Routes4Life Limited

Routes4Life Limited

Address: The Walk, Hornchurch, Essex, RM11 3TL Unique reference number (URN): 146046

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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 and the board of directors have a positive focus on inclusion. They have high expectations of learners. They have created a culture where learners who have a wide range of special educational needs and/or disabilities can thrive and flourish. They are acutely aware of the vulnerabilities of their learners and the challenges that families face. They take effective action to make sure that learners’ needs are met. The voice of the learner features heavily in their decision-making, from work experience placements to engage with to agreeing which diversity events to celebrate.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff have thorough processes in place to identify learners’ barriers to learning and other challenges prior to the start of courses. They review education, health and care plans and visit current placements to meet learners. They meet with parents, carers and professionals such as social workers. Prior to learners starting at college, they and their parents value the opportunities to visit the college to meet with staff for a thorough discussion of their needs. Staff use information from these activities well to identify learners’ aspirations and plan the curriculum and support needed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure that tutors and support staff are trained effectively to teach and support learners in the classroom, in the community and on work experience placements. Learners are well supported and most make the progress expected of them. However, in a few instances, staff do not use individualised support strategies and they over-support learners. This means learners do not consistently receive high-quality teaching and support that enable them to become as independent as possible.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work effectively with the local area partnership to develop inclusive provision for learners. Since the previous inspection, through effective planning with the local authority, leaders have successfully secured new premises that provide learners with a well deigned learning environment. They have also introduced a new one-year employability programme in response to a gap in the local area offer. The aim of the employability course is to prepare learners who are not yet ready for a supported internship programme to enter the world of work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and the board of directors have a secure overview of the strengths and areas for improvement of the provision. They have a variety of effective processes to evaluate the quality of the provision that learners receive. They highly value the feedback from learners and parents and carers. Leaders and the board of directors make decisions that lead to improvements in the provision that are in the best interests of learners. For example, they have used parent feedback to further enhance the level of support that learners, and their families, receive in preparation to leave the provision. This contributes to a smooth transition to the next phase of their adult life.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have created a positive environment for staff to work in. They provide staff with a variety of helpful professional development opportunities. These include opportunities to develop their professional skills and expertise. However, leaders do not routinely provide tutors and support staff with highly individualised professional development to enhance further their skills, knowledge and expertise and ensure consistently high-quality teaching and support.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make the expected progress from their starting points in areas such as communication, independence, skills for work and wellbeing. Most learners, who face many barriers to their learning, achieve well. Learners generally develop the English, mathematical and digital skills they need to be successful in their next steps.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners have valuable opportunities to develop new knowledge, skills and behaviours through work experience. They develop fundamental workplace behaviours such as politeness, customer service skills, teamwork and communication skills. For example, when working in cafés, learners develop the skills to serve customers independently, provide customers with the correct cutlery and use a dishwasher correctly.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners typically progress well towards their targets and education, health and care plan outcomes. Most learners move to destinations that suit their individual needs such as further learning or adult social care settings. However, the employability course is at an early stage, so it is too soon to evaluate how well learners on this programme reach destinations that match their aspirations

