Jancett Childcare & Jace Training Limited

Further education and skills inspection report

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Jancett Childcare & JACE Training Limited Independent learning provider

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement 16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement Apprenticeships Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings

This is a provider that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings

 Leaders and managers do not evaluate accurately the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. They pay insufficient attention to the proportion of learners who do not achieve their qualification.  Too few apprentices complete their qualifications within the time planned, and the achievements of learners on 16 to19 study programmes, including English and mathematics, are low.  Leaders’ and managers’ quality improvement measures focus insufficiently on improving teaching, learning and assessment or on improving learner outcomes.  Tutors and assessors do not adapt teaching, learning and assessment well enough to meet learners’ individual learning requirements.  Tutors and assessors do not focus closely enough on the development of learners’ skills and knowledge when they plan and review learning.  Leaders have not followed up sufficiently the majority of the recommendations from the previous inspection.

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Summary of key findings

The provider has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings

 Good partnerships with local authorities, employers, youth programmes and community groups enable learners to benefit from a wide range of employment and work placement opportunities.  Learners’ behaviour in centres and in the workplace is very good. Those who often have had a disrupted school experience settle into their learning quickly and enjoy their time at Jace.  Learners develop high levels of self-confidence and esteem. Managers and staff are skilful in helping and encouraging learners to recognise their own potential to live happy and productive working lives.  Good careers advice and guidance enable learners to make well informed decisions about their next steps and future career opportunities.

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Information about the provider

 Jace Training and Assessment Centre (Jace) is a privately owned independent learning provider, and is the training arm of Jancett Group Day Nurseries. Jace has its head office in Wallington, Surrey and has five training centres in London, Surrey and Kent. Jace provides learning to apprentices, learners on 16 to 19 study programmes, including traineeships, and to adult loans-funded learners. Jace subcontracts learning to three partners who offer provision in sports coaching, performing arts and construction.  The majority of learners start their 16 to 19 study programmes and intermediate apprenticeships with low levels of, or with no, qualifications in English and mathematics. Many come from backgrounds where their school experience has been disrupted, or they did not complete their formal schooling. Most learners on advanced apprenticeships start their programme with GCSE A* to C qualifications in English and mathematics.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Plan the skills and knowledge development of learners’ English and mathematics so that it is more relevant to their roles in their employment and work placements. Ensure that assessors communicate effectively with tutors about the ongoing development opportunities learners have within the workplace, and help learners to understand better how English and mathematics relates to their everyday life and work.  Ensure that when planning and reviewing learners’ progress, teachers and assessors focus more closely on the skills and knowledge development of individual learners.  Carry out swiftly, a review of the management of the 16 to 19 study programmes to ensure that all learners, irrespective of their training location, benefit from a high-quality learning experience.  Undertake rigorous self-assessment and improvement planning, informed by the effective analysis of data on learner achievement, to fully identify areas for improvement. Ensure

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

that areas for improvement, particularly those identified at inspection, are tackled quickly and effectively.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders and managers have not been effective in making the improvements recommended at the previous inspection, and the proportion of learners who achieve their qualification remains low. Quality improvement does not focus sufficiently on improving teaching, learning and assessment, or on improving learners’ achievement.  Strategies to ensure that learners develop good skills in English and mathematics have not yet resulted in high achievement. Staff are now well trained and able to ensure that learners develop the skills and knowledge that they require to be successful in their learning and employment. Managers ensure that learners have flexible opportunities to attend discrete lessons that target learners’ identified individual areas for improvement. However, the proportion of learners who achieve their external tests remains low.  Leaders and managers do not use data effectively, to evaluate accurately the quality of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

teaching, learning and assessment. They pay insufficient attention to the proportion of learners who do not achieve their qualification when evaluating the overall quality of learning and the learner experience. Leaders and managers do not fully understand the reasons why the achievement of apprentice learners within the time planned remains low, especially at advanced level.  Actions by leaders and managers to ensure that learners on 16 to 19 study programmes receive an equally good standard of learning at each of the regional centres have not been sufficiently impactful. Attendance of learners in two of the larger centres is low and, as a result, these learners do not achieve equally well, and too few remain in learning to complete their course.  Partnerships with local authorities, employers, youth programmes and community groups are good. Leaders and managers use their partnerships very effectively to develop a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

broad curriculum that benefits learners who often have low prior achievement and limited opportunities for further training. For example, Jace works in partnership with the borough youth support service to provide bespoke parenting skills and early years training to young teenage mothers not currently in education, many of whom are from chaotic family backgrounds. Leaders play an active role in developing the Trailblazer standards for the early years apprenticeship qualification.  Leaders and managers foster an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and respect for all. Managers and staff ensure that learners have a good awareness of different faiths and cultures. Learners know how to moderate their behaviour appropriately when dealing with different clients, parents and employers. Through their learning, most learners develop a good insight and empathy into the lives of others. For example, learners on performing

