Sodexo Limited

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 Apprenticeships Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

Sodexo Limited (Sodexo) employs around 30,000 people in the UK and Ireland and partners with clients in many sectors across business and industry, schools and universities, sports and leisure, energy and resources, government and agencies, and healthcare, justice and defence.

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Information about this provider

Sodexo operates as an employer provider based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Leaders joined the register of apprenticeship training providers in January 2018 but did not start training apprentices until September 2021. Sodexo provides the level 3 custody and detention professional apprenticeship standard to train prison custody officers recruited to work in their prisons. At the time of inspection, Sodexo had 67 apprentices, 40 of whom based in HMP Bronzefield and 27 based in HMP Northumberland. All apprentices are over the age of 19. The provider subcontracts its functional skills provision to Oxbridge Learning. 11 to 13 July 2023

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

Apprentices demonstrate high levels of professionalism and competence in the workplace and during off-the job training. They are respectful of colleagues and prisoners and routinely demonstrate the positive behaviours and attitudes they need to carry out their challenging roles and responsibilities in the prison environment. Apprentices communicate effectively in a range of situations, such as when dealing with violent or vulnerable prisoners at risk of harm. They develop and demonstrate the key knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for the job.

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

Apprentices’ attendance at work and in training is high. They explain the importance of high attendance and reliability in a job where absence places the regime under pressure and has a negative impact on prisoner and staff conditions and experiences.

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

Apprentices benefit from a range of ongoing support to ensure that they deal effectively with the emotional impact of their roles. Leaders and managers place a key focus on ensuring apprentices’ emotional and physical well-being. Apprentices develop their characters, confidence and resilience. They are well prepared to deal effectively with the challenges of their role.

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

Many apprentices rightly express their frustration at the delays in functional skills provision and a lack of protected time to complete study and work for their apprenticeship once they enter the workplace after their initial block of off-the-job training.

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

Apprentices develop a thorough understanding of safeguarding and safe working practices. They feel safe despite their high-risk working environment. Apprentices know how to report concerns and how to follow operating and lockdown procedures. They receive useful restraint and control training from specialist staff from the offender management unit. Apprentices deal effectively and swiftly with safety and safeguarding concerns as they arise. They benefit from support, counselling and the care team at each site when apprentices witness traumatic or distressing incidents.

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better?

Leaders and managers have developed an appropriate apprenticeship that meets their needs as an employer provider and the needs of their apprentices. The training that apprentices receive helps them to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to be effective prison custody officers. However, despite improvements since the new provider monitoring visit, leaders have not yet ensured a consistently high-quality curriculum for apprentices. Too many apprentices from the early cohorts left their apprenticeship and their role.

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better?

Leaders and managers know the strengths and weaknesses of their provision. They have focused on rectifying most of the areas for improvement identified during the new provider monitoring visit and through their self-assessment processes. Leaders have 11 to 13 July 2023

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strengthened areas such as governance. Those responsible for governance now provide support and challenge to senior leaders while maintaining a much-improved oversight of apprentices’ progress, safeguarding issues and referrals. They recognise that the quality of training that apprentices receive requires further improvement.

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Leaders have been too slow to provide timely functional skills training for apprentices who need English or mathematics qualifications prior to progressing to gateway. This has resulted in too many apprentices making slower-than-expected progress and failing to complete and achieve their apprenticeship on time.

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Leaders and learning coaches plan and teach on- and off-the-job training in a logical order. Apprentices learn how to deal with prisoner self-harm and suicide, challenging and violent behaviour, and how to carry out prisoner and cell searches. They apply their newly learned knowledge and skills effectively at work. However, leaders do not ensure that all apprentices routinely receive sufficient protected time to complete the study and apprenticeship work that they need to do in the workplace. This slows their progress.

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A few staff do not use assessment strategies effectively. This impacts on their ability to check accurately apprentices’ understanding of key information. Learning coaches do not consistently use feedback or target setting effectively to ensure that all apprentices understand what they need to do to improve the quality of their work. Although most staff provide written feedback, it is too generic and does not provide apprentices with the information they need make the required improvements. Learning coaches do not routinely correct apprentices’ written work for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. This results in some apprentices making the same errors in their writing.

