Sutton Coldfield Training Limited

Sutton Coldfield Training Limited

Address: 29 Gate Lane, Boldmere, SUTTON COLDFIELD, Birmingham, B73 5TR Unique reference number (URN): 2765329

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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 developed a culture in which staff are caring and attentive to the needs of learners and apprentices, who receive the support that they need to overcome barriers to their learning and wellbeing.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff quickly recognise the obstacles faced by learners and apprentices, who are given the opportunity to disclose any barriers at the start of their studies. Staff are trained to recognise needs that may not have been disclosed, and leaders have recently introduced diagnostic tools to help identify some undiagnosed needs. Leaders are also attentive to broader support needs, such as financial worries or wellbeing concerns, which could affect their learners and apprentices.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with effective training on applying a graduated approach to support provided. Staff are familiar with the need to assess, plan, act and review the support that they offer and generally tailor this support to each learner’s and apprentice’s needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders regularly monitor learners and apprentices who face barriers to their learning or wellbeing. They review support measures and hold monthly meetings with teachers to evaluate progress and adjust support accordingly. This helps most learners and apprentices with learning barriers to succeed in their studies.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors have a clear vision for the organisation. They offer courses and apprenticeships in areas in which they are specialists. They specialise in the children’s residential care and adult care sectors and prioritise providing learners and apprentices with up-to-date knowledge and skills in these fields.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the quality of the curriculums they deliver. They regularly monitor a range of performance indicators. Governors ensure that they receive the data they need, and they actively participate in quality activities such as lesson observations. This enables them to be well informed and well positioned to lead improvements, demonstrating a clear understanding of the organisation's strengths and areas for development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have appointed governors who are experienced in governance and education. Governors are skilled and knowledgeable in teaching and learning, applying this expertise to promote improvement within the organisation. They use their expertise to provide effective support and constructive challenge to senior leaders.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with a wide range of training that enhances their teaching practice and have recently introduced industry days to ensure that teachers stay current with their subject expertise. Training is linked to the lesson observation process, with targeted training offered for areas of development identified. Staff feel valued. Leaders care about staff and stay alert to any wellbeing concerns. Staff believe they can approach leaders with any issues they face. Leaders also monitor staff workloads and adjust these where needed.

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Achievement Expected standard

Most learners, including those facing barriers to learning, complete their studies and achieve their qualifications. The proportion of learners who successfully complete their studies has steadily increased each year over the past two years and is now above the national rate.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make suitable progress from their starting points. Many build self-confidence, which enhances their employment prospects and workplace skills. Learners studying level 3 supporting individuals with learning disabilities gain an understanding of advocacy and learn how to ensure that the people they support are placed at the centre of their care.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners produce work that at least meets the standard expected for their course. They generally improve their English and mathematical skills. For example, level 2 nutrition and health learners learn how to calculate basal metabolic rate to estimate accurately the minimum number of calories required for the body to function at rest.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, learners are well prepared for their next steps.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders provide curriculums that align with local, regional and national employment priorities, such as the need for suitably skilled staff in the healthcare sector. They work closely with employers to provide courses that help learners to develop skills that meet workforce needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that curriculums are accessible to learners from diverse backgrounds. Learners benefit from a flexible delivery model, which allows them to attend sessions at convenient times and progress at their own pace. This personalised support, combined with breaking tasks into smaller steps and offering guidance through online platforms, enables learners to engage fully with their studies.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Learners are taught effectively. Teachers plan their sessions to meet learners' individual needs and employ suitable strategies to help them understand and retain what they have learned. These strategies include chunking, questioning and reflecting on personal experiences and how the learning applies in their workplace. For example, when adult care learners are being taught about personal protective equipment, teachers explore their prior experience of when they would be expected to wear this, which items they would be required to wear and how these items will protect those they are caring for and working with.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a precise understanding of the quality of courses. Teaching is regularly observed through lesson observations. Learner progress, engagement and the quality of their work are monitored through regular caseload reviews. This enables leaders to implement quick and effective interventions when learners fall behind and ensures that staff receive tailored support where needed.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders create safe learning environments where learners can balance employment, volunteering and caring responsibilities with their studies. Leaders prioritise the wellbeing and participation of their learners. For example, learners observing religious fasting and worship are given additional time to complete assignments and can alter their attendance patterns due to lower energy levels.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners are motivated to attend lessons, and attendance at classes is high. Leaders closely monitor learners' progress and engagement, quickly identifying those at risk of dropping out and implementing interventions to support their return to learning.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Most learners can apply fundamental British values in their work environments. For example, learners can clearly explain how important it is for service users to have choices and be empowered to make decisions about their care. However, although learners are taught how to protect themselves from radicalisation and extremism, this knowledge, in some cases, is not reviewed frequently enough. As a result, a few learners are unable to recall how to apply this learning in their daily lives.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners receive useful careers advice, information and guidance from their teachers, complemented by a recently launched careers hub. This hub provides information on clear progression pathways using a range of effective resources.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices make expected progress from their starting points. The proportion who complete their studies has increased significantly over the past two years and is now higher than national rates. Those with learning barriers achieve at a higher rate than their peers.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in their chosen careers. Children, young people and families practitioner apprentices develop the skills required to support confidently young children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including non-verbal children. Most apprentices enhance their English, mathematics and digital skills during their studies.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices' work is mostly at the expected standard. Apprentices are well prepared for their next steps and usually progress to positive destinations. They often take on additional responsibilities and receive promotions in the workplace.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders work effectively with children’s residential care homes and early years settings to provide curriculums that develop the skills that employers require. They have adapted the children, young people and families practitioner curriculum to teach apprentices about socially aware behaviour at the start of their apprenticeship, helping them become more confident quickly when managing challenging behaviours in children within residential care settings.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers are skilled and knowledgeable. They break learning into small steps that help apprentices understand complex concepts, such as on the level 3 early years educator apprenticeship, where they teach how neurodivergent individuals' brains function differently from what is considered typical. They provide clear explanations of autism, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Tourette's syndrome, along with their associated symptoms and behaviours. They offer real examples that help apprentices connect theory with practice in their workplace.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers usually give apprentices feedback that helps them improve, such as organising their writing more logically or making it more concise. However, they often do not provide higher-level apprentices with the support they need to develop their academic writing skills, such as referencing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the quality of the apprenticeships they offer. They provide flexible curriculums that support apprentices on shift work and have adapted teaching methods to include evening sessions where necessary. They have also introduced more effective use of technology to make online lessons more engaging for apprentices.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices work in supportive and safe environments. They are respectful and professional when interacting with others in their work settings. They feel safe online and at work. They attend well. Staff regularly check on apprentices' wellbeing, and when apprentices face barriers to learning, teachers provide effective one-to-one support.

