Durham University

Inspection date 4 July 2008 Durham University Inspection number 321568

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Contents

Background information ............................................................................................................... 3

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Contents

Inspection judgements ....................................................................................................................... 3

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Contents

Scope of the inspection ...................................................................................................................... 3

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Contents

Description of the provider ........................................................................................................... 4

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Contents

Summary of grades awarded ........................................................................................................ 6

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Contents

Overall judgement ........................................................................................................................ 7

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Contents

Effectiveness of provision .................................................................................................................. 7

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Contents

Capacity to improve ........................................................................................................................ 7

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Contents

Key strengths ............................................................................................................................... 7

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Contents

Key areas for improvement .......................................................................................................... 8

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Contents

Main findings ............................................................................................................................... 9

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Contents

Achievement and standards .............................................................................................................. 9

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Quality of provision ............................................................................................................................ 9

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Leadership and management........................................................................................................... 10

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Equality of opportunity ................................................................................................................. 10

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What learners like ...................................................................................................................... 13

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Contents

What learners think could improve ............................................................................................. 13

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Inspection judgements

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about achievement and standards, the quality of provision, and leadership and management, which includes a grade for equality of opportunity .

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Key for inspection grades

Further information can be found on how inspection judgements are made on www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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Scope of the inspection

In deciding the scope of the inspection, inspectors take account of the provider’s most recent self- assessment report and development plans, and comments from the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) or other funding body. Where appropriate, inspectors also consider the previous inspection report ( www.ofsted.gov.uk ), reports from the inspectorates’ monitoring visits, and data on learners and their achievements over the period since the previous inspection.

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Scope of the inspection

In addition to reporting on overall effectiveness of the organisation, its capacity to improve further, achievement and standards, quality of provision and leadership and management, this inspection focused on specialist provision in:

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Description of the provider

1. Durham University operates its own training centre for government-funded training programmes within its human resources department. They are funded by County Durham LSC. The university is the third-largest employer in County Durham, with approximately 3,500 members of staff. The apprenticeship scheme at the university was established in 1997 to provide work-based learning for employees. At present 34 learners participate in total, 18 are advanced apprentices, 13 in business administration, four in engineering and one in information and communications technology. In addition, 16 other business, administration and management learners are funded through the Train to Gain programme and other government programmes. All learners are employed by the university.

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Description of the provider

2. A training officer is responsible for day-to-day management of the programmes and reports to an assistant director of human resources. Currently three members of staff within the training section co-ordinate and deliver the apprenticeship programme. Durham University is a registered centre for the accreditation of national vocational qualifications (NVQs) in business administration and key skills. It subcontracts delivery of the NVQ and technical certificates for the other frameworks to four local colleges. 3. The 2001 census indicates that 2.4% of the population in the north-east of England are from minority ethnic groups. This compares with 1% in County Durham and 2.3% in Durham city. A higher proportion of university staff and students are from minority ethnic backgrounds. None of the learners currently on work-based learning programmes at the university are from minority ethnic groups.

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Summary of grades awarded

Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Summary of grades awarded

Leadership and management Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Summary of grades awarded

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Sector subject area

Business, administration and management Good: Grade 2

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Good: Grade 2

4. The overall effectiveness of the provision is good. Achievement and standards are good. Success rates for business administration apprentices are high, and all learners show good development of personal and work-related skills. The quality of provision is good, supported by very effective assessment practice and very good career progression opportunities. Leadership and management and equality of opportunity are satisfactory. The well-managed provision effectively supports the university’s workforce development strategy.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

5. Capacity to improve is satisfactory. The university has maintained the strengths identified at the previous inspection and resolved most of the areas for improvement. Achievement for business apprentices is good and has improved since the previous inspection. Training now takes place in premises accessible to people with reduced mobility. Effective action has taken place to improve the line managers’ understanding of NVQ standards. Recent action to improve the co-ordination of the workplace learning subcontracted to local colleges has had some impact.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

6. Self-assessment is good. The report is accurate in the grades awarded and in most of the judgements. It is clearly linked to the Common Inspection Framework and draws on a range of evidence, including accurate statistical data. Self-assessment leads to improvement planning, but it is too soon to measure the effectiveness of the most recent action plan. Quality assurance processes are satisfactory. Learners’ progress is carefully monitored. The provider makes good use of feedback from learners, but too little use of feedback from the learners’ line managers and of observations of teaching and learning to support quality improvement.

