Competum Ltd

Competum Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Glenise Burrell, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: BJB House Estate Road No1 Grimsby DN31 2TB Monitoring visit: Competum Limited, 8 and 9 January 2025

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Context and focus of visit

Ofsted undertakes to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of adult learning provision where the provision offered is in scope for inspection. 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

Competum Limited provides specialist training for the construction industry and offers Skills Bootcamps for adult learners. At the time of the inspection, there were 47 learners enrolled, of whom 16 were on site supervisor courses, 10 on site management courses, nine on passive fire protection courses and five on forward tipping dumper courses. The remaining courses had fewer than five learners enrolled.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders provide a range of Skills Bootcamps, which develop skills that employers require in the local area. Learners can learn new skills or update their existing skills. They also have the opportunity to work towards gaining construction skills certification scheme cards, which is a mandatory requirement for working in the construction industry.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that the quality of the provision is of an appropriate standard. They carry out a range of quality assurance activities, which include lesson visits and standardisation meetings. However, these activities do not measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning. As a result, leaders cannot be confident about the effectiveness of the quality of the education that learners receive.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not have clear oversight of the progress learners are making towards achieving their main qualification. They focus solely on progress towards gaining other certificates offered to learners, such as first-aid qualifications and manual handling. As a result, they cannot be assured that learners are acquiring relevant skills and knowledge.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders recruit qualified and experienced staff to support their learners. They then ensure that staff keep their skills updated regularly. This includes research and training on subjects such as hiding addiction, managing safety, and safeguarding. Monitoring visit: Competum Limited, 8 and 9 January 2025 Staff also have opportunities to update their industrial skills and benefit from membership of industry bodies.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have in place an appropriate board of directors. The board includes a non-executive director to provide impartial support and challenge. However, this board is in its infancy. Therefore, it is too soon to see its impact.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders plan and sequence the curriculum well to enable learners to understand how to perform safely in their roles. They offer additional qualifications to learners, which include helpful training on manual handling, asbestos awareness and abrasive wheels awareness, as well as first-aid training at the start of most Skills Bootcamps. This provides learners with the necessary understanding of the health and safety-related topics that are particularly important in the construction industry.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not use the comprehensive information they collect about learners’ current skills and knowledge at the start of the programmes effectively to plan individual learning. This includes information from English and mathematics initial assessments and measurements of learners’ prior knowledge of the industry. As a result, too many learners do not gain new knowledge and skills but, instead, often simply gain accreditation for what they already know and can do. Most already have a high level of competence in the industry when they enrol and benefit from very little additional new training or skill development.

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Insufficient progress

Staff do not assess learners’ progress quickly enough on the main qualification that learners are working towards. Formal assessment is too often left until the last two weeks of the course. Therefore, trainers do not know the progress that learners are making and are not able to intervene if progress is slow.

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Insufficient progress

Trainers do not provide learners with opportunities to gain an understanding of important risks that they could face. For example, topics such as preventing radicalisation are overlooked, and there is limited coverage of the potential health risks associated with working in the construction industry such as poor diets. Although learners have completed some training on topics such as safeguarding and the ‘Prevent’ duty, a few do not understand the relevance of these topics to them.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have in place a qualified and experienced designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy safeguarding lead. They ensure that the DSL’s knowledge remains current by providing useful professional development activities, Monitoring visit: Competum Limited, 8 and 9 January 2025 including training on safer recruitment and preventing radicalisation.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have in place effective policies and procedures to support learners and ensure they are safe. These include a relevant ‘Prevent’ duty risk assessment and action plan.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders recruit staff who are safe to work with vulnerable adults. They have in place a single central record to manage safer recruitment of staff. This includes Disclosure and Barring Service checks, certificate checks and right-to-work in the UK checks. Monitoring visit: Competum Limited, 8 and 9 January 2025 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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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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

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