British Printing Industries Federation Ltd

Further education and skills inspection report

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British Printing Industries Federation Ltd Independent learning provider

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement Apprenticeships Requires improvement 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 Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings

This is a provider that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings

 Too many apprentices leave early without completing their programme.  The delivery of English and mathematics requires further improvement. Apprentices do not develop these skills sufficiently well considering their starting points.  Training coordinators need to develop further their teaching, learning and assessment skills to meet the individual needs of apprentices.  Apprentices do not receive the appropriate careers information, advice and guidance through the different stages of learning so that they are well informed about their next steps.  Leaders, managers and governors do not use data sufficiently well to enable them to understand fully all the outcomes that apprentices achieve at BPIF and the quality of learning that they experience.  The evaluation of the provision via self- assessment is not informed by the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the full range of outcomes achieved by apprentices.

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Summary of key findings

 The quality improvement plan does not identify key areas and challenging targets that will have the greatest impact on improving the quality of the learning experience.  Not all apprentices have developed a thorough knowledge of how to identify the signs of possible radicalisation.

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Summary of key findings

The provider has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings

 The proportion of apprentices who achieve their apprenticeship has greatly increased and almost all apprentices maintain their employment on completion of their apprenticeship.  Apprentices develop and showcase good industry-related vocational skills because their employers provide them with high-quality technical training at work.  Engagement with employers is particularly responsive and meets the training needs of the printing sector well.  Apprentices demonstrate a good understanding of equality and diversity at work and an improved awareness of British values and the dangers associated with extremist views.

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Information about the provider

 The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) is a not-for-profit organisation which provides business support and training to the UK print industry. It delivers support services to printing companies located throughout the UK ranging in size from large multinationals to small companies employing fewer than 10 people. It provides apprenticeship training to both member and non-member companies within the industry.  Governed by a national council, the BPIF employs more than 50 full-time staff and has its administrative base in Coventry. The provider has two further offices in Brighouse and London. It has 11 training coordinators covering the three regions. At the time of the inspection, the majority of the 598 apprentices in learning were undertaking an apprenticeship in printing, with a minority doing an apprenticeship in business management. The large majority of the current apprentices are adult males.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of apprentices who complete their apprenticeship within the planned time to a high standard; ensure that they develop their English and mathematics skills from their starting points and make the best possible progress to reach their potential.  Further develop the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by: – planning and providing learning to ensure that apprentices receive sufficient challenge to deepen and consolidate their knowledge – increasing the number and relevance of assessment opportunities available to apprentices to help them make the best possible progress – providing apprentices with detailed feedback on their work and better targets to enable them to improve and progress.  Ensure that all apprentices benefit from impartial careers information, advice and guidance throughout their learning programme to enable them to understand all the further study and

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

employment choices available for them.  Further develop apprentices’ awareness of how to identify the signs of possible radicalisation.  Leaders and managers should make effective use of information on apprentices’ achievements and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to evaluate the provision fully and to focus on the identified key areas for improvement. Governors should use this information to challenge leaders to improve all aspects of the learning programme quickly.  Leaders and managers should measure the impact that teaching, learning and assessment have on apprenticeship outcomes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Senior leaders’ and managers’ use of data to monitor and evaluate the full range of outcomes that apprentices achieve is not yet robust enough. As a consequence, leaders and managers do not have a sufficiently good understanding of how different groups of apprentices achieve or progress with their careers. Similarly, managers do not monitor whether all apprentices receive their off-the-job training entitlement. Leaders and managers have identified the need to improve this and have plans to recruit four new posts to strengthen the management team.  The effectiveness of BPIF’s quality improvement plan is limited because managers’ narrow evaluation of their provision means that the plan does not include all the necessary key areas for improvement. In addition, managers do not set appropriate incremental targets to enable the close monitoring of improvement by governors and leaders.  Managers’ implementation of the English and mathematics strategy requires further

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

improvement to ensure that all apprentices develop these skills further and achieve the relevant qualifications. Training coordinators do not sufficiently support apprentices who have already achieved the required English and mathematics qualifications to continue developing these skills. Managers have identified gaps in their staff’s skills in these subjects; they recognise the need to address this issue so that they improve the delivery of English and mathematics lessons.  Since the previous inspection, managers have begun to observe teaching, learning and assessment. However, their evaluations do not yet measure the impact that teaching has on apprentices’ outcomes and the quality of their experience.  Senior leaders use their comprehensive expertise in the sector well to develop appropriate training and development solutions. Senior leaders and managers have implemented ambitious development pathways to provide progression and careers development

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

opportunities. Board members were once apprentices and they very effectively promote the benefits of becoming an apprentice with BPIF and raise the profile of the provider extensively within the sector.  Senior leaders recognise that since the previous inspection the printing sector has undergone a challenging economic time that has led to too many apprentices becoming redundant and leaving their programme early without achieving. Managers have sought alternative employment for some of the apprentices who were at risk of redundancy and, in the last 18 months, implemented a risk management strategy to ensure stability for apprentices. Due to the length of the programme, achievement rates will continue to be affected by this in the current year. However, the provider’s own data already shows an improvement in next academic year’s achievement rates.  Managers have taken effective actions to improve the tracking and monitoring of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

apprentices’ progress on their vocational qualification. Training coordinators identify apprentices who are at risk of not achieving and take appropriate action to support them to complete their qualification. As a result, overall achievement rates have improved significantly since the previous inspection.  Managers regularly monitor their training coordinators’ performance against the completion of the apprenticeship qualification and compliance against awarding bodies standards. Staff have pride in their work, understand their responsibilities and the strategic aims of the federation.  Teaching staff access a well-considered training programme at BPIF. Training coordinators are qualified, experienced and highly skilled in the sector. Staff undertake beneficial vocational updating but they need to develop further their teaching and assessment practice.

