1st Care Training Limited

Further education and skills inspection report

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1st Care Training Limited Independent learning provider

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Overall effectiveness Good Effectiveness of leadership and management Good Apprenticeships Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings

 Leaders have worked well to establish a culture of ambition for all learners. As a result, learners make good progress in developing the skills, behaviour and attitudes to help them gain employment and progress in that employment.  Leaders know the organisation well. Self- assessment is accurate, but monitoring does not focus sharply enough on the impact of teaching on learners’ outcomes.  Teachers provide good individual training to learners as part of bespoke packages, which meet learners’ specific needs and support their workplace and employment ambitions well.  Teachers use their detailed industry knowledge and experience well. As a result, learners develop a deep understanding of work-related topics and how to apply what they know in the workplace.  Achievement rates are extremely high. All learners planning to complete their qualification in 2017/18 did so, with all but one completing within planned end dates.

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Summary of key findings

 Learners make good progress in the workplace. Many learners reach management positions or gain additional responsibilities because of their training.  The small group of learners who are on standards-based apprenticeships, and their employers, do not have a sufficient understanding of the ‘end-point assessment’ or the ‘gateway’ they must get through to be able to take that assessment.  Too many learners do not develop their English skills beyond the requirements of their programme. In too many cases, learners’ work contains too many errors.  Learners know how to keep themselves safe. They have a very good understanding of safeguarding, including the risks posed by extremism and radicalisation, and how these apply to their settings.  Staff know their learners well and use this knowledge to ensure that they are kept safe. Staff monitor in detail the risk assessments for care home and domiciliary care settings to

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Summary of key findings

ensure that they are suitable for the learners.  The current designated safeguarding person has not received all the appropriate training required for that role.

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Information about the provider

 1st Care Training Limited (1st Care) is a very small provider offering training to learners in the care sector. It started in 2014 and began delivering directly funded training in 2016. Learners are based in care home and domiciliary care settings across Norfolk and Suffolk. 1st Care has two contracts to provide government-funded training, one for apprentices and one for adult learners through learner loans. 1st Care currently has seven staff including the owner. The company operates out of one site in Kings Lynn.  As well as its directly funded contracts, 1st Care also provides training for learners as part of a subcontract from another provider. These learners are out of scope for the inspection. In addition, 1st Care provides a range of commercial courses relating to the care sector. These learners are also out of scope for the inspection.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – all monitoring focuses on what learners have learned and the progress that they have made – all teachers help learners develop their English skills and their mathematical skills well, for example by highlighting errors in their work.  Ensure that apprentices and employers have a full understanding of the standards-based apprenticeship programmes and the role and structure of the end-point assessment.  Ensure that a designated person for safeguarding is fully trained for the role.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders and managers have worked very effectively to establish a positive culture of ambition and achievement for learners. As a result, learners’ achievement rates are extremely high. Leaders focus well on providing learners with the opportunity to learn and achieve qualifications to help them gain employment and progress within that employment. Leaders work well with employers and learners to provide a bespoke package of training for the care sector.  Leaders provide good continuing professional development. Staff are well qualified and experienced within the care sector. They receive a range of additional training. Managers plan and record this training in detail and staff analyse well the impact of training on their performance.  Leaders manage the performance of staff well. Staff receive regular performance reviews that managers record in detail, and take prompt and effective action when staff do not

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

provide a good-quality service to learners.  Leaders know the organisation well and understand its strengths and weaknesses. Managers carry out regular monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment, but do not focus enough on what learners have learned and the progress they make.  Self-assessment involves staff at all levels and is effective in improving the provision. Managers use information from a range of sources, including outcomes for learners, learner and employer feedback and the results from their monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment. The self-assessment report is suitably judgemental and accurate. Leaders have identified all the issues found by inspectors. The improvement action plan is detailed and laid out well. Leaders monitor progress closely against each action.  Leaders know in detail the progress that learners are making and the effect of actions to help learners catch up if they fall behind, for example due to ill health. Managers hold bi-

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

monthly progress meetings with each member of staff, where they discuss the progress of each learner in detail. The spreadsheet of learners’ progress serves as a useful additional check on how well learners are achieving.  Leaders work extremely closely with care service providers and employers to ensure that their needs and the needs of the learners are met. They ensure that learners are on the right programme to meet their aspirations and refer learners to other providers if appropriate.  Leaders ensure that learners get effective careers information, advice and guidance at the start and the end of their programmes but not continuously through the programmes. However, learners can discuss with staff any concerns that they have during the programme. When a learner wanted to consider changing career from care worker to nurse, for example, staff discussed the options with the learner in detail.

