Groundwork Oldham & Rochdale

Groundwork, Oldham & Rochdale Monitoring visit report

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

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Type of provider: Not for profit organisation

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Address:

Groundwork Environmental Centre Shaw Street Oldham OL1 4AW Monitoring visit: Groundwork, Oldham & Rochdale, 9–10 July 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 learnership training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by ESFA and/or the learnership 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 learnership 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

Groundwork, Oldham & Rochdale (Groundwork) was established in 1983. The company received a contract to offer directly delivered adult learning courses in October 2017. Groundwork also deliver courses for adult learners for other training organisations as a subcontractor. These courses were out of scope for this monitoring visit.

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Context and focus of visit

At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 11 directly funded adults. Most learners are enrolled on the Prince’s Trust team programme, with a very small number enrolled on construction or youthwork traineeship programmes. Programmes are designed to develop the vocational and behavioural skills that learners need for life and work.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers ensure that adult learners are recruited onto programmes that meet their personal development skills needs. Learners often join with significant barriers to learning due to having chaotic lives or having been long-term unemployed. Trustees, senior leaders and staff are passionate about the good opportunities they provide for young disadvantaged adults.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have effective working relationships with a range of partners. They use these partnerships to help learners access valuable work or volunteering experience during their course and when they leave. Consequently, the vast majority of learners stay on their course, achieve a qualification and progress into relevant and meaningful further study, volunteering or work.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and team leaders effectively monitor the progress of learners and implement effective strategies to help them stay on track. As a result, the vast majority of current learners are making at least the progress expected of them. The Monitoring visit: Groundwork, Oldham & Rochdale, 9–10 July 2019 vast majority of learners who completed their course in 2018/19 achieved their intended outcome.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers rightly identify that current self-assessment arrangements are insufficiently analytical. Improvement action plans do not set specific enough priorities to enable leaders and managers to fully monitor the impact of actions taken to improve the standard of education and training for adults. Leaders have recently implemented enhanced arrangements to evaluate the quality of training and assessment. They have accurately identified that the quality of English and mathematics functional skills teaching and learning requires improvement, as do pass rates in these subjects.

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Reasonable progress

Groundwork has effective governance arrangements in place. Senior leaders and trustees receive frequent reports which enable them to challenge managers, where appropriate, and monitor the effectiveness of provision over time. Leaders recognise the need to broaden the expertise of trustees to include expertise in further education in order to provide additional support and challenge.

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Reasonable progress

Team leaders use their extensive experience of working with adults who have significant barriers to employment and learning to plan and deliver courses that help adults gain confidence and life skills. For example, learners on the Prince’s Trust programme participate in a residential team-building week. They enjoy working together. They share the responsibility to prepare, cook and serve meals to the group, gaining valuable independent life skills. Learners develop their personal and social skills. They support each other to succeed when participating in new and challenging activities such as rock climbing and canoeing.

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Reasonable progress

Team leaders and staff provide a caring environment and good support and guidance. They help learners develop their planning and communication skills through well-planned activities. Learners work together in teams to plan and carry out community projects such as renovating local community gardens. They develop their communication skills when writing letters and media articles for fundraising activities to support their projects. Team leaders encourage learners to work safely. For example, learners carry out thorough risk assessments for the activities they plan when working in the community.

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Reasonable progress

Adult learners on traineeships develop useful practical skills that help them gain employment, apprenticeships or voluntary work. For example, construction trainees participate in extensive work experience. They develop skills in groundwork and hard landscaping, such as repairing block-paving paths. Learners enjoy their programmes. They are proud of the vocational and personal development skills they are gaining. Monitoring visit: Groundwork, Oldham & Rochdale, 9–10 July 2019 Team leaders and tutors frequently assess learners’ work. They provide useful feedback that helps learners improve their work, including their spelling and punctuation. Learners produce work of an appropriate standard for their level of qualification.

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Reasonable progress

In a very small minority of sessions, team leaders and tutors do not provide sufficiently challenging tasks for the most able learners. Consequently, they do not progress as quickly as they could.

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Reasonable progress

Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders and managers ensure that staff are appropriately trained in safeguarding and understand their roles and responsibilities to keep all learners safe. Senior managers have established clear reporting procedures to log and monitor safeguarding concerns. Leaders provide effective oversight to ensure that concerns are dealt with swiftly and appropriately.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers carry out safe recruitment processes, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks. They ensure that all staff receive regular safeguarding updates and participate in relevant training activities to maintain their knowledge of key safeguarding issues, including the risks associated with extremism and radicalisation.

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Reasonable progress

Most learners have a good understanding of health and safety risks and safeguarding issues. Learners can articulate how to keep themselves and others safe and how to raise any safeguarding concerns. Team leaders and staff are proactive in signposting learners to a range of relevant local and national support agencies. Monitoring visit: Groundwork, Oldham & Rochdale, 9–10 July 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 www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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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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