Construct Training Services Limited

Construct Training Services Limited

Address: Unit 2, Olympus House, Castle Farm, Main street,Kirby Muxlow, Leicester, LE9 2AP Unique reference number (URN): 2791010

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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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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have several effective ways to identify learners' and apprentices' needs and additional learning support that they need to put in place. They work well with apprentices and their employers to offer a variety of helpful adjustments. This allows apprentices to thrive in their training and at work. For example, apprentices with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder receive assistance to establish routines to help them remember essential health and safety equipment for work.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders appropriately review progress and the effectiveness of support with learners, apprentices and their employers. They make suitable adjustments to any adaptations when needed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Learners and apprentices readily approach staff if they need help with personal situations. They receive and benefit from this help.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with useful training that enables them to support learners and apprentices. This means that staff can identify if learners or apprentices have any additional learning support needs. Leaders recognise that, as a small team, they need more capacity to offer specialist support. They work in partnership with an external provider to offer this but, at the time of the inspection, it was too soon to see the full impact of this work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have extensive experience in groundworks and highways maintenance. They use this to execute well their strategy of supporting local authorities and public sector employers to meet the high demand for these skills. Employers appreciate the training that leaders provide, which enables them to generate a pipeline of skilled staff.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Since the last inspection, leaders have made several positive changes to the quality of training. They ensure that their actions are inclusive and in the best interests of learners and apprentices. For example, when creating new high-quality video and e-learning materials, leaders ensure that these are made in accessible formats.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a largely accurate overview of what they do well and what needs to improve. They undertake an appropriate range of quality assurance activities to determine relevant priorities. These include audits of e-portfolios, scrutiny of learners’ and apprentices’ work and observations of trainers’ lessons. Leaders use the outcomes of these activities to improve the provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The small leadership team effectively works with external consultants so that there is a reasonable level of additional oversight. Consultants provide a focused and useful level of challenge to leaders on the quality of their provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Trainers maintain their industry skills through their work in the sector. They know the highways industry very well, which has a positive impact on the quality of training. Trainers continue to develop their teaching skills in line with their needs. Those new to teaching complete beneficial accredited teaching courses. Leaders support their team and pay close attention to their wellbeing.

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Achievement Expected standard

Most learners typically make the progress expected of them and achieve their Construction Skills Certification Scheme Blue Skilled Worker card.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners who are employed or self-employed build new knowledge, confidence and competence in doing their jobs.

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Achievement Expected standard

In their practical work, learners demonstrate their competence. They know how to use tools safely to avoid personal injury. They understand how to safeguard the public when working in communities, by using appropriate barriers, screens, walkways and signage. Learners' written work meets the requirements of the qualification.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners become more confident and can take opportunities to advance their careers in the construction sector as a result of their training.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders work well with employers and the local authority to design a relevant curriculum for the highways maintenance and groundworks Skills Bootcamps. The 6-week courses are carefully planned to include all the knowledge that learners need to gain the essential Construction Skills Certification Scheme Blue Skilled Worker card. However, staff do not routinely set learners broader personal targets for improvement.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that courses are accessible to learners with different levels of digital skills. Trainers provide learners with digital and paper-based study materials and methods to record their work. This ensures that all learners can participate in training and record their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers have extensive industry experience. They use this to teach effectively and to model useful skills to learners, such as changing a cutting disc on a saw and using a locking pin and wrench correctly. Trainers use well-chosen questions to develop learners' use of technical terminology and connect this to regulations. This supports learners to remember key information for their tests, which focus heavily on this knowledge.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers use assessment effectively during lessons. They provide verbal feedback on practical tasks that is useful and helps learners improve their technical skills. However, trainers’ written feedback is often very minimal, congratulatory and not developmental for learners.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders appropriately oversee course quality. They rightly identify that, as they offer more courses, they need to use more formal ways to capture learners’ progress during their studies.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners know how to keep themselves safe in the hazardous working environments in which they often operate. Tutors make appropriate reference to the risks of not adhering to regulations, which continues to raise learners’ awareness.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Trainers mostly set high expectations for learners’ attendance and behaviour. Learners attend well, arrive on time and with their folders ready for lessons.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Trainers appropriately teach themes that relate to fundamental British values in the context of the construction sector. Learners recognise the need to respect people with different backgrounds, beliefs and genders. They are well prepared for work in the modern construction industry.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Trainers have regular careers discussions with learners. Together, they review useful resources about applying for jobs and progression routes. Learners are aware of their future course and career options.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices develop the knowledge and skills they need for their job. They apply what they learn in the workplace to an appropriate standard. Apprentices’ line managers talk positively about apprentices' capability. For example, apprentices quickly understand highway ground

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Needs attention

structures and the equipment needed to fix potholes. They go on to do this common job successfully at work.

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Needs attention

A very small number of apprentices study towards level 1 functional skills English and mathematics qualifications. They all pass and progress to study level 2 qualifications.

