GHQ Training Limited

GHQ Training Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Matt Hann, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

2 Elizabeth Court Whimple Street City Centre Plymouth PL1 2DH Monitoring visit: GHQ Training Limited, 2 and 3 May 2023

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Context and focus of visit

GHQ Training Limited (GHQ) was inspected in July 2022. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

The focus of this monitoring visit was to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in resolving the main areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Context and focus of visit

GHQ is a training provider based in Devon. It trains adult learners at three training centres, with the large majority of training programmes based at its centre in Plymouth. The remaining learners study at its hairdressing and barbering training salons in Torbay or St Austell.

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Context and focus of visit

Around 95 learners study a training programme at GHQ, and all are aged 19 and over. Around three-fifths of these learners’ study hairdressing or barbering at level 3. The remaining learners study a programme in supporting teaching and learning in schools, early years education, assessing vocational achievement, beauty therapy, and business administration at level 3.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not yet put in place sufficiently robust arrangements to ensure that those responsible for governance can hold them to account for the quality of education. Although leaders have now appointed a ‘critical friend’, they do not currently present them with information in sufficient detail to enable the ‘critical friend’ to scrutinise and challenge leaders.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not yet put in place an effective method by which those responsible for governance can maintain oversight of the quality of education. For example, the ‘critical friend’ has had too few opportunities to hold leaders to account. They do not receive sufficient analysis on the effectiveness of the training at the different training centres or across the range of training programmes ahead of governance meetings. As a result, valuable opportunities to help hold leaders to account are missed.

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Reasonable progress

Monitoring visit: GHQ Training Limited, 2 and 3 May 2023

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when they leave?

Leaders ensure that the training they provide meets the needs of the employers they work with. They use trainers who are current practitioners in industry to inform the content of the curriculum. For example, trainers have recently updated the beauty therapy training programme to make it more current. As a result, learners are being equipped with the skills they need to become employed beauty therapists.

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when they leave?

Leaders have made appropriate arrangements to identify their learners’ destinations at the end of their training programme. For example, for the large majority of leavers, leaders know whether they are employed, self-employed, undertaking further training or are unemployed. Staff routinely follow up with phone calls to leavers to identify actual destinations where these are not known. As a result, leaders collect useful information to assure themselves that the training they provide allows their learners to gain employment.

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when they leave?

However, leaders do not routinely analyse all the useful information they collect on the effectiveness of the curriculum sufficiently well enough. For example, leaders are not clear whether the different stakeholder views they collect reflect all training centres and training programmes. This means that leaders miss valuable opportunities to monitor the performance of their training programmes and to assure themselves about the effectiveness of the curriculum.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that learners follow a curriculum that raises their confidence levels and enables them to make informed decisions about their chosen career. For example, learners studying a hairdressing or beauty therapy programme practise their skills in the training salons to replicate the work environment. Trainers support their learners to obtain the work experience they need in their local area. As a result, learners gain useful experiences to help prepare them for future employment.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have created valuable opportunities for their learners to better understand the industry they aspire to work in. For example, leaders have collaborated with charities to provide hairdressing or beauty therapy treatments to vulnerable people for free. This means that learners develop their customer service skills with a wide range of clients.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have made appropriate arrangements to monitor the progress of their learners. For example, centre managers track the progress that their learners are making. Centre managers use learner attendance and assessment information to monitor whether learners are ahead or behind the progress stage that is expected of them. However, it is too soon to see the impact of this work because it is in its Monitoring visit: GHQ Training Limited, 2 and 3 May 2023 infancy. At the time of the monitoring visit, around one-fifth of learners had not completed their training programme within the expected time.

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opportunities that are available to them?

Leaders have made appropriate arrangements to provide their learners with useful careers information, advice and guidance. For example, since the full inspection, leaders have provided training to a member of staff to become a specialist careers advisor. As a result, learners have access to the support they need to move into employment or further training when they leave their training programme.

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opportunities that are available to them?

Leaders have appointed trainers who have high levels of knowledge about the industry they work in. Trainers use their knowledge and experience to help guide learners towards gaining employment after completing their training programme. As a result, most learners successfully make the transition from their training programme into the industry they aspire to work in. Monitoring visit: GHQ Training Limited, 2 and 3 May 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

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opportunities that are available to them?

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opportunities that are available to them?

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opportunities that are available to them?

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opportunities that are available to them?

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