Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

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

p.1

Mrs Elise Temple Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited Farfield Park Manvers Rotherham S63 5DB

p.1

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

Following the short inspection on 15 and 16 May 2018, 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 June 2015.

p.1

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

Directors, managers and staff have sustained the good quality of training provided to apprentices and adult learners by your partnership. Your managers provide very effective support to the staff in your subcontractor partners, many of which are very small providers, to ensure that they provide high-quality teaching, learning and assessment. You have made good progress in tackling most of the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. You have ceased to work with subcontractors that failed to provide education and training of the quality you expect, and that delivered poor outcomes for your learners and apprentices.

p.1

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

You and your team have a clear strategy to provide training that meets local and regional economic priorities. You provide training in health and social care, early years education, construction, administration and management. Courses funded by advanced learner loans are no longer provided by subcontractor partners but are now taught by your own staff. You have significantly increased the number of learners who benefit from this training. You continue to work with your partners to offer apprenticeships and adult learning through subcontracting arrangements, but are very shortly to begin providing new standards-based apprenticeships in human resource administration using your own staff.

p.1

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

Your board of directors provides robust challenge to your leadership team to ensure that you hold subcontractor partners to account effectively. You have recently restructured the board of directors to form subcommittees. This has resulted in greater scrutiny of key aspects of your work such as provision funded through advanced learner loans, and has strengthened further the leadership and challenge that the directors provide. You and your team provide extensive support for your subcontractor partners that continues to improve the quality of provision for learners. The subcontractor partners acknowledge and value highly your ‘open door’ approach and the ability to ask for help on any aspect of their work. Your managers generously provide this support to the advantage of the learners and apprentices across the partnership. Partners consider that the provider forums that you organise are extremely useful

p.1

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

for sharing ideas within the partnership that secure improvements to the learner experience. They found the recent training on evaluating teaching, learning and assessment that you provided for the partnership particularly helpful. Partners note that you have supported them very effectively to prepare for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation, and to enable some partners to secure their own funding contracts.

p.2

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

Senior leaders ensure that safeguarding arrangements across the partnership are effective. Each partner has a safeguarding lead, who communicates regularly with the partnership safeguarding lead. Managers ensure that appropriate pre- employment checks are carried out by partners and record these centrally for the partnership. The director with responsibility for safeguarding has a very thorough oversight of safeguarding arrangements and provides robust challenge to maintain high standards.

p.2

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

The safeguarding log contains meticulous recording of incidents. It demonstrates that managers use their links with local agencies to provide very good support to apprentices and learners experiencing safeguarding issues.

p.2

Short inspection of Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

Managers ensure that staff across the partnership have appropriate safeguarding training, and have recently organised training on important safeguarding topics that may affect apprentices and learners. These training sessions are delivered by local experts such as serving police officers and include topics such as hate crime, domestic abuse and modern slavery.

p.2

Inspection findings

 The proportion of adult learners who achieve their qualifications is very high and well above that seen in similar providers. The vast majority of current adult learners are making good or better progress on their courses.  Tutors use their good vocational knowledge very well in one-to-one sessions. They use questioning effectively to deepen learners’ understanding of key topics. They focus on developing the skills of analysis and problem-solving, which helps learners produce work of a good standard. Learners are able to apply their developing knowledge well to workplace situations. For example, a group of learners applied Belbin’s theory of team roles to their work environment to gain a greater understanding of their own workplace teams.  Group teaching is not as effective as one-to-one tuition in meeting learners’ needs. In group sessions, tutors do not place sufficient focus on what individual

p.2

Inspection findings

learners need to do to make good progress.  Managers have taken effective steps to improve the achievement of learners funded by advanced learner loans. They have introduced more effective assessment of learners’ starting points, and use information from the assessments well to plan realistic timescales for learners to complete their qualification. Staff now provide good-quality learning materials and improved training on key study skills for learners. For example, tutors provide helpful training to learners on how to reference their research material; this improves the quality of learners’ work.  Managers and a member of the board monitor closely the progress that learners make on courses funded through advanced learner loans. Managers take swift and effective action if learners’ progress towards achieving their qualification is not rapid enough.  Managers recognise that male learners continue to achieve better than females.

