Nerams

Name of lead inspector: Joanne Stork, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: The Old GP Surgery Durham Road Chilton Durham DL17 0EW Monitoring visit: Nerams, 30 and 31 July 2024

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Context and focus of visit

Ofsted undertakes to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and/or the apprenticeship levy. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the ‘Further education and skills inspection handbook’, especially the sections entitled ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Nerams is an independent learning provider located in Chilton, County Durham. It began to deliver apprenticeship programmes in May 2023. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 26 apprentices studying the level 3 ambulance support worker standard. All apprentices were over the age of 18.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not provide apprentices with a well-planned and ambitious curriculum. They do not complete an accurate assessment of apprentices’ starting points, including in English and mathematics, and as a result, staff do not have the information they need to plan learning effectively. Too many apprentices do not have individual training plans in place at the start of their programmes.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not have clear oversight of the strengths and weaknesses of the apprenticeship. They do not monitor the progress that apprentices are making accurately. Leaders and managers are too slow to take action to support apprentices should they fall behind and be at risk of not completing the programme by their planned end dates.

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Insufficient progress

Staff do not provide apprentices with sufficient information about the requirements of the apprenticeship programme. Too many apprentices have received very limited information about their end-point assessment, and in a few cases, apprentices do not know there is an end-point assessment. As a result, apprentices do not have a clear enough understanding of what they need to do to be successful on the apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have not managed the teaching of English and mathematics well enough for the high proportion of apprentices who need to complete their Monitoring visit: Nerams, 30 and 31 July 2024 functional skills qualifications. Teaching of English and mathematics has not yet started for any apprentices, and for those apprentices nearing the end of the apprenticeship, the fact that they have not been able to achieve their functional skills qualification is impacting their ability to attempt their end-point assessment.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers plan the short initial training for apprentices well. Apprentices with no experience complete essential qualifications so that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to administer first aid and provide emergency care. Apprentices then complete the driving element of the course so that they can drive ambulances and provide patient transport services.

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Insufficient progress

Staff have not planned the second phase of training well enough, and the structure of this phase is not clear. Apprentices are required to complete too much learning through self-study activities. These include complex reflection tasks, research and case studies that apprentices are not prepared well enough for and find difficult to complete.

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Insufficient progress

Trainers do not use assessment well enough to help apprentices improve the quality of the work that they produce. They provide apprentices with helpful comments about the work that they submit. However, trainers do not expect apprentices to act on the feedback or resubmit assignments that contain errors or that exceed the word limit.

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Insufficient progress

In too many cases, trainers do not meet with apprentices frequently enough to review their progress. The actions that trainers set for apprentices in review meetings are not clear or precise enough to help apprentices understand what they need to do to develop their knowledge and skills, and this slows their progress.

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Insufficient progress

Training staff are well qualified in the patient care and emergency response sector. They have significant experience working in challenging environments such as in the military and front-line emergencies. All training staff have appropriate teaching qualifications.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have put in place appropriate systems and processes to ensure the safety of apprentices. Those staff responsible for safeguarding in the organisation are well qualified and experienced to carry out their roles. All trainers and ambulance staff, including apprentices, are trained annually in safeguarding and Monitoring visit: Nerams, 30 and 31 July 2024 the ‘Prevent’ duty. As a result, apprentices understand their safeguarding responsibilities well and know how to raise any concerns.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices feel safe and are well prepared for their work with a range of vulnerable people, including those who are profoundly unwell and in need of care. At the start of the apprenticeship, trainers provide useful information about the various client groups apprentices are likely to encounter in their job roles. This helps apprentices to understand a wide range of safeguarding issues, including how to keep themselves safe when working with clients. Apprentices value the caring and nurturing culture that leaders create in the organisation. Monitoring visit: Nerams, 30 and 31 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

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Reasonable 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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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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