Citrus Training Limited

Citrus Training Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Saul Pope, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Citrus Group House Nene Park Diamond Way Irthlingborough Wellingborough NN9 5QF Monitoring visit: Citrus Training Limited, 18 and 19 October 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

Citrus Training Limited (Citrus) provides apprenticeships and part-time adult learning programmes to those in the construction industry. Both apprentices and adult learners work in locations across the country. They mostly study through online learning platforms.

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Context and focus of visit

At the time of the monitoring visit, 79 apprentices and 18 adult learners studied at Citrus. Apprentices followed either the level 3 team leader/supervisor standard, or the level 5 operations/departmental manager standard. Adult learners studied the NVQ level 3 diploma in occupational work supervision. All apprentices and learners were aged over 18.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear, appropriate rationale for the apprenticeships they offer. They aim to develop future leaders for the construction industry. Leaders and managers use their considerable expertise in the sector, as well as roles on construction skills committees, to ensure that their apprenticeship courses match well with current industry needs.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers work closely with employers to plan apprenticeship courses to meet employers’ needs. For example, they plan course content so that apprentices gain useful additional qualifications, such as higher level site safety certification, alongside new knowledge and skills. Following feedback from employers, managers and tutors appropriately refined courses to ensure that apprentices are not overwhelmed by their workload during their studies. Monitoring visit: Citrus Training Limited, 18 and 19 October 2022 Tutors have considerable industry experience, including in construction management roles. They continue to update their sector-specific knowledge through professional memberships of relevant organisations. Tutors also have suitable teaching qualifications.

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Reasonable progress

Citrus’s staff provide apprentices and their line managers with helpful information, advice and guidance at the start of their courses. Line managers understand clearly their responsibilities. They ensure that apprentices have sufficient time to study, and attend review activities frequently. If apprentices fall behind with their courses, their line managers work well with Citrus’s staff to ensure that they catch up.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders use external consultants to help them monitor the overall quality of apprenticeships. They act quickly to make appropriate changes when consultants identify weaknesses. However, leaders do not use their own quality assurance activities, such as observations of teaching sessions, to focus closely enough on tutors’ individual development needs.

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Reasonable progress

Governors have suitable backgrounds for their roles, for example in education leadership. They hold leaders to account well for the quality of apprenticeships, and have a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision.

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Reasonable progress

On both level 3 and level 5 apprenticeship courses, tutors plan effectively the topics that they teach. For example, they focus level 3 apprentices on self-awareness and self-management before they teach them about people-management styles. Tutors frequently refer back to key topics such as communication during the course.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors also plan learning sessions well. They use high-quality teaching resources. During lessons, they ensure that there are plentiful opportunities to recap topics that they have previously covered. In addition, they use effectively apprentices’ own experiences in the workplace to illustrate key teaching points. Tutors carefully check the progress that apprentices make at both level 3 and level 5, so that they can quickly offer extra support to apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices who need to improve their mathematics and English knowledge benefit from additional training from subject-specialist tutors. Tutors use assessment well to identify the knowledge and skills that apprentices most need to develop. However, in a minority of cases, apprentices wait too long to start their English studies.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices and their employers have a sound understanding of their final course assessments. Tutors thoroughly prepare apprentices for presentations and Monitoring visit: Citrus Training Limited, 18 and 19 October 2022 professional discussions. Employers work with apprentices to devise appropriate final projects.

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Reasonable progress

As a result of their studies, apprentices gain valuable professional leadership knowledge and skills. Apprentices who study at level 5 work with their site managers to make improvements to processes, or manage contracting processes more effectively. Level 3 apprentices become more adept at time management, and prioritising work activities.

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Reasonable progress

Although tutors assess apprentices’ starting points to ensure that they are eligible for courses, they do not involve apprentices’ line managers closely enough. Instead, they mostly rely on apprentices’ own judgements of their abilities. As a result, tutors miss out on an important insight when planning the knowledge, skills and behaviours that apprentices most need to develop.

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Insufficient progress

Adult learners who study occupational work supervision do not gain substantial new knowledge and skills through their studies. Tutors do not plan the order of topics that they teach thoroughly enough. They do not consider carefully the new knowledge that learners most need to develop to be more effective at work.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors spend the majority of lessons assessing the knowledge that learners already have. They do not spend sufficient time teaching new knowledge and skills to learners. In addition, tutors frequently cram too many topics together within a short space of time. As a result of ineffective planning and teaching, learners struggle to recall what they have learned in previous lessons. A significant minority of learners quickly become disengaged with their studies, and leave the course early.

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Insufficient progress

Managers and tutors do not have a precise enough understanding of learners’ progress. When they track progress, tutors focus on recording the topics they cover with learners, rather than on whether learners have a sound knowledge of these. As a result, they cannot identify quickly which learners make good progress, and which learners are at risk of not completing their studies.

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Insufficient progress

Managers and tutors recruit learners with integrity. Learners are ambitious to gain new knowledge and skills, as well as a formal qualification that will enhance their career prospects in the construction industry. Learners also complete suitable initial assessment activities to ensure that they have appropriate mathematical, English and digital skills to undertake the course successfully. In a few cases, tutors do not support learners with low levels of digital skills to develop these. Monitoring visit: Citrus Training Limited, 18 and 19 October 2022 Leaders acknowledge fully the weaknesses in their adult learning programmes. They have taken initial steps to rectify these, although it was too early to measure their impact during the monitoring visit.

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Reasonable progress

Staff with responsibility for safeguarding complete appropriate training to ensure that they can undertake the role of designated safeguarding lead effectively. They also complete useful additional activities, such as attending events focused on counterterrorism and involvement in the regional ‘Prevent’ forum.

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Reasonable progress

Safeguarding leads ensure that there are appropriate safer recruitment procedures in place, as well as up-to-date policies. They train managers and tutors thoroughly on the processes for reporting safeguarding concerns. When safeguarding concerns arise, safeguarding leads offer apprentices and adult learners suitable support.

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Reasonable progress

During their studies, apprentices and adult learners cover topics such as modern slavery, the dangers of radicalisation and extremism, and staying safe when online. The materials that staff use are often directly relevant to apprentices’ professional environments. As a result, they recall well specific safeguarding risks. Adult learners do not cover safeguarding topics in such depth, and as a result have a less thorough knowledge of these.

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Reasonable progress

Both adult learners and apprentices rightly feel safe when they study. Monitoring visit: Citrus Training Limited, 18 and 19 October 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

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

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