Trinity Solutions Academy

Further education and skills inspection report

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Education programmes for young people Good Provision for students with high needs Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Information about this provider

Trinity Solutions Academy, which is part of a multi-academy trust, opened in January 2016. It shares a site in Newcastle upon Tyne with Trinity Academy Newcastle and Trinity Post-Solutions Limited. Its aim is to enable vulnerable and disadvantaged students who have significant barriers to learning to re-engage with education and enter employment. The campus has specialist vocational learning environments, including a farm and motor vehicle and construction workshops. The academy works with one subcontractor, ALD Hair, Beauty and Barbering Academy, which provides vocational hairdressing and beauty training in a salon environment.

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Information about this provider

At the time of the inspection, there were 48 students on education programmes for young people, 13 of whom were in receipt of high-needs funding. Nine students were working towards a qualification in motor vehicle, 10 in construction and 14 in hair, beauty and barbering. The remainder were studying bespoke programmes, responding to their individual needs. All students study mathematics, English, digital skills, and personal and social development, which are significant elements of their programmes. Most students are on programmes at level 1 or below, with the remainder working at level 2. 7–9 December 2021

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

Students benefit from the high level of support that they receive from their tutors, who successfully help them to overcome the challenges that they face in participating in learning. They feel valued and listened to when identifying their goals and aspirations. Students enjoy their time at Trinity Solutions Academy and talk enthusiastically about their experiences.

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

Students enjoy studying in a calm, caring and nurturing learning environment that supports them in participating fully in all aspects of their programmes. They develop positive social behaviours and are very courteous towards each other at the academy and towards their clients when on work experience.

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

Students feel safe when at the academy. They are taught about risks which could affect them in all aspects of their lives and how to keep themselves safe from these risks. As part of the enrichment programme, staff provide students with useful information on how to stay safe and about life in modern Britain. Students are confident that tutors would provide good support if they had a concern and know that they would act in their best interests.

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

Students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with high needs, quickly develop important life skills such as becoming more independent, confident and resilient.

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better?

Leaders and managers have responded purposefully and effectively since the last full inspection to improve the quality of their provision. They are honest and realistic about the aspects which need further improvement. Managers hold staff to account by monitoring their performance closely, which has resulted in more students achieving their qualifications and benefiting from good quality, meaningful work placements.

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better?

Leaders and managers clearly understand when students are not yet ready for employment or a more formal educational structure. They have carefully designed a curriculum that has a clear purpose to support students back into mainstream education, training or employment. Staff build in a broad range of vocational experiences so that students can experience tasters in the industries in which they have an interest. This helps students to make good progress from their starting points in developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they will need for work or for future training and education.

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better?

Leaders and managers work very effectively with a range of services and businesses across the city to develop their curriculum offer. These links enable students to gain a good understanding of different areas of work. For example, tutors use their links to provide students with insights from a comprehensive range of guest speakers from employers across a range of sectors. Leaders oversee the work of the 7–9 December 2021

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subcontractor effectively to ensure it provides high quality hair and beauty training in its salons.

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Tutors plan learning that is tailored well to meet students’ individual learning needs. The curriculum is taught in a logical order that builds on basic knowledge and skills before moving on to more difficult and complex tasks. For example, students in hair and beauty learn about shampooing and preparing the hair for further services, as shampooing technique needs to be mastered first before moving onto more complex skills. When developing students’ digital skills, tutors build learning from a very basic level of binary coding before expanding topics to include bits, bytes and terabytes. Students increase their understanding of these concepts in relation to the processing of data for storage on devices such as mobile phones, laptops and cloud-based systems.

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Tutors use their industry knowledge and experience well to present information in a skilful way that helps students quickly gain new knowledge and skills and produce work of a high standard. They use a broad range of teaching strategies to keep learning interesting, carefully blending theory into practical sessions. For example, students on construction programmes develop their technical language well while learning how to build flemish bond walls. However, in a few instances work set by tutors is not of a demanding enough level to stretch and challenge the most-able students.

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Managers have taken reasonable actions to improve the quality of teaching of English and mathematics. They have appointed a new mathematics teacher and have received additional support from the wider trust’s specialists in improving the curriculum for mathematics and English. However, the number of students who achieve their qualification in these subjects remains too low.

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Tutors successfully increase students’ awareness of British values. They teach students how they must adhere to the rule of law, improve their understanding of how citizens are protected from unfair treatment, and explain how they can raise concerns with local Members of Parliament. As a result, students develop a deeper understanding of life in modern Britain and a greater awareness of their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

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Leaders, managers and tutors place a strong focus on encouraging students whose attendance at previous education settings was very poor to attend regularly. Staff take appropriate actions to ensure that absent students are safe. They work effectively with students, their families and carers to tackle issues that are causing poor attendance. Students are provided with support and effective intervention strategies and, as a result, attendance often improves significantly. However, as leaders rightly recognise, students’ attendance remains below the high target that they have set.

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Students benefit from useful careers guidance which supports them in identifying their ambitions. Tutors ensure that students understand all aspects of a wide range of job roles, including different working conditions and employers’ expectations of 7–9 December 2021

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employees. For example, students on a work placement on the farm quickly realised the implications of working in cold and muddy conditions. This guidance ensures that students gain the knowledge that they need to revise or reaffirm their ambitions for future employment.

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Trustees know the college well and have a good awareness of its many strengths and the few remaining areas that require further improvement. They are committed to the academy and take their responsibilities seriously. Leaders and managers ensure that trustees have good access to relevant information to support them in their roles. Trustees’ support and challenge contributes to ensuring that a high proportion of students have a positive destination as they progress on to apprenticeships, employment or full-time vocational courses.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The multi-academy trust’s designated safeguarding lead ensures that a culture of safeguarding permeates the academy. Leaders fully support this ambition for a culture of safety and well-being, and they have comprehensive safeguarding procedures in place. Staff follow these procedures carefully and accurately when recording safeguarding concerns, and they take appropriate actions to ensure that students are safe.

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Safeguarding

The multi-academy trust’s designated safeguarding leader and the academy’s leaders work very closely with local agencies and the police to keep their students safe. They have an incisive understanding of the kinds of safeguarding issues that students experience. They use this to inform curriculum content for tutorials, staff training and briefings. Students benefit from learning about local risks that they may face, such as gang-related crime and violence, and knife crime, and how young people are vulnerable to being exploited through county lines. This teaching helps students to make positive choices in their lives.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Ensure that tutors set the most-able students work that stretches and challenges them to maximise their full potential.  Ensure that a higher proportion of students achieve their English and mathematics qualifications.  Ensure that students who continue to have lower-than-expected attendance are swiftly challenged and supported to attend regularly, so that they fully benefit from the teaching and training offered at the academy. 7–9 December 2021

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Provider details

Address Condercum Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 8XJ

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection November 2018

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Provider details

Main subcontractors ALD Hair, Beauty and Barbering Academy 7–9 December 2021

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of programme non-vocational, 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 students’ work, seeking the views of students, staff and other stakeholders, and examining the provider’s documentation and records.

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Inspection team

Hayley Lomas, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Joanne Stork Her Majesty’s Inspector Ian Frear Her Majesty’s Inspector 7–9 December 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 students 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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