His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Ian Frear, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Address:

Langley House Benton Park View Newcastle upon Tyne NE98 1ZZ Monitoring visit: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, 26 and 27 April 2023

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Context and focus of visit

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs was inspected in June 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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Reasonable progress

Following the previous inspection, managers introduced measures to ensure that tax academy apprentices were given the support that they needed to achieve their apprenticeship. Apprentices received additional end-point assessment preparation sessions, as well as individual coaching and mentoring. They were also given additional time to complete assignments and to ensure that they were well prepared for their end-point assessment. A high proportion of these apprentices successfully completed their apprenticeship, and a few gained a distinction grade.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have improved the apprenticeship recruitment process to reverse the very low retention and achievement on programmes in recent years. They now conduct informative pre-enrolment guidance sessions and rigorous interviews, and they check prospective apprentices’ suitability and motivation to work for the civil service, their employment history and their academic attainment. In addition, leaders have implemented a temporary pause in recruitment to the level 3 public sector compliance investigator and level 4 professional accounting/tax technician apprenticeship while they redesign and consider the future delivery model for these programmes. As a result of leaders’ actions, retention on the level 4 counter fraud investigator apprenticeship is high. This is the only apprenticeship programme currently being delivered. Apprentices on this programme are making swift and sustained progress over time.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have made significant changes to how they assure the quality of apprenticeship provision, and their oversight is now much more effective. They recently introduced a decision-making forum, through which managers and curriculum leads are held more rigorously to account for the progress of their apprentices. Leaders now have a range of measures to indicate if an apprentice may be at risk of withdrawal so that interventions can quickly be out in place. However, Monitoring visit: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, 26 and 27 April 2023 managers do not systematically check apprentices’ English and mathematics skills well enough at the start of the programme to ensure they have an accurate understanding of apprentices’ starting points in these subjects. This means that, for a few apprentices, including those with additional learning needs, there is not enough planning or support in place to help them to achieve their full potential.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders subcontract functional skills provision to a specialist training provider for the small number of apprentices who need to gain qualifications in English and mathematics. They hold frequent discussions with subcontractor staff to determine the progress that apprentices are making. Curriculum leads have access to the electronic monitoring system, so they can see the progress that apprentices are making. When an apprentice is falling behind, curriculum leads hold purposeful discussions with subcontractor staff to ensure that appropriate support and timely intervention take place. As a result, almost all current apprentices are making at least the expected, or better, progress in readiness for their examinations. Leaders have ensured that apprentices who needed to achieve functional skills qualifications at the time of the previous inspection have now done so.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have designed a curriculum that successfully develops and extends apprentices’ English and mathematics skills. Apprentices undertake an initial 20-week training block, during which they learn about the fundamental aspects of tax investigation, report writing, creating warrant requests and tax-related mathematical formulas. They develop their English and mathematical skills well during this period and receive frequent and helpful feedback to improve. For example, when apprentices learn how to write search warrant requests to investigate clients, their work is carefully marked to ensure that their writing is in line with HMRC’s house style, including the use of technical and legal language. Over time, apprentices improve the accuracy of their writing skills.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have invested in a new ‘skills builder’ package to support the development of apprentices’ English and mathematics skills. There is a clear intent from leaders to use this as part of initial and diagnostic assessments for all new apprentices. Currently, it is being piloted as an additional component, to support a few apprentices to develop their skills further. As it is still an optional package for apprentices, it is too early to determine whether this system is effective or not.

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Reasonable progress

Monitoring visit: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, 26 and 27 April 2023

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realise their aspirations?

Since the last inspection, leaders have enhanced the opportunities for recently recruited apprentices to learn about future career options. Apprentices receive specific career planning sessions after they have been on the apprenticeship for six months, which aligns with the completion of their initial 20-week block of training. Trainers provide apprentices with more frequent career planning conversations during progress reviews that focus on employment beyond their apprenticeship. Leaders also now provide workshops for apprentices, which includes guest speakers from the Department for Work and Pensions and civil service careers schemes, as well as providing them with the opportunity to meet graduates of the HMRC tax graduate programme, who talk about their learning experiences. This information helps apprentices to understand future career opportunities that are available to them within the civil service on completion of their programme.

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realise their aspirations?

Leaders now ensure that apprentices access a broader range of information about career opportunities that exist outside of HMRC. Apprentices know, for instance, that completing the counter fraud investigator apprenticeship will enable them to transfer to other government departments or enter related employment, such as insurance investigation work in private practices. The guidance from the newly introduced workplace mentors means that apprentices have more frequent and structured career conversations. Apprentices have access to a range of materials, including online resources, that help them explore their future opportunities in more detail.

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realise their aspirations?

Leaders carefully considered when to provide previous apprentices on the tax academy programmes with career information, as most were already well past their planned end date. They decided to prioritise training to prepare apprentices for end- point assessment so that apprentices could successfully complete their apprenticeship before providing specific guidance about career development opportunities. Leaders have continued to provide support for these former apprentices, which has helped a few to gain promotion to more senior and specialist roles.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders provide in-house training for new staff, which prepares them well to teach and assess. Staff attend a short course of training, which is followed by frequent observations of their teaching, meetings and support sessions, enabling them to have the teaching skills considered necessary by leaders to teach effectively. Leaders have recently introduced an accredited training programme for staff, to enhance their teaching. Monitoring visit: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, 26 and 27 April 2023 Leaders carry out a range of useful quality assurance activities, including observations of lessons and progress reviews, to ensure that teachers do their job effectively. Leaders and tax experts conduct peer reviews of taught sessions to check that course content is accurate and current. Apprentices complete frequent learning surveys and provide feedback to suggest improvements to the quality of teaching and assessment. Leaders use this information to adapt the content and delivery of

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Reasonable progress

training sessions and identify improvement actions. The actions that leaders take in response to the information they receive help staff to successfully teach, assess and support their apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Staff are experienced and well trained in their disciplines and use their specialist skills and knowledge effectively in their teaching. For example, those who teach on the counter fraud investigator apprenticeship are experienced counter fraud investigators. Monitoring visit: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, 26 and 27 April 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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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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