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

arts programmes reviewed a selection of portraits of people from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, and then acted out how they might behave, move and speak as one of the people in the portrait. Learners critiqued each other’s performance accurately, and reflected well on how physical appearance can often inform our views of the person within.  Careers advice and guidance are good. Managers and tutors prepare learners well for their next steps in learning and life. Learners mostly have good opportunities to plan and review formally their potential career options, and advice from tutors and assessors enables learners to make good choices in their careers.  Managers and staff respond effectively to the views of learners and employers, and incorporate their ideas for further improvement into subsequent programmes offered. For example, managers provide additional evening classes in English and mathematics for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

nursery workers who cannot be released from work by their employers during working hours.  Management of subcontracted learning is effective. Managers monitor the progress of subcontractor partners closely, and ensure that the quality of learning provided by them is of a sufficiently high standard. Managers have been swift to intervene when the performance of learners has declined, and have terminated provision that has under- performed.  Staff benefit from good ongoing professional development; many staff began their careers as learners with Jace. Leaders and managers have established a culture that puts self-improvement and strong career progression at the heart of their business. Performance management of staff effectively informs ongoing training and development. However, individual targets set for staff to bring about improvement in teaching, learning and assessment do not focus closely enough on learners achieving in a timely manner.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Financial management is highly effective and benefits learners well. For example, many learners value the opportunity to eat the breakfast provided by centres. Learners are taught in well-resourced learning centres and have appropriate access to information and communications technology.

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The governance of the provider

 No governance or trustee arrangements are in place to help and guide senior leaders in their work. Senior leaders are now looking to work more closely with an external advisory group to share existing sector best practice.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Managers and staff at all levels have a good awareness of how to keep learners safe, and prepare learners well for managing their own safety. For example, learners know how to work safely online, and how to evaluate their own personal behaviour regarding the use of drugs, alcohol and other potentially harmful substances. Managers and staff are very well trained to identify and deal appropriately with learners who are at risk of becoming involved in gang-related activity and youth violence.  Leaders and managers meet their obligations under the ‘Prevent’ duty effectively. Their strategic response to managing risks to learners, including keeping them safe in the event of a terrorist outrage, are carefully planned and well considered. Managers and staff, including those at subcontractors, are trained to identify any potential threat to learners from those who hold radical views. However, while learners receive comprehensive

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Safeguarding

training at their initial course introduction about the wider threats posed by extremism, too few have more than a simple understanding of what these risks may be.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Tutors and assessors do not plan individual learning effectively enough to ensure that most learners and apprentices achieve their qualification in the time expected. Tutors and assessors do not use the information about learners’ starting points effectively to plan teaching, learning and assessment that meets well the individual needs of each learner.  The teaching, learning and assessment of English and mathematics has improved since the previous inspection but is not yet good. Learners benefit from well-planned, discrete lessons that target well their individual skills and knowledge development. However, tutors and assessors do not communicate effectively with each other to monitor the ongoing skills development of learners in their work placement or employment, or focus sufficiently on what learners could achieve, or are achieving, when at work and in work placements. Tutors and assessors still do not make clear the links between the discrete

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

English and mathematics skills and knowledge that learners need to pass their external tests, with how learners use these skills in their everyday life and work.  Tutors and assessors do not monitor and capture learners’ ongoing skills and knowledge development effectively. Too often, they focus on ensuring that learners complete aspects of their qualification, rather than exploring more broadly the skills learners are practising, or the knowledge they have developed and its use to them in their jobs. Assessors and tutors are not effective in setting learners’ targets for their learning that will ensure that they make good progress.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good for the small proportion of learners on subcontracted programmes in performing arts and sports coaching courses; these learners make very good progress. Learning is well planned, meaningful and relevant to their career aspirations. Learners develop a very good command of vocational

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

and technical language and use this well with a wide range of clients, employers and individuals.  Learners have a good understanding of how to work safely when in the centres, online and in the workplace. Staff at all levels are keenly aware of learners’ safety, and ensure that learners know to whom they should take any concerns.  Learners benefit very well from the good partnerships that leaders and managers have established. Employers provide very nurturing work placements for learners, and the breadth of opportunity that learners have to choose from benefits their future career prospects very effectively. For example, learners gain a good practical insight into a career in the area of work that they aspire to, be it catering, construction or working in the theatre.  Learners enjoy and benefit from a flexible approach to their learning that allows good time for their own personal development. Assessors ensure that their visits to employers

