experience, attendance and personal and social development needs

p.2

What does the provider need to do to improve further?

- making better use of initial assessment results.  Improve the integration of English and mathematics across all aspects of the programme. Ensure that all members of staff are skilled in being able to do so and that they correct spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors routinely in learners’ written work.  Ensure that improvements in the quality of provision and outcomes for learners are implemented quickly and effectively by: - improving the level of detail in, and making better use of, data and performance reports to monitor the quality of provision - ensuring that targets for improvement are sufficiently challenging.

p.2

Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners Requires improvement  A high proportion of learners studying Foundation Learning at HYA Training (HYA) over the previous two years achieved personal and social development qualifications. However, very few studied or achieved vocational qualifications or qualifications in English and mathematics. The proportion of learners who achieved employability qualifications has remained static over the two previous years. At around 65%, this is too low and requires improvement.  The proportion of learners who progressed to further education, training or employment when they left the predecessor Foundation Learning programme in 2012/13, although improved from a very low level in 2011/12, was still too low. HYA’s own data for leavers from the study programme in the current year demonstrate that although there has been a further slight increase in the proportion of learners who progress to positive destinations, it still requires

p.2

Inspection judgements

further improvement.  Learners who are studying vocational qualifications introduced as part of HYA’s response to the introduction of study programmes are making good progress in these. Almost all learners are now studying functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics that are appropriately at a level higher than their level of prior attainment. The majority of learners are making good progress in improving these essential skills. However, for the very few learners who could be working towards GCSEs in English and mathematics, or who already have a grade C or higher, there are no internal arrangements in place yet to enable them to improve their grades or skills.  Learners on study programmes make good progress in improving personal and social skills and their attitudes to learning. However, they do not develop their employability skills sufficiently as there is a lack of appropriate work placements. A minority of learners do not attend training

p.2

Inspection judgements

sessions frequently enough.  Managers monitor the participation of different groups of learners well. They have a strong commitment to increasing participation of particular groups often not engaged in learning, for example young and soon-to-be parents. Inspectors identified no significant differences in the performance of different groups of learners.

p.3

16-19 study programmes

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement and this is reflected in outcomes for learners, which also require improvement.  Teaching and learning are good in discrete English and mathematics lessons where teachers cater for a diverse range of ability levels through using graded activities and thoughtfully prepared resources. Practical tasks, including games and paired work, extend learners’ knowledge, skills and understanding. They become competent, for example, in using fractions, writing letters and contributing to discussions. Assessments and reviews of learning take place regularly and learners are highly motivated when they complete tasks successfully.  In other lessons, trainers do not integrate English and mathematics well and learners do not have sufficient opportunities to practise these skills in familiar contexts. In a minority of lessons, trainers do not plan learning sufficiently to match all of their learners’ abilities or personal

p.3

16-19 study programmes

learning goals. When they ask questions, they are often too general and opportunities for assessing learners’ progress through individual questioning are limited.  Individual learning plans place too much emphasis on qualification outcomes. They do not focus sufficiently on work experience and other barriers to progression. Many learners have complex personal and social needs but rarely are targets set to seek to address them.  Too few learners undertake work experience, limiting their opportunities to improve and practise their vocational and employability skills. For the learners who do not have any work experience as part of their programme, and for those who are assessed as not yet ready, their individual study programmes do not address alternative ways of familiarising them with the world of work sufficiently. HYA recognises the importance of expanding work experience opportunities and has recently appointed a new member of staff to do so.