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Participation and development Expected standard

In most cases, teachers provide apprentices with suitable careers advice and guidance. Apprentices are generally clear about their next steps and the career pathways available to them, such as progressing to management roles. However, apprentices on early years educator apprenticeships are not always aware of the broader opportunities open to them beyond their immediate next steps.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Most apprentices develop a secure understanding of fundamental British values. Level 4 children, young people and families practitioner apprentices learn to value and respect differences when working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Apprentices also have a solid understanding of radicalisation and extremism. They recognise the signs to watch for in others, such as behavioural changes, and know the steps to take when reporting concerns.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices learn to be professional, which helps them build strong work relationships and earn their employers' respect.

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

Most adult learners achieve their qualifications. They develop knowledge and skills that are valued in the healthcare sector and confidently apply them in the workplace or in their personal lives. For example, learners studying a level 3 certificate in supporting individuals with learning disabilities learn to apply their new skills in different contexts, such as teaching clients with learning disabilities to swim and communicating with them effectively to adjust their pacing.

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

Most apprentices complete their studies. They develop the confidence and skills they need to thrive in their workplaces, with many gaining additional responsibility and promotions during and on completion of their studies. However, in a minority of cases, the quality of work produced by apprentices is not high enough.

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

Learners and apprentices are well cared for. Staff are attentive and vigilant in finding ways to support learners and apprentices in achieving their aspirations and overcoming any personal difficulties that they may face. Learners benefit from a flexible curriculum that allows them to access courses they would normally be unable to attend due to work and family commitments.

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

When learners and apprentices face barriers to their learning, these are promptly identified, and staff implement measures to help learners and apprentices overcome these obstacles without delay. The support offered is well informed and effective. Learners and apprentices are generally well prepared for life in modern Britain. They are taught the importance of fundamental British values and how these relate to their chosen careers. However, in some cases, the teaching that learners receive on radicalisation and extremism is not revisited often enough, and learners struggle to recall its content.

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

Learners and apprentices enjoy their studies, feel welcomed and consistently demonstrate motivation to succeed.

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Next steps

Leaders should equip higher-level apprentices with English academic writing skills. Leaders should deepen the understanding of radicalisation and extremism among adult learners. Leaders should offer apprentices career advice and guidance which includes a broader understanding of opportunities available beyond their immediate next steps. Leaders should further improve the quality of teaching to an expert level.

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About this inspection

Following our updated 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 learners, apprentices, employers, teachers, managers, directors and governors during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Sutton Coldfield Training Limited is an independent learning provider specialising in children's residential care and adult care courses and apprenticeships, based in Birmingham. At the time of inspection, 268 adult learners were enrolled, with the largest courses being the level 3 certificate in supporting individuals with learning disabilities and the level 2 certificate in nutrition and health. Additionally, 362 apprentices were in training. The largest apprenticeships were the level 4 children, young people and families practitioner and the level 5 children, young people and families manager.

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Team inspectors:

Maggie Fobister, Ofsted Inspector Robert Mottram, Ofsted Inspector Caroline Williams, Ofsted Inspector Richard Brennan, 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. 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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