Morthyng Group Limited

Further Education and Skills inspection report Date published: November 2014 Inspection Number: 452205 URN: 53422 Morthyng Group Limited

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Summary of key findings for learners

 learners overcome substantial personal barriers, including often very low levels of prior attainment, to participate successfully in education and training; they develop good personal, social and employability skills, increasing their understanding of the work ethic and attitudes needed to sustain employment  learners benefit from high expectations and challenge and are motivated well to achieve; they receive particularly good support from skilled and knowledgeable staff in a caring and nurturing environment  good teaching, training and assessment ensure that the large majority of learners progress well from their starting points; most learners continue into further education, employment or an apprenticeship at the end of their course  leaders and managers provide strong strategic direction, placing significant focus on meeting the needs of individual learners; staff share the company’s vision and are passionate about

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Summary of key findings for learners

improving learners’ lives  a high priority is given to safeguarding and safeguarding arrangements for learners are outstanding; staff take their responsibilities very seriously and learners know how to raise concerns  liaison and working with external support agencies to assist learners are very strong  the training programmes effectively meet local and regional priorities to develop the potential of young people to develop their skills and become socially and economically active in their communities.

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Summary of key findings for learners

 the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not outstanding  too few learners extend their practical, vocational skills through completing work placements  qualification success rates are too low. Inspection dates 13-17 October 2014

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This inspection: Good-2

Previous inspection: Good-2 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?

 Extend the work taster and work experience opportunities available to learners through which they can increase their understanding of job roles and develop their vocational and employability skills in a practical setting.  Increase the number of learners who successfully achieve qualifications by ensuring that their targets are clear, relevant and realistic; that they know what they need to do to make progress, can see how far they have come and are motivated to continue their studies.  Strengthen the strategy for functional skills by ensuring that there is a clear focus on the development of qualifications, including GCSEs, to enable all learners to achieve appropriate qualifications and work-related skills in English and mathematics.  Improve arrangements for observing teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that the process is rigorous and judgemental and that the grades accurately reflect the judgements

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

made.  Strengthen the strategic focus on improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to outstanding by increasing the level of informed monitoring and challenge from the board of directors.

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Inspection judgements

Outcomes for learners Good  Morthyng Group Limited (Morthyng) provides study programmes to young people aged 16-18 in Rotherham, Doncaster, Birkenhead and Corby. A small group of learners started traineeships in October 2014. Morthyng welcomes all learners, a very large majority of whom face substantial barriers to learning, including severe hardship, living independently as lone or young parents, previous convictions and exclusion from school or as school non-attendees. Most learners have few previous qualifications and particularly low levels of skills in mathematics and English.  Teachers have high expectations and challenge learners well to ensure they achieve qualifications in line with their potential and prior qualifications. Most learners remain on their programme, completing their core objective. Current learners are making steady and in some centres very good progress, producing work of a good standard.

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Inspection judgements

 Although success rates are increasing, too few learners achieve their vocational, English or mathematics qualifications. However, most of those who complete their training are successful and a minority progress to higher-level functional skill awards. Published data do not capture fully the impact that the work undertaken by Morthyng has had on its learners’ lives.  In 2012/13, all groups of learners achieved almost equally well. Strategies, including particularly effective additional support, have increased the success of learners with disabilities who now succeed slightly better than their peers.  Most learners develop a very good understanding of the skills and work ethic needed to secure and sustain employment. Learners are challenged well to adopt the professional standards needed to function effectively in the workplace. Poor timekeeping is not accepted. The vast majority of learners demonstrate respect for their peers, in some cases motivating colleagues

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Inspection judgements

through effective peer support. A small minority of learners remain too reliant on their tutors for direction.  Most learners develop good vocational skills in areas such as hairdressing and hospitality through their training. However, too few learners extend these skills through work placements to assist their progression into apprenticeships or employment.  Following assessment of their individual needs, learners in most centres complete valuable non- accredited training in, for example, healthy eating, sexual health awareness, cyber-bullying and drugs and alcohol awareness. Learners, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, take positive steps towards developing the skills needed to live independently.  Progression into employment, further education or apprenticeships is good and increasing. In 2013/14, most learners continued into further education and an improving number secured