p.3

16-19 study programmes

 Targets agreed during learners’ reviews comprehensively guide progress towards completing qualifications and take account of any feedback on performance at work for the small number of learners who have a work experience placement. However, targets in reviews are not sufficiently precise and comprehensive to guide their progress in improving wider employability skills. For example, even when monitoring documents clearly identify that attendance is too low, learners are rarely set targets to address this.  Learners receive good information, advice and guidance enabling them to make well-informed choices. Trainers and learners negotiate individual programmes and attendance requirements well, meeting the personal circumstances and needs of all learners appropriately, in particular those of young mothers.  Learners’ introductions to their study programme are good. Comprehensive initial assessment provides detailed information about their starting points. For example, a personal qualities

p.3

16-19 study programmes

questionnaire provides learners with a very good way of tracking their progress over time with issues such as anger management and oral communication skills. Initial assessment of learners’ literacy and numeracy clearly indicates their current levels. Trainers use this well to identify the further learning required to enable them to progress to higher levels. However, information about learners gathered from initial assessment is not referred to sufficiently in progress reviews or when setting short-term learning targets.  Personal support for learners is very good, with some outstanding aspects. Learners receive excellent financial support through generous weekly bursary payments. If learners are experiencing severe financial difficulties, trainers have discretion to access a hardship fund. Sensitive use of the fund enables learners to stay on programme when they otherwise would not be able to do so. Trainers have an excellent awareness of learners’ personal and social

p.3

16-19 study programmes

difficulties and they do their best to support them. They also have extremely good knowledge of local specialist external agencies to which they can refer learners, when needed. Teenage parents have ready access to a store of baby clothes.  Learners receive regular oral and written feedback from trainers about the technical accuracy of their work. However, trainers pay insufficient attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar with the result that repeated errors occur. This was an area for improvement at HYA’s last inspection and recently an internal verifier also highlighted it.  The promotion of equality and diversity through teaching, learning and assessment is good. An exercise used in an English lesson provided a very good opportunity for learners to explore different family units and their suitability for adopting children. It also provided an excellent basis for increasing learners’ awareness and challenging their views. HYA staff provide learners

p.4

16-19 study programmes

with an inclusive and welcoming environment. Learners are well behaved and the atmosphere in lessons is harmonious and respectful.

p.4

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders and managers, supported by proactive trustees, share a strong commitment to provide programmes that are responsive to the needs of local young people. They communicate this ambition well to staff who design flexible programmes for learners who often have complex barriers to participate in learning. However, targets set to improve aspects of the provision are not sufficiently challenging and HYA has made slow progress in developing the programmes to meet all of the requirements of study programmes.  The Managing Director and senior staff are highly proactive in local provider networks and have strong links with key local partners and agencies in Hull and the surrounding area. They use these links well to plan provision and personalised support that meets the needs of local young people well. HYA promotes study programmes to young people very effectively through a variety of channels and forums. Programmes cater well for learners who are at risk of dropping out of

p.4

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

education, employment or training. One fifth of the young people currently on study programmes are young mothers or are pregnant.  Managers have taken appropriate action to restructure some key aspects of delivery for the study programmes, including strengthening the staff team involved. Almost all learners now study appropriate qualifications in English and mathematics, a significant improvement from the situation on the predecessor Foundation Learning programme where very few learners did so.  Very few learners undertake work experience and this requires significant improvement. HYA has not developed sufficient opportunities for learners to have work experience or preparatory activities to make them more able to do so. The target set by managers that half of all learners will have had work experience by the time they leave the study programme is not sufficiently ambitious to enable all learners to improve their employability skills.

p.4

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Performance management is good. Staff who are identified as underperforming receive very good support from managers to improve their professional practice and teaching competencies. If improvements do not occur in a reasonable time a range of appropriate procedures, ultimately including dismissal, are applied. Staff are appropriately qualified in the subjects they teach and all hold teaching qualifications, many at PGCE level.  HYA has done much to improve the quality and impact of observations of teaching, learning and assessment, identified as an area for improvement at the last inspection. In addition to employing external consultants, key staff have undergone training. Where teaching is judged to require improvement or to be inadequate, trainers undergo more frequent observation. However, although extremely detailed, written feedback does not always make sufficient reference to subject content or how successfully learners are learning and does not always

