Parkdean Resorts UK Limited

Parkdean Resorts UK Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Malcolm Fraser, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 October 2023

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Address:

1 Gosforth Park Way Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8ET Monitoring visit: Parkdean Resorts UK Limited, 25 and 26 October 2023

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Context and focus of visit

Parkdean Resorts UK Limited was inspected in October 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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Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have reviewed the curriculum and have implemented revised schemes of work which clearly outline the new knowledge, skills and behaviours that apprentices will learn. The revised schemes of work align closely with the apprenticeship standards that apprentices are following, rather than being too narrowly employer-focused, as previous schemes were. Consequently, training officers now have a clearer understanding of the teaching, training and assessment activities that they need to carry out with apprentices to support them more effectively to make good progress.

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Reasonable progress

Training officers make good use of the schemes of work, and the vocational starting points of apprentices, when planning learning activities that include teaching vocational content, observations of apprentices in their workplaces and professional discussions. Managers ensure that training officers use the schemes of work and training materials consistently across the different parks where apprentices work. Consequently, apprentices develop the new knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need in the context of their specific job roles. For example, training officers link activities that apprentices routinely carry out, such as following food safety regulations, to the underpinning understanding of why they need to do these tasks, highlighting the health and legal implications for Parkdean Resorts and its customers if these are not adhered to.

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Reasonable progress

Training officers take effective steps to ensure that apprentices understand how the curriculum enables them to develop vocationally relevant new knowledge, skills and behaviours that they can apply in the workplace. Apprentices value the support and feedback that they receive from training officers, which helps them to understand how to close gaps in their knowledge and improve their work. Monitoring visit: Parkdean Resorts UK Limited, 25 and 26 October 2023 Leaders have not yet ensured that the curriculum is sufficiently aspirational or challenging to encourage those apprentices who are capable of achieving high grades to do so.

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have taken effective action to evaluate the vocational competence of training officers across the different apprenticeship standards that they teach. They introduced a comprehensive training needs analysis, which they have used with training officers to establish their competence across the broad range of aspects of each apprenticeship, indicating where training officers, and leaders, feel development is needed.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers support training officers well to develop their wider understanding of the business and the different roles that apprentices have. Through job shadowing, training and other developmental activities, leaders have provided opportunities for training officers to develop their skills and knowledge in areas specific to their individual needs. For example, training officers have spent time in a kitchen shadowing staff at all levels and have participated in training activities to enable them to provide better support for their apprentices on the level 2 production chef apprenticeship. This development has been used with good effect to support apprentices to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need to be successful and to help them contextualise their learning within their own work environment.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have also supported training officers with external development opportunities to deepen their vocational knowledge through, for example, undertaking higher-level study in related vocational fields such as human resources. As a result, training officers have improved both their knowledge and confidence to teach across the range of apprenticeships that they cover and feel comfortable in planning learning activities which support apprentices to make progress.

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Reasonable progress

More recently, leaders have begun to support training officers to develop their teaching skills through a programme of professional development delivered internally during standardisation meetings. However, as this initiative is still new, the impact cannot yet be seen.

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Reasonable progress

Monitoring visit: Parkdean Resorts UK Limited, 25 and 26 October 2023 Leaders had recognised at the time of the previous inspection most of the identified weaknesses, but had not implemented actions required to make the necessary improvements. Following the inspection, leaders of the apprenticeship provision received good support from senior leaders at Parkdean Resorts to take action to bring about improvements. This included restructuring the apprenticeship leadership team and establishing a new position of quality and curriculum officer with responsibility for leading on improvements to the apprenticeship provision.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have successfully strengthened quality monitoring procedures since the previous inspection. They have established and implemented a clearly defined plan of quality monitoring activities that cover a wide range of aspects of the apprenticeship programme. These activities include direct observations of teaching and training, sampling apprentices’ completed work, interviews with apprentices about their experience and regular one-to-one reviews with training officers to discuss key aspects of their delivery and apprentices’ progress. As a result of the improved monitoring, support and development that they have received, training officers now feel well supported, have become more effective in their roles and have improved their skills and confidence to teach apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers rightly recognise that, despite the positive impact of their improved quality assurance and improvement arrangements, more work is required to bring about further improvement. For example, they recognise the need to support training officers further to improve their pedagogical skills. They have also identified that they need to improve aspects of apprentices’ progress reviews and ensure that apprentices receive sufficient and timely careers advice.

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Insufficient progress

At the start of their apprenticeship, staff discuss with apprentices how the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they will gain will support them to become effective in their chosen job. However, leaders and managers have made little progress since the previous inspection in ensuring that apprentices are provided with information and guidance about career progression opportunities beyond their current role and what they need do to achieve their aspirations.

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Insufficient progress

Most apprentices are aware of the immediate progression path to the next level of apprenticeship within their occupational area. They gain this understanding through discussions with their line managers and colleagues rather than as a planned aspect of their apprenticeship. Training officers do not routinely discuss with apprentices opportunities for career development beyond completion of the current programme. Because apprentices’ workplace supervisors do not routinely participate in progress reviews, they do not contribute to any discussions about future career progression opportunities. Monitoring visit: Parkdean Resorts UK Limited, 25 and 26 October 2023 Leaders have plans in place to provide apprentices with a high-quality and professionally produced careers pathway diagram based on a journey through a holiday park. The pathway through the park illustrates the wide range of Parkdean Resorts job roles against six levels of increasing responsibility and seniority, and

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Insufficient progress

maps all of the apprenticeship standards provided from level 2 to level 5 to roles with these levels of responsibility. Leaders and managers plan to provide training for training officers and introduce an expectation that they will provide advice during progress reviews to support apprentices to make plans about their career development. However, these plans have not yet been implemented. Monitoring visit: Parkdean Resorts UK Limited, 25 and 26 October 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 training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council

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Insufficient progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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