Cipher Medical Consultancy Limited

Cipher Medical Consultancy Limited

Address: 5 Limeoak Way, Portrack Lane, Stockton, TS18 2LS Unique reference number (URN): 2791009

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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 accurately identify barriers to learning that apprentices face. Through pre- enrolment activities, including individual and group tasks, staff identify and provide apprentices with multiple opportunities to disclose any barriers to learning. Education and operational staff meet frequently to monitor and discuss individual apprentices’ progress and interaction and use this opportunity to identify any new short-term barriers, such as a close family bereavement.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff understand the needs of apprentices and the demands of their jobs. They use this knowledge well to help apprentices reduce or overcome any barriers to learning and any difficulties that they face in their roles at work. Educators recognise the situations and challenges that apprentices will be exposed to. They respond quickly to provide effective support particularly during times of adversity where, for example, apprentices experience the death of a patient.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders put in place effective support for apprentices. Where they identify support is needed, staff work well with apprentices to determine the best course of action and how best to support them as an individual. Arrangements include additional one-to-one sessions and staggered assessments to allow processing time. Leaders rightly recognise that educators would benefit from further training about special education needs and/or disabilities and neurodiversity, which will enable them to enhance their support strategies further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in the provision. They use curriculum reviews, lesson observations and apprentices' feedback to understand what they do well and where they can improve. Leaders use this information to identify priorities and take effective actions that they keep under review.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have in place appropriate governance arrangements, which includes oversight by the senior leaders and through an external network of industry experts who provide support, challenge and scrutiny. Those in governance roles have an appropriate understanding of the curriculums. They are committed to their roles, ensuring that they monitor the actions leaders take and support improvements.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are very considerate of staff workload and wellbeing. They provide flexible working and opportunities to work from home. Leaders encourage wellbeing activities such as morning walks and team breakfasts away from the office.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work very effectively with a range of key stakeholders. They have an excellent relationship with the Royal College of Paramedics, and the head of education sits on the Healthcare Professionals Council where they consider the evidence of fitness to practice in the healthcare sector. Leaders support staff well with professional development. They provide those new to teaching with opportunities to gain teaching qualifications, including the level 3 qualification in education and training. They provide educators with extensive opportunities to attend industry-specific training such as major incident medical management. However, opportunities for educators to develop their pedagogical skills are less frequent, and leaders rightly recognise that educators would benefit from ongoing training to develop their craft of teaching.