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Inspection judgements

employment or an apprenticeship. However, the extent to which learners progress successfully varies too much across Morthyng’s centres.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good  Teaching, learning and assessment are good and this is reflected in the good progress made by learners who benefit from high expectations and are motivated to achieve and progress. Staff provide a particularly caring and nurturing environment in which learners develop resilience and confidence.  Learners with personal and social issues, as well as those with additional and complex needs, receive sensitive support to help them engage in learning and develop appropriate work-related skills. Where appropriate, learners receive particularly effective assistance from specialist external agencies in areas such as midwifery support and housing, which help them to remain on their training programmes.  Learners with more complex needs are challenged particularly well and have made significant progress in the development of their abilities to begin to make simple choices and communicate

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Inspection judgements

well with carers.  Teachers use their skills, knowledge and often extensive experience well to motivate learners. Resources are generally good and in the most effective lessons used very creatively. For example, learners in a childcare class made musical instruments from recycled materials. Learners make good use of laptops and computers, developing their independent research skills well. In a minority of centres, learners benefit from learning in spacious, well-equipped, professional business environments conducive to learning.  Staff match learners carefully to work experience opportunities, which meet their existing abilities and future aspirations well. However, there are too few placements to meet learners’ needs adequately. In Birkenhead, learners take part in very short taster placements to successfully assess their readiness for full-time work placements. Most learners participate in a wide range of informative enrichment activities that build their skills in areas such as money

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Inspection judgements

management, increasing their confidence and personal effectiveness.  Initial assessment is comprehensive and effective. Staff use the results of the assessments well to identify learners’ ability levels, learning styles and barriers to learning. However, too few teachers use this information sufficiently to ensure that lessons meet group members’ specific needs.  Target-setting requires improvement. Too many targets fail to provide learners with clear guidance as to what is expected from them and present learners with unrealistic goals. The language used in recorded targets is often too complex. A minority of learners do not understand what actions they need to take in order to achieve their next steps.  Assessment in the workplace is good. Questioning techniques are effective and staff use them frequently to check learners’ knowledge and understanding. Learners receive immediate verbal and written feedback in lessons, which helps them develop their employability and vocational

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Inspection judgements

skills further. Peer support is used well and motivates learners. Written feedback is not always constructive enough to help learners identify how they can improve.  Learners develop a good range of skills in English and mathematics. They undertake project work, for example, carrying out research surveys in the town centre, using the information to develop data tables and interpret results. Learners benefit from constructive feedback on their written work, spelling, punctuation and grammar within their sessions. Learners are keen to develop their skills and see the relevance of improving their English and mathematics abilities linked to their work. Learners needing higher-level mathematics skills to meet their career goals receive good support.  Information, advice and guidance are effective and come from a wide variety of sources throughout a learner’s programme. Pre-course guidance is detailed and informative; those with

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Inspection judgements

complex additional needs receive good transitional support. Guidance reinforces the purpose of the learning programme, ensuring that learners understand its relevance to their own long-term goals. Staff revisit these goals regularly and provide additional guidance should learners’ needs or aspirations change.  Learners treat each other and their teachers with respect; inappropriate behaviour is challenged well. In the most effective lessons, learners develop a good understanding of equality, considering, for example, equal pay for male and female employees and age-related employment. However, this varies too much according to the teacher. Staff and employers promote equality and diversity well in work placements. An equality and diversity workbook provides all learners with interesting locally based topics to study; however, the workbook does not cover all protected characteristics. Learners on a second year of learning with Morthyng do

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Inspection judgements

not have a more advanced workbook through which to extend their knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Senior managers, supported by the board of directors, provide a strong strategic direction which places a significant focus on the needs of individual learners. Staff share the company’s vision and are passionate about improving learners’ lives through vocational training and personal development.  Communication within the company is excellent. Leaders and managers have high expectations for all members of staff. The induction programme for newly appointed staff is comprehensive. The twice-yearly appraisal process is used very effectively to assess the quality of employees’ work and to analyse staff training needs, reconciling them with the needs of the company.  Continuing professional development opportunities are good. Staff are enthusiastic about improving their qualifications, taking full advantage of the opportunities available. Considerable emphasis is placed on all tutors being qualified to teach in the further education and skills