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have effective oversight of the quality of the curriculum and use their networks and stakeholder groups well. For example, they work cohesively with the local area partnership on the local offer to develop provision for learners. They have designed each curriculum to improve social inclusion so that learners can access their community. The curriculum on the employability course has been designed well to help learners to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need to gain paid or voluntary work.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors make sure that the curriculum content is ambitious, well sequenced and is individualised to each learner. Tutors set challenging and well-thought-through individual learning plans. These plans incorporate meaningful targets that link well to education, health and care plan outcomes and the curriculum content. For example, staff ensure that learners who need to develop their communication skills have suitable opportunities to improve their skills when they speak to new people on their work experience placements.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In most instances, tutors and support staff use appropriate teaching and assessment strategies and resources to help learners understand and remember what they have been taught. They break down barriers by making the curriculum content accessible using visual support aids, giving clear explanations and providing small tasks. They revisit new concepts frequently, so learners become secure in their understanding. During work experience placements, staff use modelling and demonstrations, and give verbal prompts to learners. However, in a few instances, staff do not use appropriate activities, provide suitable opportunities for learners to develop their digital skills or use age-appropriate resources to plan and teach the curriculum.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Tutors teach learners a broad curriculum which includes how to keep themselves and others safe, including from the risks associated with radicalisation and extremism. They teach the knowledge and skills that learners need to have healthy relationships in their personal and work lives. Tutors skilfully adapt the content and teaching for learners who may need a more bespoke or targeted offer on topics such as online grooming.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Careers staff prepare learners well for their volunteering or work experience placement. They teach learners about interview skills, dress codes and behaviour codes of conduct. Learners have valuable opportunities to visit employers prior to starting their work experience or volunteering placement to help familiarise themselves with their surroundings. Employers visit Routes4Life to talk to learners about their setting. These visits help learners understand about their role and the environment they will be working in.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders provide a high-quality careers advice and guidance curriculum which prepares learners well for their next steps. They provide a range of helpful opportunities for learners to make informed decisions about their future. These include transition events, education, health and care plan annual reviews, careers weeks, guest speakers from a wide range of sectors, visits to and from employers, work experience and volunteering opportunities.

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

Learners study in calm, well-organised and welcoming learning environments. including when they are on their work experience placements. Kind and caring staff get to know learners very well and make sure they have suitable support in place. This helps learners thrive and succeed at Routes4Life.

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

Learners appreciate the opportunities they have to make and maintain friendships. This creates a sense of belonging for learners.

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

Learners have positive attitudes to learning and development. They have high attendance. They are supportive of each other when in college and they are polite and professional when in the community and on work placements. Learners study a curriculum that reflects their individual needs and aspirations. They study English, mathematics, citizenship and personal care. They also benefit from wellbeing activities, work experience or volunteering opportunities.

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

Learners very much enjoy the wide range of frequent trips, sports and wellbeing activities and visits to the community that they participate in. These include swimming at local leisure centres, trips to libraries, cafes and the cinema, helping at an allotment, shopping and attending sports coaching sessions.

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

At the start of courses, careers staff work well with learners to identify their career aspirations, likes and dislikes, individual needs and any reasonable adjustments they need. They use this information well to match learners to employers across different sectors for their volunteering or work experience placements.

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

Learners are typically ready for the next stage of education or to live with greater independence in the community. Most learners move to destinations that suit their individual needs such as further learning, adult social care settings or a supported internship.

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

Learners feel safe and well supported at Routes4Life, in the community and when they volunteer or complete work experience placements. They know who to go to if they have any worries or concerns.

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Next steps

Leaders should make sure that all learning activities and resources are meaningful and age-appropriate. Leaders should include further opportunities for learners to enhance their digital skills in the curriculum. Leaders should provide tutors and support staff with highly tailored professional development to make sure that learners receive consistently high-quality teaching and support.

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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, managers, tutors, support staff, learners, parents and/or carers, employers and a local authority during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Routes4Life Limited is a independent specialist college based in the London Borough of Havering. It has one site in Hornchurch. It operates through a service level agreement with Corbets Tey School to provide staff and leadership.

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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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Adult learning programmes

Routes4Life Limited provides education and training to young people aged 19 to 25 years with severe to moderate special educational needs and/or disabilities. Learners follow a one-year community or employability course that aims to prepare them for their next step into adulthood.

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Adult learning programmes

At the time of the inspection, there were 11 learners in learning, all of whom have high needs and an education, health and care plan.

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national average

'This provider' and 'national average' figures are taken from the publicly available DfE achievement rates. Where the DfE have supressed the figures, usually due to small cohorts, this has been mirrored in the Report Card and will be shown by an 'S'.

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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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