Exceed Training Company Limited

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection of Exceed Training Company Limited

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Inspection dates: 19 to 21 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Apprenticeships Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

Exceed Training Company Limited provides hairdressing apprenticeships in Calderdale and Bradford. It began apprenticeship training in 2006 as a subcontractor for a local further education college. It secured its own directly funded contract to provide hairdressing apprenticeships in September 2020. At the time of the inspection, there were 45 apprentices, of whom 33 were on the level 2 hairdressing professional programme and 12 on the level 3 advanced and creative hair professional programme. Most apprentices are under the age of 19. 19 to 21 February 2024

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

Apprentices are very enthusiastic about their learning and are highly committed. They enjoy and benefit from working in a commercial hair salon during their training with the provider. Apprentices have access to a frequent flow of clients from the very start of their apprenticeship, enabling them to build their confidence and skills rapidly. They quickly learn to work professionally with the support of the very experienced and dedicated staff team.

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

Apprentices make rapid progress in the development of their hairdressing knowledge and skills. Level 2 apprentices benefit from developing their cutting skills early in the programme and work closely with level 3 apprentices on more complex procedures, such as attaching hair extensions. Educators provide specialist training in ‘type 4’ hair cutting and treatments, enabling apprentices to meet the needs of all clients fully. Apprentices add value to their employers’ businesses and quickly become valued assets.

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

Apprentices eagerly participate in fundraising for local charities and events, such as providing free haircuts for people who are vulnerable and disadvantaged. They behave maturely and welcome people from all walks of life, not least because the people they liaise with may become their clients in the future. Apprentices go on to organise events in their own salons, such as holding cancer awareness days and raising additional funds for charities. Staff recognise apprentices’ contributions to these activities through an innovative ‘house’ system where apprentices are divided into teams and earn rewards.

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

Apprentices feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe. They understand how to use social media safely to promote their work, ensuring that they do not share personal information, and are aware that what they do share remains on social media platforms permanently. Apprentices gain a very good awareness of risks in their local communities, such as knife crime and drink spiking, through helpful weekly ‘news and views’ sessions with educators.

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better?

Leaders and managers have focused successfully on developing a high-quality specialist hairdressing curriculum which meets the needs of local employers. The curriculum extends apprentices’ knowledge and skills beyond the requirements of the apprenticeship standard, such as developing their skills in attaching hair extensions successfully.

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better?

Educators have skilfully designed the curriculum to provide apprentices with the required health and safety knowledge before developing their hairdressing skills. Level 2 apprentices quickly learn how to shampoo and wash clients’ hair confidently and how to use scissors correctly and safely. Once they are competent in these basic skills, they quickly move on to more advanced techniques such as foils, blow drying, inverted bobs, hair extensions and barrel pin curls. Level 3 apprentices learn how to 19 to 21 February 2024

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use colour more creatively, such as using the balayage method and combining different tones and colours in more complex ways.

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Educators provide high-quality training to apprentices in well-equipped training salons. They demonstrate new techniques very effectively to help apprentices acquire knowledge quickly. Educators frequently question apprentices to check their underpinning and theoretical knowledge, correct any misunderstandings and provide effective feedback on how apprentices can further improve their hairdressing skills. Consequently, the quality of apprentices’ practical work is of a high standard, and apprentices are rightly proud of what they are now able to do.

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Educators ensure that apprentices practise their new skills until they are fluent and confident to apply them on clients with different hair types while keeping to salon timings. Educators work very closely with employers, enabling apprentices to confidently use their newly acquired skills in their workplaces. Apprentices are confident enough to suggest different treatments to enhance their clients’ hair colour and styling, based on what they have learned about colour theory. They know how to remove unwanted tones and how peroxide levels work.

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Educators provide very effective individual support for apprentices with additional learning needs to help them develop techniques to meet the demands of the apprenticeship. Apprentices with dyslexia learn to use alternative methods to record their work other than writing and have access to a helpful specialist learning platform. They quickly build their confidence and self-esteem and make rapid progress.

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Educators provide excellent support to enable apprentices to develop their English, mathematical and digital skills. Apprentices become much more confident in their oral communication skills, quickly overcoming initial nervousness when completing consultations with their clients. They confidently use specialist hairdressing terminology to describe hair colouring techniques, such as balayage. Apprentices develop their understanding of how to use ratios when doing colour corrections on clients’ hair and can combine different tones and colours and use bleach correctly. They learn how to use digital appointment books and are able to take appointments correctly when they are at work.

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Educators place a significant emphasis on developing apprentices’ business and customer service skills and supporting apprentices to learn key business knowledge relating to topics such as tax liabilities, rents and costs of materials. This provides apprentices with an understanding of the complexities of owning a salon or becoming self-employed, which is an aspiration of many.

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Apprentices are prepared well for their next steps. Educators arrange for external speakers to talk to apprentices about their own career journeys. This helps motivate apprentices to be ambitious and achieve at the highest levels. Apprentices are well informed about the range of careers available to them once they are fully qualified, including working abroad or in film and television. Once they have completed their 19 to 21 February 2024

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apprenticeship, the vast majority of apprentices stay in the industry and progress in their careers.

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Leaders and managers work very effectively with parents and employers. Educators have frequent contact with parents to discuss apprentices’ progress, including providing reports and holding parents’ evenings. Employers value the reviews with apprentices and provider staff, which contribute to apprentices making rapid progress.

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Leaders and managers provide training to enable educators to continue enhancing their teaching skills. Educators, who all still work in the hairdressing industry, have benefited from training in recall skills and ‘sticky learning’.

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Leaders and managers frequently check that the workload of staff is manageable and prioritise staff well-being. Staff are justly proud to work for the provider and feel very well supported.

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Most apprentices achieve their apprenticeship. Leaders and managers have taken rapid action to ensure that apprentices remain on the programme until the end by revising the curriculum to engage apprentices fully from the start. Leaders now focus on providing support to enable a higher proportion of apprentices to achieve distinction grades. Educators ensure that apprentices understand what they need to do to achieve distinction grades by discussing the grading requirements much earlier in the programme. A greater proportion of apprentices are now achieving distinctions in the professional discussion component of their apprenticeship.

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A board of governors provides a high level of oversight and challenge to leaders and managers. Board members bring considerable experience in areas such as curriculum design, quality assurance, safeguarding and finance. They support leaders and managers by acting as ‘critical friends’ to improve the quality of education and training for the benefit of apprentices and their employers.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 19 to 21 February 2024

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Provider details

Website www.hairdressingapprenticeships.com

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Helen Rutherford

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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 19 to 21 February 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the stakeholder coordinator, 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

Mark Keen, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Linnia Khemdoudi Ofsted Inspector 19 to 21 February 2024

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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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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