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Apprentices benefit from regular progress reviews with their learning coaches and line managers. Most line managers work well with learning coaches to routinely provide information on apprentices’ application of knowledge, skills and behaviours at work. However, due to work commitments, a few managers are not always able to attend reviews. This restricts their ability to understand clearly the progress that their apprentices make and inhibits how they support their apprentices to improve further.

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Leaders do not plan careers information, advice and guidance well enough. Most apprentices benefit from insightful careers information, advice and guidance on an ad-hoc basis. However, this is overly reliant on the knowledge and experience of their learning coaches and line managers rather than on a structured and informative programme.

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Learning coaches and line managers prepare apprentices for their next steps, such as taking on additional responsibilities and progression to more senior roles within the service. For example, learning coaches provide sessions to enhance specific knowledge and skills in areas such as negotiation. Apprentices experience work in the induction unit, vulnerable prisoner unit or separation and care unit to broaden their experience of the specialist roles and responsibilities within the prison. As a result, apprentices feel well prepared for their next steps.

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Learning coaches are experienced and qualified subject experts. They are all competent, licensed prison officers. Leaders ensure that training staff benefit from well-planned staff 11 to 13 July 2023

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development activities that help them to improve their practice. Learning coaches complete regular training to maintain their vocational competence and subject expertise. Leaders have initiated additional training for learning coaches to develop their teaching practice.

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Learning coaches prepare apprentices effectively for their final assessments. Apprentices complete work of at least the expected standard and produce highly detailed project reports in preparation for their end-point assessments. Consequently, the few apprentices who have completed their final assessments have achieved them successfully, with almost all gaining a distinction grade.

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Leaders focus on the well-being and welfare of their staff to ensure that they maintain a healthy work-life balance. They have recently invested in additional learning coaches to ensure that existing staff have a reasonable workload and to enhance the quality of training for apprentices. Senior leaders have a weekly coffee morning with learning coaches to discuss and focus on welfare and well-being. They know and support their staff well.

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Governance is becoming increasingly effective. Senior leaders have strengthened governance arrangements since the new provider monitoring visit. Those responsible for governance use their influence, knowledge and experience across the wider business to hold operational senior leaders to account for the quality of apprentices’ training. They are fully committed to improving the quality of provision for their apprentices.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise the safeguarding of their apprentices and staff. They have developed a culture of care and welfare across the organisation. Safeguarding is a priority at every level of leadership. Leaders and managers use appropriate policies, procedures and systems to identify, record, action and follow up on any safeguarding incidents that arise. They have a low threshold for safeguarding concerns in recognition of the potential vulnerability of apprentices in the prison environment to attempted corruption, coercion, conditioning and bribery.

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Safeguarding

Apprentices benefit from training on topics including safeguarding, ‘Prevent’ duty and restraint and control as part of their initial training prior to stepping into the prison. Learning coaches revisit this learning regularly with apprentices to ensure that they know how to keep themselves physically and mentally safe.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Leaders should take immediate action to ensure that apprentices receive the training and support they need to complete and achieve qualifications in English and/or mathematics quickly so that they can progress to their final assessments and achieve their apprenticeships. 11 to 13 July 2023

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 Leaders should ensure that all apprentices routinely receive sufficient protected time to complete the study and apprenticeship work that they need to do in the workplace.  Leaders should continue their professional development programme to improve the teaching and assessment practices of learning coaches. Learning coaches should use assessment, feedback and target setting effectively to ensure that all apprentices understand what they need to do to improve the quality of their work.  Leaders should ensure that all line managers routinely attend tripartite progress reviews so that they understand the progress that their apprentices make and support them to further develop the application of their new knowledge, skills and behaviours at work.  Leaders should ensure that they provide planned effective careers advice and guidance to apprentices throughout their programme so that all apprentices are

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well informed about the wide range of opportunities, next steps and career pathways available to them. 11 to 13 July 2023

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors Oxbridge Learning 11 to 13 July 2023

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Information about this inspection

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

Alastair Mollon, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Paul Addis Ofsted Inspector Neil Clark Ofsted Inspector 11 to 13 July 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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