Choice Training Ltd

Choice Training Ltd

Address: Seareach House, Wantz Road, Dagenham, RM10 8PS Unique reference number (URN): 1276393

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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 Needs attention

Leaders and staff broadly assess apprentices’ additional support and welfare needs at the start of their course. However, they do not consistently identify the precise details of apprentices’ needs. They do not tailor sufficiently the support that they put in place for apprentices with education, health and care plans. Despite this, apprentices with EHC plans make effective progress on their apprenticeship.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders mostly plan appropriate support for apprentices. They share this planning with tutors and relevant staff. Apprentices with barriers to learning typically receive relevant support. Tutors give apprentices with moderate learning support needs prior information about lesson content so that they have time to work through the questions and answers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Tutors and staff have not received suitable training to support apprentices with specific needs, such as autism. In a few instances, staff are not aware of the full range of adaptations they could use, such as reading pens for apprentices with dyslexia.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that staff have appropriate training to review the effectiveness of the support that apprentices receive. They do not involve apprentices and employers in meaningful conversations about how well the support is helping apprentices.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders provide helpful support to apprentices when they have a break in learning.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders broadly understand their main strengths and areas for improvement. They use the information they collect to analyse and identify the reasons why certain groups of apprentices do not achieve their qualifications as well as others. They have made improvements to the careers information that adult apprentices receive. However, leaders have not focused sufficiently on making improvements promptly in other areas, including developing apprentices’ deeper understanding of the risks of extremism and radicalisation.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governors have appropriate backgrounds to support and challenge leaders, including wide- ranging expertise and knowledge in the construction industry. They share experience and good practice that mostly helps leaders to make improvements. However, leaders do not consistently provide governors with timely information. Governors do not have a detailed overview of how well apprentices achieve their qualifications.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders undertake helpful observations of tutors’ teaching practice. They discuss with tutors their strengths and areas for improvement. Leaders have a clear understanding of where tutors can improve. In general, leaders provide tutors with suitable support and training, such as taking teaching qualifications. New tutors have many opportunities to shadow leaders and other tutors who model effective teaching strategies.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders support staff effectively with their wellbeing and workload. For example, they introduced new qualifications gradually to reduce the impact on staff's workload. Staff consider their workloads to be manageable. Governors and leaders have appropriately identified the need to increase staffing at a leadership level to strengthen oversight of the curriculum.

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Achievement Expected standard

Most apprentices make effective progress on their apprenticeship and achieve their qualifications. Most of those who need to study English and mathematics as part of their apprenticeship achieve qualifications in these subjects at their first attempt.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices learn new knowledge and skills that help them with their roles at work. Apprentices follow diagrams confidently to build and bend pipework using varied materials, such as plastic, steel and copper. They explain confidently how they apply these skills at work to identify the most suitable materials for jobs, such as changing joints. Apprentices produce work of a suitable standard for the level of course they study.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices learn and use accurately the technical terms associated with their industry. This enables them to contribute well to problem-solving at work. They become valued team members, working alongside experienced engineers in their teams.

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Achievement Expected standard

Almost all apprentices remain in employment with their current employer when they finish their apprenticeship.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a generally accurate understanding of the quality of apprenticeships. They mostly take appropriate action to deal with areas for improvement. For example, where leaders identify content that apprentices find challenging, they increase the number of lessons they teach on these topics.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders work closely with local and regional employers to provide apprenticeships that meet their needs. They planned new apprenticeships in electrical installation in response to employer demand.

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Needs attention

Leaders plan and sequence the curriculums effectively so that apprentices build on the knowledge they learn in previous lessons. On electrical installation apprenticeships, apprentices first learn about essential theoretical equations that they then use to accurately calculate voltages and currents. They very confidently apply this knowledge in practical lessons to work out the size of circuit breakers for power showers.

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Needs attention

Tutors suitably adapt their teaching so that most apprentices grasp difficult concepts. They break down complex tasks into smaller chunks. Tutors encourage apprentices to create lists to help them remember the order in which to complete pieces of work.

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Needs attention

Leaders and tutors keep up to date with current industry developments. They teach highly relevant new knowledge, such as plumbing innovations in pipe crimping and how to install digital showers.

