Centrepoint Soho

Centrepoint Soho Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Lynda Brown, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: Central House Camperdown Street London E1 8DZ Monitoring visit: Centrepoint Soho, 14 August–15 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 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

Centrepoint is a homelessness charity for young people. They started their direct funding in November 2017 to provide training for young homeless people to enter the job market. Centrepoint Soho provide training in Sunderland, Barnsley, Bradford, Rotherham, Manchester and London. The large majority of apprentices are employed at Centrepoint with a smaller proportion from other employers. At the time of the inspection, there were 87 apprentices on standards-based apprenticeships programmes from level 2 to level 5, including team leader, housing property management, business administration and operations management. There were 104 adults in learning, the vast majority studying functional skills in English and mathematics at entry level to level 2.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have a shared vision and ambition to support vulnerable young people who are homeless, many of whom have chaotic lives and have disengaged from education. They aim to help young people to gain qualifications and improve their self-esteem and self-confidence so that they can enter the job market and secure a place to live.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have recently introduced an apprenticeship programme to improve the skills, knowledge and behaviours of their staff and those working in partner organisations. Managers recruit apprentices to programmes effectively. Apprentices have a good understanding of the requirements of the programmes that they are studying; for example they appreciate the opportunities to achieve high grades and they understand the requirement to complete qualifications in English and mathematics. Managers ensure that apprentices receive, and record accurately, their entitlement to off-the-job training. Monitoring visit: Centrepoint Soho, 14 August–15 August 2019 Leaders and managers have established a formal process for monitoring the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. However, they do not use this effectively to secure the improvements identified in observations. Observations on the quality of teaching focus too much on what the tutor does and not what apprentices learn. Too

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Reasonable progress

often, the actions required as a result of the observation are not completed, and tutors do not improve their practice.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a good understanding of the main strengths and weakness of their provision. They assess their performance annually and accurately identify areas that need to be improved. They have put relevant actions in place to secure improvements, but it is too early to judge the impact of these. Leaders and managers do not, however, analyse and monitor other relevant information that they gather. For example, they do not routinely review the destinations of learners when they complete their programmes or analyse achievement data in sufficient detail.

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Reasonable progress

At the start of their apprenticeship, managers provide apprentices with helpful information, advice and guidance. As a result, the programmes that apprentices study meet their personal aspirations and career goals.

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Reasonable progress

Assessors are well qualified and have good subject knowledge, which they use effectively to improve apprentices’ skills and knowledge. Assessors work well with apprentices to develop individualised training programmes which are relevant to apprentices’ development needs and work contexts. As a result, apprentices are highly motivated, enjoy their apprenticeship and recognise how their performance at work improves. For example, on level 5 management programmes, apprentices have learned how to evaluate, select and implement a range of different approaches to project management, which forms a key part of their job roles.

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Reasonable progress

Employers benefit from the impact of the apprenticeship in the workplace. They take an active part in developing individual apprentices’ skills and knowledge in the context of their job roles. Employers and assessors meet frequently with the apprentices to review their progress and plan future work.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices produce high standards of written work, which at least meets the requirements of the standards. Assessors provide apprentices with helpful feedback on their work, so that they know how to improve their work further.

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Reasonable progress

Assessors assess apprentices’ skills in English and mathematics accurately at the start of their programmes. However, they do not assess apprentices’ skills, knowledge and behaviours thoroughly enough. As a result, apprentices and assessors are not able to measure apprentices’ progress during their apprenticeship, accurately. Monitoring visit: Centrepoint Soho, 14 August–15 August 2019 The system that apprentices and assessors use to record apprentices’ work and progress does not enable them to record all relevant evidence. As a result, apprentices do not have a clear enough understanding of the overall progress that they are making.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors identify accurately the skills and experience that learners have at the beginning of their programmes. They work closely with local partners to ensure that training programmes suit the complex needs of individual learners. Tutors provide individual or small group teaching so that learners can build their self-confidence and develop their skills and knowledge in a safe environment.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors support learners very well to develop their English and mathematics skills to help them in their everyday lives and increase their employment opportunities. Tutors provide learners with useful feedback on their work so that they know how to improve. They correct spelling and grammatical errors routinely and as a result, learners’ written English improves over time. Learners’ files are well presented and demonstrate the progress that they make.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors set high aspirations for learners to become valuable members of society and to overcome their barriers to employment. They provide good pastoral support to learners and refer them to external agencies when appropriate.

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Reasonable progress

Staff provide good advice and guidance to learners at the start of, and during, their programmes. They guide learners to enrol on relevant courses and provide them with support to secure employment, such as job interviews or preparing for army assessments.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have planned and developed a curriculum that is effective in meeting the needs of the vulnerable adults that they work with. Managers review and adapt the curriculum frequently to respond to the changing settings in which they work. However, they have been slow to introduce qualifications that meet the needs of those learners who require more time to be successful in English and mathematics qualifications. Consequently, too many learners do not achieve their qualifications.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors do not monitor learners’ progress against planned timescales sufficiently well. As a result, more able learners do not make expected progress. Monitoring visit: Centrepoint Soho, 14 August–15 August 2019

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers place a high priority on the safeguarding of learners. They have established a broad range of policies, which they use effectively to keep learners safe. A designated safeguarding lead, along with deputy safeguarding leads working in different regions, are in place. Managers have ensured that the safeguarding team is appropriately trained to carry out its role.

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Reasonable progress

Learners, many of whom are vulnerable, feel safe in the classroom and have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in their everyday lives. Staff work well with external agencies to provide learners with support to remain in learning. For example, they provide support with finance and debt, homelessness and victim support.

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Reasonable progress

Managers check routinely that new staff are safe to work with learners. They do not, however, have sufficient overview of checks on all staff to enable them to swiftly identify where further training or checks should take place. Monitoring visit: Centrepoint Soho, 14 August–15 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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