Northumbria Healthcare Nhs Foundation Trust

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Rebecca Clare HMI

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Address:

7–8 Silver Fox Way Cobalt Business Park Newcastle upon Tyne NE27 0QJ Monitoring visit: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 27–28 March 2019

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Context and focus of visit

From October 2018, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by ESFA and/or the apprenticeship levy. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the Further education and skills inspection handbook, especially the sections entitled ‘Providers newly directly funded to deliver apprenticeship training provision’ and ‘Monitoring visits’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has delivered apprenticeships as part of Health Education England North East since 2003. The trust began delivery of apprenticeships as an employer provider in 2017. At the time of the monitoring visit, 32 apprentices were on the level 2 apprenticeship framework in business administration, 33 on the level 2 healthcare support worker standard, 44 on the level 5 operations/departmental manager standard and 71 on the level 3 team leader/supervisor standard. The partnership and subcontracting arrangements at Derwentside College provide the training for functional skills qualifications.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers provide an apprenticeship curriculum that helps to meet the need for skilled healthcare assistants and administrative staff across the trust. They recruit apprentices with integrity, ensuring that successful candidates have demonstrable potential to fill the skills gaps within the trust. Dedicated staff ensure that apprentices, many of whom face considerable personal and social challenges, receive the intensive pastoral support that they need to remain on their programmes.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers effectively use their considerable experience of delivering apprenticeships, as part of Health Education England North East, to ensure that they meet the principles and requirements of apprenticeships. Apprentices receive their full entitlement to off-the-job training. Appropriate arrangements are in place for end-point assessments. Apprentices are aware of these arrangements. Most apprentices develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours that they need to succeed in their training and at work.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers use quality assurance procedures well to ensure that the subcontracted provision in information and communication technology and the Monitoring visit: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 27–28 March 2019 partnership delivery of English and mathematics qualifications at Derwentside College are of high quality. Apprentices make good progress in these subjects as a result.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers ensure that apprentices who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities reach their potential. They provide appropriate support, including extra tuition and specialised software, to help all apprentices make the progress of which they are capable. Senior leaders promote an inclusive culture in which all are valued. They are instrumental in developing positive employer attitudes towards apprentices who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Reasonable progress

All of the small number of apprentices who have completed their programmes so far have progressed to secure employment in the trust or, when this is more suitable for an individual apprentice, at an alternative employer in the industry. However, too many current healthcare apprentices are needlessly uncertain about their employment prospects. They do not realise that employment in the trust’s bank of staff is a secure, high-quality career step on the way to more specialised positions.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders’ and managers’ quality improvement plans do not focus sufficiently on the impact of improvement actions on apprentices. This means that improvements to the quality of provision, such as providing better information, advice and guidance about career progression routes for healthcare apprentices, do not happen as quickly as they should.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices benefit from the extensive professional expertise of staff throughout the trust and beyond. Tutors in healthcare have a broad range of clinical experience and knowledge. Tutors in business administration and leadership and management have experience across administrative areas of the trust, including in patient records, scheduling, public relations and marketing. Apprentices develop a wide spectrum of knowledge and skills that prepares them well for employment in a variety of roles.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices develop useful skills as a result of high-quality resources at work and in training. For example, healthcare apprentices benefit from effective sessions using mannikins in simulated clinical environments. This enables them to develop their patient care skills, including personal care and taking measurements of blood pressure and blood sugar.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices benefit from helpful off-the-job study sessions in the trust’s well-stocked libraries. They use a wide range of appropriate books, including e-books, to develop their knowledge and understanding to the expected levels. The most able apprentices use online academic journals in independent research that prepares them well for study at a higher level. Monitoring visit: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 27–28 March 2019 Apprentices benefit from well-structured on-the-job training that helps them to develop useful workplace skills. For example, healthcare apprentices learn how to carry out electrocardiogram tests by working alongside experienced colleagues.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers ensure that staff undertake high-quality professional development to keep their professional knowledge and skills up to date. This includes regular clinical practice, conferences, and the opportunity to gain further qualifications in their areas of expertise.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders’ and managers’ assessment of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is unduly focused on compliance. It lacks emphasis on tutors’ and assessors’ teaching skills and the impact that these have on apprentices’ progress. Staff training does not focus sufficiently on the development of tutors’ craft of teaching.

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Reasonable progress

Too many tutors and assessors set targets concerned with task completion, rather than the development of knowledge, skills and behaviour. Too often, tutors do not check apprentices’ understanding sufficiently before moving on to the next topic. In these cases, apprentices do not address knowledge deficits as quickly as they should.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers successfully promote a culture of safeguarding throughout the provision. Staff are vigilant and committed to apprentices’ welfare. Apprentices feel safe and understand how to keep themselves safe. They know how to keep others, including patients, safe. They know how to report any concerns that they may have.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers ensure that staff and apprentices undertake appropriate safeguarding training, including in relation to the risks of radicalisation and extremism. The designated safeguarding lead has had appropriate training for her role. Managers receive effective training specifically designed to address the safeguarding needs of apprentices. Staff and apprentices benefit from frequent safeguarding updates that make them aware of any current risks.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers use appropriate staff recruitment policies and procedures, including thorough pre-employment checks, that support the safeguarding of apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers work very well with safeguarding staff across the trust and with external agencies, including the police and social services, to ensure that apprentices are safe. They make referrals to other agencies when necessary and take appropriate actions to follow up the few apprentices who leave their programmes early. Monitoring visit: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 27–28 March 2019 Leaders and managers do not have readily accessible records or an overarching view of safeguarding concerns and actions taken to keep apprentices safe. They hold these records in part on the designated safeguarding lead’s mobile phone. Recording systems require improvement to enable senior leaders to have access to information about apprentices’ safety at all times. Monitoring visit: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, 27–28 March 2019 the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s

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Reasonable progress

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 . 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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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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regulates and inspects to achieve 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to

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the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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