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Needs attention

The quality of teaching that apprentices receive is effective. In both theory and practical workshop lessons, trainers mostly explain key concepts well. In workshops, tutors help apprentices learn through useful step-by-step demonstrations. Tutors frequently check how apprentices carry out practical tasks and give helpful guidance.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Tutors and employers generally provide apprentices with useful information about the next level of apprenticeship training that they can do when they complete their course. Apprentices know about future apprenticeships in ventilation and air conditioning and leadership in construction. However, staff do not explore younger apprentices’ wider career aspirations effectively. They do not provide sufficient impartial and structured careers information about progression routes. A few apprentices do not have a clear idea about the steps they need to take to reach their goals.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Leaders set high expectations for apprentices’ attendance and punctuality. They promote these essential workplace behaviours effectively. They reward apprentices who show these behaviours consistently through an apprentice of the month competition. When apprentices miss lessons, tutors usually know the reasons for absences in advance.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Staff signpost all apprentices to organisations that provide advice about healthy sexual relationships and contraception. However, leaders do not provide any in-depth education for young apprentices about these topics.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Apprentices work productively and take an active part in discussions and practical workshop tasks. They are respectful of their tutors and peers. They do not report having experienced any inappropriate behaviour and know how to raise concerns if they have any.

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

Apprentices appreciate the warm and welcoming environment that leaders have created. They consider it a safe place in which to learn. Apprentices feel comfortable approaching staff about their needs. Apprentices who have had previous negative experiences at college or university now thrive on their apprenticeship. They value highly the smaller, caring environment. They gain confidence in applying their new skills at work. Apprentices appreciate how staff notice when they behave unusually and check on their wellbeing.

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

Apprentices recall discussions with tutors about how to identify changes in personal behaviours that could pose a threat. However, they do not fully link these concepts to their responsibilities at work. Apprentices who work in buildings, such as data centres and hospitals, do not have a sufficient understanding of why their workplace is vulnerable to potential attacks.

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

Apprentices who study English and mathematics as part of their apprenticeship benefit from a comprehensive and useful range of teaching and assessment resources. Leaders use these resources effectively to tailor the teaching of English and mathematics to the needs of learners. Apprentices complete quizzes to check what they have learned at the end of each module. They also benefit from group and individual lessons to focus on the areas they struggle with, including examination preparation. Apprentices with additional learning needs do not consistently receive support specific to their individual needs.

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

Apprentices broaden effectively their knowledge of the construction industry by attending trade shows. They learn about innovations in green technologies, which keeps them informed about current changes in the sector.

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

Apprentices benefit from helpful feedback on their work. They strengthen their understanding of the subjects they study through testing their knowledge using gapped worksheets. However, in progress reviews apprentices do not have meaningful discussions about topics, such as the support they receive, healthy relationships or British values.

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Next steps

Leaders should improve how they identify and plan to meet the full range of apprentices’ support needs at the start of the apprenticeship, including for those with education, health and care plans. Leaders should make sure that they review with apprentices the effectiveness of the support they provide for them. Leaders should improve the training that tutors and staff receive to help apprentices with specific support needs, such as dyslexia. Leaders should promptly make sure that apprentices develop a deeper understanding of how the risks of radicalisation and extremism apply to them, particularly in their roles at work. Leaders should make sure that young apprentices develop an appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and have access to a personalised programme of careers

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Team inspectors:

Montserrat Perez-Parent, His Majesty's Inspector Christina Christou, Ofsted Inspector Pamela Wallace, 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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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 apprentices, leaders, tutors, support staff and employers during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Choice Training Limited is an independent learning provider based in east London. At the time of the inspection, the provider had 324 apprentices studying a range of apprenticeships relevant for the construction industry. Around 60 apprentices are aged 16-18.

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About this inspection

There were 70 apprentices studying the level 3 building services engineering (BSE) craftsperson apprenticeship, 28 studying the level 2 BSE installer, 142 studying the level 3 BSE service and maintenance engineer and 71 studying the level 3 installation and maintenance technician. There were 14 apprentices studying functional skills English, and 26 apprentices studying functional skills mathematics.

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About this inspection

All teaching takes place at the provider’s main site in Dagenham. Leaders work employers across London and the south east of England.

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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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