Lorraine Michaels

Lorraine Michaels trading as Crosby Training Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Alastair Mollon, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 January 2022

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Crosby Training St Hugh’s House Trinity Road Bootle L20 3QQ Monitoring visit: Lorraine Michaels trading as Crosby Training, 18 and 19 January 2022

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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 by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. 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

Lorraine Michaels (trading as Crosby Training) received its first publicly funded contract for adult learning programmes in August 2019. It is an independent learning provider that delivers training to unemployed adults in the Merseyside area. At the time of the new provider monitoring visit, Crosby Training had 11 learners following pre-employment programmes in information technology and warehousing and distribution.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear rationale for their learning programmes to deliver short training courses for unemployed adults to help them gain entry or move closer to the job market. Leaders use labour market information and their strong links with employers, Jobcentre Plus and the Liverpool City Region (LCR) to provide a bespoke curriculum, preparing adults to enter specific labour markets. Leaders and managers have put in place a range of courses aimed at the most disadvantaged learners in the city region.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure they have appropriate and accessible resources to teach their programmes. For example, they use facilities across the city region to train adults geographically close to both their communities and potential employers. Support for learners is highly effective. Leaders provide a free minibus transport service to learning venues as well as in the early days of learners’ employment. They support learners in preparation for their job interviews, including the supply of appropriate clothing and access to the facilities in the hairdressing salon. This helps increase learners’ confidence and self-esteem.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders are ambitious for what learners can achieve so they can obtain a relevant job. Leaders use a range of quality assurance measures to monitor learners’ progress and ensure they receive the training and support they need to move to their next steps and improve their employment opportunities. Monitoring visit: Lorraine Michaels trading as Crosby Training, 18 and 19 January 2022 Leaders ensure the curriculum is aligned with priority sectors identified within the LCR. However, they do not sufficiently analyse and use information on the destinations of learners to plan and develop the curriculum further to improve learners’ outcomes.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have not fully identified the strengths and weaknesses of their provision. Tutors are well-qualified and experienced in their vocational subject areas. Leaders ensure that tutors receive frequent training on safeguarding and health and safety. However, they do not focus sufficiently on improving tutors’ teaching skills to ensure they continually improve the quality of training for learners.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders use trusted partners to provide governance and oversight. Those in governance roles use their considerable experience of education and industry to support, challenge and hold leaders to account for the quality of provision.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers work effectively with partners and employers to design and deliver programmes that lead to paid employment or work experience opportunities. Learners develop vital skills for work, such as communication skills and professional etiquette, as well as work-related recognised qualifications.

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Reasonable progress

Staff work closely with employers to ensure the curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of working in a specific organisation and sector. For example, learners on care programmes gain a valuable insight into caring for people with disabilities. External speakers inform and share the challenges of living with disabilities. This enables learners to understand the needs of a range of clients in care settings and develop the skills required for working in care. Employers highly value the flexible approach to the design and delivery of programmes to meet their organisation’s needs.

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Reasonable progress

Staff provide useful and effective advice and guidance to ensure learners are enrolled onto appropriate programmes that will prepare them for employment and their future goals. Learners attend an open day prior to enrolment. This ensures staff can accurately assess their prior knowledge and experiences. Learners receive a range of useful information to ensure they fully understand what support will be available to help them succeed on their programme. This helps reduce anxieties for learners, many of whom have been away from education and training for a long time.

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Reasonable progress

Staff help learners to improve their written CVs and job applications to prepare them for job interviews. They support learners to complete job searches that are relevant to their newly developed knowledge and skills. Monitoring visit: Lorraine Michaels trading as Crosby Training, 18 and 19 January 2022 Tutors do not always plan activities that help learners to build on previous learning or ensure they are able to recall learning over time. For example, they do not ensure that learners have mastered key vocationally related technical vocabulary.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors’ monitoring of learners’ progress and feedback to learners focuses too much on completion of tasks and units of qualification. Tutors do not help learners focus on what they need to do to further develop their skills and knowledge.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have developed a strong culture of safety and safeguarding. The designated safeguarding lead and safeguarding team have the appropriate training, skills, and experience to carry out their roles effectively.

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Reasonable progress

Staff and learners benefit from regular training on safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty and bespoke training on emerging localised threats of radicalisation and extremism. Staff use their training on issues, such as knife crime, gang crime and far-right extremism to raise learners’ awareness of potential local threats and help keep them safe. Learners feel safe.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and staff follow company procedures to report any concerns they may have. Leaders work effectively with external agencies including the police and the regional Prevent coordinator to keep staff and learners informed of how to keep themselves safe. Tutors encourage learners to use a mobile ‘app’ that links to local support services. This provides learners with useful information on drug misuse, financial support, mental health, depression, and community engagement. Monitoring visit: Lorraine Michaels trading as Crosby Training, 18 and 19 January 2022 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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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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