University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

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Inspection dates: 29 and 30 January and 11 February

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Information about this provider

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of medical services for adults and children across Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The trust started direct delivery of apprenticeships in 2022, subcontracting the English and mathematics elements to a local college. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were five level 2 apprentice healthcare support workers, all of whom worked for the trust. 29 and 30 January and 11 February 2025

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

Apprentices, most of whom are new to healthcare, are well motivated and enjoy their studies. They enjoy learning about the different tasks they must complete as part of their roles. They find the culture of the trust to be supportive and nurturing. Apprenticeship staff respond quickly and effectively to any concerns that apprentices have, or difficulties that they encounter.

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

Apprentices develop their knowledge and skills well and as a result become valued members of their teams. Most apprentices complete their studies and gain merit or distinction grades. All those who complete their apprenticeship remain in employment at the trust.

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

Through their close work with apprentices’ line managers and members of the trust’s clinical staff, managers and clinical educators have developed a course that provides apprentices with the general skills and knowledge they need to be a healthcare support worker at the trust, and those that they need to work in their specific clinical area.

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

Through their day-to-day work, apprentices develop their confidence to provide personal care and to speak with patients and visitors. They develop positive behaviours, and young apprentices show increased maturity.

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

Apprentices feel safe at work and when attending the training centre. They receive training in safeguarding topics and are reassured by the security presence in the hospitals where they work.

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better?

Managers and clinical educators consult apprentices’ line managers and other key stakeholders, such as the trust’s director of nursing, to ensure that the course content prepares apprentices well for their roles as healthcare support workers. Clinical educators plan teaching so that they frequently revisit and build on previous topics. This helps apprentices to develop secure knowledge and skills.

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better?

Managers encourage apprenticeship applications from individuals with a wide range of backgrounds. Clinical educators work with apprentices to identify any special educational needs and/or disabilities that they might have. They adapt their teaching to ensure that all apprentices can succeed. The small number of current apprentices means that clinical educators and assessors can provide a high level of support where this is necessary.

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better?

Clinical educators have appropriate qualifications and experience in healthcare and teaching. They use their expertise well to provide apprentices with clear explanations of often complex topics. They use effective graphics to illustrate key points, such as the discolouration of skin caused by cyanosis. 29 and 30 January and 11 February 2025

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Clinical educators mostly use appropriate assessment tools to check apprentices’ understanding, including well-designed workbooks. However, they do not always use questioning effectively in lessons to check that apprentices understand topics. For example, they use closed questions too frequently when trying to gauge the depth of apprentices’ understanding or they accept superficial answers without probing further.

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Leaders have invested in training facilities that contain the equipment that apprentices will encounter in the workplace. Clinical educators use these facilities well to provide apprentices with opportunities to practise a range of personal care activities safely, such as washing, catheter care, moving and handling, and taking physiological observations.

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Clinical educators develop apprentices’ understanding and pronunciation of technical terms well. This is an important part of apprentices’ training because they must be able to use medical terminology and abbreviations to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

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Managers and clinical educators provide apprentices with a range of opportunities to develop their understanding of careers within the trust. These include talks from established professionals, and insight days and swap weeks during which apprentices can explore working in different clinical areas.

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The mechanisms that managers have established to assure the quality of teaching and assessment are not always fully effective. For example, lesson observations sometimes provide clear and useful information but often only record very broad information that has little value. The record of an observation might describe ‘good use of technology’ without giving any indication of what the technology was, how it was used or what was effective about it. Arrangements to manage the quality of the subcontractor’s work are appropriate.

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Apprenticeship staff participate in a range of useful training to enhance their vocational skills and their general pedagogy, including working a hospital shift every fortnight. However, because quality assurance activities often do not result in the precise identification of strengths and weaknesses in clinical educators’ teaching, professional development does not target the specific aspects that they need to refine.

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Oversight of the apprenticeship programme sits within the trust’s broader governance arrangements. The people and culture group takes a leading role in supporting and challenging apprenticeship managers. This group has members with a suitable mix of clinical, organisational and training expertise. Being such a small proportion of the trust’s training activity, governors spend a limited but appropriate amount of time considering the course.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 29 and 30 January and 11 February 2025

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Help clinical educators to make more effective use of questioning within lessons to check apprentices’ understanding.  Review quality assurance procedures to ensure that they identify more precisely the strengths and areas for improvement in teaching and assessment.  Make more effective links between quality assurance and professional development so that clinical educators refine the specific aspects of their teaching that need to improve. 29 and 30 January and 11 February 2025

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Provider details

Address Johnson Building Locomotive Way, Pride Park Derby DE24 8PU

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Stephen Posey

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors Derby College 29 and 30 January and 11 February 2025

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of careers, apprenticeships and operational development, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the new provider monitoring visit 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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Information about this inspection

The inspection started on 29 January 2025. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy . Inspectors returned on 11 February 2025 to complete the inspection.

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Inspection team

Russ Henry, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Karen Green Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 January and 11 February 2025

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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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