Creative Support

Further education and skills inspection report

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate Apprenticeships Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings

 Trustees do not hold leaders and senior managers to account for the quality of the provision and they have not ensured that they meet the requirements of apprenticeship programmes.  Assessors do not take into account apprentices’ knowledge and skills at the start of their programmes and so do not ensure that apprentices go on to develop to their full potential.  Too many apprentices make slow progress and fail to develop sufficient new occupational skills during their programmes.  Assessors do not extend sufficiently apprentices’ skills in English and mathematics.  Weak quality improvement policy and practices and ineffective performance management have hindered improvements in the quality of teaching, training and learning.  Leaders have failed to ensure that service managers release apprentices from their job roles for their training programmes.  Managers do not have a reliable and accurate overview of the progress that apprentices make

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Summary of key findings

and, as a result, too many apprentices make slow progress.  Staff have not ensured that apprentices receive effective advice and guidance so that they start on the appropriate apprenticeship levels.

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Summary of key findings

The provider has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings

 Staff promote a strong ethos of treating individuals fairly and respecting differences.  Apprentices benefit significantly from taking a range of additional qualifications that improve their competence in their job roles and the care and support that they provide their clients.

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Information about the provider

 Creative Support Limited (Creative Support) is a charity. The company is a registered provider of social housing and a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care provider for people who have a wide spectrum of extra support needs, including intensive support. The company offers a broad range of services including supported living, residential care, community and home support and daycare services. A board of trustees oversees the strategic direction of the company. Creative Support employs over 5,000 staff, operates in around 65 local authorities, across 650 sites, and provides services for around 7,000 individuals.  Creative Support offers standards-based programmes to apprentices aged 19 and over in level 2 adult care and level 3 lead adult care in the North West, North East, Midlands and South East England. Apprentices are employees of Creative Support.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 As a matter of urgency, review the effectiveness of the work of trustees by establishing and implementing effective governance arrangements that enable trustees to challenge and support leaders and senior managers to make rapid improvement in the quality of the provision.  Identify and implement effective measures to meet the requirements of apprenticeships fully by ensuring that: – apprentices receive effective advice and guidance so that they start on the most appropriate apprenticeship level – staff identify apprentices’ experience and skills at the start of their programmes and assessors use the results to plan and deliver effective individual learning that ensures that apprentices develop significant knowledge, understanding and skills – all apprentices receive effective support and encouragement to develop their skills in English and mathematics – apprentices receive their entitlement to off-the-job training in work time and ensure

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

that managers record this information accurately and monitor it robustly – managers receive accurate information and data about apprentices’ progress.  As a matter of urgency, ensure that leaders and senior managers improve the quality of provision by: – monitoring frequently and regularly all aspects of apprentices’ teaching, training, learning and assessment and implementing effective actions that accelerate the speed of improvements – developing and implementing effective measures to ensure the full commitment and effective support of service managers for their apprentices’ training.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The provision offered by Creative Support does not meet the objectives or requirements of apprenticeships. Trustees, leaders and managers have failed to ensure the effective management and monitoring of this provision.  Leaders’ and managers’ planning of the curriculum is inadequate. Managers do not have an accurate assessment of apprentices’ starting points to enable them to reliably monitor apprentices’ development. They have not made certain that staff record accurately and monitor apprentices’ off-the-job training and the time that they should have for learning during their working time. Consequently, many apprentices do not receive their full entitlements.  Managers do not have a reliable and accurate overview of the progress that current apprentices make. Consequently, when apprentices fall behind, managers fail to take effective steps to ensure that they catch up and make good progress.  Quality improvement procedures are not effective. Managers do not monitor routinely or

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

reliably aspects of the programme. For example, where apprentices’ progress reviews exist, their quality is often poor. Managers have identified a number of teaching and learning practices that require improvements. However, their action plans do not lead to improvements because performance management arrangements are weak. For instance, while managers have identified that not all assessors visit apprentices regularly, this weakness persists.  Leaders and senior managers have been unsuccessful in ensuring the full commitment of apprentices’ managers and supervisors to their apprentices’ training such as releasing apprentices for off-the-job training sessions during work time. Managers and supervisors do not attend apprentices’ progress review meetings. Consequently, they do not have an accurate knowledge and understanding of apprentices’ progress and cannot support them in their learning and development.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Self-assessment is not accurate and is not founded on robust evidence. It contains a number of weaknesses identified during the inspection. However, managers have underestimated the impact of weaknesses on apprentices’ development and progress.  Managers have not developed and implemented effective policies to improve apprentices’ use of English and mathematics. They have not set and defined high expectations about the development of apprentices’ English and mathematics skills. Too often, apprentices do not have the English and mathematics skills needed to support them effectively in their job roles.  Staff promote a strong ethos of respecting difference and inspiring fair treatment through a wide range of projects and training, such as on human rights. Although they have offered training courses for apprentices and assessors on British values, they have not ensured that assessors prepare apprentices well enough to live and work in modern

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The governance of the provider

