Introtrain & Forum Limited

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

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Ms Carolyn Howard Managing Director Introtrain (ACE) Limited Unit 11, Kings Meadow Ferry Hinksey Road Oxford OX2 0DP

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

Following the short inspection on 20 and 21 June 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 provider was judged to be good in April 2013.

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

You and your team have worked effectively to make sure that a high proportion of apprentices achieve their qualifications. Where you have identified that subcontractors are less effective, you have supported them successfully to improve the quality of their provision.

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

As a result of good relationships between employers and your subcontractors’ staff, apprentices continue to develop good vocational skills and skills for work. Furthermore, apprentices develop their English and mathematics skills well, particularly those that are relevant to their job role and their industry. This enables a high proportion of apprentices to move on to positive destinations, which include advanced apprenticeships and permanent employment.

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

When apprentices experience challenges in their daily lives, your team supports them very well to get help to overcome these. Your team has established good links with external agencies, such as the council’s housing department, to help apprentices who find themselves with nowhere to live to get temporary accommodation.

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

Senior leaders are up to date with their training in safeguarding, and they use this well to make sure a culture of keeping apprentices safe permeates their organisation and its subcontractors. Apprentices feel safe, both at work and at training centres, and they are comfortable to approach staff with concerns about their welfare, to which staff provide very good support. Managers make sure that new staff recruited to the company and to subcontractors are suitable to work with young people and they follow the principles of safer recruitment practice well. However, in a small minority of cases, subcontractors’ safeguarding training records are not up to date.

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

Trainers, assessors and employers work effectively to make sure that apprentices learn and know how to work safely in their chosen industry and work environment. For example, hairdressing apprentices know and use the correct personal protective equipment when working with hair colouring chemicals. Construction apprentices know how to use hand and power tools safely and correctly.

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Short inspection of Introtrain (ACE) Limited

Senior leaders have completed a ‘Prevent’ duty risk assessment and have trained all staff so that they are aware of their responsibilities to their apprentices. Apprentices have a basic understanding of how to keep themselves safe from the dangers of extremism and radicalisation, and they know who they would report any concerns to, but most are not yet able to discuss the topic more widely. In one subcontractor, trainers have used the recent terrorist attacks in Britain effectively as discussion topics in training sessions, which has helped those apprentices develop a deeper understanding of extremist behaviour and British values.

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Inspection findings

 A high proportion of apprentices in all but health and social care continue to achieve their qualification. Due to actions and support by managers to improve the teaching of English and mathematics for functional skills qualifications, apprentices at this subcontractor for health and social care are now making good progress and a high proportion have achieved their qualification in the current year.  Current apprentices are making good progress with their qualifications; as a result of clear feedback from assessors, they know what they need to do to complete their apprenticeship and when they need to achieve this. While the majority of assessors set apprentices targets about completion of units or elements of their apprenticeship qualifications, they do not include targets for the learning they need to achieve, which in the case of the most able apprentices does not support them in fulfilling their full potential.

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Inspection findings

 Because of their learning and achievement, a very high proportion of apprentices either move on to permanent employment with their employer, from intermediate to advanced apprenticeships, or to promotions and additional responsibilities within their current job role. A small proportion move on to employment with other employers, mostly within the same industry.  Apprentices develop very good practical skills as a result of on- and off-the-job teaching and training. Employers work closely with trainers and assessors to support apprentices’ skills development, so that they become competent and proficient in their job roles quickly. Apprentices also develop other important skills for work, including communication and teamwork. For example, hairdressing apprentices develop very good communication skills and courtesy from working in high-quality, prestigious local salons, where owners and managers have very

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Inspection findings

high expectations of their professional conduct.  A high proportion of apprentices achieve their functional skills qualifications in English and/or mathematics at their first attempt. They also develop further the English and mathematics skills they need for their job roles. For example, hairdressing apprentices are able to mix hair colouring chemicals in the correct proportions and cut hair to the desired angles confidently. Plumbing apprentices develop their spoken English skills very well to enable them to communicate clearly with a broad range of customers. Employers value highly the improvements apprentices make with their English and mathematics skills.  Managers have identified accurately that they need to improve their management of subcontractors. They set performance targets for each subcontractor annually when they renew their contracts, and they support them very well when they need help and guidance. However, managers do not set improvement targets for

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Inspection findings

subcontractors or evaluate their performance thoroughly. As a result, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has not improved sufficiently to enable the most able apprentices to make rapid progress, achieve their qualifications in shorter timescales or complete more challenging learning.

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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 identify accurately the strengths and areas for improvement with each subcontractor and set actions to improve further the quality of teaching, learning and assessment  by sharing the good practice that exists already, make sure the most able apprentices make the full and rapid progress of which they are capable  trainers and assessors help apprentices, particularly the most able, make more rapid progress through setting them specific targets about what learning and skills they need to secure within agreed timescales  their management of subcontractors improves further so that all elements of their provision are evaluated and targets for improvement agreed  managers monitor and review the progress subcontractors make with actions for improvement, so that an increasingly high proportion of apprentices achieve their qualification  records of training for safeguarding are up to date and subcontractors continue

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Next steps for the provider

to make sure that all staff receive at least annual safeguarding training.

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Next steps for the provider

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

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and three Ofsted Inspectors. We were assisted by the managing director as nominee. We visited subcontractors’ training premises and apprentices’ places of work to observe teaching, learning and assessments and to look at apprentices’ work. We met with apprentices, employers, senior leaders, subcontractors’ managers, trainers and assessors. We reviewed key documents, including the company’s most recent self- assessment report and development plans, and documents related to safeguarding. We also analysed data on the performance of apprentices currently on programmes and considered the views of apprentices, staff and leaders.

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