p.4

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

identify clearly how trainers can improve their practice.  The current self-assessment report identifies correctly the key challenges affecting the provision. However, targets accompanying actions to address areas for improvement are insufficiently precise or challenging. The level of detail and accuracy of data in performance reports used by managers to monitor the quality of provision requires improvement. Although managers have been successful in addressing some of the areas for improvement identified in the May 2011 inspection, in particular the promotion and reinforcement of equality and diversity, some areas for improvement remain. For example, targets in progress reviews are still not specific or challenging enough and errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation are still not corrected routinely.  Leaders and managers ensure good promotion of equality and diversity both in lessons and in well-presented displays in classrooms and communal areas. Each month, a different member of

p.5

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

staff takes responsibility to identify a cultural or diversity-related theme and plan activities for all learners around the theme. A recent theme was the festival of Diwali. A good range of activities took place including visitors from the local Hindu community leading on cooking traditional dishes. As well as raising learners’ cultural awareness, the activity also supported the development of functional skills successfully by focusing on ratios in the recipes.  Managers analyse learners’ performance appropriately to identify any gaps in achievement and put in place actions to resolve issues if gaps exist. Prompt and appropriate action challenges and addresses any instances of bullying or discrimination.  Managers and teaching staff have received appropriate safeguarding and child protection training. Health and safety and learner well-being take a high priority in management and team meetings. Managers have established good links with external agencies and partners, referring

p.5

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

learners when they require specific specialist advice or help. Where managers are awaiting the return of DBS disclosures for recently appointed staff, appropriate monitoring procedures are now in place to ensure that HYA Training is meeting its statutory requirement to safeguard learners.

p.5

HYA Training Ltd

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

p.6

HYA Training Ltd

1: Outstanding 2: Good 3: Requires improvement 4: Inadequate Overall 14-16 part-time provision 14-16 full-time provision 16-19 study programmes Traineeships 19+ Learning programmes Apprenticeships Employability Community learning

p.6

HYA Training Ltd

Overall effectiveness 3 N/A N/A 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

p.6

HYA Training Ltd

Outcomes for learners 3 N/A N/A 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

p.6

HYA Training Ltd

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment 3 N/A N/A 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

p.6

HYA Training Ltd

The effectiveness of leadership and management 3 N/A N/A 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

p.6

Provider details

Type of provider Independent learning provider

p.7

full contract year

Principal/CEO Mrs Lynn McGowan Date of previous inspection May 2011 Website address www.hyatraining.co.uk

p.7

programme level

Level 1 or below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 and above

p.7

(excluding apprenticeships)

Full-time 32 n/a 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Part-time n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total n/a n/a n/a

p.7

Apprenticeship level and age

Intermediate Advanced Higher 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

p.7

Number of learners aged 14-16

Full-time N/A Part-time N/A Number of community learners N/A Number of employability learners N/A Funding received from Education Funding Agency (EFA)

p.7

Contextual information

Based in Kingston upon Hull, HYA Training Ltd has a contract with the Education Funding Agency to deliver study programmes to learners aged 16 to 19. They also deliver apprenticeships through a subcontract arrangement with another learning provider. The percentage of school leavers in Hull gaining five or more GCSEs at A* to C including English and mathematics is around 10 percentage points below the national average. Unemployment in Hull is almost twice the national average and the proportion of adults with no qualifications is around six percentage points higher than the national average.

p.8

Information about this inspection

One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and two additional inspectors, assisted by the Operations Manager as nominee, carried out the inspection with short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors also used data on learners’ achievements over the last three years to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected throughout the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account the study programme provision at the provider for which it has a direct funding contract but did not include the apprenticeship provision that is delivered through subcontract arrangements with another provider.

p.8

Grade Judgement

Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Handbook for the inspection of further education and skills 2012, Part 2:

p.9

Grade Judgement

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/handbook-for-inspection-of-further-education-and-skills- september-2012

p.9

Grade Judgement

guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.9

Grade Judgement

Learner View is a new website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too.

p.9

Grade Judgement

To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk 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, 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.

p.9

Grade Judgement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and provider inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.10

Grade Judgement

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10