Total Futures

Total Futures

Address: Index House, St Georges Lane, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7ET Unique reference number (URN): 2761343

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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 staff work well together to establish a positive culture of inclusion. Leaders take pride in creating a learning environment where all learners, regardless of the challenges they face, are welcomed. Staff nurture and support learners, many of whom come from deprived neighbourhoods, adapting their teaching to take into consideration their diverse needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have developed a comprehensive screening tool with which they swiftly and accurately identify the wide range of possible barriers to learning that learners may have, including special educational needs and/or disabilities. Tutors work with learners to implement effective learning support plans, ensuring that learners get the help they need from the start. Due to the two-week duration of these courses, staff do not always monitor or reduce the levels of support provided to learners.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The learning environment is calm and respectful. As part of the inclusive culture, tutors skilfully ensure that class conversations include all learners. Consequently, learners from a variety of backgrounds participate and enjoy their programmes.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Tutors ensure that they meet with each learner early in the course for an individual review meeting. This helps staff to ensure that learners have settled into the course and that it meets their needs, and that the support provided is effective in overcoming barriers to learning. Tutors use these sessions to set specific targets for learners to develop the strategies and skills to help them progress into employment.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have worked closely with stakeholders to develop a series of short two-week courses that focus on the development of learners' transferable skills, including teamworking, communication, customer service and using digital technology, contextualised to a particular sector. This helps to broaden the range of opportunities to which learners have access, while helping to meet the priority needs of local employers and stakeholders.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders understand their provision well and demonstrate this through suitable quality assurance processes, which include effective external scrutiny and challenge. They create suitable quality improvement actions to adapt their curriculums, into which they integrate the views of learners. For example, following feedback from learners, they adapted the construction courses so that learners now receive a revision pack to help them prepare for their Construction Skills Certification Scheme examination. However, leaders do not always plan actions with sufficiently clear impact objectives related to learners' experiences.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff are proud to work for the provider because leaders motivate them to do well. Leaders evaluate the quality of training accurately and use their understanding of staff performance to provide relevant professional development for staff to be effective in their roles. Leaders are considerate of staff workload and wellbeing. They plan staff workload to avoid excessive repetition so that staff have a varied teaching schedule.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make positive progress on their course and consistently achieve well. Most remain to the end of their course and achieve their qualifications. When learners do not achieve, this is primarily because learners have left the course as a result of securing employment or due to health issues that prevent them from continuing.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners gain useful knowledge and skills, such as teamwork and the ability to prioritise multiple tasks at once, that help prepare them for work in customer service roles. Tutors guide learners to help them produce work of the required standard for the course. Learners have secure English, mathematics and digital skills and their work is written with accuracy.

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Achievement Expected standard

The proportion of learners entering the workplace—many of whom face significant or multiple employment barriers—has continued to increase. Leaders continuously adapt the curriculum to ensure it meets learners' needs, notably by discontinuing the construction retrofit course when it failed to lead to employment.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have created a curriculum that aligns with the Greater London Authority's sector priorities as well as the aspirations of learners. For example, they offer business administration and customer service courses so that learners can develop the interpersonal skills they need to work in the hospitality sector. Leaders have designed and sequenced the curriculums well and tutors teach their subjects so that learners develop their knowledge incrementally. Tutors introduce learners to subject-specific vocabulary in lessons and support them to improve their digital skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors are experts in their subjects. They teach effectively online to maintain learners' interest and ensure that they participate in their training, skilfully using questioning strategies to deepen the learners' understanding. Teachers coach learners effectively to make improvements, such as in their choice of words and the register they use when writing a CV to make it suit the specific requirements of a job. Tutors support their learners well in their next steps by providing guidance and support for getting a job. For example, tutors explain information clearly, such as the importance of having a CV that stands out from others, and they plan assessments that are appropriate and comprehensively check learners' understanding of topics.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Learners produce work that is to the required standard and on time. Tutors highlight the importance to learners of understanding and developing skills, including keeping to deadlines in the workplace. Tutors make very effective use of a comprehensive workbook to assess learners' progress. They give learners valuable feedback on their progress, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement to apply in future units. Tutors diligently check learners' written English, but in their feedback often provide comments that are too generic and do not give specific guidance on where learners could improve.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff set learners personal targets that reflect what they need to improve to be more successful in gaining employment. As a result of this, learners have become confident in presenting in class and understand better the importance of attending on time.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations for learners' professional behaviours. Attendance is consistently high. Staff monitor learners' progress effectively and work with the Job Centre Plus if there are any concerns. Tutors establish calm and respectful learning environments in which learners adhere well to the etiquette teachers establish for contributing effectively in online sessions, either verbally in discussions or using the chat facility. Teachers manage lessons well to encourage all learners to participate.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Staff provide learners with a thorough induction. This includes developing an understanding of examples of bullying and harassment, which is then covered in more detail during the course as learners are taught about employment law and the equalities act. Learners are well informed about online safety and cyber-bullying and know how their learning, for example on protected characteristics, applies in work situations.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Throughout their course, staff provide learners with talks from stakeholders and employers on what to expect at interviews and entry into employment, and how to approach these situations. These speakers provide practical help for learners in future job searches, such as insightful sessions on how to apply for roles in the civil service. Learners benefit from careers advice as part of their course. However, staff do not always give careers advice or information about job opportunities early enough in the course to suit all learners.

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

Learners feel very well supported by staff. They appreciate the unwavering focus that staff have on helping them to achieve. Learners learn in an environment that is inclusive and in which individual differences are respected. They are taught by tutors who are compassionate and understanding, which helps to motivate them to do well. Tutors help learners acquire new knowledge and skills in business administration, customer service, digital skills and construction, thereby improving their chances of securing sustainable employment. Learners ultimately feel more confident in their search for employment as a result of the training they receive. Learners who stay to the end of their course complete their qualification. Those who experience barriers to their education – such as having caring responsibilities or struggling with mental health – receive effective support from their tutors, who adapt their teaching to

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

ensure that learners with caring responsibilities do not miss out on important topics.

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

Tutors help learners develop a detailed understanding of the importance of fundamental British values. Learners can contextualise this understanding when considering applying for and gaining employment. Leaders and managers provide learners with information on how to keep themselves safe from the risks of extremism and radicalisation. They explain to learners why this is important and what to do if they have any concerns.

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Next steps

Leaders should provide learners with more information early in the course about potential job opportunities. Staff should monitor and, where necessary, reduce the levels of support provided to learners throughout their courses. Tutors should provide more precise feedback to learners on their written English so that they know what they need to do to 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

Inspection activities: Inspectors spoke with the chief executive, leaders and managers, tutors, stakeholders and learners 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

Total Futures Limited is an independent learning provider based in Ascot, Berkshire, providing short, 2-week courses to adults seeking employment. The provider offers courses in business and administration, customer services, digital skills and construction. At the time of the inspection, there were 23 learners on courses from levels 1 to 3. Since the start of the academic year, they have taught over 1200 learners. Most training provided was either online or at the provider's site in east London.

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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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