 The governance provided by trustees of Creative Support in relation to the apprenticeship provision is inadequate. Trustees receive insufficient information to have a clear understanding of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment that apprentices experience. A significant proportion of the information that they receive relates to levy spending. As a result, they have failed to hold leaders and managers to account for weaknesses in the provision.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Managers ensure the appropriate checking of all staff for criminal records and safeguarding concerns. Staff receive a regular and extensive range of training and information on their safeguarding responsibilities and on how to report any concerns identified. Apprentices benefit from support to develop an in-depth understanding of safeguarding risks related to their work settings. For example, they receive newsletters that provide case studies about signs of abuse. Managers keep a detailed record of any safeguarding concerns and their responses.  Managers have implemented the ‘Prevent’ duty appropriately. All staff have received appropriate training to develop their awareness of their responsibility in preventing extremism and radicalisation. Most assessors raise apprentices’ awareness of how to stay safe, including when working online.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Assessors do not collect or use a sufficient range of information about apprentices’ starting points, such as their occupational skills and their work-related behaviours. As a result, they do not plan and deliver training and development that help individual apprentices to extend their skills and knowledge sufficiently. Assessors do not set apprentices sufficiently specific and challenging learning targets to help them make steady progress. Too often, the learning targets on the electronic tracking system focus only on achieving the units of the standards. Assessors do not ensure that apprentices understand how they should complete their tasks to a high standard. Consequently, apprentices fall behind or do not produce work to the standard that matches their ability and experience.  Assessors’ reviews of apprentices’ progress are weak. Progress review meetings and the related comments on the electronic tracking system do not help apprentices to gain a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

clear and accurate understanding of their progress towards all aspects of their apprenticeship. Too often during or following progress review meetings, assessors do not evaluate and record clearly and accurately the quality of tasks that apprentices have completed or what they need to complete for the next visit. The recording of the skills and behaviours that apprentices develop is particularly weak. Apprentices’ managers are not involved in reviewing apprentices’ development in a meaningful way. As a result, most apprentices do not develop the necessary employment values and behaviours needed for their jobs.  The assessment of apprentices’ knowledge, skills and development lacks rigour. When assessing apprentices’ submitted work and discussions, assessors do not check sufficiently apprentices’ depth of understanding and knowledge. When apprentices cannot answer questions well enough, assessors too quickly assume that this is due to apprentices’

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

anxiety rather than their limited understanding of the topic. Too few assessors have high expectations of apprentices. For example, assessors praise apprentices when their responses to questions do not reflect high standards and do not reflect fully the requirements of the level of their apprenticeship. Too often, assessors answer their own questions without giving sufficient time for apprentices to think about the question and respond. Consequently, assessors do not have enough information about how well apprentices can apply their new learning to their job roles or to issues in their work settings.  Assessors do not develop sufficiently apprentices’ English and mathematics skills. When apprentices undertake functional skills qualifications, they receive direction to complete workbooks online. Assessors do not use the results of initial assessments to inform their training in extending apprentices’ use of English and application of mathematics.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

Assessors do not offer any challenging activities for apprentices who are exempt from taking functional skills English and mathematics examinations.  Assessors have suitable qualifications at the appropriate level and in their sector subject area. Assessors effectively support apprentices with disabilities to gain in confidence. Assessors arrange extra time, if needed, for apprentices’ examinations.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

 For too many apprentices, the information, advice and guidance that they receive is ineffective. Consequently, these apprentices are not on the appropriate level of programme. Most apprentices are unclear when they are due to complete their programme.  Apprentices do not develop enough new work-related behaviours. At best, they deepen their existing knowledge and at worst they develop no new skills. This is because apprentices have been in their job role for several years and have already developed the skills, knowledge and behaviours they need. Service managers do not have sufficient insight into the impact of the programme on their apprentices’ working practices.  Apprentices do not improve their use of English and mathematics sufficiently. Their work contains many grammatical errors that assessors do not check or correct, which results in apprentices continually repeating their mistakes.  Apprentices are clear about their next steps in their career path or training. However,

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

assessors and managers do not provide clear careers information, advice and guidance on how apprentices can achieve their goals.

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Outcomes for learners Inadequate

 Since October 2016, when the company started to offer apprenticeships, approximately a third of apprentices have left the company without completing their programme. Too many current apprentices make slow progress. Most apprentices do not develop their occupational skills sufficiently during their programmes.  In many cases, the standards of apprentices’ work are not good enough. Apprentices on level 3 programmes do not demonstrate, in their work, a full understanding of the topic being assessed. For example, a few apprentices have an inaccurate understanding of their responsibility for risk assessments in care settings.  The few apprentices who are exempt from gaining English and mathematics functional skills qualifications do not improve these skills. Too few apprentices have been successful in gaining functional skills qualifications after taking their examination for the first time at level 1 in mathematics and level 2 in English.

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Outcomes for learners Inadequate

 Apprentices benefit from taking additional courses that help them in their job roles. These include courses on advocacy for service users, duty of care, emotional agility and supporting individuals with sensory impairments.

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Provider details

Approximate number of all learners over the previous full contract year Principal/CEO Anna Lunts

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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+ - 25 - 20 - - Number of traineeships 16–19 19+ Total - - - Number of learners aged 14 to -

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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: -

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the vocational training manager, 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. 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

Shahram Safavi, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Cameron Brandwood 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

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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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