Dianthas Ltd

Dianthas Ltd Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

p.1

Name of lead inspector: Zoe Ibbotson, His Majesty’s Inspector

p.1

Inspection dates: 27 and 28 February 2025

p.1

Type of provider: Independent learning provider

p.1

Address:

Unit 62-64 Woodside Business Centre Birkenhead CH41 1EL Monitoring visit: Dianthas Ltd, 27 and 28 February 2025

p.1

Context and focus of visit

Dianthas Ltd was inspected in May 2024. 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

Dianthas Ltd is an independent learning provider based in Birkenhead on the Wirral. It specialises in education and training for apprentices who work in the care sector. All apprentices are based in the North West of England. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 72 apprentices on 6 apprenticeships at levels 2 to 5. There were 6 apprentices on the level 2 adult care worker, 22 on the level 3 lead adult care worker, 29 on the level 4 children, young people, and families practitioner, 6 on the level 5 leader in adult care, and 5 on the level 5 children, young people, and families manager apprenticeships. Less than five apprentices study the level 4 lead practitioner in adult care apprenticeship. Most apprentices were aged over 19 years.

p.2

Reasonable progress

Leaders have introduced a skills tracker to document what apprentices already know and can do at the start of their apprenticeship. They have provided tutors with appropriate training on how to use information about apprentices’ starting points to plan learning effectively. Tutors plan to revisit this document with apprentices during progress review meetings to ensure that apprentices make sustained progress from the start of their apprenticeship. However, it is too soon to measure how effective this is in supporting apprentices to develop substantial new knowledge, skills, and behaviours.

p.2

Reasonable progress

Leaders work closely with employers to ensure that employers meet their expectations of commitment to support their apprentices. They ensure that employers receive the dates of progress review meetings at the start of the apprenticeship. Leaders use an automated email system to remind employers in Monitoring visit: Dianthas Ltd, 27 and 28 February 2025 advance of scheduled meetings. This has increased employers’ attendance to these meetings. Where employers do not support their apprentices well enough, leaders do not allow these employers to enrol further staff onto apprenticeships until they improve the support that they provide. Leaders have taken the decision to stop working with a few employers who do not meet their expectations.

p.2

Reasonable progress

Leaders work closely with apprentices’ employers to ensure that apprentices have frequent opportunities to practise and hone their skills at work. Level 3 lead adult care worker apprentices shadow experienced colleagues on aspects of work that are new to them, such as administering medication or carrying out staff supervisions. Apprentices apply these skills as part of their job roles.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that tutors, apprentices, and employers select optional units carefully. Apprentices are taught topics such as recruitment, professional boundaries, dementia, and peg feeding. They develop new knowledge and skills that align to their job role and the needs of the business.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Following the previous inspection, leaders provided a series of focused staff training sessions for tutors to improve the quality of feedback that apprentices receive. Tutors now provide feedback to apprentices that tells them what they have done well and what they need to do to improve their work. Tutors who teach the level 5 children, young people and families manager apprenticeship use feedback to encourage apprentices to include a wide range of learning theorists and concepts in their written assignments. Apprentices act on this feedback to extend their written work to include Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development and to explore the impact of milieu in written assignments about child development.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Leaders have put in place new expectations of tutors to mark and return apprentices’ assignment submissions within two weeks. They routinely monitor this through appropriate quality assurance activities. Apprentices use the timely feedback they receive from their tutor to make improvements swiftly to their work.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Leaders and tutors encourage apprentices to complete a self-assessment activity at the end of each module. This helps apprentices to identify what they have done well and what they need to do to improve their work further. Most apprentices continue to make sustained improvements to their work during their apprenticeship.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Apprentices now benefit from planned time and activities designed to prepare them well for their final assessments. Tutors provide apprentices with effective feedback to Monitoring visit: Dianthas Ltd, 27 and 28 February 2025 help them to improve the professional discussion skills that they need in their workplace roles and to do well in their final assessments. They encourage apprentices to include examples of legislation, such as the Care Act 2014, to bring workplace practices to life. More apprentices now achieve their apprenticeship. Half of apprentices who complete their apprenticeship achieve the highest grades.

p.3

Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have strengthened their quality assurance, improvement, and monitoring processes to improve their oversight of the quality of training that apprentices receive. They have invested in a new online system to provide them with better oversight of the progress that apprentices make. They use the information available to them to put in place actions to improve any areas of concern.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders have introduced staff training focused on developing clear links between theory and workplace practices. Tutors now have more conversations that are designed to help apprentices to make these connections. Tutors who teach the level 4 children, young people and families practitioner apprenticeship discuss with apprentices how care orders impact on the young people in their care and how these could be improved.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders have improved the information that board members receive. Governors now receive more succinct and clear information from leaders, including information about apprentices’ progress, attendance, and achievement. They use this information to provide effective challenge to improve further the quality of teaching that apprentices receive. With the support of governors, leaders have taken steps to help staff to improve or to exit the organisation. Governors continue to support leaders to further improve how they report the progress that they make against key areas for development.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders and tutors have introduced workshops to teach apprentices about cultural capital, social inequalities, and social divisions. They plan opportunities for apprentices to research how social, family, and educational Monitoring visit: Dianthas Ltd, 27 and 28 February 2025 factors affect their workplace roles and the service users that they support. Apprentices then present to their peers and employers on topics, such as sex trafficking and its impact on care-experienced young people in the local region and the benefits of equine therapy in working with children.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Leaders and tutors now promote opportunities that are available to apprentices in the local area. They share `72 things to do’ to encourage apprentices to consider opportunities for them, and for their service users. These opportunities include trips to the Mersey and Williamson Tunnels, the Mersey Ferries, theatre trips, and Lunar New Year activities in the region. In some instances, apprentices use this information well to enrich the lives of service users. They organise visits to museums and local attractions and weekly themed cookery evenings. Apprentices have noticed how these opportunities have impacted positively on service users, who are now eager to contribute; they look forward to these events. However, leaders recognise that they could do more to encourage all apprentices to make use of these opportunities.

p.5

Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have worked with apprentices and their employers to raise their expectations about the importance of apprentices regularly attending workshops.

p.5

Reasonable progress

Leaders use automated texts and emails to remind apprentices two days before they are due to attend a learning session. Most apprentices now inform their tutor when they are unable to attend a workshop. Apprentices know that unauthorised absences are followed up quickly by tutors. On the occasions where apprentices cannot attend workshops, tutors ensure that apprentices watch recordings of missed learning sessions and then check what they have learned at the following session.

p.5

Reasonable progress

Leaders have introduced a self-referral form for apprentices to notify them of any challenges that they face that may impact on their attendance. Leaders now put interventions in place swiftly so that apprentices can catch up with their studies.

p.5

Reasonable progress

Leaders work closely with employers to support apprentices to improve their attendance. Employers are notified quickly when an apprentice does not attend or when an apprentice falls behind. Leaders, employers, and apprentices agree interventions such as attendance to workshops to accommodate shift patterns and access to recordings of taught sessions.

p.5

Reasonable progress

Apprentices can now access their overall attendance via an online platform. Leaders continue to work closely with a minority of employers and apprentices, where attendance falls below their expectations. Attendance has improved and most apprentices now routinely attend their training. Monitoring visit: Dianthas Ltd, 27 and 28 February 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.

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