The Autism Project - CareTrade

The Autism Project - CareTrade

Address: 9 Larcom Street, London, SE17 1RT Unique reference number (URN): 143526

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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 Strong standard

Leaders have high aspirations for all of their learners. They ensure that learners’ individual needs and aspirations are at the forefront of their thinking and planning. They thoroughly consider a wide range of information before learners start their course, including learners’ prior attainment, educational history, education, health and care plan outcomes and other factors, such as their social care status.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Tutors and job coaches have a holistic understanding of learners’ needs. Leaders make sure that they use this information very well to carefully plan a curriculum and highly effective support strategies that are very closely tailored to meet learners’ specific needs and personal circumstances.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders frequently and closely track and monitor learners' progress and the effectiveness of the support that they have put in place. They adjust the support they receive as learners' needs change. This supports learners to progress very well towards their personal goals.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders work very effectively with employers to make sure that they understand learners’ individual needs and provide them with the right kind of support during their work placements. They provide autism awareness training for new employers and highly effective guidance to employers on the specific strategies they need to best support learners during their work placements.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Senior leaders have long been advocates for and active participants in furthering provision to meet the needs of learners with autism. They have a long-standing vision to teach and support young adults with autism to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need to gain employment, flourish and lead fulfilling lives. They hold high ambitions for their learners and have longstanding and effective partnerships with employers and other stakeholders.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a thorough understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement of the provision. They have a sound track record of securing improvements. Since the previous inspection, leaders have effectively tackled areas for improvement. They have successfully embedded systems to track learners’ progress. They have significantly improved their enrichment offer and personal and social development curriculum so that these have a very positive impact on learners.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are considerate of staff workload and wellbeing. They ensure that staff benefit from a range of training and professional development opportunities. These ensure that staff develop their skills and expertise to work with learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Leaders recognise that they need to do more to ensure that the curriculum, teaching and training is of a consistently high quality.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The education committee provides effective governance and oversight of the provision. Senior leaders have substantial experience and expertise in post-16 provision for learners with high needs. This enables them to provide effective support and challenge leaders to improve. The committee supports leaders well to assess the quality of provision and oversees leaders’ actions to make improvements.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders understand very well the wider developmental needs of their learners. They carefully review and adapt the personal development curriculum so that it is closely based on and relevant to learners’ everyday lives.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Speech and language therapists provide valuable opportunities for female learners to meet to discuss topics that are important to them. This includes important topics such as identity, online dating, menstruation and neurodiversity. Male learners discuss and learn about contemporary topics in the news, such as toxic masculinity.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Learners are on time and attend their lessons and work placements very well. When they are unable to attend or are going to be late, they take responsibility and inform their job coaches, managers and staff.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Staff ensure that learners understand well their rights as employees so that they can protect themselves from discrimination. Leaders make sure that in their work placements and at the provider, learners do not experience bullying or harassment. Learners know who to go to if they have any worries or concerns.

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Expected standard

Staff support learners very well to progress into employment or volunteering roles. They work effectively with employers to ensure that learners widen their understanding of their employment options through, for example, industry days, employer visits and guest speakers.

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Achievement Expected standard

During their time at The Autism Project (TAP), learners develop a wide range of new knowledge, skills and behaviours. They develop valuable skills and behaviours for work. Through targeted support, learners develop their speech and language skills well. They become more effective in advocating for themselves, regulating their own behaviour and expressing their wants and needs.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners develop the English and mathematical skills that they need for work and everyday life. Most successfully work towards their personal targets, and the small number who take examinations pass these.

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Achievement Expected standard

Staff prepare learners very well for life after TAP. A high proportion of learners achieve positive outcomes when they leave, gaining employment, moving into further education or training and gaining voluntary work. When they finish their course, learners benefit from the wider support offered by the charity as alumni, such as access to a job club and social events.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders carefully consider the curriculum content and structure of each pathway that learners follow. They ensure that the curriculums follow a logical sequence that meet learners’ individual needs and align well with their education, health and care plan outcomes, long-term goals and aspirations.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Most tutors teach the curriculum effectively. They make lessons interesting for learners. They explain new concepts in a way that learners understand by using clear language and breaking down tasks and instructions into manageable chunks so learners can work autonomously. They question learners effectively to check learning and understanding by, for example, asking them to explain their calculations, when they convert hours into minutes. However, in a few instances teaching is not of a consistently high quality, and some activities that tutors choose are not age-appropriate for learners.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors provide learners with a range of opportunities to practise and consolidate their learning. They use helpful resources that learners can use in their personal lives. For example, tutors teach learners a range of digital skills, such as how to use online budgeting tools to help them manage their personal finances.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Speech and language therapists work very effectively with curriculum staff to establish learners’ speech, language and communication needs. They carry out thorough assessments and work with curriculum staff to develop the curriculum, support plans and resources. As a result, tutors and job coaches use effective strategies and resources so that learners are not disadvantaged because of their needs.

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

Learners really enjoy learning in safe, highly inclusive and respectful classes and work placements that meet their individual needs and aspirations very well. Tutors, job coaches and workplace mentors create a nurturing, purposeful environment, where learners feel they belong, are motivated to learn and achieve their personal goals. Many learners thrive at The Autism Project (TAP) and make great strides in their personal and social development.

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

Learners benefit from a wide range of work placements and work-related learning that meets their needs, interests and aspirations very well. Working in the industry-standard in- house training kitchen helps learners to build the employability skills, knowledge and behaviours that they need to progress to external work placements. Learners who attend work placements exhibit highly professional attitudes and behaviours for work. Employers value the contribution that learners make at their work placements.

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

Learners follow a personalised curriculum that supports them well to develop the skills that they need for greater independence. For example, they learn to travel independently. On work placements, learners complete tasks with increasing autonomy and grow in confidence in, for example, communicating with colleagues and customers.

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

Learners take part in a comprehensive range of valuable personal development activities that significantly enhance their experience at TAP. They learn substantial new knowledge through studying a range of topics, such as sexual health, relationships and consent, how to stay safe in their community, online safety and how to budget. Learners enjoy going on trips and visits to, for example, the cinema and bowling. Joining the in-house music band and taking part in the gaming club helps learners forge new friendships.

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

Learners with the most complex needs receive highly effective and timely support from staff. They follow a well-planned curriculum that supports their progress very well. They participate in volunteering roles in food banks and gardens in their community, where they develop their communication and social skills well.

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Next steps

Leaders should provide training for tutors that leads to consistently high-quality teaching. Leaders should ensure that tutors use resources that are suitable for the young adults they teach. Leaders should continue to increase the number of learners, who gain employment once they complete their course.

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Team inspectors:

Ramin Narimani, His Majesty's Inspector Denise Bryan-Williams, Ofsted Inspector Joanna Walters, His Majesty's 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 leaders, managers, job coaches, tutors, learners, employers and parents and carers during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The Autism Project is an independent specialist college which is part of the CareTrade Charitable Trust, a registered charity based in Southwark, London. Nearly all learners are young people with autism aged between 18 and 25. At the time of the inspection, there were 36 learners who had education, health and care plans.

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About this inspection

Learners study one of three curriculum pathways to develop their readiness for employment and adult life so that they become more independent in their lives and their community. At the time of the inspection, there were 17 learners on the introduction to employment pathway, 16 on supported internships and 3 on the building independence pathway. Most learners live in Southwark, Lambeth and other south and east London boroughs.

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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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