Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting Limited

Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

p.1

Name of lead inspector: Clifford Shaw, His Majesty’s Inspector

p.1

Type of provider: Independent learning provider

p.1

Address: 137 New Road Skewen West Glamorgan SA10 6HL Monitoring visit: Whitehead-Ross Education Consulting Limited, 29 and 30 May 2025

p.1

Context and focus of visit

Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting Limited was inspected in June 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

Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting Limited (WREC) is an independent training provider based in Skewen, Wales. It began providing Skills Bootcamp courses to adult learners in October 2023. The Skills Bootcamp learning sessions take place at learning centres in Brighton, Newquay, Swindon, Weymouth and Worthing and online.

p.2

Context and focus of visit

At the time of the monitoring visit no Skills Bootcamp learners were in learning. The most recent Skills Bootcamps provided by WREC were in cybersecurity with four learners, hospitality leadership with nine learners, project management with 10 learners and television and media with six learners. All learners who study Skills Bootcamps with WREC are unemployed.

p.2

Significant progress

Leaders have taken very effective actions to increase the involvement of employers in the planning and design of Skills Bootcamps so that learners are better prepared for job interviews and employment. Leaders use the expertise of employers well to ensure that the content of the curriculums they teach is up-to-date and is aligned to job vacancies. For example, leaders used feedback from employers in the hospitality industry to increase what learners are taught about managing difficult situations with customers and complaints. Learners studying the television and media bootcamp are briefed by media professionals about how the industry works and are also taught how to operate industry standard film and sound equipment. Leaders have implemented useful industry visits for learners so that they can speak with employers to find out about job roles and experience the workplace environment. Learners studying the hospitality leadership bootcamp spend time in

p.2

Significant progress

restaurants and cafes to observe how hospitality supervisory roles are carried out. Monitoring visit: Whitehead-Ross Education Consulting Limited, 29 and 30 May 2025 Consequently, learners can assess how well matched they are to job roles and gain useful insights into what they may be asked about at their job interview. Leaders ensure that learners are very well prepared for interviews. They provide learners with high-quality learning materials including briefing notes about the sorts of questions they will be asked at interview and how best to answer questions. Leaders have added employability skills to the curriculum so that learners learn more about professional behaviours expected within the workplace such as timekeeping, self-management and how to be self-motivated. Leaders make excellent use of virtual reality equipment to simulate job interviews so that learners have a safe space to practise and refine their interview skills.

p.2

Significant progress

Leaders have taken very effective actions to strengthen governance arrangements. Since the previous inspection leaders have recruited external board members who have extensive experience in business and education and skills. This includes senior leaders from further education, the public sector and business and employer networks. Board members use their knowledge and experience very effectively to assure themselves that employers are involved in the curriculums that WREC provides. Board members provide rigorous support and challenge to leaders. They ensure that board meetings focus on the quality of teaching. They debate topics with leaders vigorously and ensure that leaders have clear actions to implement at the conclusion of board meetings. Leaders value the drive and energy the new board members have infused into the organisation and how this resulted in an analytical and ambitious culture. Leaders ensure that board members receive useful reports on the quality of training

p.3

Significant progress

and the progress they are making towards improving the quality of training and learners’ outcomes. Board members are exacting of leaders; they challenge leaders to evidence assertions they make and ensure that they manage the performance of tutors well. Governors understand acutely the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection and are persistent in checking the progress that leaders are making towards improvement. Leaders ensure that board members receive useful reports from leaders about the content of the curriculums being taught and the quality of teaching. Consequently, governors are well informed and able to make sensible decisions to support leaders. Monitoring visit: Whitehead-Ross Education Consulting Limited, 29 and 30 May 2025

p.3

Significant progress

Since the previous inspection leaders have responded quickly to the recommendation to provide tutors with ongoing training and support for their teaching skills. Leaders make excellent use of external experts from local authorities and further education colleges to support quality improvement processes and the professional development of tutors. Leaders have focused on ensuring that tutors receive training in the effective use of questioning techniques so that learners deepen their knowledge of the subjects they are taught and make the progress they are capable of. Leaders ensure that tutors receive training in setting educational goals and targets, coaching and mental health awareness. Leaders have rigorous processes in place to check the impact of the training that tutors receive. Leaders use these processes well to develop tutors’ knowledge and skills. Leaders visit lessons accompanied by external experts to evaluate the quality

p.4

Significant progress

of teaching and speak with learners about their experience. They provide tutors with detailed feedback on their teaching and identify well good practice and areas for improvement such as, for example, time-management and pace of lessons and the use of command verbs. Leaders take time to ensure that they provide learners with suggestions about how to improve, for example preparing questions before showing videos to learners and how to organise peer discussions among learners. Leaders’ actions have resulted in tutors being more confident and skilled in the use of teaching techniques. Tutors now use question matrices confidently so that learners can select the questions they ask, including more complex questions to deepen what they know and can do. Learners value how tutors provide them with opportunities to reflect on their own experiences and how this provides useful information to their fellow learners who have been unemployed for long periods of

p.4

Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection leaders have improved the induction process learners undertake so that they each complete an individual learning plan (ILP) which contains information from learners about their support needs. Consequently, tutors are now more aware of those learners who may need additional support in lessons. Monitoring visit: Whitehead-Ross Education Consulting Limited, 29 and 30 May 2025 However, this is too reliant on learners being aware of and declaring their SEND diagnoses and/or the support they may need for their studies. Leaders rightly recognise that they need to further strengthen these processes for diagnosing leaners’ needs. Leaders also acknowledge the need to ensure that tutors receive more training in how to identify learners’ support needs early on in their course so that opportunities to support them with their studies are not missed.

p.4

Reasonable progress

Tutors value the introduction of the new ILP as it has improved their oversight of which learners within the group need additional support. Tutors now use this information effectively to plan lessons. Tutors personalise the questions they ask learners to take account of their support needs, for example they know which questions they can ask the whole group and which questions to direct to individual learners to meet their neurodiverse needs.

p.5

Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that more experienced tutors, for example those with responsibility for internal quality assurance, coach the less experienced tutors so that they can implement techniques to support learners who struggle with written work. This has resulted in an increase in the use of technologies to help learners with their studies, such as speech to text tools. However, tutors do not always apply these techniques swiftly enough, and consequently they implement these after learners have completed much of their coursework. Monitoring visit: Whitehead-Ross Education Consulting Limited, 29 and 30 May 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

p.5

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.

p.6

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