Cedarwood Trust

Further education and skills inspection report

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Adult learning programmes Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

Cedarwood Trust provides adult learning programmes funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority. At the time of the inspection, 10 learners were studying health and social care as part of a ‘Step Up into Care’ initiative and fewer than five learners were studying catering as part of a ‘Nourish Academy’ initiative. Cedarwood Trust delivers learning programmes at its centre in in North Shields and at an outreach facility in Cambois in North Tyneside. 21 to 23 June 2023

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

Learners benefit from a calm and welcoming learning environment that helps them to engage fully in their programmes. The centre is the hub of the local community and offers a wide range of support services. Staff are friendly, caring and supportive throughout the centre.

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

Leaders and managers have created a culture that is respectful and courteous. Staff have high expectations about the behaviour of anyone visiting the centre. Incidents of bullying, harassment and discrimination are rare. Learners demonstrate a high level of respect during their time at the centre.

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

Learners develop their confidence and resilience and acquire knowledge that helps them to keep physically and mentally healthy. Staff provide helpful support and guidance for learners on healthy relationships through a useful learner handbook and information displayed throughout the centre. Leaders have employed a highly experienced member of staff who provides support for learners experiencing domestic violence and has useful links with the local police and support agencies.

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

Leaders and managers have created a safe and inclusive environment. Learners feel safe and know how to report any concerns. They describe feeling emotionally, physically and psychologically safe. Learners have a good awareness of the risks that they could face in the community, such as knife crime and drug trafficking.

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

Staff have not developed a sufficiently effective process to identify learners’ additional learning needs and to provide appropriate support. A few learners who self-declare that they have additional learning needs do not receive the specialist support that they need.

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better?

Leaders and managers have a clear purpose to provide a curriculum for health and social care and catering that enables learners to start their journey towards employment, volunteering and further learning. They use their wealth of experience in the voluntary and community sector to develop the curriculum and provide support for learners’ welfare. This enables learners with multiple and complex social needs and barriers to education to engage positively in their community and to access services that improve their lives.

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better?

Leaders and managers do not have in place sufficiently effective processes to assure the quality of education. They rely solely on external scrutiny by awarding organisations and do not carry out internal activities other than sporadic observations of teaching. Consequently, leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of the quality of education and do not know what they need to do to improve the provision. 21 to 23 June 2023

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Leader do not provide effective training and development opportunities for tutors to improve their teaching practice. In addition, they have not ensured that tutors in health and social care have undertaken sufficient vocationally related training. Leaders and managers do ensure that staff complete training in equality and diversity, manual handling, health and safety, data protection and first aid.

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Health and social care tutors do not ensure that all learners complete ongoing assessment tasks, such as homework. As a result, they cannot assure themselves of the progress that learners make, including the development of writing skills. For the minority of learners who have completed this work, the standard of work is good.

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Tutors plan and sequence the curriculum well. Learners studying catering complete accredited food hygiene courses before they can progress to practical catering courses. They then develop their knowledge of health and safety in the kitchen, including knife safety and safe use of equipment. Learners studying health and social care courses undertake core modules, such as in safeguarding and health safety, before they advance further.

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Tutors reinforce learners’ knowledge and skills effectively through frequent reminders and encourage learners to ask questions to explore topics. Catering tutors provide helpful information on the different cuts of beef and lamb and what the best cuts are for certain dishes. They also explain clearly why it is important to brown meat when cooking to deepen the flavour of dishes. Health and social care tutors reinforce learning through effective teaching strategies, such as using helpful videos and exploring learners’ own experiences of living with people with autism spectrum disorder.

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Tutors provide helpful coaching to learners when attending on a one-to-one basis. In health and social care, tutors contact learners who are not able to attend and provide coaching to address gaps in knowledge and to prepare learners for the final learning module assessments.

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Tutors provide helpful support to develop most learners’ English and mathematical skills. Learners in catering develop mathematical skills related to cooking, including the use of ratios when scaling large-portion recipes down to smaller proportions for preparing at home. They also learn about correct cooking timings, and measuring and weighing in recipes. Tutors develop learners’ spoken English skills through discussions related to legislation and terminology.

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Staff provide helpful information, advice and guidance to learners on the courses that they can follow at Cedarwood. They also provide information about extra support that is available, including support for mental health, accessing benefits and childcare. Throughout their programmes, learners benefit from helpful advice on their next steps, including into volunteering and support for employment.

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Trustees do not provide sufficient challenge or support to leaders to improve the quality of education, to monitor the progress that learners make or to monitor the 21 to 23 June 2023

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impact of the curriculum. Leaders have plans to appoint a trustee with a background in education to offer support and challenge, but this is not in place yet.

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Leaders and managers do not record accurately enough learners’ destinations on completion of their course. As a result, they are not fully aware of the impact of the curriculum that they provide.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and managers have in place appropriate policies and procedures that they use to keep learners safe. They promote an effective culture of safeguarding in the centre that has a positive impact on learners’ well-being.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and managers ensure that staff are suitable to work with adult learners. They conduct appropriate background checks, including through the Disclosure and Barring Service, and take references from recent employers.

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Safeguarding

Staff undertake annual training in safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty to keep their knowledge up to date.

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Safeguarding

Designated safeguarding leads are suitably experienced and trained for the role. They frequently collect relevant information from the local safeguarding partnership and from the regional ‘Prevent’ duty coordinator, which they share with staff and learners. This has recently included information on financial exploitation, self-harm and gambling awareness.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Implement appropriate processes to improve the quality of education.  Provide appropriate training for tutors to improve their teaching skills.  Ensure that health and social care tutors undertake relevant, vocationally related updating.  Accurately identify the additional needs of learners and put in place appropriate support.  Ensure that all learners complete assessment tasks so that tutors can measure the progress that they are making.  Ensure that trustees have oversight of the quality of education and the progress that learners make so that they can hold leaders to account.  Record the destinations of learners in order to be able to assess accurately the impact of programmes provided. 21 to 23 June 2023

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Provider details

Address The Meadow Well Centre Avon Avenue North Shields NE29 7QT

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Wayne Dobson

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Provider details

Provider type Independent learning provider

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors None 21 to 23 June 2023

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the education lead, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans and the previous 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

Jonny Wright, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Sarah Reynolds-Golding Ofsted Inspector 21 to 23 June 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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