Steve Willis Training Ltd

Steve Willis Training Ltd

Address: Unit F2 Sheddingdean Business Centre, Marchants Way, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8QY Unique reference number (URN): 1278570

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, learners are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect providers for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are generally aware of the quality of the curriculum and take appropriate actions to bring about improvements. For example, since the previous inspection, they have made improvements to the wider curriculum that apprentices receive.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders design a curriculum that meets regional employer needs and apprentices’ needs in the building services sector. They offer apprenticeships that enable individuals to access the highly regulated electrical and gas engineering professions.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work with external partners to ensure that apprentices benefit from learning with the latest technology when in training environments.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Senior leaders have positive oversight of the provision. They ensure that leaders focus on offering education that enables apprentices to achieve their career ambitions. For example, leaders adapt the curriculum to encompass the use of new technologies and encourage adult learners to study mathematics and English qualifications. They recognise that these skills are essential for apprentices to be successful in the building services sector.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders support staff to update their technical skills continuously to ensure they remain relevant in a changing sector. They assure the quality of the training that apprentices receive to understand the learning experience, identify good practice and recognise areas that need improvement. However, leaders do not fully utilise this information to target pedagogical professional development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff mostly value working at the provider and feel well supported by leaders. Leaders ensure that staff workloads are manageable and have implemented appropriate processes that enable staff to raise concerns and to protect them from bullying, harassment and discrimination.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders are committed to providing training to apprentices and, notably, take on those who have barriers to learning, including apprentices with education, health and care (EHC) plans. However, they have not made sure that all teaching staff know how best to support apprentices with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who have an EHC plan. Leaders' work to rectify this is in its infancy. As a result, currently staff do not provide enough support to enable apprentices to achieve the learning outcomes in their EHC plan. Leaders do not regularly monitor these goals to recognise progress and implement appropriate support to ensure that learners achieve their goals.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders identify apprentices’ learning needs early in the programme. They implement apprentice development plans that recognise the support apprentices need and revisit these annually. However, inconsistencies remain in the support that apprentices receive.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders are ambitious to meet all apprentices’ needs. They have recently introduced an appropriate inclusion strategy and have begun to work with partners to identify best practice in supporting apprentices.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders effectively support apprentices who are children in care. They actively engage with all those involved in supporting apprentices known to social care to ensure they receive tailored support that helps them achieve their educational outcomes.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices make positive progress in their programmes and develop the knowledge and skills required to work in the building services sector. Overall apprentices achieve well, including those who have barriers to learning, but this is not even across different subjects. For example, the proportion of gas engineering operative apprentices who achieve their qualification is high, but for installation and maintenance electrician apprentices it is too low.

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Achievement Expected standard

Employers value the contribution apprentices make to their organisations. Apprentices produce both written and practical work to at least the appropriate standard.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices broadly develop the mathematics and English skills they require to carry out their work as gas and electrical engineers. Apprentices studying functional skills qualifications in these subjects mostly achieve these within the first year of study.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices are supported effectively to prepare for their final assessment. The majority of gas apprentices achieve a distinction. Most apprentices remain within the sector on