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The governance of the provider

 Governance has been strengthened through the appointment of additional board members who have current and comprehensive sector expertise.  Managers and board members have worked well together to develop their business strategy and ambitious vision for BPIF. The board maintains a vigilant focus on securing the financial sustainability of the provision.  Board members now receive more information on apprentices’ achievement of qualifications, which they use well to hold senior leaders to account for the overall performance of the apprenticeship programme. However, they do not receive sufficiently detailed information on the wider outcomes that apprentices gain at BPIF and the quality of their learning experience. This curtails their ability to challenge leaders sufficiently well to improve all aspects of the provision further.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Governors, leaders, managers and staff have set a high priority for the health, well-being and safety of apprentices.  Leaders have ensured that training and safeguarding policies are in line with statutory requirements and this means that all staff are clear on the procedures to follow if they need to raise any safeguarding concerns. All apprentices feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe.  Apprentices benefit from a robust tutorial programme which regularly promotes and raises awareness of topical safety and safeguarding issues such as credit card fraud.  Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have improved the apprentices’ awareness of their role towards social responsibility. They now have a good understanding of fundamental British values.  Apprentices have widened their knowledge of the dangers posed by a diverse range of

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Safeguarding

extremist groups but they are not yet able to recognise readily when individuals are at risk of becoming radicalised.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Training coordinators do not plan learning consistently well to meet the individual needs of apprentices. Learning activities for the technical certificate qualification are not always suitable for the diverse range of apprentices on programme. For example, apprentices received detailed health and safety information during an activity but they had no opportunity to develop or consolidate their knowledge further. As a consequence, apprentices remained unclear on several key issues.  Teaching is not sufficiently challenging to enable apprentices to develop a deeper understanding. The learning workbooks at all levels often only require only basic knowledge answers from the apprentices. Feedback is too often related to the successful completion of a task; training coordinators tend to cover broader skills development in a cursory manner.  Assessment requires further improvement. Assessment visits by the training coordinators

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

do not always meet apprentices’ individual needs to ensure that they make the best possible progress. Training coordinators do not check that learning is taking place frequently enough to identify the progress that apprentices make and to inform the further planning of assessment. Written feedback is often scant and too many pieces of apprentices’ written work go unmarked or uncorrected, therefore failing to inform apprentices of what they need to do to improve further. This has been recognised by the providers’ managers, who have begun to address the issue.  Training coordinators do not effectively develop apprentices’ written English skills from their starting points. Similarly, the development of apprentices’ mathematical skills is not good enough. The assessment of apprentices’ starting points in English and/or mathematical skills is not always timely and assessors provide limited feedback on poor

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

spelling and grammar on technical assignments. Too many apprentices make the same errors repeatedly.  Apprentices receive clear targets based on the achievement of their qualification. However, these are only focused on the next visit and do not include targets for the development of skills beyond the standard of the qualification aims. Training coordinators use target-setting more effectively in supporting those apprentices who are at risk of not making good progress.  Apprentices enjoy their learning. They are keen to complete their qualifications and want to develop their knowledge and skills further. Employers value their workplace skills and apprentices improve their ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients.  Employers provide apprentices with high-quality technical training that supports them to develop very good knowledge and practical skills. Almost all advanced apprentices

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

demonstrate high levels of performance in the workplace. They quickly develop practical skills to work independently, for example by operating their employers’ complex equipment without supervision. Apprentices can independently set up and operate large multifunctional digital printers to produce banners, transfers and signage for buildings, meeting clients’ criteria well.  Training coordinators use their extensive industrial printing knowledge well to support apprentices and ensure that they make the required progress. Apprentices benefit from good support when collecting a wide range of evidence to meet the requirements of their qualification. Training coordinators prepare apprentices well for their examinations by providing clear industrially relevant briefs.  Current apprentices receive good personal support from training coordinators. They swiftly remove many barriers to learning, ensuring that apprentices continue successfully

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

with their learning programmes. Training coordinators coach apprentices effectively on how to develop strategies to cope with personal difficulties. As a result, apprentices increase their self-belief in their learning abilities.  Staff effectively develop apprentices’ awareness of diversity and stereotyping and the risks presented to them by radicalisation. The vast majority of apprentices have a well- developed awareness and understanding of the threats of extremism and radicalisation, know how to stay safe online and know what to do if they are concerned about any issues they encounter.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