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Needs attention

Most apprentices who start their apprenticeship achieve their qualification. Nearly half of them achieve a distinction grade. All of those who have completed their apprenticeship remain with their employer.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders provide apprenticeships that meet employers' and the sector’s needs. Trainers teach new topics logically. They first break down important practical skills, such as identifying underground cables and traffic management. They then teach the structure of pavements, excavation and reinstatement, which allows apprentices to develop their knowledge incrementally.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers are very knowledgeable about their industry and bring lessons to life. For example, they demonstrate how to avoid common mistakes when laying paving. Alongside this, apprentices watch a series of high-quality instructional videos. They quickly develop good practical skills. Trainers make suitable adaptations in lessons to meet apprentices’ individual learning needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers use a range of assessments to check apprentices’ understanding, such as tasks about traffic management plans. They use the outcomes to provide useful verbal feedback and correct misconceptions. However, trainers do not consistently provide helpful feedback on apprentices' written work.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers, apprentices and supervisors meet regularly to discuss apprentices' progress. However, the quality of these reviews is not consistently high. They are often too brief and do not result in developmental actions.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers work well with apprentices’ supervisors to plan what apprentices should do between taught sessions at work. If apprentices do not work in areas that they need to, trainers successfully work with supervisors to mitigate this.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have an appropriate understanding of the quality of the curriculum. They are aware that the quality of trainers’ written feedback needs to improve, and appropriate training and support are in place to enhance this.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Apprentices routinely attend training. On the few occasions they miss a lesson, they easily catch up with recordings and trainer support. Leaders mostly identify the personal development topics that apprentices need to learn, such as online safety and wellbeing. However, in a few instances learning materials are not relevant, and trainers’ discussions about the topics are brief. This means that apprentices do not always benefit from learning deeply enough about themes relevant to their age and lives.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Staff signpost apprentices to a small number of relevant development activities to develop their broader skills. Unfortunately, too many apprentices who would benefit from these events are unaware of them or do not take these opportunities.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Leaders provide suitable careers advice to apprentices towards the end of their apprenticeship. This largely supports them to take their next steps. However, those in the early stage of their course, who are unsure about career options, wait too long for formal guidance.

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

Learners and apprentices successfully gain the knowledge and skills they need to work, or make progress in their roles, in the highways maintenance and groundworks sector.

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

Learners on Skills Bootcamps, who work as groundworkers or dumper and roller operatives, develop valuable knowledge about legal requirements, working practices and regulations. As a result of their training, most successfully gain their Construction Skills Certification Scheme Blue Skilled Worker card. This is essential to enable them to build their career in construction.

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

Apprentices learn through a well-planned combination of practical training, online lessons, high-quality instructional videos and e-learning. They become valued employees and are quickly able to contribute to their workplaces.

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

Learners and apprentices learn in industry-standard practical training environments. The large outdoor training area and training bays provide excellent resources for them to learn essential skills. For example, learners and apprentices complete real excavations using a mini-digger and dumper truck. Trainers ensure that learners and apprentices use street works, traffic management signs and barriers to meet site health and safety standards.

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

Learners and apprentices value their training and the opportunity to develop their skills. Trainers and staff create a positive environment, where learners and apprentices readily ask for additional learning support or guidance with personal matters. Learners and apprentices know how to raise any concerns for their safety on site or any wider safeguarding matters and do so when necessary. Leaders take appropriate and reassuring action in response.

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

Learners and apprentices receive helpful careers guidance and know how to take their next steps. However, a few apprentices would benefit from this earlier in their studies. Apprentices develop a reasonable level of understanding of personal development themes, such as online safety and how to manage their wellbeing. However, leaders do not consistently ensure that lessons and materials are relevant to all apprentices’ ages and lives.

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Next steps

• Leaders should make sure that the personal development topics that apprentices are taught are relevant and develop their understanding. • Leaders should ensure that apprentices undertake a programme of wider learning that is relevant and aids their personal development needs. • Leaders should provide apprentices with sufficient careers guidance throughout their course so they are aware of the progression routes available to them. • Leaders should consider how to make apprentices' progress reviews more useful and developmental to help them to make even better progress. • Leaders should ensure that trainers routinely and consistently provide useful feedback that helps learners and apprentices improve.

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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 leaders, trainers, apprentices, learners, employers and local authority representatives during the inspection. They visited lessons, looked at learners' and apprentices' work and reviewed relevant documents.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider:

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About this inspection

Construct Training Services Limited is an independent learning provider based in Leicester.

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About this inspection

Leaders offer level 2 apprenticeships in highways maintenance skilled operative and groundworker across England, using a blend of in-person and online learning. Leaders also offer Skills Bootcamps in groundworks to adult learners living in Leicester and Leicestershire.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, 16 apprentices were in training. Almost all apprentices were aged 18 or over. A very small number of apprentices were studying towards functional skills qualifications. There were 47 Skills Bootcamp learners enrolled.

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Team inspectors:

Steve Lambert, His Majesty's Inspector Mark Care, His Majesty's 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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