The Abbey Access Centre

The Abbey Access Centre

Address: Arboretum Lodge, Monks Road, Lincoln, LN2 5HU Unique reference number (URN): 2791043

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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

Abbey Access promote an ethos of inclusivity where no learner is excluded. Leaders successfully provide training for adults with very low starting points and often a multitude of barriers to learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff quickly ascertain learners’ additional needs or barriers to learning. They undertake initial assessments, ‘getting to know you’ activities and individual discussions. The small staff team understands well learners’ respective support needs. This helps tutors to put in place appropriate support strategies, such as extra breaks or individualised timetables.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and tutors have frequent, often daily, check-ins with learners to assess any support that learners need in their personal lives. Leaders help with transport, arrange counselling, conduct home visits and loan laptops.

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Inclusion Expected standard

On a daily basis, leaders and tutors communicate informally about any changes in learners’ support needs. Due to the small size of the team, this works effectively.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders hold fortnightly case reviews where they consider learners’ progress and additional support needs. Typically, there is no requirement to reduce support because courses are only 6 weeks in duration.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Tutors have undertaken teaching qualifications with content about support strategies. They have also attended training about autism, mental health first aid, basic counselling skills and suicide awareness.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders’ vision for their provision is clear and extremely learner focused. Leaders are passionate about the way their 6-week construction courses prepare unemployed adults for work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders take an active role in training centres. They undertake learning walks, observations of teaching and reviews of teaching resources and learners' views. Leaders are ambitious to achieve consistently high standards. They have recently started to improve lesson design and content further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders successfully forge connections with stakeholders that enhance learners’ experiences. They have worked with employers to secure use of a very well-equipped realistic construction training environment. Through their well-established links with a wide array of construction employers, learners benefit from activities, such as visits to new builds and expert demonstrations.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Experienced trustees with a breadth of relevant skills work closely and productively with leaders. They meet quarterly and receive pertinent updates about finances, contract performance, learner updates, staff training and safeguarding. Trustees are supportive and provide guidance about current challenges.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff experience a rewarding team culture where everyone prioritises the learners. Leaders are approachable and available and check frequently on staff's wellbeing. Counselling is available for staff who face personal challenges.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

New staff are comprehensively inducted into their roles. They shadow more experienced staff and attend practical construction sessions to upskill. Leaders support tutors to gain appropriate teaching qualifications. Several tutors attend relevant courses that equip them well to deal with the many vulnerabilities that learners face. Largely, tutors benefit from guidance about how to improve their teaching practice. However, often guidance is somewhat unplanned.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make significant progress from their starting points. They achieve the full range of certificates they need for employment, such as site safety and manual handling. Most learners pass these examinations at their first attempt. Learners develop practical skills, including brick work and block paving, to the required standard.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners improve their digital, mathematical and English skills well. They are confident to access and use online learning resources and produce word-processed documents, even though many have never used computers before. Learners know how to identify and measure metric and imperial materials used in construction. Learners' word-processed written work is generally of an acceptable standard. However, learners' handwriting often needs improvement.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners are well prepared for work. They are more confident and skilled and hold the qualifications they require to secure entry roles in construction. Many learners progress into employment, largely in the construction sector.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders know well the quality of their Skills Bootcamp provision. They have started to make further improvements to learning activities in theory classes. Leaders work effectively with funders to provide training that prepares learners to apply for entry roles in the construction industry. They work closely with employers, so learners are well prepared for jobs on construction sites.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders and tutors organise course content logically. Learners firstly study in-depth the critical health and safety components of training. After this, they undertake practical tasks at the realistic working construction training site.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors provide suitable support and adjustments for learners with barriers to learning, so they can focus in classes. These learners progress in line with their peers.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors use their experience effectively to enable learners to grasp relevant new knowledge. They use presentations, videos and scenarios to help learners understand topics, such as manual handling, risk assessments and the different types of construction materials.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

During discussions, most tutors use skilful questioning and provide helpful feedback, so learners develop a deeper understanding of topics. Most tutors build in time to check that learners understand what they have been taught before they move on to the next topic. However, occasionally this does not happen well enough.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors generally provide developmental feedback about learners' written work. Largely, this helps learners improve their standard of writing when they produce word-processed covering letters and job applications. However, tutors do not do enough to help learners improve their handwritten work.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for the behaviours and attitudes that learners need to develop to gain sustained employment in the future. Most learners are well focused on their learning.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders and tutors provide extensive support about a range of personal matters, including mental health, housing and finances. Tutors provide thorough health and safety inductions, so learners know about the rules they must adhere to.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners’ attendance at training is high. Tutors monitor attendance closely and take swift action in any cases on non-attendance.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Tutors speak to learners during induction about wider topics, such as risks of radicalisation and fundamental British values. However, they do not routinely revisit these topics to develop learners’ understanding further. Tutors and learners frequently discuss different cultures. Learners understand diversity very well.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners experience comprehensive and highly relevant careers advice. Tutors help learners create CVs, fill in application forms and undertake mock interviews. Employers and trustees form the mock interview panels. They provide valuable feedback to learners, so they know how to improve their performance in the future. Leaders run a weekly job club, which is attended by the National Careers Service. Learners find this support helpful in their search for employment.

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

Adult learners rightly value the inclusive culture of Abbey Access. They appreciate greatly the leaders and tutors who are supportive and caring. The whole staff team provides significant pastoral guidance and holds frequent check-ins with learners to assess their wellbeing. They help learners overcome personal difficulties and challenges, so they can focus on their studies.

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

Leaders and tutors successfully foster positive peer working in the diverse cohorts of learners from many differing backgrounds. Learners are consistently respectful of the views and opinions of both staff and their peers. Learners' self-esteem improves, and they start to believe in themselves for the first time.

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

Learners are very satisfied with their training. They know well the importance of the range of construction examinations they study towards as they will need these to be able to work on site. Learners also appreciate the opportunity to train in practical realistic learning environments that represent modern construction sites. They value highly the practical skills they gain, such as brickwork and block paving, as well as their knowledge of site safety.

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

Learners' knowledge, skills and confidence develop greatly during the 6-week course. Learners demonstrate a sound understanding of how to lift safely, when to use equipment and the principles of risk assessments for how to handle and move loads. They know how to compile and fill in CVs, covering letters and job applications.

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

Learners achieve their learning goals within the planned timeframe of the 6-week course. They achieve accredited construction industry certificates, including a labourer's card, site safety, asbestos awareness, working at heights and manual handling.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen arrangements for observations of teaching and other professional learning opportunities, so all tutors develop their skills of teaching and assessment to a consistently high standard. Leaders should develop their oversight of tutors' feedback and learners’ work standards to drive further improvements in the progress that learners make from their respective starting points. Leaders should review ways to make the identification, review and monitoring of learners’ additional support needs more systematic, so daily communication is not over-relied on.

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

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with learners, tutors, leaders, employers and other relevant stakeholders during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider:

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About this inspection

The Abbey Access Centre is an independent learning provider. Leaders offer Skills Bootcamp courses in construction for adults who aspire to enter employment in this sector. The provider operates across 3 sites in Lincoln, including a practical construction skills area. All training is delivered in person. There are 20 learners currently in training. Most learners have barriers to learning and/or wellbeing. To date, leaders have trained 35 learners in total.

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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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn . Store Street Manchester M1 2WD

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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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