Synergy Health (UK) Limited

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection of Synergy Health (UK) Limited

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Apprenticeships Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

Synergy Health (UK) Limited trades as STERIS Instrument Management Services. STERIS is a large international company that specialises in the decontamination of medical instruments. They began training apprentices in 2019. All current apprentices are level 2 healthcare science assistants and are directly employed by STERIS at locations across England. These include NHS sites and STERIS’s own facilities. At the time of the inspection, there were 18 apprentices. 9 to 11 May 2023

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices are very positive about their experiences. They are enthusiastic about their courses and enjoy their studies.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices develop substantial new knowledge and skills over the duration of the course. They come to understand the links between theory and their work practices. Through opportunities to experience different parts of STERIS’s business and aspects of the NHS, they develop an understanding of how their own work affects the wider success of the healthcare sector.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices’ training equips them with the core knowledge and skills that they need for their own roles. It builds the foundations that they need to gain promotion or move into more specialised areas of work. Consequently, they grow in confidence throughout their studies.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Managers ensure that apprentices’ line managers understand from the outset the demands of the apprenticeship programme. They provide frequent updates on how well apprentices are performing on their courses. This enables line managers to support apprentices to develop their workplace skills well.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices feel safe in the workplace and when learning. The supportive and professional culture means that they are confident about sharing concerns, which is important given the potentially high-risk nature of their work.

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better?

Leaders and managers view the apprenticeship as the key training programme for the development and retention of specialised sterilisation staff within their business. They are ambitious for apprentices to gain a deep understanding of decontamination processes, and for them to deliver excellent results for customers. They have selected suitable course content that equips apprentices for their work roles and introduces them to the wider work of healthcare providers, especially the NHS.

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better?

Trainer assessors (TAs) introduce apprentices to topics and important work tasks in a logical order. For example, apprentices undertake cleanroom tasks before building on the knowledge they gain from this with the more complex tasks of the washroom. This helps apprentices to develop a clear understanding of theory and how it is applied in practice.

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better?

Managers and staff understand that their apprentices may have differing learning needs and they take appropriate steps to support those who need extra help. This includes providing additional time, more frequent breaks and access to information technology resources for apprentices who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps to ensure that all apprentices make good progress. 9 to 11 May 2023

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Because of the specialised nature of the work, TAs are decontamination experts recruited from within STERIS. Managers ensure that new TAs undertake a suitable programme of training and development before they start teaching. This includes shadowing and then supporting established TAs, and completing introductory teaching and assessment qualifications. As a result, TAs use their vocational expertise well to provide a good standard of theoretical and practical tuition. Managers have developed a well-structured programme of training for workplace mentors, and this has resulted in good mentoring support for apprentices.

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TAs mostly make effective use of assessment tools and techniques to check apprentices’ understanding of topics and to help them to practise what they learn. They give appropriate feedback that helps apprentices to improve their understanding and to sharpen their skills. Consequently, apprentices produce written and practical work of a good standard.

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TAs prepare apprentices well for their final assessments. Those apprentices who stay to the end of their course are successful, and a large majority achieve high grades. Although too many of the previous cohort of apprentices did not complete their studies, managers identified the reasons and made changes to recruitment and guidance procedures. Current apprentices remain on their courses and are on track to achieve.

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Apprentices develop the skills and knowledge needed for their next steps. The vast majority stay within their role at STERIS, gain promotion or move into a more specialist area of work such sterilisation of dental or neuroscientific equipment.

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Staff set clear behavioural expectations for apprentices during induction and reinforce them throughout the course. They monitor attendance and progress carefully and take suitable action on the rare occasions when apprentices do not perform as expected.

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Staff provide apprentices with opportunities to develop their personal skills and to broaden their understanding of a range of themes including health and well-being, religious practices, relationships, sexual health, female genital mutilation, county lines gangs and drink driving. They do this through workshops, newsletters, training materials and online resources. However, while these activities are useful, they do not form a coherent programme. Managers are aware of this and are currently reviewing and developing this aspect of the curriculum.

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Leaders and managers have developed a particularly thorough package of careers information, advice and guidance that includes careers workshops, thorough individual careers interviews, and opportunities to experience a range of roles within and outside of the business. This helps apprentices to identify suitable careers paths within STERIS and in the wider health sector and to make good choices when they complete their studies.

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Managers have developed appropriate quality assurance processes to support improvements in teaching and assessment. They evaluate the quality of provision 9 to 11 May 2023

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accurately and enact sensible improvement actions. However, they have not yet developed a strong programme of ongoing pedagogical training to support TAs once they have completed their initial training. For example, although managers have identified some need to improve TAs’ use of questioning, they have not yet provided training. Managers do not always make links between the weaknesses that they identify through lesson observations and the development plans of individual TAs.

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Quality assurance of the content and sequencing of the curriculum is not as well developed. While the content and sequencing of the curriculum is suitable, this is not the result of strong management oversight. Managers have recognised this and have recently started a full review of the curriculum.

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Managers use subcontractors to provide tuition for the small number of apprentices who need to gain functional skills qualifications. They have appropriate arrangements for checking the suitability of potential subcontractors and thorough processes for monitoring the progress of apprentices.

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TAs have dual roles, working with apprentices and in wider training for the organisation. As a result, they are sometimes faced with competing priorities. Managers are aware of this and manage workloads appropriately.

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Managers have made sensible arrangements for governance, which include external scrutiny. Governors understand the apprenticeship programme and provide suitable support and challenge to managers. They are aware of the few weaknesses in the provision and the actions managers are taking to address them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The designated safeguarding lead and three safeguarding officers are appropriately trained and understand their roles well. They ensure that all TAs receive suitable training. They have developed clear and thorough safeguarding policies that include safer recruitment procedures. They have produced a ‘Prevent’ risk assessment and action plan that considers information received from the regional ‘Prevent’ coordinators from all the areas in which they operate. On the rare occasions when safeguarding concerns arise, safeguarding staff deal with them well and record their actions thoroughly. Apprentices work in a potentially dangerous environment and receive training in health and safety alongside training in wider safeguarding themes.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Leaders and managers should complete the curriculum review that they have started to ensure that the content and sequencing of the curriculum is further strengthened. 9 to 11 May 2023

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 Leaders and managers should strengthen arrangements for providing ongoing pedagogical training for TAs so that training to tackle weaker aspects of teaching and assessment is provided in a timely way, and so that there are stronger links between lesson observation outcomes and individual professional development plans.  Leaders and managers should review the personal development curriculum to ensure that apprentices benefit from a coherent programme rather than a collection of unrelated activities. 9 to 11 May 2023

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Provider details

Address STERIS Head Office New Market Drive Derby DE24 8SW

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Doros Polydorou

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited Ixion Holdings (Contracts) Limited 9 to 11 May 2023

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of training, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the new provider monitoring visit report. The inspection was carried out using the further education and skills inspection handbook and took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors collected a wide range of evidence to inform judgements, including visiting learning sessions, scrutinising learners’ work, seeking the views of learners, staff and other stakeholders, and examining the provider’s documentation and records.

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Inspection team

Russ Henry, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Angela Twelvetree His Majesty’s Inspector 9 to 11 May 2023

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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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