Lynher Training Limited

Lynher Training Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Helen Flint, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: Oakleigh House Hoopers Lane Gunnislake Cornwall PL18 9NN Monitoring visit: Lynher Training Limited, 26 and 27 July 2023

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Context and focus of visit

Lynher Training Limited (Lynher) was inspected in September 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 14 apprentices studying level 2 arboriculture, two of whom were under the age of 18. One adult apprentice was studying level 2 forestry. There are several industry qualifications that apprentices are required to pass as part of these apprenticeships. Apprentices and their employers are based in Cornwall and Devon.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers are overly reliant on monitoring apprentices’ completion of qualifications that form part of this apprenticeship. They do not focus enough on apprentices’ development of their knowledge, skills and behaviours, and what they still need to gain mastery over. Managers do provide the opportunity for apprentices who are close to their final assessments to practise their climbing and rope skills, as not all do this frequently at work. Apprentices and their employers do not know what progress apprentices have made in developing their arborist knowledge, skills and behaviours because staff do not review these with them frequently. Apprentices’ written reflections on what they can do as a result of their training are brief and do not include what they need to improve because staff do not provide enough guidance. Managers and assessors set targets for apprentices to achieve, but these are based on tasks that apprentices

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Insufficient progress

need to complete, such as assignments, and not on what they still need to learn or master. When staff identify that an apprentice is struggling with their learning, managers are quick to support the apprentice with additional training. Managers do not assess apprentices’ existing knowledge and skills at the start of the apprenticeship well enough. All apprentices complete an assessment of their knowledge of English and mathematics, but staff do not use the information from Monitoring visit: Lynher Training Limited, 26 and 27 July 2023 this assessment to help apprentices learn what they do not know. Leaders and managers have not ensured that apprentices who need to undertake a mathematics functional skills qualification have received enough teaching since starting their apprenticeship in September 2022. These apprentices have started some online learning, but leaders and managers do not know what mathematics knowledge the

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Insufficient progress

apprentices have gained or what they still need to learn.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have frequent contact with employers and keep them well informed about what qualification and/or courses apprentices need to do and when. Staff work with employers to identify what activities apprentices are ready to do, such as brush cutting and timber felling, and when they can practise these at work. Most employers use this information to plan what jobs apprentices do as part of their daily work, and what on-the-job training they give them. Employers value the training that Lynher staff give their apprentices, and the qualifications that come as part of this apprenticeship. Staff keep employers informed about apprentices’ progress through these qualifications. Employers are positive about the individual support that their apprentices receive from Lynher staff, including help with personal concerns and overcoming challenges such as dyslexia or a fear of heights. Employers often release apprentices from the workplace for extra training should

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Reasonable progress

they need it. Managers at Lynher will offer apprentices who need additional support to pass a qualification or practise their skills the chance to repeat part of their training. For example, apprentices who struggle with safe ropework at height or carrying out rescues of team members from trees can redo those courses to improve their proficiency and confidence.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have failed to include enough relevant and important personal development topics, such as becoming a responsible citizen and how to stay healthy, in apprentices’ training. Apprentices have little or no awareness of British values and how to stay safe from radicalisation and extremism because staff do not teach them about these things often or well enough. Some assessors include limited aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion in their lessons. Assessors do not have a clear plan of how and when to teach a range of personal development topics, or even what they should include, as managers do not provide them with this information. Monitoring visit: Lynher Training Limited, 26 and 27 July 2023 Assessors use their own experiences in the arboriculture industry effectively to explore career opportunities with apprentices in lessons and during review meetings. Consequently, most apprentices have a sound understanding of what careers are

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Insufficient progress

available to them once they complete their apprenticeship and what they would need to do to access these. For example, apprentices who wish to consider a career as a tree inspector know they must study a level 4 qualification to achieve this.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not have a systematic, strategic approach to the oversight of quality or of continuous improvement. There are many different processes in place, such as observing lessons and getting feedback from employers, but managers do not analyse or evaluate the information they obtain from these activities well enough. Consequently, they do not identify what works well and what needs to improve. Leaders do not monitor any actions they take closely enough to know if they are achieving the effect they planned. Managers have made some changes to their processes since the previous inspection, but these are not yet mature enough to show impact. Managers have identified some useful development points for the assessor team from their assurance processes. However, they have yet to design any means by which to turn these into actions for the improvement of teaching, or for support for individual assessors.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers’ oversight of the curriculum is currently limited to the content of the individual qualifications that make up the standard. They are in the process of mapping the knowledge, skills and behaviours for each of these courses so that they can share these with assessors and develop lesson plans, but this has not been done quickly enough. At present, this does not include personal development, careers guidance, or English and mathematics. Leaders have not secured the critical support and challenge recommended at the previous inspection. Monitoring visit: Lynher Training Limited, 26 and 27 July 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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