Absolute Care Training

Absolute Care Training Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

p.1

Name of lead inspector: Joanne Stork, His Majesty’s Inspector

p.1

Inspection dates: 28 and 29 September 2022

p.1

Type of provider: Independent learning provider

p.1

Address: Metropolitan House Longrigg Swalwell Newcastle upon Tyne NE16 3AS Monitoring visit: Absolute Care Training, 28 and 29 September 2022

p.1

Context and focus of visit

Absolute Care Training was inspected in August 2021. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

p.2

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.

p.2

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have not ensured that they have appropriately skilled staff to provide the training required to help apprentices develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need. High attrition rates and leaders’ failure to replace staff swiftly enough have resulted in apprentices making slow progress. Very recently, leaders and managers have recruited new tutors, most of whom are appropriately qualified to teach the apprenticeship standards and have suitable experience in the sectors in which they teach. A few members of staff are working towards accredited teaching qualifications. However, it is too early to evaluate the impact of this recent recruitment on apprentices’ experience.

p.2

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff plan apprenticeship programmes to build apprentices’ skills, knowledge and behaviours in a logical order. Tutors do not sequence the curriculum well enough to match what apprentices are learning in the workplace. As a result, apprentices cannot apply well enough what they learn in their off-the-job training to their workplace activities.

p.2

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have been too slow to provide relevant training for staff. They plan to offer a staff development programme to tutors during the current academic year. The plan includes topics such as domestic abuse, whistleblowing and mental health. However, this plan has yet to be implemented. Monitoring visit: Absolute Care Training, 28 and 29 September 2022

p.2

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have not developed quickly enough an effective strategy for managing the English and mathematics curriculum. They do not have sufficient oversight to monitor accurately apprentices’ progress toward achieving their functional skill qualifications. Too many apprentices fail their examinations on their first attempt. As a result, apprentices do not progress to their end-point assessments by their planned date. Leaders and managers have put in place a digital learning platform that will enable staff to monitor progress more effectively. The digital learning platform will allow apprentices to manage their own learning at a time that suits working shift patterns, as the content of sessions can be revisited via video recordings. However, it is too soon to measure the impact of the new platform.

p.3

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not use information about apprentices’ starting points well enough to develop further the English and mathematics skills of those apprentices who have already gained qualifications in these subjects. They carry out initial assessments but do not plan a curriculum to fill any gaps in apprentices’ knowledge and skills. In a few cases, apprentices identify that they require support to improve their English and mathematics, but tutors are too slow to respond to apprentices’ requests. This means that too many apprentices do not receive any further training to develop their English and mathematics skills during their apprenticeship programme.

p.3

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not promote well enough the importance of English and mathematics development to apprentices. Too many apprentices do not see the relevance of developing their skills and knowledge beyond achieving their qualifications. Leaders and managers have not put suitable actions in place to address apprentices’ anxiety about and disengagement with these subjects, resulting in some apprentices not improving their English and mathematics sufficiently while on the programme.

p.3

Insufficient progress

Tutors do not provide apprentices with useful or supportive feedback to help them to improve their writing skills. Assessment of apprentices’ work is not thorough enough to identify spelling and grammatical errors. Apprentices produce work that is of the required standard to achieve their qualifications, but they continue to make the same mistakes in their written work. Monitoring visit: Absolute Care Training, 28 and 29 September 2022

p.3

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not plan apprenticeship programmes to meet the specific needs of apprentices and their employers. In most cases, they do not involve employers in planning apprentices’ training to ensure it meets the needs of the employer’s business and the development needs of the apprentice.

p.4

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not ensure that employers are sufficiently involved in reviewing apprentices’ progress. They provide employers with monthly progress updates, but these do not include information about what apprentices need to do to develop further or what actions employers can take to support them.

p.4

Insufficient progress

When tutors carry out progress reviews, they focus too much on the progress that apprentices make towards achieving the qualification and not specifically on what the apprentice needs to do to improve their skills, knowledge and behaviour to meet the requirements of their job role. Too many apprentices have had no more than one progress review over the duration of the apprenticeship programme. This results in employers not being sufficiently aware of how they can support apprentices by providing opportunities and experiences in the workplace to help them to improve and make progress.

p.4

Insufficient progress

The appointment of new staff is beginning to improve communication with employers. As a result, some employers are gaining a better understanding of how best to support their apprentices. Leaders and managers intend that the digital learning platform they have put in place will improve employers’ engagement in and contribution to the delivery of the programme.

p.4

Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring processes in place to enable them to identify when apprentices fall behind. Tutors do not ensure that apprentices are fully prepared to complete their apprentice programmes successfully. Apprentices are not confident about taking their end-point assessment and do not understand fully what they should be preparing for. Monitoring visit: Absolute Care Training, 28 and 29 September 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

p.4

Insufficient progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.5

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 .

p.5

Insufficient progress

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.5

Insufficient progress

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.5

Insufficient progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.5