The Headmasters Partnership Limited

Further Education and Skills inspection report Date published: 12 June 2014 Inspection Number: 429221 URN: 52157 The Headmasters Partnership Ltd

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Summary of key findings for learners

 Apprentices gain particularly good hairdressing and employability skills.  Inspirational teaching motivates and enthuses apprentices.  A high proportion of apprentices and a very high proportion of advanced apprentices complete their qualifications.  The career development opportunities within the company are particularly good.  The company has introduced substantial changes and investment to improve the apprenticeship programme.

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Summary of key findings for learners

 Apprentices cannot always be assessed when they are ready as there is little provision for assessment in the workplace.  English skills, particularly in writing, are not developed well enough or given enough prominence.  Apprentices’ understanding of equality and diversity is superficial, and trainers do not reinforce it well.  The approach to health and safety is too haphazard.  The arrangements for performance management are not well developed. Inspection dates 6−9 May 2014

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This inspection: Good-2

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

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that more of the work that apprentices do in the salons can be assessed for their qualifications, so that more of them can complete their programmes within the expected timescale.  Improve trainers’ spelling and punctuation, so that the materials they produce for apprentices are of a higher standard and do not reinforce errors. Make sure that trainers’ use of English is secure enough for trainers to feel confident in correcting apprentices’ work.  Raise apprentices’ understanding of equality and diversity through greater discussion of such issues in the salon and in the academies. Ensure that the level of apprentices’ understanding is checked regularly, for example through meaningful questioning at the time of progress reviews.  Make sure that there is a consistent approach to health and safety throughout the academies and the salons, and that all apprentices know how to keep themselves and their clients safe.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Establish clear arrangements for identifying and rewarding excellence in training, for sharing good practice in training, and for raising the performance levels of weaker trainers. Train all trainers, in the salons and the academies, to understand the system of observation, and to welcome the opportunity to discuss and improve their teaching techniques.

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Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners Good  Apprentices’ work is very good, and in many cases well above the requirements of the qualification. For example, intermediate apprentices were learning to analyse a client’s hair colour and type in great detail, in order to identify exactly which shades and products would be most suitable for colouring.  Apprentices develop good employability skills. By the end of their intermediate apprenticeship, they have developed the teamwork, customer awareness, self-confidence and sense of responsibility, as well as the hairdressing skills, to work as a junior stylist in a Headmasters salon. They acquire qualifications in English and mathematics early in their programmes if they do not already have them. Apprentices develop their mathematics well, particularly through calculating ratios for mixing colours correctly and through describing the angles required for different cuts. Learners develop very particular verbal communication skills. Advanced

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Inspection judgements

apprentices learn how to use different language – ‘guyalogue’ – when talking to male clients about their haircuts. They were encouraged to consider the different aspirations of young men, and to talk about haircuts as ‘sharp’ rather than ‘soft’, and ‘preppy’ rather than ‘face-framing’. However, trainers do not pay so much attention to developing learners’ written English, and many of the materials produced for learners appear sloppy, with numerous errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.  Managers are aware that too many apprentices leave their employment without completing their training programme. They have taken steps to reduce the proportion who leave their course early, and the proportion of those who leave in the early part of the programme has dropped substantially over the last two years. Managers are focusing on identifying the reasons why apprentices leave their jobs, and directors are targeting their visits on salons where there is a

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Inspection judgements

pattern of sickness and absenteeism.  More than two thirds of intermediate apprentices go on to become advanced apprentices. They are clear about the different career opportunities available to them within Headmasters, and receive good guidance from their trainers and role models within the company.  The advanced apprenticeship programme has grown substantially over the last three years, and the proportion of apprentices who achieve their qualification is high. The company’s internal data show a significant improvement in the proportion of intermediate apprentices who complete their programme, and this is now also high.  After three years in which the proportion of young men who achieve their qualification has steadily increased, there is now no significant difference between the proportions of male and female apprentices who complete their qualifications. However, there is a striking difference in

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Inspection judgements

the time taken to complete. The small number of young men on the programme are much more likely to complete in the expected timescale than the young women. There are not enough learners from minority ethnic groups for any differences in achievements to be statistically significant.

