South London And Maudsley Nhs Foundation Trust

South London And Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Jane Hughes, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Address: Monks Orchard Road Beckenham Kent BR3 3BX Monitoring visit: South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 7-8 August 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 the Education and Skills Funding Agency 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

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) is a National Health Service Trust providing mental health services across the London boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Croydon. In September 2017 SLaM was granted employer provider status and enrolled the first cohort of apprentices on to the level two healthcare support worker standard. Currently they have 38 apprentices on this programme, all of whom are adults.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have adapted their training programme for healthcare support workers to meet the apprenticeship standards. They have increased the amount of training and skills development healthcare support workers gain by completing the care certificate and mapped the training sessions well to the apprenticeship standards. As a result, apprentices benefit from a programme that complements their job roles and through which they develop new knowledge, skills and behaviours.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers rightly recognise that when the programme was first implemented they did not have enough experienced staff or a rigorous apprenticeship recruitment processes in place. As a result, too many apprentices from the first cohorts left the programme and many that remain have made slow progress.

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Reasonable progress

The actions put in place by managers to improve the programme for the more recent cohort have been effective. Staff now identify well apprentices’ prior knowledge and skills, and almost all of these apprentices remain on their programme. Leaders have increased the staffing resource to manage the programme. As a result, managers Monitoring visit: South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 7-8 August 2019 have a clear understanding of the progress apprentices make, and their interventions to support apprentices have resulted in apprentices making good progress.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers make good use of meetings at all levels to evaluate the quality of the apprenticeship programme. They ensure that senior leaders have accurate information about the strengths, areas for improvement and the future plans for the programme.

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Reasonable progress

The vast majority of apprentices receive their entitlement to off-the-job training. They attend a variety of training sessions, online courses and work shadowing. Apprentices’ line managers commit to supporting apprentices to attend. However, a minority of apprentices, when the wards are busy, struggle to be released from work.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices benefit from and enjoy their training. They particularly enjoy learning with their peers and gain a wider understanding of their roles. Trainers and personal tutors have extensive experience in healthcare and many are qualified nurses. They use this knowledge very effectively to support apprentices to develop their knowledge, skills and behaviours, and to apply these well in the workplace.

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Reasonable progress

The vast majority of apprentices have limited experience as healthcare support workers. Through the off-the-job training sessions they learn the theory that underpins their practice. For example, they learn how to communicate effectively with patients who have severe mental health issues, and how to improve their diagnostic skills. As a result, many apprentices take on extra responsibilities at work.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices’ line managers benefit from the apprenticeship programme and the skills which apprentices develop. They clearly identify how apprentices’ behaviours have improved since being on the programme. For example, apprentices are mindful of how they behave with regard to the privacy and dignity of patients.

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Reasonable progress

Trainers give apprentices helpful and clear feedback after their observations in the workplace. They give apprentices good support and respond quickly to requests for further explanation. As a result, apprentices know how to improve their practice and they apply what they have learned over time in their workplace.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices’ evidence portfolios are well-organised and presented. Their written work is of a high standard for the level of the programme. Apprentices reflect very accurately on their performance during their assessments and after their training sessions. Monitoring visit: South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 7-8 August 2019 Too many apprentices on the first cohorts have not achieved their programme in the planned time. Staff have now put in place actions to prepare these apprentices for their end-point assessment. However, for many of these apprentices, progress has been too slow. Apprentices in the most recently recruited cohort make good progress.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe and how to safeguard their patients. They attend a variety of training sessions about safeguarding, the dangers of extremism and radicalisation, and how to keep safe online. They know who to speak to if they have any concerns.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers place a high emphasis on safeguarding, given the importance of this in apprentices’ job roles. A senior manager at the trust has overall responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable adults and a designated support officer has attended appropriate training.

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Reasonable progress

Through the recruitment process, managers have ensured that all staff are safe to work with apprentices. Safeguarding policies and procedures are appropriate, with clear lines of responsibility and reporting. All staff across the trust complete mandatory safeguarding adults training.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have not placed the same level of focus on ensuring that apprentices understand other potential risks, such as knife and gang crime. Monitoring visit: South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 7-8 August 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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the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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