 Apprentices, and in particular the more able apprentices, do not undertake sufficiently challenging learning activities to allow them to consolidate their knowledge and skills. Training coordinators set apprentices targets, mainly, to complete units of the qualification. As a result, apprentices do not fully develop a deeper understanding of how their newly acquired knowledge improves their wider skills and benefits their employers.  Too many apprentices do not develop sufficiently high-level skills, particularly in English and to a smaller extent in mathematics, beyond the requirements of their apprenticeship framework. The development of written English skills is dependent on training coordinators’ knowledge, skills and confidence, most of whom do not have the necessary skills and qualifications in teaching these subjects. Most training coordinators do not routinely correct sentence structure, spelling and grammar in apprentices’ written work,

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

including technical vocabulary. This has a negative impact on the standards of their current work and does not support the development of apprentices’ wider employability skills.  The vast majority of apprentices are not fully aware of the range of options and next steps in their education or training. Careers advice and guidance are not impartial or tailored to meet the individual needs and aspirations of the apprentices. Instead, they are narrowly focused on the print industry and progression possibilities within it. Apprentices are not aware of the transferrable skills they have developed and the sectors in which they can use these. This is particularly relevant to those apprentices who leave their programme early or wish to pursue higher-level training.  Most apprentices benefit from helpful information, advice and guidance at the start of their programmes. Well-motivated apprentices in business management have a good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

awareness of the career paths available to them.  Apprentices develop good personal and social skills, confidently demonstrating pride in their newfound abilities. They grow into their job roles, present a professional image and demonstrate good verbal communication skills.  Apprentices enjoy learning and attend their assessment and progress review sessions well. They are keen to complete their qualifications and increase their knowledge. They make sound contributions to their employers’ business, becoming effective team members.  The standard of apprentices’ practical vocational skills is high. They are skilled in operating machines correctly with minimal or no supervision, laminating and producing art and design work to exacting specifications while meeting deadlines. Business management apprentices become skilled at handling conflicts effectively, developing good rapport and relationships with clients, and manage printing projects well.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

 Apprentices are ambitious for themselves and their families and hope to progress into higher positions and improve their economic prospects. They develop compassion and a caring attitude towards others. A few contribute to their local community by volunteering their services to local groups.  Apprentices’ understanding of equality and diversity has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. They demonstrate respect for their employers, training coordinators and their peers and a few feel comfortable to challenge inappropriate comments and behaviours, if necessary.  Apprentices fully demonstrate how fundamental British values apply to them at work and in their personal lives. This was an area for improvement at the previous inspection. Regular and informative discussions have contributed to the apprentices’ good understating of issues currently affecting British society and the implications for them. For

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

example, they are well aware of the dangers of knife crime, acid attacks and using drugs.  Apprentices feel safe and know how to stay safe, both in the workplace and in wider society, from the dangers of extremism and, to a lesser extent, from radicalisation. Vulnerable apprentices receive good support to develop their awareness of e-safety. Apprentices work safely in their workplaces as their level of understanding of health and safety is good.

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

 Too many apprentices left their learning programme early last year without having completed their apprenticeship. Leaders and managers have acted to address this. The provider’s own data provisionally indicates that, so far, fewer apprentices, among those scheduled to complete next year, have left the programme early when compared to the previous two years.  Just under half of all apprentices achieved their programme within the planned date last year. This represents a slight decrease since the previous inspection and is considerably below the latest national average.  Apprentices who are not required to undertake an English and/or mathematics qualification to complete their apprenticeship do not further develop these skills sufficiently. The few apprentices who need to undertake English and mathematics tests as part of their apprenticeship perform better in mathematics than in English. The proportion

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

of apprentices who passed their English test at the first attempt declined last year and has not improved sufficiently in the current academic year yet. Apprentices’ achievement in mathematics functional skills has been maintained and slightly improved since the previous inspection.  Differences exist in the achievement rates across different apprenticeship programmes. For example, last year, intermediate apprentices did not achieve as well as the advanced apprentices. Only a small minority of business administration apprentices achieved in the planned timeframe, while the majority of the engineering apprentices completed in time. On the other hand, the provider has successfully closed the achievement gap between female and male apprentices, although slightly more males complete by the expected date.  The few apprentices undertaking a level 4 qualification achieved particularly well last year. Since the previous inspection, the provider has been effective at increasing the number of

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Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

females recruited into the apprenticeship programmes, which has almost doubled.  The standard of apprentices’ work is of variable quality. They demonstrate very good vocational and technical skills in the workplace but the standard of work in their portfolios, in relation to English and mathematical skills, such as calculations and invoices, is not as good.  Apprentices enjoy their learning and are keen to progress. Most of the current apprentices still in learning are making expected progress with their main qualification goal.  Almost all apprentices remain in employment after having completed their apprenticeship, including those apprentices who start their learning programme soon after having joined the sector as employees. These account for the majority of apprentices.

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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 Charles Jarrold

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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+ 59 165 86 249 – 39 Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total – – – Number of learners aged 14 to 16 –

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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

At the time of inspection, the provider contracts with the following main subcontractors: n/a

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the programme 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 individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of apprentices 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

Maria Navarro, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrea Dill-Russell Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Scanlan 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

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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

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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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