The Number 4 Group Limited

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection of The Number 4 Group Limited

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Adult learning programmes Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

The Number 4 Group Limited specialises in preparing unemployed adults for work in the construction and security sectors. Learners study two- or three-week programmes that introduce them to a range of personal, social and employability skills and provide specialist construction and door supervision training. Courses aim to give learners the knowledge that they need to gain the industry accreditation required for work in security or construction. At the time of the inspection, there were five learners, all undertaking a security course.

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Information about this provider

Learners are located throughout England. They study mostly through live online lessons. Those learners who take security courses also participate in some in-person training, where they learn the practical skills needed by door supervisors. 26 to 28 April 2022

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

Learners are determined to gain the relevant accreditation and qualifications to work in security or construction and value the elements of their courses that focus on these. However, in too many cases, learners do not find their studies in personal development, customer service and employability to be relevant to their career goals.

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

Courses include too much content in too short a period of time. As a result, lessons only scratch the surface of many topics and learners do not have enough time to think about what they are told so that they improve their understanding. A minority of learners are not well prepared for industry certification tests by the end of their courses.

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

Number 4 Group staff work with a range of employers to identify job opportunities for their learners. After courses finish, they continue to provide support for several months. This helps a relatively high proportion of learners to secure employment.

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

Learners feel safe when they attend courses. They have been set, and adhere to, clear guidelines both for online and in-person study. They are aware whom they should contact if they have concerns about their safety.

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better?

Managers focus too much on the achievement of qualifications and too little on ensuring that learners have a secure and lasting grasp of topics. This results in courses that include too much content, insufficient opportunities to practise, and weak assessment. Because there is so much to teach, trainers only provide the most superficial introduction to personal development, employability and customer service themes. As a result, learners do not gain enough new skills and knowledge in these subjects.

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better?

Learners do not have enough time to revisit topics and practise their skills. As a result, they are unable to develop fluency and consistency and they have a limited recall of topics they have studied just a few weeks ago. For a few learners, this means that they are not prepared well enough for industry certification assessments.

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better?

At the start of courses, trainers do not do enough to check what skills learners already have. As a result, all learners study the same content, regardless of whether they need to. For example, all construction learners study very basic topics in mathematics, even though many have good mathematical skills.

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better?

Managers have a clear focus on helping adults with limited skills and knowledge to secure employment. They provide courses that aim to develop learners’ personal, social and employability skills and help them to gain the industry accreditation that they need to work in construction or security roles. 26 to 28 April 2022

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Managers and staff recognise that many of their learners have had limited or poor prior experiences of learning. They work hard to help them to feel comfortable in lessons. Learners who indicate that they have additional learning needs receive ample one-to-one support from trainers, who help them to understand assessment tasks, and to provide answers in different formats, such as voice recordings.

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When designing and selecting learning materials, managers do not consider carefully enough the reading skills of learners. As a result, resources contain language that is too complex for them. For example, learners who start their course with entry-level English skills are provided with materials that refer to ‘inherent social cues’ and ‘embracing new opportunities’.

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Trainers do not assess learners’ work thoroughly enough. Most learners produce work of an acceptable standard, but a minority fail to complete written assignments fully or produce poor-quality responses. Trainers often mark this poor work as being correct. Too often, trainers do not pay enough attention to learners’ spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors, some of which reduce the clarity of learners’ work.

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Construction and security trainers have good vocational experience that they use well to provide learners with challenging work-related scenarios and to explain the most appropriate ways to deal with these. This helps to prepare learners for a variety of roles.

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The majority of learners achieve their qualifications, including those that relate directly to industry-specific roles, such as qualifications for door supervisors. Many gain employment as a result of their courses.

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Learners who take security courses become more confident in their ability to tackle challenging practical scenarios through, for example, learning approved techniques to break up fights. Those who study construction develop a good understanding of health and safety, and their rights as a worker on a construction site.

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Staff set clear expectations for learners’ conduct and behaviour in online and in- person lessons. They also set appropriate expectations for professional conduct, such as good attendance, appropriate dress and the use of suitable language during lessons. When learners do not adhere to these, staff take appropriate action, including swiftly removing learners from courses if their behaviour does not improve. Consequently, most learners participate well and have positive attitudes to study.

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Learners are introduced to a range of themes about life in modern Britain. Lessons include discussions on contentious issues, such as debates on mandatory vaccination, and this helps learners to recognise and evaluate different points of view. Trainers introduce challenging equality-related scenarios that security staff may face, such as racist abuse.

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Managers ensure that learners receive appropriate careers advice and guidance throughout their studies. This starts prior to learners joining their programme, when 26 to 28 April 2022

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job brokerage staff explain the content of courses and the potential job prospects arising from them. During their studies, learners benefit from talks by employers. After courses finish, job brokerage staff continue to work with learners to help them identify job opportunities and secure employment.

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Managers do not focus quality assurance activities sufficiently on the aspects of provision that have the most impact on the quality of education. Consequently, although they invest substantial time and effort on quality assurance activities, these do not result in clear improvements. For example, lesson observations pay little regard to the methods trainers use, how they help learners to practise and remember what they have been taught, or the validity of assessment approaches. As a result, development plans fail to identify activities that help trainers to enhance their teaching skills.

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The owner provides managers with support and challenge. He meets with the chief executive officer (CEO) at monthly intervals to discuss financial matters and key performance indicators, such as qualification achievement rates and job outcomes. While these are clearly important, there is insufficient focus on the quality of education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy DSL are both appropriately senior and have received suitable training to allow them to fulfil their roles. Policies and procedures are detailed and clear, and all staff read and understand them. Managers follow safer recruitment practices and carry out appropriate pre- employment checks. Staff undertake appropriate training when they are first recruited and this is updated at regular intervals. There have been few recent safeguarding concerns; those that have arisen have been relatively minor and have been dealt with appropriately. Learners feel safe when they study. They are set, and adhere to, clear safeguarding guidelines for online study. They learn about the dangers of radicalisation and extremism as part of their courses. They are aware of whom they should contact if they have concerns about their safety.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Managers should reduce the content of courses so that all topics can be taught to a suitable depth within the available time.  Trainers should assess learners’ prior knowledge and skills before courses start, so that they can focus their teaching on the topics that learners are not already familiar with.  Managers should review learning materials to ensure that the language used is appropriate to the level of courses. 26 to 28 April 2022

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 Managers should work with trainers to ensure that they understand and apply good assessment practices and mark learners’ work thoroughly.  Managers should strengthen quality assurance arrangements so that they focus on those aspects of teaching that are likely to have the greatest impact on learning. They should ensure that where they identify weaknesses, they provide training and support to staff to help them to improve.  Managers should consider developing stronger oversight of the quality of education, either through greater focus on relevant topics during discussions with the owner or through an alternative arrangement. 26 to 28 April 2022

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Provider details

Address Office 21–22 Greetwell Place 2 Lime Kiln Way Lincoln LN2 4US

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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 None 26 to 28 April 2022

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the quality 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

Russ Henry, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Saul Pope Her Majesty’s Inspector 26 to 28 April 2022

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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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