Training 2000 Limited

Training 2000 Limited Re-inspection monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Andrea Machell, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Furthergate Business Park Harwood Street Blackburn Lancashire BB1 3BD Monitoring visit: Training 2000 Limited, 9–10 April 2019

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Context and focus of visit

This reinspection monitoring visit follows the publication of the inspection report on 19 March 2018. Inspectors found the provider to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

Training 2000 is the largest Group Training Association in England. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in July 2017. It continues to operate as an independent registered charity. A non- executive board, drawn from employers and senior staff at UCLan, governs the company.

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Context and focus of visit

Approximately 80% of the company’s revenue is from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Around two thirds of the funding is for apprenticeship training. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 54 learners on study programmes and traineeships and 961 apprentices. Most of the learners and apprentices are from Lancashire.

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Significant progress

Senior leaders have taken decisive and effective actions which have resulted in considerable improvements in the quality of study programmes since the previous inspection. Senior leaders and managers ensure that the study programmes and traineeships now meet the needs and interests of learners. Learners gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to progress to further study, apprenticeships or employment.

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Significant progress

Managers undertook a detailed review of the curriculum following the previous inspection. They redesigned the study programmes and now offer most of them as traineeships in dental nursing, engineering and general ‘steps to success’. The provider offers the study programme in business. Managers took the decision to discontinue study programmes in military preparation and programmes for adults. As a result, a much higher proportion of learners stay on their course and achieve qualifications, including in English and mathematics, when compared with 2017/18.

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Significant progress

Most learners benefit from well-planned work experience relevant to their career goal. Learners gain the knowledge, skills and understanding they need for work. For Monitoring visit: Training 2000 Limited, 9–10 April 2019 example, they can write a curriculum vitae, present themselves professionally at interviews and communicate effectively. They gain basic technical knowledge and skills in dental nursing, engineering or business. As a result, the proportion of learners who progress onto an apprenticeship or into permanent employment is high.

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Significant progress

Managers and tutors monitor learners’ attendance rigorously. Staff challenge learners who have low attendance and provide good support through engagement officers and by involving parents and carers. As a result, learners’ attendance is high on all courses, including in English and mathematics classes. Learners’ attendance on dental-nurse courses is particularly high.

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Reasonable progress

Personal tutors and learners use progress reviews effectively to recognise, track and record learners’ progress to date. This includes tracking of work experience and what learners gain from it. As a result, most learners make good progress on their course. Personal tutors help learners to plan their next steps effectively. Consequently, most learners progress to work placements, apprenticeships or employment.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors ensure that learners develop a range of employability skills. For example, learners complete ‘mock interviews’ which prepare them very effectively for work- experience placements and employment. Placement officers provide effective oral and written feedback that enables learners to improve their interview skills in preparation for their next steps. Consequently, learners develop their confidence and understand better what they need to do to be successful at interview.

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Reasonable progress

Learners develop the personal and social skills and behaviours expected in the workplace. They improve their self-confidence and integrate successfully into workplaces. Learners are hardworking and diligent. Employers value the contribution they make to their business. For example, engineering trainees use precision equipment when turning and milling. Dental-nurse trainees are able to recognise poor dental hygiene in young children.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors develop learners’ English and mathematical knowledge and skills they need for work. For example, engineering learners calculate dimensions accurately and dental learners tally client numbers and profiles correctly. Tutors provide feedback to learners on the quality of their written work, which helps them to improve their spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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Reasonable progress

Most tutors do not use information about learners’ starting points to plan learning that meets learners’ individual needs. This means that some learners struggle to keep up and for others the work set is too easy. This is particularly the case in Monitoring visit: Training 2000 Limited, 9–10 April 2019 functional skills mathematics lessons, where the most able learners do not make enough progress when compared to their starting points.

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Reasonable progress

In a few instances, the targets that tutors set and the feedback they provide to learners do not ensure that learners clearly understand what they need to do to improve.

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Reasonable progress

In too many instances, tutors’ questioning is insufficiently probing. Consequently, learners do not develop a deeper understanding of the subjects they study, or they cannot apply their learning in different contexts. For example, learners in business administration can identify leadership skills superficially but they do not explore these skills at a deeper level.

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Reasonable progress

Senior leaders now use effective quality improvement strategies which have a beneficial impact on learners. The quality improvement plan focuses correctly on addressing the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection. Managers set challenging targets in the plan and monitor progress against them. They have rectified most of the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection for study programmes.

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Reasonable progress

Senior managers and trustees rigorously monitor the impact of the quality improvement strategies through a ‘support and challenge’ process. Heads of department are held to account for the performance of their courses. Leaders set challenging targets for attendance, retention and progress and check progress against these. In 2018/19 there is a considerable increase in overall achievement for learners on study programmes and traineeships when compared with the previous year.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have increased the proportion of apprentices who achieve their apprenticeship by the planned end date in 2017/18. The proportion of apprentices who achieve their qualification by the planned end date is now higher than that of similar providers.

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Reasonable progress

Governance arrangements are effective. Trustees have a good mix of knowledge, skills and experience in education, finance and business which they use well to support senior leaders. Trustees monitor the impact of actions against the targets set in the improvement plan. They use their experience to monitor performance and challenge senior leaders where performance is below what is expected. For example, they recognised that the proportion of learners who achieved an English and/or mathematics qualification was too low. In 2018/19 the proportion who achieve Monitoring visit: Training 2000 Limited, 9–10 April 2019 qualifications in English and/or mathematics has increased considerably and is higher than that of similar providers.

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Reasonable progress

Trustees and senior leaders place a high priority on ensuring the safeguarding and well-being of learners. They review their policy regularly and monitor its implementation. Trustees review any safeguarding concerns that are highlighted and ensure that learners and staff receive the necessary training. For example, they recently made learners aware of the dangers of carrying knives due to the notable increase in knife crime nationally.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers do not ensure that the self-assessment report is sufficiently evaluative. Their judgements do not provide enough evidence of strengths. They do not identify all the areas that require improvement. For example, the report does not highlight the variations in male and female apprentices’ achievements and for apprentices who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Reasonable progress

Staff who observe lessons identify the strengths accurately. However, they do not identify routinely all the weaknesses. Consequently, observers’ views of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment are too positive. When observers fail to identify all the weaknesses, they do not produce accurate development plans to help tutors to improve their practices. Monitoring visit: Training 2000 Limited, 9–10 April 2019 the 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 . 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

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Reasonable progress

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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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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