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The governance of the provider

 Governance is strong. The whole team is encouraged to reflect on its performance during the year and at the end of each academic year.  The owner provides good oversight of the quality of provision and has just engaged a consultancy firm to provide additional independent oversight.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders ensure that all staff undergo enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. The checks are recorded in sufficient detail.  There is an interim designated leader for safeguarding, who has not had all of the specific training for the role. Nevertheless, staff are trained appropriately in how to safeguard learners. Policies and procedures are clear, appropriately detailed and followed well by staff.  Learners know well what to do in the event of a problem. There have been no recorded incidents relating to safeguarding learners.  Teachers review risk assessments for all settings where learners work, and discuss the risks in detail with the learners. As a result, learners know the general dangers to them and the specific dangers of working in their sector. They have a good understanding of safeguarding in relation to extremism and radicalisation.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 As a result of good teaching, learning and assessment, learners achieve well. Staff make good use of the small size of the organisation and small caseloads to provide individual tuition for each learner. Staff visit learners in the workplace every four to six weeks, which works well to provide training and assessment specific to the workplace.  Teachers provide good support for learners both in their studies and with personal issues. Staff are passionate about helping learners and provide swift and effective support so that learners overcome the problems they experience. The support helps learners to stay on their programmes, catch up if needed and achieve their qualifications, for example by providing refresher sessions for a learner who has a poor memory.  Teachers use their extensive experience well to help learners make good progress. Teachers are good role models, provide good examples for learners and put the learning

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

into context. One learner, for example, talked about being far more aware than at the start of the programme of the wider risks associated with providing domiciliary care, such as the behaviour of other family members.  Teachers generally provide detailed feedback to learners about their work. In some cases, errors are not corrected or addressed by staff and learners repeat the mistakes in subsequent work.  Learners generally have a good understanding of the programmes they are on, the progress they are making and what they need to do to achieve. However, the few apprentices on standards-based apprenticeships do not have sufficient understanding of the ‘end-point assessment’ or what they need to do to get through the ‘gateway’. Employers of these apprentices do not fully understand the standards-based apprenticeship requirements.  Learners get a good start to their training because of an extensive and effective

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

induction. This covers all aspects of their programme and how it relates to the workplace. Learners are clear about their options, including what units they can select relating to their workplace. Induction also includes detailed careers information, advice and guidance. Issues such as equality, diversity, safeguarding, British values and the risks of extremism and radicalisation are well covered.  Programmes meet the needs of learners and employers well. Apprenticeship programmes meet all the requirements of an apprenticeship. Managers ensure that programmes support learners in their aspirations and ambitions to become managers or acquire positions with additional responsibilities. Apprentices generally receive appropriate off- the-job training, which is discussed with apprentices at each visit.  In too many cases, teachers do not help learners develop their skills in English and mathematics beyond the requirements of the programme. As part of an increased focus

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

on these skills, managers now ensure that all learners undertake an initial assessment for literacy and numeracy, even those who do not need to take functional skills exams.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

 Learners take great pride in their work. They develop greater confidence in their work role as they progress through their programmes. Many learners acquire positions of additional responsibility in the workplace and some are appointed to management roles.  Learners develop enhanced personal, social and employability skills. Those learners in management positions develop good skills, knowledge and understating of how to manage people effectively.  Learners develop skills to help them reflect on their learning and their performance. Several learners, for example, have improved the support that they provide to care users who have disabilities or dementia as a result of thoughtful consideration about the impact of their practice.  Learners feel safe in the workplace. They clearly know how to identify any concerns they have about issues relating to their safety.  Learners generally meet or exceed the expected standards of work and professional

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Outcomes for learners Good

 Achievement rates are extremely high. All 24 learners due to finish in 2017/18 achieved their qualification, and all but one achieved within planned timescales.  Current learners are making good progress in relation to their starting points. Those who fall behind respond well to the support provided by staff, which enables them to catch up and complete their programme within the planned timescale.  Current learners make good progress in the workplace. Five of the 24 current learners have been promoted and two have progressed to a higher level of training. Of the 16 learners who have already completed their programme, five have gained promotion.  There are no achievement gaps between groups of learners.  Learners enjoy their learning. They are highly motivated to achieve their qualifications. They recognise the benefits of the skills, knowledge and behaviours that they are developing and their impact on working practices.

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Outcomes for learners Good

 Learners develop good skills, knowledge and behaviours, which they use well in the workplace. Apprentices are developing new skills to meet their career aspirations. Employers are clear about the positive impact of learners’ programmes on their businesses.  Learners’ work is generally of good quality. Apprentices on higher apprenticeships use research information well to produce work that shows academic rigour.  Learners use the workplace examples provided by staff to put their learning into practice, such as helping a care user pick a paintbrush that was appropriate for the change in their manipulative skills. This allowed the care user to continue their lifelong hobby of painting.  Many learners’ written English is of a high standard but, in too many cases, learners are not developing their skills fully in English and mathematics. In some cases, learners’ written work contains too many basic errors, such as confusing ‘there’ with ‘their’.

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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 Christine Bunting

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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 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 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+ 0 4 0 6 0 7 Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total 0 0 0 Number of learners aged 14 to N/A

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Provider information at the time of the inspection

Number of learners for which the provider receives high- needs funding 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 owner, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans. 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. Inspectors observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews, and visited learners in the workplace. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider.

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Inspection team

Derrick Baughan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tim Gardner Her Majesty’s 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

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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