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

sector. A very small minority of tutors, however, do not have appropriate vocational qualifications for the subjects they are teaching.  The process for observing the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is underdeveloped. It is not improving the quality of the provision quickly enough. The observers’ comments are often too descriptive and insufficiently evaluative. An overemphasis is placed on teaching and not enough attention is given to learning. Formal observations of teaching and learning were insufficiently rigorous and in need of improvement at the previous inspection.  The company collects a wide range of useful data about the study programme. Since the previous inspection a new management information system has been installed and attendance, progress and achievement data are now readily available. The system is still being developed to provide managers with more comprehensive data on learner progress.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The study programme provides very good opportunities for young learners to improve their knowledge, skills and personal effectiveness and to enhance their employment prospects. Work experience opportunities are, however, limited. There are too few links with employers and learners do not have enough opportunities to sample work in different organisations. Further work is needed to develop the GCSE programme in English and mathematics and to refine Morthyng’s functional skills strategy.  The annual self-assessment process is fully established and inclusive. Morthyng produced a short interim report for this inspection in which many of the required improvements correspond with those identified by inspectors. The development and operational plans are regularly reviewed and progress is systematically recorded.  Partnership working with a wide range of external organisations is particularly strong and of

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

considerable benefit to learners, resulting, for example, in very good specialist support for learners. Staff understand the range of support available and refer learners to the most appropriate sources. Management of, and relationships with, subcontractors are very good.  The board of directors meets regularly and discusses a range of issues related to the efficient running of the company. However, no director has specific responsibility for proactively monitoring the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and for supporting the company to raise the quality of its provision to outstanding.  Learners and staff are protected well from bullying, harassment and unfair treatment. Achievement gaps between different groups of learners are minimal. The equal opportunities and diversity action plan clearly sets out areas to develop and it is frequently monitored. Staff training in equality and diversity is good. Learners’ knowledge and understanding of equality and

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

diversity are, however, variable.  A very high priority is given to promoting personal health, safety and security, and safeguarding arrangements for learners are outstanding. Staff take their responsibilities very seriously and immediate action is taken when tutors suspect there may be a safeguarding issue. Learners know how to raise safeguarding concerns and they have excellent opportunities to discuss them with a designated safeguarding officer, who attends case conferences when they and their families are required to be there. Recording and tracking of safeguarding issues are excellent. Liaison and integrated working with external agencies are very strong. Morthyng’s confidential ‘feel-safe phone’ service is available to learners 24 hours a day. Excellent provision is made for vulnerable learners to be taken from home to a learning centre, and returned, in the provider’s minibus in preference to them using public transport. Two minor health and safety issues in a

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The effectiveness of leadership and management Good

training centre, which were identified by inspectors, were speedily resolved by Morthyng. Safeguarding training for staff is excellent.

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Morthyng Group Limited

Inspection grades are based on a provider’s performance:

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Morthyng Group Limited

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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Morthyng Group Limited

Overall effectiveness 2 N/A N/A 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Morthyng Group Limited

Outcomes for learners 2 N/A N/A 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Morthyng Group Limited

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment 2 N/A N/A 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Morthyng Group Limited

The effectiveness of leadership and management 2 N/A N/A 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Provider details

Type of provider Independent learning provider

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full contract year

Principal/CEO Mr Chris MacCormac Date of previous inspection November 2011 Website address http://www.morthyng.co.uk

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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+ 2 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total 11 N/A 11 Number of learners aged 14-16 67 Full-time N/A Part-time 67 Number of community learners N/A Number of employability learners N/A Funding received from Education Funding Agency (EFA)

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following main subcontractors:

 Oracle  Cornerstones Training  Beechwood Community Trust  Shaftesbury Youth Club

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Contextual Information

Morthyng is a registered charity and ‘not for profit’ organisation which delivers a number of publicly funded contracts. It was established in 1988 with the support of the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches. Morthyng operates from its head office in Rotherham and offers provision in Rotherham, Doncaster, Corby and Birkenhead. A network of four partners extends the range of Morthyng’s vocational training provision.

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Contextual Information

This inspection focused on the study programme which Morthyng provides to learners predominantly aged 16 to 18 years of age. The number of 16-year-olds achieving five GCSEs at grade A* to C including English and mathematics is below the national average of 59.2% in Corby and Doncaster but above the national average in Rotherham and Birkenhead. Most of Morthyng’s learners have multiple barriers, including educational, social and personal barriers and are often from disadvantaged areas and from families who are long-term unemployed.

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Information about this inspection

Seven additional inspectors, assisted by the Deputy Chief Executive 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, parents 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 area 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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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 .

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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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Grade Judgement

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

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