Capital Engineering Group Holdings Ltd

Further education and skills inspection report

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Capital Engineering Group Holdings Ltd Independent learning provider

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement Adult learning programmes Requires improvement Apprenticeships Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement 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 have not managed subcontractors effectively to ensure that a consistently high standard of learning is being provided.  Leaders and managers do not analyse and use data effectively to identify areas of underperformance, including in the achievement rates for different groups of learners, and set actions for improvement.  Too few adult learners achieve their qualifications in the planned timescale.  A minority of learners are not aware enough about how safeguarding, in particular concerning the dangers of extremism and radicalisation, applies to their job roles.  The standard of teaching, learning and assessment at all subcontractors is not yet consistent or high enough.  Assessors and trainers do not set apprentices and learners specific enough targets for what they need to learn or for the development of their English and mathematics skills.  Trainers do not use information from their assessment of learners to plan further learning

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Summary of key findings

that enables them to make the full progress of which they are capable.

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Summary of key findings

The provider has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings

 A high proportion of apprentices achieve their qualifications within their planned timescale and secure sustainable employment at the end of their programme.  Training staff have up-to-date knowledge of their sector, which they use very well to help learners develop their vocational skills.  Employers value the additional skills and enthusiasm apprentices bring to their workforce and workplaces.  Most subcontractors have very high-quality resources in which learners train, particularly construction workshops and sport facilities.  Employer links for apprenticeship provision are well developed and support apprentices’ training and progress into sustained employment, particularly for small- and medium-sized businesses in the information technology sector in London and south-east England.

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Information about the provider

 Capital Training Group (CTG) is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Capital Engineering Group Holdings Ltd (CEGH). CTG manages the Skills Funding Agency contract on behalf of CEGH. CTG operates a consortium of delivery partners; the consortium includes subsidiary companies of CEGH and external subcontractors. CTG and its consortium offer apprenticeships, work-based qualifications, classroom learning and 24+ Advanced Learning Loans across London and the south-east of England.  Through two subcontractors, CEGH offers intermediate, advanced and higher apprenticeships in information and communication technology (ICT), digital business and childcare. Adult provision is offered through 13 subcontractors, in construction, health and social care, sports training, English and mathematics.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Improve the management of subcontractors so that leaders have a clear overview of the progress of current learners and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Use data on learners’ and apprentices’ performance in year to set actions for improvement to ensure that a larger proportion of learners achieve their qualifications within planned timescales.  Improve the targets that assessors set for apprentices to ensure that these express clearly the learning that needs to take place before the next review; ensure that targets express clearly the developments apprentices and learners need to make with their English and/or mathematics skills. Develop assessors’ and trainers’ skills and confidence to help learners improve their English and mathematics skills in lessons, in training sessions and in their work.  Use the good practice that exists within subcontractors to ensure that learners understand British values better and know how to keep themselves safe from the dangers

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

of extremism and radicalisation, particularly how this applies to their job roles.  Develop trainers’ skills to use the results of the assessment of learners’ prior skills and attainment and on-course assessment of learners to plan and teach lessons that help learners, especially the most able, to make the full progress of which they are capable.  Improve the arrangements for governance to bring external scrutiny and challenge to the management of the provision to ensure that the courses offered are of high enough quality.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 In the two years since the previous inspection, the leadership and management of CEGH have changed completely, as have the types of provision they teach. Many of the good processes seen at the previous inspection have lapsed and the current leaders and managers have only been in place since August 2016. Although leaders and managers have high expectations for learners and they have improved the proportion of apprentices who achieve their qualification, they do not currently have a complete overview of learners’ progress, their attendance rates or the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across their subcontractors.  Management of subcontractors requires improvement. Managers are now meeting with subcontractors to discuss their performance, following a period where no meetings took place. Subcontractors value the support and guidance they are being given, particularly around safeguarding learners. Recent meetings have focused on fulfilling contractual

