The Azure Charitable Foundation

Azure Charitable Enterprises Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

p.1

Name of lead inspector: Andrea Dill-Russell, His Majesty’s Inspector

p.1

Type of provider: Independent learning provider

p.1

Address: McCallum House Kielder Avenue Cramlington Northumberland NE23 8JT Monitoring visit: Azure Charitable Enterprises, 3 and 4 July 2024

p.1

Context and focus of visit

Azure Charitable Enterprises was inspected in June 2023. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

p.2

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.

p.2

Context and focus of visit

Azure Charitable Enterprises is located in Cramlington, Northumberland. It provides study programmes for learners who have moderate to severe learning difficulties and/or disabilities to prepare them for further education or employment. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 48 learners enrolled, 40 of whom had an education, health and care plan (EHC plan). Ten learners were working towards a level 1 horticulture qualification, 16 were working towards level 1 hospitality and catering and eight were working towards level 1 retail. Nine learners were enrolled on the stepping-stone course which supports learners to improve their independent living skills. Five learners were enrolled on a supported internship.

p.2

Reasonable progress

Leaders have improved their assessment of learners’ starting points. Following an initial pilot, staff have implemented an assessment process that successfully identifies learners’ skills at the start of their course. Staff accurately assess learners’ skills and knowledge for their vocational, English and mathematics subjects, alongside their personal, social and independent living skills. They use the information that they gather from parents, professionals and learners’ previous educational settings to inform their baseline assessment. Staff use this information well to plan learners’ individualised learning programmes.

p.2

Reasonable progress

Staff ensure that their teaching is closely aligned with learners’ starting points and the goals set out in their EHC plans. In hospitality and catering, staff support learners who have previously found it difficult to speak in public to communicate with others working in the kitchen. Learners are able to explain the tasks they are carrying out and how their work contributes to the running of the kitchen. Through this support, learners become confident and are able to ask direct questions of each other and speak to customers and visitors to the café. Monitoring visit: Azure Charitable Enterprises, 3 and 4 July 2024 During taught sessions, staff frequently assess how well learners have acquired new knowledge and skills. Most learners understand how well they are doing on their course and what they need to do to improve. On a few occasions, tutors focus too much on the completion of group tasks. They do not break down targets sufficiently

p.2

Reasonable progress

to identify the small steps of learning that learners are making. Leaders recognise that this is an area for improvement. They have put plans in place to provide training to ensure that staff identify the small steps of progress that learners make during their studies. Leaders have accurately identified where staff require support to improve their assessment techniques as part of a college-wide approach to planning personalised learning.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that qualified staff support learners in making choices for their next steps. Staff have developed a careers programme to help prepare learners for leaving college. Recently, staff have begun to work with learners to develop individualised career plans based on their long-term goals and aspirations. However, it is too early to see the impact of this.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Staff plan helpful activities that enable learners to develop the skills and knowledge that they need to gain employment. For example, they support learners who are intending to work in the leisure industry to apply for positions at local leisure centres. They task learners to plan sports activities for others in their group. Tutors schedule learners to lead and plan weekly fitness sessions, designing mini-circuit training to improve learners’ fitness. Learners demonstrate an understanding of the skills and knowledge that they need to work in their chosen careers.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Staff teach learners in Azure Charitable Enterprises businesses that are open to the public. In horticulture, staff teach learners how to carry out practical gardening tasks in a busy garden centre. In hospitality and catering, staff teach learners basic food preparation, health and safety, and customer service skills. Through learning these skills, an increasing number of learners successfully secure a place on a supported internship or gain voluntary or paid employment when they complete their course.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Staff ensure that learners develop and maintain the behaviours that they need for employment. In hospitality and catering, they teach learners to manage and regulate their behaviour in a busy kitchen environment. Staff ensure that learners work in a calm and professional manner. They carefully plan the support that learners will need when they leave. Staff continue to provide support for learners beyond completion of the course, including with their English and mathematics skills, to help them move on to adulthood. Monitoring visit: Azure Charitable Enterprises, 3 and 4 July 2024

p.3

Reasonable progress

Following the previous inspection, leaders quickly reviewed the qualifications and experience of staff. They identified the need to develop the skills of the workforce and have provided support for tutors to enhance their skills as assessors and to undertake teaching qualifications. Teaching assistants and careers guidance staff can work towards gaining teaching status if they wish to. Staff apply the skills that they have learned in their teaching and design well-planned curriculums for learners.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders provide a well-planned professional development programme for staff. Staff frequently complete training to maintain their vocational expertise, such as in infection control and first aid. More recently, leaders have introduced staff training on topics such as specific learning and behavioural needs. Staff have completed training to help them to understand how learners’ difficulties in communicating may impact their behaviour. Following training, staff are able to identify how to provide support and respond to learners in a positive way, resulting in learners’ behaviours improving over time.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders have refined the way in which they evaluate the quality of teaching. They have introduced visits to lessons to observe practice and meet with tutors to discuss their teaching. Leaders have rightly identified that they now need to focus on how well learners gain the knowledge and skills that they need as a result of teaching. They recognise that their quality processes are overly descriptive, do not yet identify areas for improvement and do not provide senior leaders and trustees with sufficiently helpful reports on the quality of education.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders have placed sufficient emphasis on improving staff’s and learners’ understanding of radicalisation and extremism. They ensure that staff complete annual mandatory training on these topics. They have plans to broaden this training to include recent updates to legislation, as well as child exploitation and online protection training.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders are supporting staff to increase their awareness of local risks. They have signed up staff for monthly safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty bulletins. Leaders understand the risks posed by far-right groups. They have identified that county lines is currently the most significant risk, due to the rural location of the training centre. Leaders have recognised the need to extend their local partnership working to ensure that they are fully aware of safeguarding risks such as knife crime. Monitoring visit: Azure Charitable Enterprises, 3 and 4 July 2024 Staff teach learners how to recognise risks and stay safe in the areas where they live. Learners can explain how they would report incidents and the actions that they would take if people were displaying violent behaviour, moving to separate themselves from danger. Most learners demonstrate a good understanding of radicalisation and extremism. Tutors recognise that a few learners need prompting to

p.4

Reasonable progress

recall these topics and the need to revisit these themes more frequently. Monitoring visit: Azure Charitable Enterprises, 3 and 4 July 2024 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.

p.5

Reasonable progress

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.6

Reasonable progress

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.6

Reasonable progress

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.6

Reasonable progress

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

p.6