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Key strengths

 Very good achievement rate  Good development of personal and work-related skills

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Key strengths

 Very good career progression opportunities

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Key strengths

 Well-managed provision to support the university’s workforce development strategy

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Key strengths

 Good use of feedback from learners to improve the provision

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Key areas for improvement

 Insufficient use of observation to check the quality of teaching

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Key areas for improvement

 Underdeveloped programme evaluation using feedback from line managers

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Key areas for improvement

 Incomplete procedures to fully meet new safeguarding legislation

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Good: Grade 2

7. Achievement and standards are good. The apprenticeship programme framework achievement rate in 2005/06 was 91% and in 2006/07 was 92%. Achievement data for learners on management and other programmes are very recent. They indicate that achievement rates are higher than 90%. Current learners are making steady progress. The standard of work produced by learners is good. Apprentices complete well the challenging key skill assignments. The university has identified achievement as a key strength in its self-assessment report.

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Good: Grade 2

8. The development of personal and work-related skills is good. Learners increase in confidence and use newly-gained competences effectively in their work activities. For example, learners use new skills in time management, meeting targets and contributing to team responsibilities. Learners acquire a better understanding of their job roles and, in Train to Gain, they acquire a recognised qualification for their workplace skills and knowledge. The university, as the employer, values the contribution learners make in the workplace.

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Good: Grade 2

9. The quality of the provision is good. Teaching, training and learning are good overall. Assessment practice is very effective. This strength was identified in the self-assessment report. Assessors visit workplaces frequently and individual sessions are well-structured, focused and purposeful. Assessors have good knowledge of learners’ job roles. They use a wide range of appropriate assessment methods to improve achievement and they make particularly good use of workplace observations. Detailed assessment plans and targets help learners plan the activities they need to complete. The plans are used effectively during assessments. Reviews of learners’ progress are satisfactory. They are completed regularly and line managers are included. Individual learning plans are routinely updated following each review and line managers are made aware of their learners’ progress. Some reviews are insufficiently detailed, with too much focus on the

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Good: Grade 2

recording of the units of the NVQ. Tutors’ written feedback is thorough and constructive. Off-the- job training sessions are satisfactory and attendance is very good. Resources are satisfactory. Handout materials are professionally produced. Learners have access to current textbooks and training materials. Information and learning technology is used well in training sessions. Training takes place in well-equipped rooms with interactive whiteboards. Sessions are well planned, linked to appropriate schemes of work and include a range of activities. 10. The programmes meet the needs and interests of learners well. Learners benefit from very good career progression opportunities, a strength identified in the self-assessment report. Job grades within the university are linked to specific qualification levels. All learners are aware of the opportunities for career progression resulting from successful completion of recognised

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Good: Grade 2

qualifications. Business administration learners have the opportunity to progress from NVQ level 2 to level 3 NVQ, HNC and degree level programmes. Of the 73 learners who have completed apprenticeship programmes, 79% have progressed to higher level administrative posts within the university. A wide range of programmes and short courses is available to learners to build on their existing skills, including in-house training such as manual handling and first aid. Apprentices gain additional qualifications such as in text processing. Learners are well supported by their line managers. Time is allocated during work to attend courses and to complete activities, projects and assignments.