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

requirements, but managers do not focus enough on making sure that subcontractors’ staff take swift action to rectify the slow progress made by too many adult learners.  The strong quality assurance arrangements, particularly for subcontractors, seen at the previous inspection have not been maintained. Managers are aware that a few subcontractors perform better than others but they do not evaluate the quality and performance of subcontractors’ staff and learners individually.  Although managers collect a wide range of information from subcontractors, they do not currently analyse this to establish trends in performance across different groups of learners or courses to help identify strengths and areas for improvement. Data, such as attendance and progression rates, has not been used sufficiently well to evaluate the performance of subcontractors, the quality of provision and how effectively the training

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

courses and programmes meet the needs of local and regional employers.  Leaders and managers at CEGH do not have a sufficiently clear understanding of the key strengths and weaknesses in teaching, learning and assessment delivered by the 14 subcontractors. CEGH’s learning observation processes, and those of subcontractors, have not been fully implemented and have not led to sufficient improvements for learners in the classroom.  Leaders have taken effective action to ensure that underperforming subcontractors do not enrol any new learners. Managers are supporting subcontractors well to ensure that the majority of learners remaining in training achieve their qualifications. The number of subcontractors delivering adult learning programmes will diminish significantly in July 2017 when adult learning loans can no longer be offered through subcontracting arrangements; senior leaders’ plans to consolidate the provision to apprenticeships which

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

meet the needs of local employers in the care and ICT sectors are in place.  Leaders and managers are still developing and refining the self-assessment process, and recently completed subcontractor self-assessment reports have not yet been incorporated into CEGH’s overall report and judgements. The draft self-assessment report is self-critical and identifies correctly most areas for improvement. However, managers’ judgements on teaching, learning and assessment lack substance and are not based on a wide range of evidence.  Learners’ understanding of fundamental British values requires improvement. Learners in subjects such as childcare understand these well and are able to relate these to their workplace and how they interact with different clients. However, learners on courses in construction and ICT, while knowing what British values are, have a less well-developed understanding of how these values apply to their daily lives and their workplaces.

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The governance of the provider

 The board and leadership team, supported by external consultants, have redefined the strategic direction for the organisation appropriately in response to changes in government policy and to meet the skills needs of local employers and learners.  The range of expertise and external scrutiny needed, as part of the governance for programmes, requires further improvement to ensure that leaders and managers are held to account to provide good standards of learning.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders and managers have undertaken a full review of subcontractors’ current safeguarding policies and procedures. Where required, detailed action plans are in place to improve subcontractors’ processes and ensure that all relevant staff have up-to-date training in safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty awareness.  CEHG managers have recently updated their own policies to reflect best practice. They are working effectively with their subcontractors to ensure that their policies are up to date and give sufficient emphasis to protecting learners through safer recruitment practice and safe working practices.  Subcontractors monitor the health and safety of their learners well and ensure that they learn to work safely, particularly in subjects such as construction.  When incidents occur, staff record these well and make referrals to external agencies. For example, staff at one subcontractor took appropriate action when concerned by the

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Safeguarding

behaviour and attitude of a learner. Managers recorded discussions carefully and referred the incident to the local authority ‘Prevent’ duty coordinator.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 At the previous inspection, the monitoring of learners’ progress was not sufficiently comprehensive and this remains an area for improvement. Managers do not currently make effective use of progress monitoring to ensure that learners at all subcontractors achieve within the planned timescales.  Trainers do not take sufficient account of the prior knowledge and ability of individual learners when planning classroom-based sessions. Too often, tasks and activities are the same for all learners and, as a result, the most able learners do not have sufficient opportunities to make the progress of which they are capable.  Trainers’ assessment of learning in classroom-based sessions is not sufficiently effective. Trainers do not have a sufficiently clear understanding of who is learning what. Their over-reliance on the use of questions directed at whole groups too often allows quicker learners to dominate and omits other learners altogether. As a result, trainers are not

