St. John Ambulance

Name of lead inspector: Elaine Price, Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 February 2022

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

St John’s Lane London EC1M 4BU Monitoring visit: St John Ambulance, 24 and 25 February 2022

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Context and focus of visit

From October 2018, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and/or the apprenticeship levy. 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

St John Ambulance (SJA) is a large national not-for-profit charity which is volunteer led. SJA was accepted onto the register of apprenticeship training providers in November 2020. Delivery of apprenticeships started in March 2021. At the time of the visit, there were 60 apprentices in learning, all on standards-based programmes. There were 34 apprentices on the level 4 assessor/coach programme all employed by SJA. There were 17 apprentices on the level 3 lead adult care worker programme and eight apprentices on the level 2 adult care worker programme. There were fewer than five apprentices on the level 3 team leader apprenticeship. SJA works with three employers across the country.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders at SJA have a strong vision and clear rationale for the apprenticeship programmes they have selected and developed. They are committed to providing programmes that are aligned to their core values and meet the needs of the communities they serve as a charitable organisation.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have been too slow to implement the curriculum effectively. They do not ensure that the requirements of an apprenticeship are met. Inspectors identified that not all apprentices were given time away from their job roles to be able to complete their off-the-job training.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not ensure that there is sufficient staff resource to support the delivery of the apprenticeship programmes when recruiting apprentices. Consequently, most apprentices have not been able to make sufficient progress in all the components of the apprenticeship programme. For example, the introduction of English and mathematics into apprenticeship programmes has been too late. Monitoring visit: St John Ambulance, 24 and 25 February 2022 Apprentices who are nearing completion of their apprenticeship programme are not adequately prepared for their functional skills exams. Apprentices on the adult care programmes had to wait for several months into their apprenticeship before the appointment of their skills coach. Too many apprentices are making slow progress.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of the quality of training apprentices receive. They have been slow to implement rigorous and robust quality assurance processes to identify and implement actions to bring about improvements quickly. The most recent self-assessment report identifies many of the weaknesses inspectors found during the visit. However, leaders and managers have been too slow to act on these. A quality improvement process has been developed in response to the weaknesses identified but this has yet to be implemented.

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Insufficient progress

Governance arrangements are not in place. Leaders do not monitor the progress apprentices make towards achieving their apprenticeship. They do not hold managers to account or intervene swiftly to ensure actions are put in place to help apprentices complete their apprenticeships on time.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not plan or sequence apprenticeships effectively. Skills coaches focus on the completion of units towards qualifications and not on the development of the knowledge, skills and behaviours apprentices need to complete their apprenticeship successfully. For example, apprentices on the assessor/coach programme only begin to work towards the apprenticeship standard after they have completed a level 3 trainer qualification. This delays apprentices’ preparation for their final assessments.

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Insufficient progress

Apprentices on the adult care apprenticeships are not well prepared for their apprenticeship. They are not aware of the components of the programme at the start of their apprenticeship. For example, they are not aware of the need to complete qualifications in mathematics and English to complete their apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Skills coaches do not accurately identify apprentices’ starting points to plan an ambitious programme for the adult care apprentices. For example, apprentices complete a self-assessment of their skills at the start of their programme. Skills coaches do not use the apprentices’ self-assessment to properly verify what they already know and can do. As a result, apprentices all follow the same programme, as skills coaches do not tailor the training into an individualised learning programme.

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Insufficient progress

Skills coaches do not work with employers to plan effective on- and off-the-job training. Not all apprentices on adult care programmes receive the time to complete Monitoring visit: St John Ambulance, 24 and 25 February 2022 off-the-job training. This means that leaders are not meeting the principles and requirements of an apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Feedback to apprentices on adult care programmes does not help them improve the quality of their written work. Skills coaches focus on spelling and punctuation errors and not on the quality of the content of the apprentices’ work. Skills coaches do not always accurately identify work that is not of a high enough standard.

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Insufficient progress

Staff do not help apprentices develop their English and mathematics skills quickly enough. For too many apprentices, support to help them improve these skills has been introduced too late into their apprenticeship. Apprentices who need to complete their functional skills qualifications will not be able to complete their apprenticeship programme within the planned time.

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Insufficient progress

Apprentices are able to identify the knowledge, skills and behaviours they have developed since starting their programme. A few apprentices have been promoted or have been given additional responsibilities such as mentoring new staff as a result of their apprenticeship training.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have put in place a comprehensive safeguarding policy and procedures so that staff understand how to keep apprentices safe. All staff undertake appropriate safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ training.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders carry out safe recruitment processes. All staff are appropriately checked to ensure they are suitable to work with apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have appointed a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) dedicated to the apprenticeship programmes as part of the wider safeguarding team of SJA. The DSL, who is appropriately trained, benefits from additional training and updates provided as part of the national safeguarding team across the organisation. This enables the DSL to provide apprentices and staff with frequent updates on topics such as domestic abuse.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices receive safeguarding training that helps them to understand safeguarding issues and is relevant to their job roles. For example, apprentices working in adult care environments are aware of the signs of potential financial abuse of vulnerable adults. Monitoring visit: St John Ambulance, 24 and 25 February 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 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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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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