All Dimension Limited

All Dimension Limited Monitoring visit report

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

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: ATS Building Lewis Road Sidcup Kent DA14 4NB Monitoring visit: All Dimension Limited, 30–31 March 2021

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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 ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Established in 2008, All Dimension Ltd is a small, private training provider based in Sidcup, London. The company was originally set up by the director to work with local authorities to offer courses in children and young people’s welfare. All Dimension Ltd has been a subcontractor offering adult learning courses, traineeships and apprenticeships for approximately eight years.

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Context and focus of visit

In 2019, All Dimension Ltd gained a contract to provide levy-funded apprenticeship programmes. Currently, two apprentices are on the residential childcare services level 3 framework, three are on the children’s and young person’s welfare social care pathway level 3 framework and one apprentice on each of the early years educator level 2 standard, customer services level 2 framework and children’s, young people’s families manager level 5 framework.

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Context and focus of visit

The impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been taken into account in the findings and progress judgements below.

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Reasonable Progress

Leaders have a clear rationale for the apprenticeship programme to support employees within children’s services and early years to gain qualifications and experience. Leaders have used their experience of being a subcontractor effectively to implement their own programme and to ensure they meet the principles of the apprenticeship programme. Leaders and staff have made an effective move to online teaching and support due to COVID-19.

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Reasonable Progress

Leaders ensure that staff have the right qualifications in, and experience of, working in children’s services. For example, staff have worked in childcare, local authority social services and in special educational needs schools. Leaders have given staff Monitoring visit: All Dimension Limited, 30–31 March 2021 appropriate training to develop their teaching and assessing skills. They also ensure they have staff specifically trained in specialist areas, such as autism spectrum disorder, to support apprentices who may need extra help.

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Reasonable Progress

Leaders and staff recruit apprentices who are suited to the programme. Apprentices are in job roles that enable them to gain the new knowledge, skills and behaviours that are most relevant to them and will help them progress in their future. Staff give apprentices sufficient information at the start of their programme to help them decide on the right apprenticeship pathway.

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Reasonable Progress

Employers appreciate the positive impact the apprenticeship programme has on their apprentices. They recognise that apprentices gain more than the knowledge to achieve the much-needed qualification and that apprentices develop their confidence, specifically when talking to the parents of children in care. Employers understand their responsibility to allow apprentices to complete their off-the-job training. However, they do not always know what apprentices do in this time and how they can support apprentices more effectively to apply what they learn in their activities at work.

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Reasonable Progress

Leaders use a range of activities to check the quality of the programme and identify areas for improvement. They recognise the need to embed the personal development needs of apprentices in the curriculum. Leaders have not extended their assurance activities to cover all elements of the programme, such as progress reviews.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have put in place a curriculum that helps apprentices to develop their knowledge and skills in a logical order. Apprentices have a clear understanding of the structure and expectations of the programme. They appreciate how their newly acquired knowledge and skills complement their activities at work. For example, in the social care apprenticeship pathway, apprentices use the knowledge gained in child sexual exploitation topics to educate young people in children’s homes of the dangers they could face when leaving the home late at night without informing anyone.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and assessors make good use of the information they have from the thorough assessment of apprentices’ knowledge and skills at the start of the programme. They tailor apprentices’ individual learning plans to include specific learning activities to help apprentices progress at work. For example, apprentices with an interest in special educational needs and/or disabilities complete extra courses that help them to take on more responsibilities at work. Staff do not use the same level of assessment of apprentices’ behaviours and personal development Monitoring visit: All Dimension Limited, 30–31 March 2021 needs. As a result, it is not clear in apprentices’ learning plans what areas they need to develop and how they will do this.

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Reasonable progress

Assessors provide apprentices with thorough, detailed and well-structured feedback on their work. This helps apprentices understand how well they have completed tasks and how to improve where necessary. The standard of apprentices’ written work is mostly good. Their work shows how they have used research and developed their information technology skills, such as in creating presentations. Assessors set apprentices suitable and frequent tasks that help apprentices stay on track.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices do not benefit from highly effective progress reviews. Assessors do not use this time well enough to reflect with apprentices and their employers on the knowledge, skills and behaviours apprentices have developed over time. Nor do they discuss in enough detail with apprentices what they have learned in the off-the-job training activities they complete independently. While apprentices and their employers understand the progress they make, they do not have a clear view on how the off-the-job training links to the on-the-job training.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices feel safe at work and in training. Apprentices receive appropriate safeguarding training at induction, through regular online courses and discussions at their progress reviews. Apprentices benefit from extra safeguarding training and information they receive at their workplace.

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Reasonable progress

The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy have completed relevant training. They have implemented suitable reporting procedures and links to the relevant local authorities. The effectiveness of these procedures is untested because no safeguarding incidents have occurred.

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Reasonable progress

The DSL maintains a register of potential safeguarding concerns and apprentices who may become vulnerable. The DSL monitors this closely to ensure that apprentices receive enough help to enable them to stay safe and continue with their apprenticeship programme.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have revisited the dangers associated with online learning because of the pandemic, such as email scams and fraud. A new code of conduct has been put in place; however, apprentices do not have a detailed understanding of this. Monitoring visit: All Dimension Limited, 30–31 March 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 and child protection.

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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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