University of Liverpool

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection dates: 20 to 23 February 2024

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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

The University of Liverpool provides a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a range of subjects and sectors. It has approximately 22,000 students on campus, including 7,700 international students, and 10,000 students across 160 countries who study online. The university introduced its apprenticeship provision in February 2019. It is located within the school of health sciences.

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Information about this provider

At the time of the inspection, there were 111 apprentices in learning. All apprentices study the level 7 advanced clinical practitioner (integrated degree) apprenticeship. They are employed in a variety of settings such as hospitals, general practice, individual’s homes, schools, prisons, and in the public, independent, private and charitable sectors. The apprenticeship includes a mandatory master’s degree (MSc) in advanced clinical practice. Apprentices make up significantly less than 1% of the university’s student population. 20 to 23 February 2024

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

Apprentices enjoy their learning. They have a positive attitude towards their studies and towards each other. Apprentices actively engage in learning activities to deepen their understanding of the subjects that they study. They are keen to know how they can apply their new knowledge to improve their current practice and as future advanced clinical practitioners.

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

Apprentices learn in calm and inclusive multi-disciplined environments, where their contributions are valued. Within each lesson there is a variety of nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists, and mental health practitioners. They share their experiences and gain a wider knowledge of advanced clinical practitioner roles in different settings. Most apprentices apply the knowledge and skills that they learn in their taught lessons, in their job roles. For example, they take responsibility for a patient’s journey from assessment and diagnosis to discharge.

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

Apprentices appreciate the pastoral support that they receive from their personal tutors. This helps them to continue to make expected progress, even in times of personal adversity. Apprentices benefit from access to the university’s health and well-being services and other extra-curricular activities. They improve their communication skills and autonomy throughout their apprenticeship, such as training junior staff, and gaining in confidence when breaking bad news or having difficult conversations with patients.

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

All apprentices are aware of their responsibilities under safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty. They know how to report any concerns and understand how to keep themselves safe.

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better?

Leaders have a clear rationale for the level 7 advanced clinical practitioner (ACP) apprenticeship. They design it with NHS Trusts to meet local skills gaps and priorities. Local NHS staff help to plan the MSc content of the curriculum and input directly onto various MSc modules as guest lecturers. This helps apprentices to develop relevant, up-to-date knowledge, including fluency with industry and professional standards. Many apprentices gain suitable promotion upon completion of their apprenticeship. Leaders and managers have recently employed a new team of appropriately experienced academic and support staff to develop the apprenticeship further.

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better?

Leaders review the curriculum regularly. They have recently made amendments based on the feedback from employers and apprentices. For example, leaders have reduced the length of the apprenticeship to enable NHS employers to recruit employees more quickly to meet skills shortages. However, these changes do not currently reflect all current apprentices’ expectations of the apprenticeship or employers’ operational needs. A few employers and apprentices feel that the curriculum has become too generic for their needs and interests. 20 to 23 February 2024

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Over two thirds of apprentices who complete the apprenticeship achieve high grades. However, too many apprentices leave the apprenticeship early. COVID-19 had a significant impact on most ACP apprentices at the time of and immediately following the pandemic, especially on those who were frontline staff. However, leaders acknowledge that retention remains too low. A few apprentices who are nurses are disappointed with the narrow range of subject-specific optional modules, particularly in relation to specialisms in clinical assessments, such as the interpretation of blood results. However, apprentices can choose to study these through a ‘negotiated’ optional module that ensures that apprentices focus on their specific areas of interest. Where this option is used, lecturers ensure that it meets the same high standards of academic rigour as other MSc modules.

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Most lecturers establish accurately what apprentices already know and can do at the start of the apprenticeship. However, they do not use this information effectively to create personalised learning plans. Clinical skills coaches are unable to monitor explicitly apprentices’ achievement of the required knowledge, skills and behaviours. Discussions, in progress reviews, focus predominantly on academic goals rather than specific skills development. While apprentices apply what they learn in their taught lessons to their job roles generally, clinical skills coaches do not link what apprentices learn in the MSc modules to what they do at work to develop a coherent training plan. A minority of employers demonstrate a lack of understanding of how to plan effective on- and off-the-job training.

