Eden Training Academy Limited

Eden Training Academy Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Jonny Wright, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

12 Belasis Court Greenwood Road Billingham Teesside TS23 4AZ Monitoring visit: Eden Training Academy Limited, 10 and 11 January 2023

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Context and focus of visit

Ofsted undertakes to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of adult learning provision where the provision offered is in scope for inspection. 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

Eden Training Academy Limited (Eden) began to deliver adult learning provision in 2020. At the time of the monitoring visit, 11 learners were on adult learning programmes. Learners follow short functional English and mathematics courses to support them in making progress towards employment and further learning. Eden provides training in community-based venues across Teesside.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have a clear rationale: to provide learning that enables adults to engage in training and to improve the English and mathematics skills that they need for their everyday lives and to progress into employment. They attract adults to their programmes by offering courses in addition to English and mathematics, such as a driving theory course that helps adults to improve their confidence and progress towards gaining a driving licence.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers work well with community-based organisations to provide courses in the areas where learners live. They provide accessible training in community centres, which learners value highly. Learners are also able to access additional support in the community centres for their mental health and well-being while following Eden’s programmes.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers liaise closely with organisations, such as drug and alcohol recovery teams, working with learners who have complex issues. They provide bespoke programmes for learners who engage well in learning, with most gaining qualifications, often for the first time.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers employ tutors with relevant experience and qualifications in teaching English and mathematics. Tutors also have experience in additional areas, including arts and crafts and beauty therapy. Tutors benefit from helpful, ongoing Monitoring visit: Eden Training Academy Limited, 10 and 11 January 2023 training to improve their teaching skills, with topics such as effective assessment of learners with additional needs and behaviour management.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their provision. They carry out a wide range of quality assurance activities to identify areas for improvement and take appropriate action. This has resulted in improvements, such as the assessment of learners’ work to identify accurately the gaps that learners have in their knowledge and skills.

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Reasonable progress

Managers have a good overview of the progress that learners make. They receive weekly reports from tutors, and when learners are not making expected progress, they ensure that effective actions are put in place to help learners catch up. Actions include tutors providing individual support to learners and additional training sessions.

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Reasonable progress

Managers plan the English and mathematics curriculum thoughtfully, ensuring that it includes a variety of topics that meet learners’ needs and engage their interest. Learners join the courses for a range of reasons, including acquiring a driving licence, gaining a health and safety card to work on construction sites, developing the basic retail skills they need to work in this sector, and achieving a food hygiene certificate to help them gain employment. Managers ensure that the curriculum content reflects the different reasons that learners have for improving their English and mathematics skills.

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Reasonable progress

Staff teach English and mathematics effectively through the topics embedded into the curriculum, such as driving theory. Learners develop their mathematical skills through driving-related topics such as calculating stopping distances in different conditions and comparing fuel consumption and costs. In English, tutors support learners to use the driver theory handbook and the correct terminology. By explaining correct driving manoeuvres, learners successfully develop their verbal communication skills.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors plan learning activities in a well-structured way so that learners can master basic principles and techniques before introducing more complex and challenging activities. Early in mathematics courses, tutors support learners to add and subtract accurately before moving on to more challenging multiplication, division and use of fractions. Tutors then set learners more complex activities, such as estimating, comparing and presenting data in graphical form. Monitoring visit: Eden Training Academy Limited, 10 and 11 January 2023 Learners participate in learning enthusiastically. They enjoy developing their English and mathematical skills while, for example, working towards achieving their driving licence theory test. However, all learners complete the same learning activities during their programmes regardless of their prior knowledge and skills and the level at which they have been initially assessed. Some learners find aspects of the work

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Reasonable progress

challenging, while some others are not set work that is challenging enough.

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Reasonable progress

Through participating in courses, learners improve their confidence. They value the personal support that they receive from tutors. Through this support and the new knowledge and skills that they gain, many learners are motivated to seek out new learning and employment opportunities, which they did not have the confidence to do previously.

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Reasonable progress

Managers have implemented effective policies and procedures that they use to keep learners safe. These include a comprehensive ‘Prevent’ duty risk assessment and action plan that they update frequently.

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Reasonable progress

Designated safeguarding leads are appropriately trained and experienced for their role. They liaise closely with local colleges and local councils to keep up to date with safeguarding risks. They frequently share this information with staff, who inform learners of risks relevant to them, including knife crime and incels.

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Reasonable progress

Managers ensure that staff are suitable to work with adult learners. They carry out appropriate background checks. All staff complete annual safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty training and receive frequent updates from managers.

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Reasonable progress

Learners feel safe and know how to report any concerns that they have. They are confident that any concerns will be dealt with. Learners can explain the different types of extremism and how they and people who they know could be at risk of radicalisation. Monitoring visit: Eden Training Academy Limited, 10 and 11 January 2023 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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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