Basingstoke ITEC

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Caroline McColl Basingstoke ITEC Unit 3 Woodlands Business Village, off Coronation Road Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 4JX

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Following the short inspection on 4 and 5 May 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The inspection was the first short inspection carried out since the provision was judged to be good in November 2012.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Since the previous inspection, you and your team, supported by a committed management board, have continued to focus on high-quality advanced apprenticeships in information technology, business administration, customer service and veterinary nursing. You have successfully introduced traineeships in information security with good outcomes for participants. You continue to provide very good opportunities and raise the aspirations of young people in the Basingstoke area.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Purposeful management activities have ensured that your team have addressed the small number of key areas for development in the previous inspection report and consolidated them into strengths of the provision. The frequency and regularity of performance monitoring and your tutors’ knowledge of each learner ensure that you know about the progress each learner is making.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

You and your team continue to provide your partner employers with advanced training for their employees which is highly valued by the employers. You have made good progress in maintaining the high standards of the provision found at the previous inspection. Purposeful, robust performance management, together with frequent meetings with staff, have ensured that you have maintained good teaching and learning and a very high proportion of traineeship learners and apprentices successfully complete their training programmes. Current learners make good progress and the pattern of high achievement for apprentices and traineeship learners is supported by the in-year data. Functional skills first-time pass rates remain high for the small number of learners who require them.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Managers and tutors know the learners well and provide strong academic and pastoral support. Your staff help learners to achieve, raising their life chances and their career expectations.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

The management board, managers and tutors ensure that safeguarding arrangements continue to be effective, with appropriate actions taken to safeguard learners in their employment, on subcontractor and Basingstoke ITEC premises.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Your designated safeguarding officers and all staff have received appropriate training in safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty. Learners are aware of the dangers of being influenced by others with radical or extremist views and they trust their tutors and are confident to share their concerns. They understand that bullying, harassment and inappropriate behaviour are not tolerated or acceptable in the training or work environment.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Managers and staff promote: safe working practices, well-being and learners’ health as a high priority, and enabling learners to understand potential risks in their working environments. However, the health and safety audits done of employers’ premises, prior to apprentices or trainees commencing work, do not take into account or comment upon the likelihood of concerns around extremism or radicalisation.

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Short inspection of Basingstoke ITEC

Learners spoke comprehensively about their understanding of staying safe, extremism, radicalisation and British values – saying how they appreciated the purposeful, regular, small-group and individual discussions on these subjects with tutors.

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Inspection findings

 Overall achievement rates and those within the planned timeframe for apprentices remain high. However, the overall outcomes for the veterinary nursing programme still need to catch up with the high expectations set by the other advanced apprenticeship programmes. Traineeships are very successful, with very high completion rates and very good progression into employment or onto apprenticeships.  Tutors benefit from improved observation reports that focus on the quality of their work with learners. Observation reports identify well much effective teaching, with realistic actions for tutors to improve. Managers now require tutors to ensure that their teaching challenges all learners. Dedicated and directed staff training and the increased opportunities for peer observations have further strengthened tutors’ confidence in delivering complex topics or ensuring that difference and diversity are included in their teaching.

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Inspection findings

 Since the previous inspection you, and your team, have improved the coherence between apprentices’ on- and off-the-job training. Employers understand the relevance of each aspect of training to their work. Employers participate fully in selecting the most appropriate units for their apprentices to meet the needs of their work role. Their improved engagement with their learners’ needs helps them understand how and why apprentices need to complete activities between tutor visits. Communications between employers and your staff are very good.  Your self-assessment report lacks sufficient focus on, and evaluation of, the strengths and areas for improvement of your provision. However, the quality improvement action plan is a clear, focused document that identifies improvements required across the provision and provides useful commentary on progress made against targets and outcomes.  Staff and apprentices have received good levels of training about the ‘Prevent’

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Inspection findings

duty. Staff confidently guide apprentices and trainees through discussions about incidents that appear in the media to stimulate and interest them. Many learners take part enthusiastically in purposeful discussions held during group training exercises to cover the ‘Prevent’ duty, British values and safeguarding. Learners improve their understanding of aspects of life that they knew little about such as homophobia, people trafficking and female genital mutilation.  Although only small numbers of learners need to complete functional skills assessments in English, mathematics and information communications technology, many of these do require considerable support to be successful in their examinations. Planned functional skills workshops support groups and individuals well. The dedicated functional skills tutor has been critical in supporting these learners and also in supporting tutors to embed and contextualise English and mathematics into learners’ everyday work problems.

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Inspection findings

This has improved the first-time pass rate to around 80%, with everyone passing second time.

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Next steps for the provider

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the provider

 managers and tutors maintain the high levels of achievement within the planned timeframe for trainees and apprentices and improve those for veterinary nurses by ensuring that all learners continue to make good progress against their learning targets  all tutors continue to be well supported to give them the confidence to challenge learners and employers in the wider aspects of the ‘Prevent’ duty and challenge employers through health and safety audits  work to refine the self-assessment process to ensure that the report provides a comprehensive analysis of strengths and areas for improvement across the provision and is closely linked to improvement planning. I am copying this letter to the Education and Skills Funding Agency. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors, plus two Ofsted inspectors, visited Basingstoke ITEC for two days. The manager, as nominee, assisted inspectors. We met with the manager, various heads of function, tutors, a range of current and previous learners and the manager of your subcontracted provision. We also spoke on the telephone to employers, the chair of the board of governance, subcontractors and learners. Inspectors observed teaching, learning and assessment, and reviewed learners’ written work. We reviewed key policies and documentation, including those relating to self-assessment, safeguarding, performance, learner achievement and progression.

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