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders consider apprentices’ wellbeing and support apprentices to overcome any challenges. They monitor apprentices closely, and on the few occasions that apprentices miss learning they take appropriate action to support them.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices learn quickly how to work safely and report feeling safe. They know how to report a concern if one arises and are confident that staff will take appropriate action.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices develop wider skills related to the industries in which they work, such as the installation of green technology. Staff help apprentices develop skills such as teamwork, leadership and reflective practice. Apprentices receive suitable careers advice and are made aware of networking opportunities they can use to support them in their career ambitions.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices are generally aware of how to lead healthy lifestyles and stay safe online, and they understand the risks associated with radicalisation and extremism. For example, apprentices benefit from external speakers who teach them about the risks associated with illegal drugs and knife crime. However, this learning is not consistently revisited to ensure apprentices can precisely recall it.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices demonstrate positive, professional and respectful behaviours. They learn about fundamental British values and can relate this learning to how they work and interact with others in the workplace.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that employers are routinely involved in their apprentices' progress reviews. Consequently, employers do not consistently understand the full curriculum taught to their apprentices and how best to support them.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff do not routinely set apprentices helpful targets related to developing their technical skills or their use of English and mathematics. Apprentices are not fully aware of the progress they make and are not sufficiently challenged to improve swiftly.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders implement a coherent building services curriculum that addresses regional skill shortages. They largely understand what they do well and where they need to improve. Leaders evolve the curriculum to meet employers’ needs, such as including education in green skills to prepare apprentices for their future.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Tutors ensure that apprentices build their knowledge and skills in a logical order. They are experts in the subjects they teach and use this expertise well to bring learning to life. They explain technical mathematics and science concepts, such as calculating inductive reactance, in ways that help electrical apprentices learn and remember more. Tutors use effective teaching strategies. They demonstrate practical skills clearly, which apprentices model well. Tutors observe apprentices’ skills and quickly provide accurate feedback on what they need to do to improve. They use varied effective questioning strategies to check, extend and consolidate learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Apprentices apply their skills well in the workplace and workshops. For example, gas apprentices safely isolate gas, drain systems and install boilers. Apprentices correctly use the key terminology related to their jobs and apply the regulations required for the sector in which they work.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices develop electrical, gas, plumbing and heating knowledge and skills that are highly desirable within the building services sectors. They generally make positive progress in their studies and achieve their qualifications. Apprentices become confident in their chosen careers as a result of their new learning, and consequently make a positive contribution to the organisations in which they work.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices behave in a positive and professional manner. They learn about working in a multicultural society, about respecting their clients and how best to protect the environments they access at work. They find the provider welcoming and inclusive. They enjoy their learning and highly value the skills that they develop. They are motivated to learn and, consequently, attend well and are punctual and attentive at training sessions and work.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices are prepared well for current and future work in the building services sector. For example, teachers make sure that apprentices are aware of and prepared for career options in green pathways such as air-source heat pump installation and maintenance. They teach a curriculum that gives apprentices multiple employment options by, for example, offering gas apprentices additional qualifications in subjects including water regulations and installing unvented cylinders.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan do not consistently benefit from the additional support they require. They are not aware of the progress that they make against their EHC plan learning outcomes.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices do not routinely benefit from progress reviews that inform employers of how best to support them in the workplace. They are not sufficiently provided with individualised targets that challenge them to make secure progress.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure that apprentices with an education, health and care (EHC) plan are appropriately supported to achieve their EHC plan learning outcomes. • Leaders should ensure that teaching staff know how to support confidently apprentices with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who have an EHC plan. • Leaders should ensure that employers are regularly involved in apprentice progress reviews, so employers know how best to support apprentices in the workplace. • Leaders should ensure that staff set apprentices meaningful targets that challenge them to make swift progress. • Leaders should further increase the proportion of installation and maintenance electrician apprentices who achieve the apprenticeship. • Leaders should further enhance apprentices’ understanding of all elements of the personal development curriculum. • Leaders should further strengthen how they use quality assurance intelligence to inform

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Next steps

pedagogical professional development for teaching staff.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the managing director, leaders, staff, employers and apprentices during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider: Steve Willis Training Limited is an independent learning provider with training centres in Burgess Hill and Portchester. It specialises in training apprentices in building services qualifications.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 507 apprentices in learning. Of these, 297 apprentices were studying the level 3 installation and maintenance electrician apprenticeship, 198 were studying the gas engineering operative apprenticeship and 12 were studying the plumbing and domestic heating technician apprenticeship. A total of 187 apprentices were aged 16 to 18 years old. There were 10 apprentices with an education, health and care plan

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About this inspection

Leaders have very recently started to offer Skills Bootcamps for nine adult learners. This provision is too new to be able to make a judgement on its effectiveness and was not graded.

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Lead inspector:

Richard Kirkham, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Jo-Ann Henderson, His Majesty's Inspector Alison Muggridge, Ofsted Inspector Errol Ince, Ofsted Inspector Sam Hanmer, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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 .

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Urgent improvement

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 .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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