Trade Skills4U Ltd

Trade Skills4U Ltd Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Peter Cox, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection date(s): 9 and 10 August 2022

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Mitre Court Fleming Way Crawley RH10 9JY Monitoring visit: Trade Skils4U Ltd, 9 and 10 August 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

Trade Skills4U Ltd (TS4U Ltd) is a national independent learning provider. Formerly a private training company specialising in construction and electrical maintenance, TS4U Ltd successfully registered to provide apprenticeships in 2021.

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Context and focus of visit

At the time of the monitoring visit, there were approximately 95 apprentices, all of whom study the level 3 installation electrician and maintenance electrician standard. Apprentices are taught on a one week per month block release schedule which combines face-to-face and remote teaching. A small number of apprentices are 16 to 18 years old. TS4U Ltd does not subcontract any of its provision.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have designed the curriculum with considerable care to support the increasing national demand for electricians. Leaders collaborate with employers closely to ensure that the programme meets the needs of electrical maintenance industry. For example, leaders have introduced topics such as installing electric car charging points and solar panels in response to the growing demand for domestic green energy.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have designed the programme to include the highly useful electrotechnical certification scheme card. This qualification helps apprentices to work on building sites as well as become fully qualified electricians upon the completion of their course.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that programmes meet the requirements of apprenticeships. Staff recruit apprentices with integrity. They have suitable processes in place to ensure all Monitoring visit: Trade Skils4U Ltd, 9 and 10 August 2022 apprentices are in receipt of off-the-job training. Staff prepare apprentices and employers for the final assessment successfully.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure staff are well qualified and experienced. Staff benefit from frequent training sessions to help them develop their technical and vocational knowledge and skills. For example, staff learn about advanced questioning techniques to improve the assessment of learning. Leaders help training staff to become qualified teachers through a teacher development programme which helps them to become better trainers. However, leaders do not systematically evaluate the impact of staff development on the quality of training.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a reasonable understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of training. Leaders recognise that their current reporting systems require further development to better check the quality of training. Whilst they have sensible plans in place to address these, it is not yet possible to judge the impact of these actions.

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Reasonable progress

The newly formed governing body provide good support and challenge to hold leaders to account. However, it is too early to see the impact of this group on the quality of apprenticeships.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful electricians. Apprentices rightly take pride in their work. Apprentices develop the knowledge and skills they need to calculate and wire distribution boards. They know how to complete conduit cabling and bending. Apprentices develop strong professional behaviours which help them when working with customers.

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Reasonable progress

Staff identify apprentices’ prior knowledge, learning and experience successfully. They use this information to tailor learning effectively. Consequently, almost all apprentices make excellent progress in their learning and become better at their job roles.

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Reasonable progress

Staff communicate with employers effectively to help them understand apprentices’ progress. They make sure that on- and off-the-job training are effectively aligned so that apprentices have good opportunities to consolidate their learning in the workplace.

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Reasonable progress

Highly skilled and experienced training staff plan effective teaching sessions. They sequence teaching carefully. For example, staff teach apprentices essential principles of voltage and current before progressing to complex topics such as electrical frequencies and wavelengths. Monitoring visit: Trade Skils4U Ltd, 9 and 10 August 2022 Staff use assessment well to help apprentices learn and check their understanding before moving onto more complex topics. For example, staff question apprentices skilfully to assess their understanding of resistance calculation before progressing to learn about power usage. They provide useful feedback which enables apprentices to improve their work. Staff monitor apprentices’ progress closely. They intervene successfully when an apprentice may fall behind.

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Reasonable progress

Training staff provide suitable help to apprentices who require English and mathematics as part of their programmes. However, staff do not support apprentices to develop wider literacy skills to help them in their job roles and so apprentices make slow progress in the development of this essential skill.

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Reasonable progress

Staff do not provide all apprentices with regular or impartial careers advice and guidance. As a result, too many apprentices do not understand their future career opportunities.

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Insufficient progress

Staff do not ensure that all staff, specifically support staff who interact with apprentices, have completed the necessary safeguarding checks and so are safe to work with apprentices.

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Insufficient progress

The highly experienced and qualified DSL and deputy use appropriate policies and procedures to keep apprentices safe, including the ‘Prevent’ duty risk assessment. They work closely with external safeguarding agencies, including local authorities, police and regional ‘Prevent’ duty officers to understand local and regional threats.

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Insufficient progress

The safeguarding team ensure that staff complete essential safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty training and so know how to identify and report a concern.

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Insufficient progress

The DSL and deputy have suitable processes in place identify, monitor and support apprentices who are or may be at risk.

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Insufficient progress

Apprentices feel safe and know how to report concerns. Staff check that apprentices are safe in the workplace. They teach them how to work safely in these dangerous environments. Monitoring visit: Trade Skils4U Ltd, 9 and 10 August 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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Insufficient 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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