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Most apprentices benefit from well-structured and sequenced learning. Lecturers use links to clinical practice to illustrate topics and to encourage apprentices to reflect on their current and future roles. Apprentices develop a range of general clinical skills in industry-standard simulated environments. For example, lecturers demonstrate the differences between male and female catheterisation using simulated body parts. These activities help apprentices to learn more and remember more over time.

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Most lecturers use assessments and feedback effectively to help apprentices to develop a critical understanding of their role as an advanced clinical practitioner. Apprentices use this feedback to improve the quality of their work. For example, they develop critical analysis skills and a more in-depth understanding of research methodologies. This helps them to link research to their practical work.

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Most learning resources are of a high academic quality. Lecturers use the university’s electronic learning platform effectively to support learning. As a result, apprentices benefit from a wide range of additional reading materials and relevant links to further learning. However, lecturers do not identify how academic learning materials relate to the knowledge, skills and behaviour requirements of the apprenticeship.

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Lecturers are highly qualified academics and current practitioners. They have relevant professional experience in advanced clinical practice and are registered with professional bodies, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Workplace mentors are suitably experienced for the role. Many have achieved the ACP apprenticeship themselves. Lecturers receive appropriate staff development opportunities to ensure 20 to 23 February 2024

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that their knowledge and skills remain up to date with current practice. Key apprenticeship staff receive appropriate training on the requirements of teaching and supporting apprentices. However, this does not extend to lecturers who teach less frequently on the MSc modules.

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Lecturers provide helpful information and advice to support apprentices to identify the next stage of their career. They help them to write suitable CVs and to improve their interview techniques. Apprentices have access to the university’s comprehensive careers service.

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Leaders and managers monitor staff workloads appropriately. University staff have access to an employee assistance programme, other support services and leisure activities to help them to manage their health and well-being.

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Leaders’ and managers’ quality assurance and improvement processes require further development to be fully effective. While leaders have implemented appropriate processes, some of which are new, these do not help leaders to identify sufficiently the impact that their actions have on improving the quality of the curriculum. Leaders and managers do not have easily accessible information about the progress of their apprentices and whether apprentices are on track to achieve on time. They do not yet monitor all apprentices’ destinations formally enough or beyond their immediate next steps after completing the apprenticeship.

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Leaders and governors have a clear oversight of the subcontractor that supports apprentices to achieve the required English and mathematics qualifications. They monitor the subcontractor’s performance closely and effectively. Almost all apprentices who require English and/or mathematics qualifications achieve them within 12 weeks of the start of the functional skills course.

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Leaders and governors have established an appropriate internal governance structure to monitor the quality of the apprenticeship. Governors have an appropriate combination of skills and job roles to support the apprenticeship effectively. They have a clear understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. However, they have been too slow to implement actions to improve the quality of the provision since the new provider monitoring visit.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Develop the curriculum to meet the needs of all apprentices and their employers, including specificity to job roles.  Increase the number of apprentices who successfully complete their apprenticeship. 20 to 23 February 2024

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 Create ambitious, personalised learning and training plans that link directly to apprentices’ achievement of the required knowledge, skills and behaviours of the apprenticeship and identify clearly how what they learn in taught lessons links to what they do at work.  Extend training on apprenticeship methodology to all lecturers involved with apprenticeships.  Strengthen quality assurance and improvement processes, including those relating to the monitoring of apprentices’ progress and destinations. 20 to 23 February 2024

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Provider details

Address The Foundation Building 765 Brownlow Hill Abercromby Square Liverpool Merseyside L69 7ZX

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Professor Tim Jones

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Provider details

Provider type Higher Education Institution

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors Wirral Metropolitan College 20 to 23 February 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the degree apprenticeship manager, 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

Suzanne Wainwright, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Angus Forsyth Ofsted Inspector Rick Fothergill Ofsted Inspector 20 to 23 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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