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

do not disrupt the smooth working of the business. Learners and assessors are increasingly using technology as a way to continue learning between lessons, and this is ensuring that more current learners are making good progress and completing their programme in a timely manner.  Most tutors and assessors use their industry knowledge and skills well to make learning lively and relevant. They give many good examples to learners when in lessons, and this helps learners to understand the meaning and relevance of their learning and how they should be applying this knowledge at work.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

 Learners develop good self-confidence and esteem as a result of their time at Jace. Many learners come with low prior qualifications, low self-worth and often from a background of disrupted or limited time at school. A significant proportion experience mental ill health. Managers and staff are very able to help and encourage learners in their journey towards employment and a sustainable career, and are expert in developing learners’ confidence. Learners who would previously not have had the courage to present their ideas to their peers, quickly do so with poise and self-assuredness.  Learners benefit from high levels of personal care from staff at all levels. Managers introduced ‘tea and toast’ as a way to encourage learners to eat a breakfast in the morning. They use these daily meetings with learners very well to discuss wide-ranging topics from personal care, hygiene and staying safe, to national news items that learners

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

need to reflect upon and consider.  Learners’ behaviour in the centres and in the workplace is very good. Learners are highly professional when in the workplace and know exactly what is expected of them. The level of empathy and help that learners provide for their peers and co-workers is noteworthy.  Learners develop a thorough understanding of work and the expectations of employers. Well-qualified tutors and assessors use their vocational knowledge highly effectively to link learning tasks in lessons to employment. For example, a tutor discussed strategies for settling children into a nursery setting, and the value to a child of retaining their own comfort toy to soothe them when they are unhappy. The tutor and learners then discussed their own experiences of caring for distressed children, and identified what had worked well in each instance.  All learners receive individual and comprehensive advice and guidance prior to starting

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

their learning. Tutors’ ongoing reviewing of learners’ career aspirations is detailed and effective. Staff help learners to plan the many small steps they will need to accomplish in their personal lives to become effective citizens and employees.

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, the proportion of learners who achieve their qualification has improved, but is not yet good. The proportion of apprentices who complete their qualification within the time planned remains low, particularly at advanced level. Managers’ actions to remedy this are beginning to take effect. Current learners are making better progress, and more are completing in the time planned. However, it is too soon to judge whether the achievement for these learners will be good.  The proportion of learners on 16 to 19 study programmes who achieve their qualification has improved, although it is not yet good. Current learners are making good progress in their studies, and the standard of their work, particularly at level 3 and 4, is high.  Too few learners on 16 to 19 study programmes achieve a GCSE A* to C grade in English and mathematics, and the proportion of learners who achieve a functional skills

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

qualification, while improving, is not yet good. For example, learners achieve well in mathematics at entry level 3, but poorly at level 2.  Little variance exists between the achievements of different groups of learners, although adult learners achieve slightly better than those learners aged 16 to 19. The very few learners who are in the care of the local authority, children in need and those entitled to free school meals, achieve as well as their peers.  Many learners develop good vocational skills and knowledge that prepare them well for the workplace. For example, learners on sports science courses develop a good understanding of the damaging psychological effects professional athletes experience as a result of a sporting injury. In nursery settings, learners can organise well-structured play activities to help children identify different shapes and colours, and to develop their number skills effectively.

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

 A high proportion of learners progress onto higher levels of study, for example from a traineeship into an apprenticeship or employment. The small proportion of learners on performing arts programmes enter prestigious art and drama schools.

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

 Jace has 131 learners on study programmes. Learners study English, mathematics, employability, personal and social development qualifications in one of the five Jace centres. In addition, 44 learners with three subcontracted providers work towards qualifications in construction, sports science and performing arts.  Tutors do not focus learners closely enough on how they use English and mathematics within everyday life and the working environment. For example, tutors do not make clear to learners how they use ratios every day to calculate the number of young children they will care for in a nursery setting or when organising after-school play activities. This impedes learners’ skills development and progress and, in addition, does not help learners to overcome their often negative prior experience of learning English and mathematics while at school.  Tutors do not ensure that learners have a clear understanding of the skills and knowledge

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

they have developed. Tutors focus too narrowly on learners completing elements of the programme of study and not on the vocational knowledge and skills they have acquired. Learners often do not recognise the progress they are making.  Managers’ and staff’s actions to ensure that learners attend regularly and punctually have not been sufficiently impactful. Staff follow up any non-attendance quickly, and learners are clear of employers’ expectations for good time management. However, this has not resulted in good attendance overall, and the proportion of learners who attend their English and mathematics lessons is lower than those who attend the vocational aspects of their programme.  Learners are safe and feel safe while working in the training centres and in work placements. Learners understand how to keep themselves safe when working online and have a particularly thorough understanding of the dangers posed by social media.

