The Chartered Institute of Housing

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection of The Chartered Institute of Housing

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Apprenticeships Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is a charity based in Coventry. The organisation includes an independent learning provider that runs standards-based apprenticeships in housing and property management at levels 2, 3 and 4. Most apprentices are employed in housing associations and departments in the voluntary and public sectors across England. The organisation also has an end-point assessment business for the standards-based housing apprenticeships. There are currently 198 apprentices. Exactly 32 apprentices are enrolled on the level 2 housing property management assistant standard. A further 115 apprentices are enrolled on the level 3 housing and property management standard, with the remaining 51 apprentices enrolled on the level 4 senior housing property management standard. Almost all apprentices are aged 19 and above. The provider works with a subcontractor, namely The Learning Station (London), to teach the English and

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Information about this provider

mathematics part of the apprenticeship. 16–19 November 2021

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

In too many cases, apprentices do not receive the teaching and support they need. Apprentices are too frequently left to work independently and do not have regular communication with their tutor or associate. Apprentices are not being supported well enough to develop the full range of knowledge, skills and behaviours.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

When they start their programme, apprentices are motivated and positive about their learning. However, due to the poor-quality training they receive, many apprentices lose motivation towards their apprenticeship over time. As a result, too many apprentices are making slow progress and withdraw from their programme.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Senior leaders have not done enough to promote and assure a culture of safeguarding at the provider. For example, they have not taken sufficient steps to protect apprentices from the risks associated with living in modern Britain. Leaders do not develop apprentices’ understanding of safeguarding topics, such as the ‘Prevent’ duty and the risk of radicalisation, well enough. Apprentices have only a cursory understanding of such topics.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

A minority of apprentices do learn some useful new knowledge. They benefit from membership of the CIH as the professional body in housing. A minority of apprentices attend webinars and professional development activities, such as professional talks on the current state of the housing sector. However, the vast majority of apprentices are not developing significant new knowledge, skills and behaviours. They are not being sufficiently challenged beyond the experience they already have from working within the housing sector for a significant period of time.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices do receive detailed and useful feedback from tutors on the assignments they submit as part of the CIH qualification. This helps apprentices to improve the quality of their written work over time. However, associates do not provide useful and precise feedback to apprentices on how to improve their skills and behaviours. The link between the teaching of the qualification and the associates supporting the wider apprenticeship is weak. The whole apprenticeship is not sufficiently well linked, in order that apprentices may benefit from it.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices do not receive impartial and useful careers advice and guidance. Apprentices do not understand fully the wide range of careers and roles there are within the housing sector. Their understanding of this is limited to the immediate environment in which they are employed.

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better?

The quality of education that apprentices receive is inadequate. In most cases, tutors and associates do not provide apprentices with the teaching and support they need to gain significant new knowledge, skills and behaviours. Too frequently, 16–19 November 2021

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apprentices are not given the support they need from their tutors and associates to understand new content clearly.

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Leaders and tutors focus the apprenticeship too narrowly on the embedded CIH qualification. ‘Tutors’ teach this element of the apprenticeship. A significant number of apprentices then have a separate ‘associate’ to support them through their wider apprenticeship. The link between tutors and associates is weak, resulting in a poor- quality and disjointed experience for apprentices. Associates do not develop apprentices’ skills and behaviours well enough.

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Tutors and associates do not use the information they gain about what apprentices know when they first start their course well enough to plan learning. A significant number of apprentices, particularly at levels 2 and 3, have been in their current job role for several years. They are not developing significant new knowledge, skills and behaviours, but all too often are being accredited for existing skills.

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Tutors and associates do not use assessment well enough to check what apprentices now know and can do. Apprentices are asked to complete their final assignments for the CIH qualification before they have been taught the content they need to know. Consequently, tutors and associates do not challenge any misconceptions that apprentices may have well enough before apprentices are asked to complete their final assignments.

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Leaders and tutors do not track the progress apprentices are making well enough. They track apprentices’ progress towards the completion of assignments, rather than progress towards developing knowledge, skills and behaviours. As a result, leaders and teachers are too slow to identify where apprentices are behind. Their planning of actions to support apprentices in catching up is too slow.

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Tutors’ and associates’ formal reviews of apprentices’ progress focus too narrowly on the number of assignments completed. The reviews do not focus sufficiently well on what apprentices now know and can do; they merely review the number of assignments submitted. Employers do not routinely attend the reviews that their apprentices have. Employers do not know well enough what apprentices are learning. Apprentices are not supported well enough to apply their knowledge in the workplace.

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Senior leaders have taken the steps to subcontract the English and mathematics part of the apprenticeship to a subcontractor, namely The Learning Station, (London). The development of English and mathematics is not prioritised early enough in apprentices’ programmes. In the vast majority of cases, apprentices are making slow progress with the development of their English and mathematics. Where apprentices already have the required level of English and mathematics qualifications, they receive no support to enable them to continue to develop these skills. Senior leaders do not take the required steps to reassure themselves as to the quality of education that apprentices receive from the teaching and support provided through the subcontractor. 16–19 November 2021

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Associates do not ensure that apprentices’ time away from their job role is well planned. Tutors and associates do not link on- and off-the-job training well enough. As a result, too many apprentices are behind in their learning and are not making the expected progress in their development of new knowledge, skills and behaviours. A minority of the resources that apprentices access to support them in their learning are out of date. They are not in line with current housing law and other legislation.