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Good: Grade 2

11. Guidance and support for learners are satisfactory. All learners benefit from an induction. The presentation by training staff is appropriate, clarifies qualification requirements and focuses well on diversity and health and safety issues. Learners on apprenticeship programmes receive an induction handbook which is a useful reference resource. Learners can satisfactorily recall their induction. Information, advice and guidance are satisfactory. Apprentices complete an initial assessment of their literacy and numeracy skills. The procedure is insufficiently developed to identify complex learning needs such as dyslexia. Learners on management courses apply using an online facility. They are required to meet specified job criteria to access the courses and most have the approval of their line manager. However, no procedure exists to ensure learners are enrolled on the most appropriate course and that they have the potential to meet the aims of

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

12. The programmes support the university’s overall strategy for workforce development very well. These include the key aims of raising the skill levels of staff, and of retaining the workforce. The programmes provided internally draw on the university’s training needs analysis and on individual performance reviews. The work-based learning provision is valued and supported by line managers. Communication between university departments and the training centre is good. Training staff are well qualified. 13. Quality assurance procedures are satisfactory. Annual performance reviews lead to targets for further development. Learners’ progress is carefully monitored. Training staff respond well to feedback from learners to make improvements. They seek the views of learners through a structured survey during and at the end of their programmes, and informally at review meetings and in training sessions. Changes made in response to this feedback enhance the learners’

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

experience. These include changes to the timing of group sessions, to the range of activities and to the content of courses. Action taken by the team has improved the response rate to the questionnaire surveys.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

14. Self-assessment is good. The grades and most of the judgements in the self-assessment report are accurate. The report is detailed, clearly linked to the Common Inspection Framework and draws on a range of evidence, including accurate statistical data. Self-assessment leads to planning for improvement, but it is too early to see the impact of many of the actions in the most recent action plan.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

15. Training staff make insufficient use of feedback from the learners’ line managers to evaluate the provision and make improvements. Most of the feedback is unstructured, arising informally on apprenticeship programmes through, for example, the learners’ review process. Line managers are invited to complete an online survey but the response rate is very low.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

16. Quality procedures do not include the observation of teaching and learning. The training centre has identified this as an area for improvement in the self-assessment report and has made links with another provider to set up a peer review arrangement. Some observations of assessment take place, but these are not used to develop and improve practice.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

17. A satisfactory strategy for identifying and supporting literacy, numeracy or language is now in place, an improvement since the previous inspection. The training centre’s approach to health and safety is satisfactory.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

18. The university’s policies and procedures for safeguarding learners meet government requirements for the protection of children and young people. The university’s practice with children and young people is used as an example in a government publication on safeguarding. However, the written procedures do not detail how they take account of adult learners on work- based learning courses. The human resources department identifies the need to resolve this area for improvement through a review of procedures and additional guidance.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

19. The training centre’s promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. The university has appropriate and up-to-date written policies and procedures, which are explained to learners at induction. An effective approach to checking learners’ understanding at reviews has been introduced since the previous inspection. Employees are encouraged to attend a half-day course on equal opportunities and diversity, and all learners have done so.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

20. To widen recruitment, the training officer has liaised with the admissions office to publicise to local schools employment opportunities in the university which are linked to apprenticeship training. The training centre has effective links with the service for students with disabilities department. Access to training premises for learners with reduced mobility has improved since the previous inspection and is satisfactory. The human resources department analyses the uptake of training places compared with the university staff profile. The apprenticeship and other programmes enable staff in lower technical and administrative grades to gain further qualifications and to progress in their careers. No significant differences in achievement exist between different groups of learners.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

21. The university has made some improvements to the subcontracting arrangements with the colleges, which were a weakness identified at the previous inspection, but recognises the need for further improvements. College-based assessors responded well to a recent invitation to participate in learners’ reviews at the university, joining the line managers and the trainers. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

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What learners like

 Particularly good support from the training team

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What learners like

 Good opportunities for further qualifications

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What learners like

 Being given time each week to work on the NVQ

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