Skills Recruitment Limited

Skills Recruitment Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Elaine Price, Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 November 2022

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Address:

Selby Mills Selby Industrial Estate Richard Street Kirkham Preston PR4 2HU Monitoring visit: Skills Recruitment Limited, 16 and 17 November 2022

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Context and focus of visit

Ofsted undertakes to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of education programmes for young people within the further education and skills sector. 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

Skills Recruitment Limited trades under the name of Skills Construction Centre (SCC). The company was formed in 2008 and received its funding contract to provide traineeships for learners aged 19 to 24 in March 2020 and those aged 16 to 18 years in November 2021. SCC has two construction centres based in Preston and Manchester. SCC currently has 31 learners, of whom 17 are aged 16 to 18 and the remainder are aged 19 to 24. Trainees are enrolled on programmes across a range of construction trades, which include qualifications at level 1 and 2 in brick and groundworks, joinery, multi-trades, plastering and painting and decorating.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have developed the traineeship programme to respond to local and national skills needs within the construction industry. The programme has been designed to prepare learners, many of whom are disadvantaged, to progress on to apprenticeships. Leaders and managers have established effective links with local and national construction employers. They use these links to provide learners with relevant work-placement opportunities.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers ensure that the programme develops learners’ vocational skills. However, leaders and managers have not ensured the programme provides learners with a challenging curriculum that helps them quickly to improve their English, mathematical and digital skills. The programme does not provide learners with sufficient work-preparation skills. Leaders do not ensure that learners receive a high-quality, impartial careers programme. Too many learners disengage from learning and leave the programme early. Leaders have recently changed the schedule of activities to support work preparation, but this has yet to be fully implemented.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have put in place quality assurance processes. However, these are not rigorous or robust enough to quickly identify the areas for Monitoring visit: Skills Recruitment Limited, 16 and 17 November 2022 improvement. Leaders acknowledge that they have yet to put in place effective governance arrangements to provide scrutiny and challenge to improve the quality of the traineeship programme.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have recruited well-qualified and experienced tutors. Leaders provide support to tutors who are new to teaching to gain teaching qualifications. All tutors are provided with continuous professional development to further improve their teaching skills. Tutors use their knowledge and skills to help learners gain useful vocational skills in a range of construction trades.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and staff provide high levels of support for learners. They encourage positive behaviour and work with learners to improve their attendance, providing learners with financial help for travel, for example. However, attendance is not high for all learners.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors identify learners’ existing skills, knowledge and experiences at the start of the programme but do not use this information to plan a curriculum that prepares learners to successfully seek employment or an apprenticeship. For example, learners who have been on programme for a number of months have not received support to create or update their curriculum vitae.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have not designed a traineeship programme that helps learners to quickly improve their English, mathematical and digital skills to help prepare them to be successful in their next steps. Learners are not provided with targets that will help them to gain the knowledge and skills they need to improve and attain for the duration of the programme.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors do not provide learners with useful feedback that helps them to improve their work. Feedback gives praise and is encouraging to learners, which increases their confidence and motivation. However, it does not help learners to improve the quality of their written work and their wider English skills. For example, learners spell the names of tools incorrectly. These errors are not corrected by tutors; consequently, learners repeat these errors in their work. Tutors do not provide learners with strategies to help them improve their English.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors use their knowledge and experience of the construction industry to plan vocational learning for learners effectively. All learners begin by learning the importance of health and safety in the construction industry. They then learn the different tools for the trades they are studying before developing more complex skills and techniques. For example, learners studying the level 1 brick and ground works Monitoring visit: Skills Recruitment Limited, 16 and 17 November 2022 award learn the correct techniques of levelling and securing the ground to lay brick paviours and paving flags. Learners enjoy their practical vocational learning. They practise their skills and, as a result, they produce work to a good standard.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have created a culture of safeguarding and place a high priority on the well- being of learners. They ensure that all staff receive training on ‘Prevent’ duty and safeguarding children and adults so that they know how to keep learners safe. There is a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy, who are appropriately trained to carry out their role. The DSL maintains a record of all incidents and concerns raised. The DSL and staff liaise with external agencies, such as the youth offending team and the local authority, to support the welfare of learners. Leaders carry out safe recruitment processes and checks to ensure staff are suitable to work with learners.

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Reasonable progress

Learners feel safe and know how to report any concerns they may have. They demonstrate a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe within the construction industry, such as the importance of using correct personal protective equipment when working on site. However, learners do not have a deep enough understanding of the risks associated with extremist behaviours or radicalisation.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have developed the traineeship programme for adults to help them progress into employment within the construction industry. They have included useful and relevant qualifications that help learners acquire the necessary skills and knowledge needed to be successful in gaining employment. For example, learners gain the construction skills certification scheme card, which enables them to participate in the work experience element of the programme.

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Insufficient progress

Learners on the level 2 plaster skimmer certificate learn about self-employment as part of their course. However, leaders and managers do not ensure that all learners are provided with sufficient guidance and support to prepare them to be successful in gaining employment, such as developing their interview skills.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not place a high enough priority on the development of learners’ English and mathematical skills as part of the traineeship programme. Learners do not always fully complete work they are set. As a result, too many learners make slow progress in developing their English and mathematical skills and in gaining their qualifications. Monitoring visit: Skills Recruitment Limited, 16 and 17 November 2022 Tutors do not provide feedback to learners that challenges them to improve their work. Tutors do not identify and encourage learners to correct spelling and grammar errors so that they improve their English skills. Tutors do not set learners challenging targets to help them improve their work. When learners do fall behind, actions are not precise and do not help learners to know what they need to do to improve.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors plan learning so that learners can practise and develop their construction skills over time. For example, learners on the joinery course learn basic skills, such as mortice and tenon joints, before moving on to more complex multi-joint frames. Learners develop good practical skills as a result of their training. The majority of learners who successfully complete their traineeship progress into employment or further learning. Monitoring visit: Skills Recruitment Limited, 16 and 17 November 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

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Insufficient progress

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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