Stepping Stones Education and Training Limited

Stepping Stones Education and Training Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Stuart Collett, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

Unit 2, Brindley Court Dalewood Road Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 9QA Monitoring visit: Stepping Stones Education and Training, 21 and 22 June 2023

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Context and focus of visit

Stepping Stones Education and Training 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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Context and focus of visit

At the time of the visit, there were 62 apprentices, almost all following apprenticeship standards. Of these, 17 were on the level 3 business administrator, 12 on the level 3 team leader or supervisor, 15 on the level 2 hair professional, eight on the level 2 hospitality team member, seven on the level 2 supply chain operative, five on the level 2 lean manufacturing operative, four on the level 3 advanced and creative hair professional, three on the level 2 customer service practitioner apprenticeship, and two apprentices on the level 4 in management apprenticeship framework.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have been too slow to coordinate on- and off-the-job learning. Since the previous inspection, they have not made progress in clearly planning and tracking activity to ensure that apprentices have opportunities to practise their new skills in the workplace.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that all employers are sufficiently aware of apprentices’ learning or the knowledge, skills and behaviours they should support apprentices to develop. As a result, the majority of apprentices do not have opportunities to practise and develop fluency of their new skills at work.

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Insufficient progress

In a few cases, tutors are committed to building strong relationships with employers. They work with employers to better understand how the taught curriculum content can be linked to the workplace. However, the assessors lead this themselves rather than leaders. Consequently, for too many apprentices, this approach is too reactive and relies too heavily on the enthusiasm of the employer to engage in apprentices’ learning. Monitoring visit: Stepping Stones Education and Training, 21 and 22 June 2023

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not identify the vocational starting points of apprentices or use the limited information they gather to create sufficiently individualised learning plans for apprentices. As a result, all apprentices study the same curriculum, regardless of their starting points.

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Insufficient progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have implemented a skills scan to understand starting points of apprentices better. However, this is too closely linked to assessment of the units within the qualification rather than examining the learning, skills, and behaviours within the apprenticeship standard that apprentices already have some knowledge of. As a result, assessors still do not have useful information on which to determine apprentices’ starting points and plan their learning effectively.

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Insufficient progress

In a minority of cases, for example in level 2 hair professionals, tutors routinely discuss with apprentices their prior knowledge and can adapt the curriculum successfully. However, this activity is led by the assessor, and it is not widespread practice across all apprenticeships.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that apprentices who are highly capable and make rapid progress have their knowledge developed further with increasingly challenging activities. For example, apprentices who have significant prior vocational knowledge or experience are not given additional work to continue their development after completing their assessments. As a result, they do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Insufficient progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have not acted quickly enough to engage governors with the appropriate experience to provide them with sufficient challenge on the quality of the education they provide.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders’ and governors’ focus has been on regaining financial stability as the provider recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, leaders prioritised the recruitment of a new member of the board, who possesses experience in business development, and this new member has recently taken up their post. Monitoring visit: Stepping Stones Education and Training, 21 and 22 June 2023 Leaders have very recently appointed a new member of the board, who has the required experience to help to drive improvements in the quality of education. However, this new governor has yet to attend their first meeting, and consequently they are yet to make an impact. As a result, the arrangements for governance have not yet sufficiently improved, and the board does not yet demonstrate a clear focus on making the improvements needed.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not taken sufficient action to develop or improve their quality assurance processes. Consequently, they are not sufficiently aware of the strengths and weaknesses within the quality of teaching and learning.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders’ newly implemented quality improvement plan fails to respond to most of the areas for development identified during the previous inspection. As a result, leaders have been unable to focus on rectifying improvements required in these areas. Similarly, those areas for improvement that have been identified are often imprecise and do not detail what impact leaders believe these improvements will have on apprentices’ learning experiences.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not ensured that observations of tutors’ practice and internal quality assurance activities have been developed to focus on learning. Instead, focus is too heavily concentrated on the actions of the tutor rather than consideration of the quality of the learning experience. As a result, leaders remain unclear on the strengths and weaknesses of the quality of education that apprentices receive.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that they routinely analyse or review the quality of education that apprentices receive. During meetings, leaders discuss the quality of education only by exception, such as approving and discussing the design of the new quality improvement plan, and do not regularly consider the experience of apprentices or monitor their progress. As a result, they do not have a clear view of the quality of the apprenticeships that they offer and are therefore unable to intervene swiftly enough where improvements are needed. Monitoring visit: Stepping Stones Education and Training, 21 and 22 June 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

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Insufficient progress

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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Insufficient 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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