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

sufficiently clear about what individual learning is taking place.  Assessment of apprentices’ skills in English and mathematics at the start of their course identifies effectively their starting points. For adult learners, this is not always sufficiently effective. In addition, trainers do not use effectively the findings from their assessment of learners’ starting points to plan appropriate teaching and learning that enable all learners to make the progress of which they are capable.  Most learners enjoy their learning and are keen to gain new skills and to achieve their qualifications. Apprentices in ICT benefit from a thorough induction, which supports them well in making the transition from full-time education into work and in developing skills for employment, such as good punctuality and effective teamworking.  Staff have up-to-date subject and industry experience, which they draw on skilfully in

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

training sessions and apply to learners’ working lives. This makes learning relevant and interesting, as well as developing further learners’ vocational knowledge, understanding and workplace skills. For example, in classroom-based sessions in level 3 health and social care, adult learners learned how to administer medication and considered practical scenarios that they might encounter when administering drugs to residents in care homes.  Trainers place a strong emphasis on learners’ understanding and use of specialist terminology in the workplace, which develops learners’ English as well as their vocational skills. For example, apprentices in ICT develop a good understanding of the key language used in object-orientated programming and the importance of its use with colleagues in their workplaces.  Assessors use their expertise well in coaching and supporting apprentices’ vocational skills development. Apprentices benefit from frequent workplace assessment visits and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

assessors use an appropriate range of assessment methods, which enable apprentices to make good progress.  Trainers do not pay enough attention to the development of learners’ writing skills. Learners do not improve the quality of their written work over time, particularly their spelling and grammar, as trainers do not pay sufficient attention to helping learners identify the errors in their work and enable them to develop strategies to help them improve.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

 As a result of completing their learning and/or training, apprentices improve their self- confidence and skills for work, enabling them to make a greater contribution to their employer’s business or to improve their prospects of getting a job or an apprenticeship. However, too many adult learners do not make the same good progress with achieving their qualifications and developing their skills for work and vocational skills.  Staff do not help learners develop their mathematics skills well enough. Although the majority of apprentices have previously achieved GCSE grade C or above in mathematics, assessors do not help them develop their skills further or set them targets for development where this would help them be more effective in their job role or improve their prospects of promotion.  Trainers do not support their learners well enough to develop their English skills when they have not yet achieved a high enough standard for their course or job role. Teachers

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

do not model good English in their work as an example to learners. For example, assignments and other learning materials produced by staff do not always contain correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Assessors do not identify frequently enough learners’ incorrect use of English or poor writing skills; assessors do not identify strategies to help learners improve their use of English.  Attendance at work is high for the vast majority of apprentices. They understand the importance of high levels of attendance and how poor attendance impacts on their employer’s business.  Apprentices improve their employment prospects and chances of promotion within their existing roles by attending training that helps them develop new vocational skills or further develop vocational skills they have already. They receive good support and information for career progression from their employers and assessors.  A minority of learners do not yet have a sufficiently secure understanding of how to keep

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

themselves safe in their daily lives, particularly from the dangers of extremism and radicalisation. Staff introduce learners to British values in the early stages of their courses, but they do not yet do enough to reinforce or develop further learners’ understanding of this topic. Learners on health and social care courses and childcare apprentices have a much better understanding of British values than those on business or ICT courses.  Learners have high standards of behaviour, both in classroom settings and in their workplaces. They treat their colleagues, trainers and fellow learners with respect and recognise well the diverse range of backgrounds they come from in the settings in which they work.

