Boom Training Limited

Boom Training Limited Progress monitoring report

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Name of lead inspector: Andy Fitt, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Unit 1, Capstan Road Woolston Southampton SO19 9UR Monitoring visit: Boom Training Limited, 25–26 February 2021

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Context and focus of visit

Boom Training Limited received a new provider monitoring visit in January 2019. At that time, inspectors made progress judgements under three themes.

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Context and focus of visit

This monitoring visit focused on the extent to which leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action to provide education and training in the current circumstances. It was undertaken as outlined in the operational note on visits carried out from January 2021 and with reference to the further education and skills handbook.

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Context and focus of visit

These visits are to help learners, parents, employers and government understand how providers are meeting the needs of learners in this period, including those with high needs and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Context and focus of visit

Following changes to government guidance and the imposition of COVID-19 (coronavirus) lockdown restrictions, inspectors carried out this monitoring activity remotely. As a result, the range of evidence available to inspectors was narrower than would be the case during an on-site inspection. Therefore, this report provides a more limited level of assurance.

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Context and focus of visit

The impact of COVID-19 has been taken into account in the findings and progress judgement below. Inspectors did not evaluate leaders’ response to COVID-19 during the spring and summer of 2020, when the provider was not open to all learners and there were no national expectations regarding remote education.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear and sensible rationale, informed by the needs of local and regional employers, for the range of business-related apprenticeships they offer. Leaders work effectively with employers to plan their apprenticeships carefully. As most apprentices are in the early days of their first jobs, many start their apprenticeships with few business skills. Staff work closely with employers to develop a coherent, practical and flexible curriculum for apprentices. This helps them build the skills and knowledge that their employers’ businesses need. For example, employers needed apprentices with no knowledge of project management to develop these skills for work. Tutors worked productively with apprentices to help them learn how to develop project proposals and write reports. This enabled the apprentices to successfully complete their task. Monitoring visit: Boom Training Limited, 25–26 February 2021

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices acquire the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to be effective business employees. For example, apprentices learn the skills of delegation and time management which help them ensure that the tasks they take on at work are achievable. They understand how to keep data safe and how to comply with data protection regulations. They learn the skills they need to plan meetings successfully and work independently as well as in a team.

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Reasonable progress

At the start of the pandemic, leaders moved to remote learning and online teaching for all apprentices. This was continuing at the time of the remote visit. Apprentices benefit from well-qualified tutors, all of whom have relevant and useful industry experience. Tutors share good practice during frequent standardisation meetings, which helps them improve their teaching skills. Tutors use the information they have about apprentices to identify appropriate starting points and plan effective learning. They use assessment skilfully to identify gaps in apprentices’ knowledge and support apprentices well to help those falling behind catch up. Although they set frequent targets for apprentices to improve, they concentrate too much on unit completion, rather than identifying the skills and knowledge that apprentices can develop.

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous monitoring visit, leaders have improved the ways that they help apprentices develop their knowledge of English and mathematics. Apprentices now receive detailed feedback on their written work which helps them improve their writing skills. Leaders appointed a new specialist tutor and introduced useful and user-friendly resources to help apprentices understand and enhance their English and mathematics knowledge. All apprentices who took functional skills examinations in 2020 achieved their qualifications.

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Reasonable progress

There remain some weaknesses from the previous monitoring visit that leaders have not yet fully tackled. Leaders have not developed effective governance to provide a higher level of challenge. They rely too heavily on feedback from awarding bodies and funding organisations, which does not provide them with sufficient challenge to help them consider their strengths and improve their weaknesses.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers do not know enough about the quality of online teaching and learning. Leaders have appointed a new curriculum quality manager and have reviewed and improved many of their quality assurance processes and procedures. They have developed a new system to check the quality of online teaching, but it is too early to judge the effectiveness of this measure.

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Reasonable progress

Staff support apprentices effectively, particularly those at risk of losing their jobs. They adapted apprentices’ learning plans sensibly to ensure that apprentices continued to learn and make progress throughout lockdown periods. Leaders make sure that staff are suitably trained in safeguarding. They record safeguarding incidents in detail and involve external agencies, employers and parents when required. They discuss safeguarding concerns frequently and know about local risks for their apprentices. Apprentices feel safe. Although apprentices have a basic understanding of safeguarding topics, not enough of them understand the risks in the areas where they work. Monitoring visit: Boom Training Limited, 25–26 February 2021 Leaders and those responsible for governance should take further action to:

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Reasonable progress

 strengthen the processes to provide strong scrutiny and challenge to senior leaders to improve weaknesses quickly  assess the quality of online teaching and learning so that they can identify strengths and improve weaknesses  ensure that apprentices understand how to protect themselves from local risks. Monitoring visit: Boom Training Limited, 25–26 February 2021 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

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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

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