Manufacturing Excellence Limited

Manufacturing Excellence Limited Progress monitoring report

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Name of lead inspector: Cath Jackson, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: Innovate Chartermark Way Colburn Business Park Catterick Garrison Colburn North Yorkshire DL9 4QJ Monitoring visit: Manufacturing Excellence Limited, 10–11 March 2021

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Context and focus of visit

Manufacturing Excellence Limited received a new provider monitoring visit in October 2018. 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

Senior leaders and managers have established specialist apprenticeship training in business improvement techniques that thoroughly meets the requirements of the companies that they work with. Leaders and trainers have considerable expertise in the principles of lean production in engineering and manufacturing environments. Employers in manufacturing environments value the positive impact of the training on their apprentices and businesses.

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Reasonable progress

Senior leaders have put measures in place to ensure a smooth transition from apprenticeship frameworks to standards. These include a carefully structured curriculum, appropriate teaching and learning resources and suitable arrangements for end-point assessments. The first apprentices on the level 2 lean management Monitoring visit: Manufacturing Excellence Limited, 10–11 March 2021 operations standard started on programme in early 2020, but most were placed on furlough in March 2020 and at the time of the visit were on a break in learning.

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Reasonable progress

Just under half of all apprentices have continued in face-to-face training throughout the pandemic, with almost all of these on the level 2 framework in business improvement techniques. Trainers have worked closely with apprentices and employers to devise safe ways of teaching and training. For example, trainers work with small groups on the shop floor or in socially distanced training rooms.

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Reasonable progress

Staff plan, sequence and teach programmes in a logical order. Trainers start the business improvement techniques programme by teaching about health and safety to provide important underpinning knowledge. They then teach about ‘5S’ business improvement techniques and encourage apprentices to apply their knowledge practically and build their confidence through projects in the workplace. Trainers teach more complex topics later in the programme, such as Kaizen methods for improving the workplace, to enable apprentices to build on their understanding of more fundamental concepts.

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Reasonable progress

Trainers use information about apprentices’ starting points to plan learning and provide helpful support to ensure that apprentices improve their skills. For example, apprentices develop their mathematical skills through calculating the area of space on the shop floor, calculating energy costs, and working out efficiency savings.

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Reasonable progress

Trainers use a range of appropriate assessment strategies to check that apprentices understand what they have been taught. They observe apprentices at work, question them closely and encourage them to use their underpinning knowledge to explore what business improvements they could make in their working environment. Apprentices benefit from helpful feedback on written assignments, which helps them to improve further.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices acquire relevant new knowledge, skills and behaviours that they apply successfully in the workplace. Apprentices can explain business improvement techniques such as ‘5S’ and how they use training on those techniques to make improvements in the workplace. For example, apprentices described how they had rearranged the layout of tool cabinets and marked out spaces on the shop floor so that operators could more easily locate paperwork for tasks.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices benefit from off-the-job training which they can apply in the workplace. For example, they work on projects alongside their trainers, complete assignments and attend training, including moving and handling, first aid and mental health first aid. Trainers monitor the amount and quality of off-the-job training that apprentices receive and intervene if there is a concern. However, too often apprentices are not aware of how much time they are entitled to or what counts as off-the-job training, and they rely on their trainers to keep records of this.

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Reasonable progress

During the first period of restrictions, leaders were slow to support framework and standards-based apprentices placed on furlough by their employers to stay engaged Monitoring visit: Manufacturing Excellence Limited, 10–11 March 2021 with their learning. Leaders subsequently recognised that apprentices’ progress in developing their underpinning knowledge had stalled during this period. They took steps to re-engage apprentices and prepare them to return to learning. For example, managers set manufacturing challenges and competitions, and trainers encouraged apprentices to prepare for new projects on return to their workplaces. However, these actions have not been enough to ensure that all apprentices are sufficiently prepared for their return to learning.

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Reasonable progress

Trainers provide helpful advice, guidance and coaching for apprentices who are considering their next steps. Apprentices value the expertise of their trainers in helping them to consider how the skills that they have developed can help them progress within their chosen careers.

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Reasonable progress

Designated safeguarding officers and staff are appropriately trained and aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. Apprentices know who to contact if they have any concerns. Trainers teach apprentices about safety, including the risks of radicalisation and extremism. Apprentices can recall their training, but they only have a basic understanding of the dangers of radicalisation and extremism and of the relevance this might have to their workplace contexts.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and those responsible for governance should take further action to:

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Reasonable progress

 ensure that apprentices are fully aware of their entitlement to off-the-job training and take greater responsibility for monitoring this aspect of their training  ensure that all apprentices who were on furlough during the pandemic re- engage and make rapid progress as they return to training  ensure that apprentices have a thorough understanding of the dangers of radicalisation and extremism and the relevance of this to their workplaces. Monitoring visit: Manufacturing Excellence Limited, 10–11 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

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Reasonable progress

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

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