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Achievement Strong standard

Almost all apprentices achieve their qualifications and most achieve distinction grades. Apprentices make very good progress from their starting points and develop significant new knowledge, skills and behaviours that they implement successfully at work as emergency care assistants.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices are consistently exposed to high-quality on-the-job training where they put theory into practice on the front line. They quickly become skilled at completing observations of patients and expertly use appropriate equipment when measuring oxygen levels and taking temperatures. When working with paramedics in ambulances, apprentices fully understand their role and responsibilities and carry out tasks competently. They communicate well with patients and put them at ease.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices develop their English, mathematical and digital skills to enable them to achieve the apprenticeship. For example, they apply their mathematical skills to calculate medication dosages accurately.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices are very well prepared to progress to their next steps. Most progress to positive destinations, including permanent employment in the sector or higher education to develop further into roles such as paramedics.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Educators provide well-planned curriculums that enables apprentices to develop their knowledge and skills progressively and that prepares them for work. Apprentices begin by developing basic clinical knowledge, such as how to complete an electrocardiogram (ECG) on patients. They then learn about what ECG readings mean and why, and the different potential causes of irregular readings.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders review the curriculums frequently in line with guidance changes to the industry and feedback from the operations team. They continually update the curriculum to meet the needs of emergency care assistant (ECA) apprentices. Leaders provide apprentices with opportunities that go beyond the apprenticeship to extend their knowledge and skills. For example, apprentices learn about shockable and non-shockable heart rhythms and anti-peri arrest arrhythmia. This enables apprentices to identify changes in an ECG so that they can inform the paramedic.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders provide an inclusive curriculum to enable apprentices with barriers to learning to complete the ECA apprenticeship successfully. For example, they provide one-to-one ambulance driver training for apprentices who lack confidence in group situations.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Educators use a range of appropriate teaching strategies to help apprentices learn effectively. They deliver clear and instructive presentations to provide new knowledge, demonstrate practical skills and activities, use real life scenarios and hold group discussions. Educators support apprentices to practise skills repeatedly until they become competent and can complete tasks autonomously.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Educators use a range of effective assessment strategies well to check apprentices' understanding and competence. They observe apprentices completing practical tasks, ask questions and review completed work in apprentices’ portfolios. Workplace mentors observe apprentices at work including for example, completing patient assessments and dressing wounds.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Staff have created a safe and respectful learning environment both during clinical training and at work. A person-centred approach and values such as respect and tolerance are instilled in apprentices from the start.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Staff provide a well-planned curriculum that enables apprentices to understand how to stay safe and the potential risks of extremism and radicalisation at work. Apprentices know how to complete dynamic risk assessments and consistently assess risks such as identifying knives in patients’ houses and ascertaining if someone is agitated.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices demonstrate high levels of professional behaviours and attitudes during training and at work. They have very high attendance at training sessions and have high levels of motivation and commitment to their studies. Leaders provide apprentices with additional training such as 'extrication days' where apprentices work alongside the fire service to gain experience of working in unusual circumstances. This training provides valuable insights into the sector that they otherwise would not experience as part of their apprenticeship.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Staff provide useful information to apprentices to help them make considered decisions on their next steps. Staff make apprentices aware of possible progression routes, such as the level 4 associate ambulance practitioner and the level 6 paramedic apprenticeships. Educators provide information about other opportunities, such as working for events teams or becoming a healthcare assistant.

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

Apprentices incrementally build their responsibilities, so that they become ready to work safely in their role as an emergency care assistant. Early in their training, apprentices are added to paramedic teams as the third person in an observation role and take no active part in medical care. As their skills and confidence grow, they are assigned as the second person where they actively work alongside the paramedic to assist in healthcare procedures. Apprentices appreciate this approach, knowing that the demands of their role requires resilience, stamina and quick decision-making, often under pressure.

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

Apprentices’ learning experience is enhanced by the high-quality facilities and resources they access at the training centre. They practise their skills in an immersion suite where they participate in simulated activities to prepare them for work on the front line. For example, they simulate attending a house fire, experiencing smoke, loud noises and panic of those involved. Apprentices have access to a range of ambulances to practise their driving skills before driving these vehicles at work, including an autism-friendly ambulance that is specifically designed to provide a low stimulus environment.

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

Apprentices expand their knowledge through hearing from guest speakers who are specialists in the sector and who discuss topics such the trauma bypass tool. They also learn about other pertinent aspects of patient care. For example, Macmillan nurses discuss end-of-life care where apprentices learn about the support for patients in their final months or weeks of life.

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

Apprentices value working in a highly supportive environment in which peers and staff care for each other's welfare and treat each other with respect. They grow considerably in confidence and self-esteem during their apprenticeship. Apprentices appreciate the work that staff do to prepare them for working on the front line and to reduce their concerns as much as possible as they prepare to work in an unpredictable and high-pressure environment.

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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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Next steps

Leaders should provide further professional development for teaching staff focused on pedagogy and the craft of teaching. Leaders should further strengthen the quality of teaching and training so that all apprentices receive expert tuition. Leaders should ensure that staff benefit from training that enables them to support apprentices with needs such as neurodiversity and special education needs and/or disabilities.

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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 senior leaders, leaders, clinical educators, operations staff, apprentices and stakeholders during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Cipher Medical Consultancy Limited is an employer provider that delivers apprenticeships for the ambulance emergency and urgent care support sector. It has approval to provide the level 3 emergency care assistant (ECA) and the level 4 associate ambulance practitioner apprenticeship. At the time of the inspection, there were fewer than 5 apprentices on the level 3 ECA standard, all of whom are aged over 18.

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About this inspection

Head of education and research: Chris Moat

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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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Year This provider 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

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Urgent improvement

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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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