Cedarwood Trust

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

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 November 2021

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: The Meadow Well Centre Avon Avenue North Shields NE29 7QT Monitoring visit: Cedarwood Trust, 10 and 11 November 2021

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Context and focus of visit

From March 2019, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of adult learning provision which began to be funded from August 2017 or after. 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

Cedarwood Trust is a community development charity located on the Meadow Well Estate of North Tyneside. In August 2020, the trust was funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority to run non-accredited courses in health and social care and catering. At the time of the monitoring visit, 24 adult learners were enrolled on community learning courses. Of these, 14 were enrolled on ‘step up into care’ programmes to prepare them for training or employment in the health and social care sector. Ten were enrolled on courses in the trust’s ‘nurture academy’ to prepare them for training or employment in the hospitality and catering industry.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have designed programmes to equip adult learners with the knowledge and skills to enable them to manage more effectively the challenges in their personal lives and to take steps towards employment. The nurture academy programme supports learners to develop the culinary skills and knowledge about nutrition that they need to provide healthy meals for their families and that enable them to apply for entry-level jobs in the catering industry. The step up into care programme educates learners about aspects of care relevant to employment and their own lives, such as understanding mental well-being.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have invested in resources and recruited tutors with extensive subject and industrial experience to ensure that learners receive relevant and up-to- date vocational knowledge and training. For example, the tutor for the nurture academy has created a training kitchen that serves a functioning bistro, replicating the pressures of preparing meals for paying customers. Learners benefit from working in small teams to produce food and beverages for paying customers.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers provide advice, guidance and vocational training for adults wanting to change jobs or careers, as well as those who are currently unemployed. Monitoring visit: Cedarwood Trust, 10 and 11 November 2021 Managers liaise with external organisations to deliver workshops in the trust’s centre on writing curriculum vitae (CV), and have plans to offer these in-house. Managers collaborate with other organisations to refer adults to sources of further information or training. Learners gain useful volunteering opportunities in the bistro and early years unit to develop their employability skills in catering and healthcare. Managers have not yet organised any external work placements for learners with employers, although they have plans to do this.

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Reasonable progress

Those responsible for governance understand their responsibilities. They know the provider well, and support and strengthen the provider’s leadership. They provide challenge, and they support leaders to focus on key aspects of quality assurance and safeguarding processes to enhance the effectiveness of the provider.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors plan teaching logically so that learners master the basic skills and knowledge that they need before moving on to applying their skills. On the culinary skills course, learners must achieve a qualification in food hygiene before they learn about knife- dicing skills and nutrition. They then apply this knowledge across a range of basic recipes before progressing onto more complex meals. On the step up into care programme, adults learn about safeguarding, and then choose subsequent units based on their individual needs and interests. Tutors on the step up to care programme recognise the need to ensure that the curriculum follows a consistently logical sequence.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and tutors recognise and record the progress that learners make. They establish the starting points of learners effectively by identifying what learners already know and can already do and how confident learners are. Tutors check learners’ development of practical skills through observation, and then measure what learners have gained through their learning, through tests and learner self- assessments. As a result, tutors have an accurate record of learners’ progress.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors use effective questioning techniques and provide helpful feedback to reinforce learning, particularly on the practical culinary skills course. On the step up into care course, tutors provide feedback and written comments on work that motivate and encourage learners. However, too often, their comments are not constructive enough to enable learners to improve on what they have learned. Managers have recognised this and have arranged staff development to address this issue.

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Reasonable progress

Learners develop new skills and knowledge through their participation on learning programmes. Learners on the nurture academy programme know how to knead dough, pipe icing and produce non-sticky rice. They have a good understanding of why cooking using fresh ingredients is healthier and can be cheaper than resorting to Monitoring visit: Cedarwood Trust, 10 and 11 November 2021 processed meals. Learners develop useful employability skills, such as meeting assignment deadlines and turning up to classes on time.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors provide practical support with English for learners seeking employment. This enables learners to develop the writing skills that they need to produce CVs and submit job applications. Tutors support learners to develop practical mathematical skills to calculate quantities, such as when producing equally sized meatballs based on their weight.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have put in place appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures, and they meet the requirements of the ‘Prevent’ duty. Leaders are developing an effective culture of safeguarding and protection within the training organisation. The designated safeguarding lead has appropriate and specific training for the role, and all staff and volunteers have up-to-date Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders use effective links with external agencies, including the regional ‘Prevent’ coordinator, to receive safeguarding updates so that they, and their staff and volunteers, understand the potential for and nature of local threats.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and teachers provide a high level of support to learners to enable them to access and stay on learning programmes. As a result, learners feel safe and know who to contact if they have any concerns. They understand potential risks to them and to those in their wider community, such as the impact of domestic violence and substance dependency, and risks posed by radicalisation and extremism. Monitoring visit: Cedarwood Trust, 10 and 11 November 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

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children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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