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

 A high proportion of apprentices achieve their qualifications within the planned timescale, but just under half of adult learners do not achieve their qualification in the time that is planned. A high proportion go on to achieve their qualifications after intervention and support from their learning provider, outside of the planned timescale. The majority of current adult learners are making good progress as a result of trainers’ interventions to help them get back on target.  Too few adult learners on diploma qualifications achieve these within their planned timescale. They are less successful than those who study shorter qualifications, who achieve these at a high rate.  Apprentices in ICT are especially successful at developing their vocational skills, skills for work and securing sustained employment at the end of their qualifications.  A very high proportion of adult learners who study for functional skills qualifications in

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

English and mathematics achieve these at a range of levels. This helps the majority of them to move on to more substantial qualifications in vocational subjects or to apprenticeships, and to improve their employment skills and enhance their prospects of gaining permanent employment.  Managers have yet to close several gaps in achievement between different groups of learners. For example, men achieve their qualifications at a higher rate than women and apprentices achieve better than learners on adult learning programmes.  A high proportion of apprentices move on to higher-level qualifications or to sustained employment when they achieve their qualifications. Managers have yet to collect sufficient data on the destinations of adult learners to make judgements about how successful they are in moving on to further training or employment.  Apprentices produce very good standards of work in their job roles. However, their

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

written assignment work, while meeting the required standard of the qualification, does not mirror the high standards they achieve in the workplace and requires improvement.

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Adult learning programmes Requires improvement

 Adult learning forms about four fifths of the provision and is subcontracted to 13 providers. The vast majority consists of courses funded through adult learning loans; a small proportion of learners are on courses funded by the adult education budget.  The quality of the adult provision is too variable and the proportion of adults who achieved their qualifications in the 2015/16 academic year declined significantly. While managers are putting actions in place to improve the monitoring of subcontractors’ performance, aspects such as the quality of learning and the monitoring of learners’ progress and performance are currently insufficient to ensure that learners achieve within their planned timescale.  The majority of subcontractors provide good opportunities for current learners to achieve their qualifications, but too many have already exceeded their target achievement date. In learning sessions, learners develop good vocational skills and they enjoy their learning.

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Adult learning programmes Requires improvement

Learners value the new knowledge and skills that they acquire. They see the relevance of their learning not only in their workplaces but also in their personal lives. For example, several business studies learners have moved to the next level of learning and have developed relevant skills to enable them to start their own businesses.  While subcontractors’ staff focus well on learners achieving units in their qualifications, trainers do not pay sufficient attention to the development of learners’ wider skills for work, such as communication or writing skills and the achievement of higher grades. Learners, particularly the most able, do not always make the progress of which they are capable as trainers do not help them identify what it is they need to do to improve further and develop their skills for work.  Although all learners complete an assessment of their literacy and numeracy skills at the start of their course, not all assessment tasks are appropriate. For example, one provider

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Adult learning programmes Requires improvement

recruits trainees on to level 3 courses and yet only assesses literacy and numeracy at level 1. The provider’s assessment of learners’ literacy skills at the start of their programme does not include the checking of their writing skills, even when learners will need to write considerable amounts for their course assignments and in the workplace.  Trainers and assessors do not use the outcomes of assessment sufficiently to plan appropriate learning programmes and development targets for learners. Too many learners do not know the results of these assessments or what skills they need to develop.  Trainers do not develop learners’ English skills well enough. Where learners’ work contains errors, teachers do not help learners identify these and develop strategies that would help them improve their use of English, particularly their use of formal language in the workplace, over time. In a few examples, trainers themselves lack the English skills to

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Adult learning programmes Requires improvement

model the language correctly and their written feedback to learners contains errors. A high proportion of learners have English as an additional language and they do not get the help they need with grammar, writing and spoken language, for example pronunciation and intonation.  Most subcontractors have good facilities and physical resources which reflect the workplace well, for example in carpentry workshops and in gym and personal training providers.  Staff make themselves readily available to learners in between formal assessment and learning sessions. They provide good and immediate advice and careers guidance. For example, an assessor advised a learner on a fork-lift course well on how he can develop his skills to a supervisory level.  Pastoral support is good. Trainers help learners who struggle with finance and personal problems and direct them to sources of further help, guidance and support.