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The curriculum that apprentices experience does not extend beyond the CIH qualification. Apprentices do get access to a set of professional development modules. A minority of apprentices have completed some of these and have gained some useful new knowledge in areas such as finance within housing. However, apprentices do not routinely learn such content and do not develop new and useful knowledge in such areas within housing. The professional development modules are not a mandatory part of the apprenticeship. Tutors and associates do not encourage apprentices to complete such modules.

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Leaders and tutors do not make sure apprentices have access to impartial careers advice and guidance. Leaders have not taken the required steps so that apprentices receive a structured careers programme. As a result, too many apprentices are not being prepared well enough for their next steps.

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At the beginning of their apprenticeship, the vast majority of apprentices have a positive attitude to their learning. They are motivated and see the benefits of the apprenticeship. Most apprentices improve their confidence as a result of their apprenticeship. They learn to manage their time more effectively and deal with workplace pressures. However, in a minority cases, apprentices’ attitudes to their learning deteriorate over time because of the poor quality of education they receive.

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Senior leaders have a clear rationale for the curriculum that they offer. As the professional body for housing, the curriculum aligns to their core area of business. However, senior leaders have not taken the steps required to ensure that apprentices experience high-quality training.

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The quality improvement processes senior leaders have in place are not rigorous enough. The observation process of teachers and associates is ineffective. It focuses too much on what tutors and associates do, rather than the impact this has on what apprentices now know and can do.

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Senior leaders do not make sure that tutors and associates receive the training and support they need to improve their craft of teaching. The training and support tutors and associates receive focus exclusively on developing their knowledge of the housing sector. The quality of teaching apprentices receive is poor.

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Governance is not effective in bringing about the required improvement. Senior leaders provide some useful information to governors. However, governors do not provide the level of challenge and scrutiny required. The quality of training that 16–19 November 2021

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apprentices experience does not receive sufficient focus at governors’ meetings. Governors do not have an accurate view as to the quality of apprentices’ training.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Senior leaders do not support apprentices to develop an understanding of the risks associated with living in modern Britain. They wrongly identified that apprentices are working in low-risk areas. This is not the case. Apprentices are not being prepared well enough to understand clearly the risks linked to their job role, such as the risk of radicalisation. Apprentices do not understand this well enough in relation to their job role, or in relation to their own personal safety.

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Safeguarding

Senior leaders have identified staff who have additional responsibilities around safeguarding. However, in a few cases, individual staff do not have the required qualifications or experience to carry out such roles. In a few cases, the training staff had completed had expired and was out of date.

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Safeguarding

Senior leaders do not have a clear system in place for monitoring the safer recruitment of staff. CIH have very few apprentices under the age of 19. Associates working with these apprentices do not have the required level of disclosure and barring service (DBS) check to undertake such roles.

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Safeguarding

Senior leaders have a safeguarding policy in place. This clearly details a reporting procedure so that employers, apprentices and staff can report any safeguarding concerns. Where any concerns are reported, they are followed up in a timely manner.

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Safeguarding

Senior leaders have not responded well enough and are not sufficiently aware of recent changes to Government statutory guidance. For example, they did not understand clearly enough the recent changes linked to steps providers must take to develop apprentices’ understanding of harmful sexual behaviours. As a result, apprentices are not sufficiently supported to develop their understanding of harmful sexual behaviours and how to identify and report such incidents.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Leaders must revisit their approach to safeguarding. They need to ensure that all staff have the required safeguarding clearances. Leaders must urgently revisit how they develop apprentices’ understanding of the wide range of safeguarding topics they must know about.  Leaders must ensure that all apprentices receive the teaching and support that they need so that apprentices can develop the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours.  Senior leaders must improve the quality of teaching apprentices receive so that they experience well-planned, high-quality teaching and training. 16–19 November 2021

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 Leaders need to prioritise the development of apprentices’ English and mathematical skills so that apprentices start to develop these skills from the beginning of their programme.  Leaders must improve the information apprentices receive in relation to careers so that apprentices are aware of the full range of options available to them for their next steps.  Leaders must improve their approach to quality improvement. They need to make sure they have an accurate view as to the progress apprentices are making. Where apprentices are not making the expected progress, they need to put timely and precise action plans in place to support apprentices to catch up. This includes those apprentices receiving English and mathematics teaching through the subcontractor.  Those responsible for governance must ensure that apprenticeships have a greater focus. Governors need to scrutinise and challenge the actions senior

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leaders take more frequently, holding them to account for the quality of education apprentices receive. 16–19 November 2021

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Provider details

Address Suite 5 and 6, Rowan House Westwood Way Coventry CV4 8HS

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Provider details

Provider type Independent learning provider

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors The Learning Station, London 16–19 November 2021

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the apprenticeship manager, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. The inspection was carried out using the further education and skills inspection handbook and took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors collected a wide range of evidence to inform judgements, including visiting learning sessions, scrutinising learners’ work, seeking the views of learners, staff and other stakeholders, and examining the provider’s documentation and records.

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Inspection team

Ian Higgins, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Karen Green Ofsted Inspector Martin Hughes Ofsted Inspector Susan Gay Ofsted Inspector Stuart Collett Her Majesty’s Inspector 16–19 November 2021

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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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