Nottinghamshire Training Group

Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Emma Woods, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Cheapside Worksop Nottinghamshire S80 2HX Monitoring visit: Nottinghamshire Training Group, 15 and 16 June 2022

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Context and focus of visit

Nottinghamshire Training Group was inspected in February 2020. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

The focus of this monitoring visit was to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in addressing the main areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Context and focus of visit

Nottinghamshire Training Group Limited (NTG) was founded in 1987 as The Bassetlaw Training Agency. Students and apprentices attend one of four sites in either Workshop, Retford, Derby or Sheffield. Study programmes and apprenticeships at level 2 and 3 are available in hairdressing, beauty therapy, customer service, business administration and childcare.

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Reasonable progress

Since the last inspection, leaders now pay much more attention to how they can help staff to improve their curriculum and lesson planning. Immediately after the inspection, tutors had individual performance reviews with leaders. Collaboratively, they evaluated a range of relevant indicators to produce useful development plans. Tutors receive helpful training, templates and guidance to support them. As a result, most tutors now develop well-sequenced curriculum plans and lessons. Leaders support all tutors to complete a level 3 award in education and training. A few staff will soon commence studying the level 5 diploma in education. This training clearly helps tutors to improve their teaching skills. Tutors value the support and development they receive. There is a collaborative approach between tutors; they share resources and materials which help them to develop individually. Leaders undertake lesson observations and walk-throughs to identify tutors’

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Reasonable progress

development needs. They take place at least twice a year and result in appropriate development plans for tutors. However, observers only ask learners generic questions and they do not establish well enough what learners know and can do. This limits the view that observers form about the quality of teaching and learning. Currently, the observation process has understandably stalled due to staff sickness absence. As a result, leaders do not follow up on staff development priorities as quickly as they do normally. Monitoring visit: Nottinghamshire Training Group, 15 and 16 June 2022

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Reasonable progress

Tutors have made significant alterations to their planning that benefits learners. Most tutors plan the sequence of topics within each unit logically and make helpful links between previous and current topics. For example, childcare learners first study the stages of a child’s development and the associated theory. They then evaluate the best ways to support child development in their placement settings. In most cases, tutors plan the order of the units they teach to meet the needs of learners’ placement settings well. Tutors work with employers to ensure that the order of units fits well with their needs. As a result of this joint work, childcare tutors now teach safeguarding earlier in the course. Learners are now more confident in this core topic. Tutors want to continually improve their lesson planning to benefit learners. They have plans to focus more on how they break down and teach the most-complex

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Reasonable progress

topics. They rightly recognise that learners find lessons on the more-difficult parts of the curriculum to contain too much information.

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Reasonable progress

In most cases, leaders ensure that classes contain learners who study the same qualification at the same level. This means that tutors’ lesson planning workload is manageable. Leaders find this more difficult for English and mathematics sessions where learners are at a range of levels. Leaders personally help tutors and provide additional in-class support for these groups. Tutors also offer additional one-to-one sessions to individuals who need help with these qualifications. Since the last inspection, leaders have introduced a new initial assessment tool. All learners complete this as part of their application or induction. This provides staff with useful information about learners and if they have any special educational needs and/or disabilities. Tutors use this information to make suitable adjustments so the curriculum is accessible. Learners with additional support needs receive helpful guidance from tutors. Tutors

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Reasonable progress

communicate well with both colleagues and parents to gather useful information about learners. They use this to plan effective support arrangements. In class, they support learners with autism by offering additional reassurance and prompts to concentrate on their learning. Tutors and learners find the small class sizes at NTG extremely beneficial. It allows tutors to have time to provide one-to-one guidance and support. Learners rightly value this after their experience of larger class sizes at school. It helps to ease learners’ anxiety about their studies. Monitoring visit: Nottinghamshire Training Group, 15 and 16 June 2022

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and tutors do not focus closely enough on how they plan and teach learners about fundamental British values. A small minority of tutors produce useful activities to promote the values, for example, a presentation on the Platinum Jubilee helps learners to link the Queen’s role to the values. However, not all tutors have a clear understanding of the values or plan to include these within their curriculums. They sometimes confuse them with covering diversity within topics. As a result, most learners have a very limited understanding of the values. Monitoring visit: Nottinghamshire Training Group, 15 and 16 June 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

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Insufficient progress

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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Insufficient progress

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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