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Adult learning programmes Requires improvement

 Subcontractors cover health and safety well and learners develop a good understanding of, and skills in, their specific work context. Learners understand the principles of safeguarding well and know how to apply them to their own situation, for example staying safe online. Learners on a dental nurse course develop a wide understanding of safeguarding, equality and diversity as it applies to patient care, and sensitivity to the needs of patients. Teachers embed the concept of British values well in these lessons, but this is not yet consistently good across subcontractors.  The provider has delivered training for subcontractors on safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty, as a result of which staff feel more confident in these topics. However, the impact on learners and their understanding of extremism and radicalisation is variable. A minority of learners have only a basic knowledge of ‘Prevent’ as it applies to the work context and

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Apprenticeships Good

 CEGH works with two subcontractors for apprenticeships and has 154 apprentices, with the majority at level 3 in childcare and ICT. Provision is well planned and meets the local skills needs for childcare and specialist ICT skills.  Managers’ links with employers are strong; as a result, apprentices are placed in relevant employment with good career opportunities. Most supervisors participate in the planning of work for the apprentice and contribute to assessor reviews to ensure that work activities are relevant and stimulating.  Assessors visit apprentices monthly and support them to make good progress that ensures that the large majority achieve their qualifications in the planned time. The proportion of apprentices achieving their qualifications is high and nearly all move on to permanent employment with their current employer or to higher-level study.  Assessors are very experienced in their industries and help apprentices learn industry

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Apprenticeships Good

standard practices during observation, coaching and review sessions. As a result, apprentices use relevant vocational vocabulary with confidence and contribute well towards the employers’ business. About half the apprentices achieve additional qualifications such as food hygiene and specialist information technology awards to widen their career options.  Assessors support apprentices very well and help those with low self-confidence and esteem to improve rapidly and gain confidence. For example, staff use volunteering opportunities for learners with few or no qualifications to gain confidence to move on to apprenticeships and to prepare them for higher levels of study. Apprentices with dyslexia are provided with specialist help and guidance to ensure that they achieve and make good progress.  Apprentices rapidly take on more responsibility at work and learn new tasks. For example, apprentices in children’s nurseries provide feedback confidently to parents on their child’s

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Apprenticeships Good

activities and maintain children’s progress records accurately. ICT apprentices are entrusted with contacting customers to promote business and sales, and provide analytical reports on customers’ use of social media.  Although the vast majority of apprentices secure permanent employment at the end of their apprenticeship, assessors support very well those who do not secure a permanent role by helping with job searching and providing signposting to other employment opportunities.  Apprentices’ behaviour and attitude at work and in classroom-based sessions are very good. Apprentices develop good English skills at work by completing written activities to a professional standard. They produce high-quality documents such as reports, emails and advertisements for use by managers, and apprentices participate and contribute well in team meetings.  Too few assessors agree targets with apprentices that help them understand what

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Apprenticeships Good

knowledge and skills they need to develop; assessors’ targets focus on the assessment process rather than the learning and skills that the apprentices need to complete.  Assessors pay insufficient attention to enabling apprentices to improve their mathematics skills at work. Apprentices who already have sufficient mathematics skills do not have the opportunity to gain mathematics qualifications beyond the minimum required by their qualification.  Apprentices understand how to stay safe online and at work. However, they have limited knowledge of other aspects of safeguarding, for example the risks they may be exposed to from those that bully, groom or abuse others. They do know how to report concerns should they arise. Childcare apprentices can explain the risks of radicalisation and extremism and the importance of people being vigilant within their communities.

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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 Principal/CEO Alex Galway

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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

0 27 0 69 0 278 0 80 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+ 11 4 56 78 0 5 Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total 0 0 0 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 Funding received from: 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: Able Skills Chosen Care Group CNN Training Consultants Limited Construction Support Line Future LDN Grenfell Housing Hands On Skills Training J and K Training LiveTrue London London School of Science & Technology Personal Track Safety Professional Training Solutions South London Academy Train Fitness International

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the operations director, 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

Richard Pemble, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lynda Bourne 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

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