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Hairdressing

 Good teaching, learning and assessment lead to good outcomes for apprentices. Most apprentices who stay in training make good progress. Apprentices develop essential technical and customer care skills and work very well with each other, their clients and their trainers.  Apprentices benefit from the high standards of care and support provided by their trainers. They develop very good creative and practical skills and knowledge of key technical aspects of hairdressing, such as precise haircutting angles and the complex science of colour correction. Trainers are excellent role models and have high expectations of their apprentices, promoting aspiration and ambition well. The ‘high-flying’ artistic team, which carries out the glamorous contracts such as photo shoots, regularly contributes to trainers’ team meetings and further inspires apprentices. Successful apprentices work towards a final graduation showcase event

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Hairdressing

that thoroughly tests their readiness for work as a stylist, and recognises and celebrates their efforts.  In the best sessions, trainers provide inspirational teaching, for example by using case studies designed around celebrities and producing ‘mood boards’ to generate ideas and inspiration. In a men’s hairdressing session, for example, apprentices visualised the lifestyles of clients based around the idea of ‘tribes’, enabling them to see the historical context that influences contemporary hairstyles. Apprentices build their confidence and articulacy by giving mini- presentations. In practical sessions, apprentices work enthusiastically and are well supported by trainers who provide clear demonstrations geared to their apprentices’ skill levels, together with detailed verbal technical feedback that helps them to improve. In less successful sessions, trainers do not always record feedback for the apprentice to consider and refer back to.

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Hairdressing

 Apprentices enjoy excellent advice and guidance at the start of their course and induction sessions that set high expectations and motivate them to achieve their professional goals. They also receive particularly good advice on the different career options within the company. From an early stage, apprentices are aware that they can develop their hairdressing skills further, or that they could move into management or training, still within the company.  Learning resources are particularly good. The salons and academies are well equipped and attractive. Each salon has trainers to support apprentices’ learning at work in between their weekly sessions at the academy. Trainers select appropriate models for apprentices to use very carefully. They consult with clients thoroughly and identify how their requirements match the assessment needs of the apprentices. Apprentices confidently use high quality products and

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Hairdressing

benefit from sessions and promotional activities offered by manufacturers.  There are few assessment opportunities in the salons. Trainers working in the salons are not trained or qualified as assessors, so cannot capture naturally occurring examples of apprentices’ work as evidence for their portfolios. Nearly all the assessment is carried out in the academies, although a travelling assessor has recently been appointed to help apprentices to gather final pieces of evidence from their salons. This means it can be hard for apprentices to complete their qualification in the time expected.  Standards of health and safety practices vary across the provision. For example, apprentices often use the metal tailcombs they have as part of their kit when sectioning clients’ hair for the application of colour, even though some products react with metal. In some salons, apprentices were not required to use gloves and aprons routinely when working with lightening products

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Hairdressing

and other chemicals.  Trainers focus well on the development of apprentices’ mathematics. Apprentices routinely work out percentages and ratios when colouring hair, discuss cutting angles with precision and can calculate salon takings and commission. However, some trainers lack expertise and confidence when planning and teaching lessons to improve apprentices’ English. They do not reinforce English within some class activities. For example, they had not all checked apprentices’ typed English within an employment rights electronic study pack, and spelling and grammatical errors make some of the materials produced for apprentices difficult to read.  Trainers do not always recognise and use opportunities to promote equality and diversity. The variety of apprentices, clients and hair types provide rich source material for discussion, but not all educators see this as part of their role.

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Hairdressing

The effectiveness of leadership and management Good  The Board of Headmasters has a coherent and compelling vision of further steady growth for the company, using the apprenticeship programme to motivate and train young people to excel in hairdressing. Its recent restructuring to improve the apprenticeship programme has meant that the most artistic and creative stylists are deployed to inspire and motivate the apprentices and their trainers, ensuring that everyone within the salons and academies, including apprentices, aspires to be the best that they can be. To reach this vision, the board has made substantial investment in the apprenticeship programme. It has appointed a generous number of trainers, both in the academies and also in the salons, and also refurbished the academies.  Managers have addressed most of the areas for improvement identified in the last inspection, and many of the improvements it has put into place have already started to impact on learners