p.3

Inspection findings

The actions that they are taking to improve the achievement of learners on courses funded through advanced learner loans is also addressing this difference in achievement, as almost all learners on the loans-funded courses are female.  Although the proportion of apprentices who achieve their qualifications remains well above that seen in similar providers, it has declined very slightly over the last two years. In 2016/17, the achievement of apprentices was too low at four subcontractors; as a result of this poor performance, these providers have left the partnership.  The vast majority of current apprentices are making at least the expected progress and many are making good progress. Tutors visit apprentices regularly and use their extensive vocational knowledge and experience to develop apprentices’ skills and understanding well. Tutors provide good-quality feedback to apprentices and, as a result, apprentices produce work of a high standard. The

p.3

Inspection findings

feedback that apprentices receive from tutors within First Avenue Training Limited is excellent. For the few apprentices who make slow progress, tutors provide effective tailored support to enable them to catch up.  The large majority of apprentices extend their knowledge and skills, and apply these well in the workplace. For example, health and social care apprentices strengthened fire evacuation and infection control procedures in their care home. Early years apprentices used relevant songs to develop children’s emergent language, social and physical skills successfully. Apprentices grow in confidence and enjoy their learning. Many relationships between Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited and employers are long-standing; employers value the contribution that apprentices make to the workplace as a result of the training they receive. A significant minority of apprentices quickly take on more complex

p.3

Inspection findings

job roles, receive promotion and progress to higher levels of training.  Apprentices develop their English and mathematics skills well during their programme and recognise how these skills benefit them in the workplace. Construction apprentices improve their ability to provide accurate and high- quality quotations for their customers. Health and social care apprentices complete service users’ records more accurately.  The planning of off-the-job training is not effective enough for a small minority of health and social care apprentices, which prevents them from making the progress of which they are capable. For example, tutor visits are organised before or after work rather than during apprentices’ working hours. Managers have recognised this, and now include more rigorous scrutiny of off-the-job training when monitoring the work of subcontractor partners. However, at the time of the inspection, it was too early to measure the impact. Construction and

p.3

Inspection findings

Plant Assessments Limited plan and record off-the-job training particularly well for the small number of construction apprentices.  Managers implement rigorous processes to manage their subcontractor partners, and they have an accurate view of their partners’ strengths and weaknesses. They use good-quality management information to hold the partners to account very effectively for the progress that apprentices and learners make. Managers support partners well to make improvements; for example, they support and guide new tutors to develop their confidence and training skills quickly. Despite this, in 2016/17, the proportion of apprentices achieving within the planned timescale was not high enough at Grow Learn and Develop Limited. Managers are monitoring closely the progress of apprentices with this partner to ensure that the proportion who achieve within the planned timescale increases rapidly.  Managers ensure that impartial careers advice and guidance enable apprentices

p.4

Inspection findings

to develop clear and realistic plans for their future based on their prior attainment. They provide guidance that results in apprentices being recruited onto the most appropriate course and into job roles that are well matched to their aspirations. Apprentices receive good support from their tutors and employers to develop the skills and knowledge that they need to be successful. Almost all apprentices remain in employment after their apprenticeship is complete, and tutors provide effective support to apprentices who wish to apply for promotion or higher-level courses.

p.4

Next steps for the provider

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the provider

 all subcontractor partners rigorously plan and provide high quality off-the-job training for apprentices and record that this training takes place, intervening if employers do not comply  when planning and teaching group sessions, tutors take full account of the skills, abilities and prior learning of individual learners  they continue to address the gap in achievement between male and female adult learners.

p.4

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.

p.4

Information about the inspection

The inspection team included one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and three Ofsted Inspectors and was assisted by you in the role of nominee. We met with you and members of your team. We observed teaching and learning sessions at employer premises. We spoke to learners, apprentices, employers and subcontractors. We scrutinised key documents, including those related to safeguarding, self-assessment and quality assurance. We analysed achievement and progress data.

p.5