DBC Training

Further education and skills inspection report

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Adult learning programmes Good Apprenticeships Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Information about this provider

DBC Training provides apprenticeship training and pre-employment courses for adult learners. Apprentices are located throughout England. Adult learners attend training centres in Derby, Nottingham and Chesterfield. At the time of the inspection, there were 588 apprentices studying courses at levels 2 to 5 in customer service, warehousing, business administration, recruitment and human resources, leadership and management, marketing, sales, coaching and continuous improvement. There were 267 adult learners, most of whom were studying short courses.

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Information about this provider

Staff teach adult learners through face-to-face lessons. Tutors and development coaches teach apprentices through a combination of face-to-face and online lessons and coaching sessions, either individually or in small groups.

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Information about this provider

Leaders work with one subcontractor, who provides employability training. 18 to 21 March 2025

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

The vast majority of learners and apprentices are very satisfied with their courses. They feel supported, challenged and valued. They enjoy their lessons and are motivated to learn. Adult learners who have been out of education for some time benefit from activities that promote their participation without overwhelming them.

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

Apprentices and adult learners develop their knowledge and skills well. Almost all apprentices stay with their employers and make a difference in their workplaces. A very high proportion gain salary increases and promotions. Adult learners take their next steps towards employment.

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

Development coaches work closely with employers to help apprentices develop their professional behaviours and to practise their skills. Adult learners benefit from courses that leaders have developed in consultation with local stakeholders.

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

Tutors use a range of activities, such as small group work and presentations, that help learners to develop their teamwork and communication skills. This boosts their confidence so that they can take on more challenging tasks.

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

Tutors and coaches create a calm and supportive environment, where learners and apprentices feel comfortable and safe. Learners and apprentices know whom they should contact if they have concerns about their own or others’ well-being.

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better?

Managers and tutors mostly select appropriate topics for courses and organise them well. This helps to ensure that learners and apprentices develop their knowledge and skills over time. For example, multi-channel marketing apprentices study fundamental marketing principles, so that they have the knowledge they need to understand subsequent topics on specialist marketing techniques.

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better?

Leaders and managers have made suitable arrangements to support learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff discuss these needs with learners and devise sensible plans to support them. They share these plans with tutors and development coaches, who implement them well.

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better?

Adult learning tutors provide clear explanations and break subject matter down into manageable chunks for learners. They make effective use of case studies, role play, discussions and workbooks to ensure that learners develop a strong grasp of topics. Apprentices, however, receive too little formal instruction. Because of this, tutors attempt to cover too much material in lessons, which are often rushed as a result. While apprentices make up for the lack of instruction through one-to-one coaching and a range of independent learning tasks, they must carry out a significant amount of research for themselves, which is often not an efficient use of their time.

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better?

Tutors mostly check learners’ and apprentices’ understanding systematically and 18 to 21 March 2025

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effectively, using suitably demanding questioning, workbooks and workplace tasks. Tutors on adult programmes identify quickly the topics that learners have either not understood or misunderstood and they adjust their teaching accordingly. However, when apprentices are unsure of topics, tutors occasionally fail to revisit them.

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Tutors mostly provide learners and apprentices with activities to help them to apply their new skills and knowledge. Adult learners have ample opportunities to practise what they learn, through regular mock examinations, tests and written assignments. However, in a minority of cases, adult learners do not receive enough useful feedback on their work, and a few are unclear about their progress. Adult business administration learners receive clear spoken feedback, but they occasionally forget this and seldom have written feedback to fall back on.

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Adult learners and apprentices develop their knowledge and skills well. Apprentices quickly become competent in their job roles and make an impact at work, often identifying improvements and new ways of working. The proportion of apprentices who achieve their qualifications is high. Almost all apprentices pass their final assessments at the first attempt and many gain distinction grades. The proportion of adult learners who achieve their qualifications is also high.

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Most learners and apprentices receive sufficient careers education and guidance. Development coaches provide apprentices with useful information about skills, career paths and further education opportunities. Staff support adult learners to apply for jobs, even after they have completed their courses.

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Leaders have appropriate arrangements in place to oversee the quality of training, including that of the subcontractor. They have successfully taken action to increase the proportion of learners and apprentices who achieve their qualifications. They have increased employer involvement in apprentices’ progress reviews and trained staff to better support learners with SEND. However, leaders rely too much on achievement data to judge quality and do not make such good use of other indicators. For example, they do not use the results of lesson observations to develop training plans for tutors, and this limits the extent to which tutors improve their teaching skills.

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Suitably qualified and experienced governors provide leaders with helpful scrutiny, challenge and support. They have a thorough understanding of many facets of the organisation, including quality, safeguarding and finance. However, the information that leaders provide to governors focuses too much on achievement data and not on more qualitative themes, such as the impact of training on teaching.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 to 21 March 2025

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Increase the amount of instruction that apprentices receive, so that lessons are not rushed and apprentices can make better use of their remaining off-the-job training time.  Check that apprenticeship tutors consistently revisit topics that apprentices have not fully understood.  Provide consistent feedback to adult learners in a format that they can refer to in the future.  Examine a wider range of indicators when assessing the quality of courses. 18 to 21 March 2025

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Kerry Bentley

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Provider details

Provider type Independent learning provider

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection 8 to 11 February 2022

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Provider details

Main subcontractors Realise Learning and Employment Limited 18 to 21 March 2025

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the skills and quality director, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection 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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Inspection team

Russ Henry, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Sarah Houghton His Majesty’s Inspector Michael Worgs His Majesty’s Inspector Janet Cannon Ofsted Inspector Alison Whatsize Ofsted Inspector Jo Brodrick Ofsted Inspector Debbie Tansley Ofsted Inspector Christine Blowman Ofsted Inspector 18 to 21 March 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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