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Hairdressing

and their chances of completing their qualification. For example, the appointment of a travelling assessor has improved links between the academies and the salons, and made it easier for learners to be assessed. Apprentices needing functional skills qualifications now have specialist sessions to develop their English and mathematics. Trainers are now aware of the importance of mathematics to hairdressing apprentices, and teach them about fractions and ratios to ensure that they mix colours correctly and confidently.  The self-assessment report and quality improvement plan are broadly accurate and relevant. Managers and trainers seek, and act on, apprentices’ views to improve its provision. It has recently started offering exit interviews to all apprentices to try and find out what more can be done to reduce the proportion who leave their course early. However, the self-assessment tends to overstate strengths, and had not identified the persistent weaknesses of the failure to

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Hairdressing

promote correct English and equality and diversity issues in training sessions. Nor had it noted the inconsistency in approaches to health and safety between different trainers and different salons.  Performance management arrangements are not yet effective. Managers have introduced a system of observing teaching and learning, but this is embryonic. It does not have clear and generally understood criteria, and is not well enough developed to provide a sound baseline from which measurable improvements can be made. There are still no staff with teaching and training qualifications at a higher level than Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector, apart from one primary-school-qualified teacher. The level of expertise in English among the trainers is not high enough for them to correct learners’ work accurately or produce error-free training materials. No trainer has an English qualification above the level 2 which they are

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Hairdressing

expected to teach.  Managers make sure that apprentices are treated fairly. At the time of the previous inspection, terms and conditions for apprentices in franchised salons were less favourable. All apprentices now have the same terms and conditions. The company gives them NUS cards, so they can have the same privileges as students. Apprentices are aware of their rights and responsibilities as employees. However, their understanding of equality issues is not reinforced through the review process, and natural discussion of diversity in training sessions beyond that of different hair types, does not always happen. Headmasters has started a very successful ‘training the trainer’ programme to increase in-salon trainers’ understanding of equality, diversity and safeguarding issues. Trainers enjoy the course and the increased confidence it gives them, but it has not been running long enough to have had a significant impact on learners.

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Hairdressing

 The programme is designed to meet the needs of the company, which seeks to recruit and retain enough apprentices for its present and future needs. The company offers full employment, with attractive career prospects, to all its apprentices. It is actively seeking to increase the number of young men it recruits, to improve the gender balance of its apprentices, through providing increased visibility of male role models to potential apprentices. It offers apprentices opportunities to gain functional skills qualifications if they do not already have a level 2 qualification, but it is not good at supporting the development of apprentices’ written English through the training programme.  The provider meets its statutory requirements for safeguarding learners. All teaching staff have recently had safeguarding training from an external provider.

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The Headmasters Partnership Ltd

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

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The Headmasters Partnership 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

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The Headmasters Partnership Ltd

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment 2 - - - - - 2 - -

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The Headmasters Partnership Ltd

The effectiveness of leadership and management 2 - - - - - 2 - -

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full contract year

CEO Mr Raju Raymond Date of previous inspection November 2012 Website address www.headmasters.com

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programme level

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

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Apprenticeship level and age

Intermediate Advanced Higher 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 121 66 34 82 - - Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total - - -

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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 Skills Funding Agency (SFA)

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Contextual information

Headmasters started as a single salon, and now consists of a chain of nearly 50 salons, mostly in the Greater London area. Most of the salons are owned by the company, but a small number are franchised. There are also three academies in South London, two for apprentices and one for teaching advanced hairdressing techniques. Apprentices can start at any time during the year. They attend the academy for one day a week, and have a day’s training in their salon for another day a week. All apprentices have to work shifts, but they do not work more than two late evenings a week.

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Information about this inspection

Lead inspector Jane Shaw HMI One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and four additional inspectors, assisted by the Head of NVQ Education 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 all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors looked at the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across all of the provision and graded the sector subject areas listed in the report above.

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Grade Judgement

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

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Grade Judgement

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

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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 .

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Grade Judgement

Learner View is a 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.

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Grade Judgement

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

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Grade Judgement

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

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Grade Judgement

To find out more go to www.employerview.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.

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Grade Judgement

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

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