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

However, tutors do not develop learners’ understanding of the wider risks posed by those who have radical or extreme views, beyond the information learners receive at the beginning of their course.  Work experience opportunities are good and learners put their new-found knowledge and skills to good effect. Tutors ensure that learners are placed with employers sympathetic to the personal challenges and background that most learners have. For many learners, this is the first opportunity that they have experienced where people trust them to behave with professionalism and integrity. Learners relish the chance to show they are worthy of the trust shown to them.  Most learners develop effective practical skills and knowledge. Learners on sports science programmes develop very good technical language related to the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Learners on early years programmes understand well how children

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

develop their understanding of life through play and their exploration of the world around them. The small proportion of learners working towards a level four qualification in performing arts do exceptionally well, with most achieving a merit or distinction grade.  Learners benefit from the small group sizes and the effective one-to-one coaching they experience at Jace. Learners develop positive self-esteem and their confidence enables them to learn new vocationally relevant skills and to work with increasing independence.  Staff provide effective advice and guidance to learners, which ensures that they are on the most appropriate course. Learners receive good ongoing careers advice and guidance that prepares them well for employment and their next steps.

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Apprenticeships Requires improvement

 Jace has 86 intermediate and 128 apprentices on advanced level qualifications. Learners work towards qualifications in youth work, play work, customer service, business administration, health and social care, catering and hospitality, and early years. The majority of learners on advanced programmes have a GCSE A* to C qualification in English and/or mathematics.  Apprentices make slow progress in improving their English and mathematical skills. While staff identify effectively apprentices’ prior achievements and individual areas for development in English and mathematics at the start of the programme, tutors do not use this information well enough to plan and monitor learners’ progress in lessons. In addition, assessors do not communicate effectively with tutors to update them on how learners are applying their knowledge and skills in the workplace or ensure that tutors know the opportunities available to learners to develop their skills further when at work.

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Apprenticeships Requires improvement

 Tutors and assessors do not have sufficiently high expectations when setting and marking learners’ written work and work-related reports. They do not expect learners to make good use of spelling and grammatical tools when word processing their work, or to proofread their work prior to submitting it for marking. Tutors do not place enough emphasis on developing learners’ speaking skills, for example in practising their reading aloud to children or singing songs and rhymes.  Many learners make slow progress because assessors do not involve employers when reviewing learners’ skills development and progress. Employers do not take an active part in planning the work-based element of learners’ training, nor do they have sufficient information from assessors about what skills learners need to be practising and refining.  Tutors and assessors often do not use the information on apprentices’ starting points well

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Apprenticeships Requires improvement

to plan learning and assessment. Assessors focus on meeting the qualification standards rather than on the skills, both personal and employment-related, that learners need to develop and acquire.  Learners develop high levels of professional practice. Assessors are enthusiastic in their support for learners and use their vocational knowledge of nursery settings well to make learning enjoyable and relevant. For example, they make effective links between the theoretical concepts learners have studied in class to the work they are completing in the workplace. Assessors are quick to praise learners’ work and conduct, and their attention to the high standards of childcare expected by parents and employers ensures that learners quickly develop good professional standards of work.  Learners understand well the rights of individuals, and value democracy and the freedom to express their views while showing respect for the values and cultures of others. For

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Apprenticeships Requires improvement

example, learners deal sensitively and well with the children of asylum seekers who speak little English.  Learners benefit from effective careers advice and ongoing guidance that helps them to plan their next steps and future career paths. Many intermediate apprentices progress on to an advanced apprenticeship and most remain employed in their nursery settings.  Learners’ behaviour in lessons and at work is good. Learners know how to keep themselves and the children they care for, safe. They understand well how to maintain high standards of hygiene and pass this knowledge on effectively to the children and the young people they care for.

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Provider details

Type of provider Independent learning provider

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Provider details

Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year CEO Chris Pritchard

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Main course or learning programme level Level 1 or below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 or above Total number of learners (excluding apprenticeships) 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Number of apprentices by apprenticeship level and age Intermediate Advanced Higher

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 16–18 19+ 58 28 54 74 - - Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total 9 - 9 Number of learners aged 14 to -

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Number of learners for which the provider receives high- needs funding -

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Funding received from: Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors: Peer Concept Training Gillingham Football Club

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the operations manager, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider.

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Inspection team

Jules Steele, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lesley Talbot-Strettle Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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

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Inspection team

Employer View Employer View is a 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. To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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