Andrew Collinge Training Limited

Inspection number 316806 Andrew Collinge Training Limited

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Contents

Background information ......................................................................................................... 3 Inspection judgements........................................................................................................... 3 Scope of the inspection.......................................................................................................... 3 Description of the provider...................................................................................................... 4 Summary of grades awarded .................................................................................................. 5 Overall judgement.................................................................................................................... 6 Effectiveness of provision ..................................................................................................... 6

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Contents

Capacity to improve............................................................................................................ 6 Key strengths ............................................................................................................................ 7 Key areas for improvement..................................................................................................... 7 Main findings............................................................................................................................ 8 Achievement and standards................................................................................................... 8 Quality of provision............................................................................................................... 8 Leadership and management ................................................................................................. 9

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Contents

Equality of opportunity....................................................................................................... 9 What learners like.................................................................................................................. 12 What learners think could improve...................................................................................... 12 Learners’ achievements......................................................................................................... 13

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Inspection judgements

Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about achievement and standards, the quality of provision, and leadership and management, which includes a grade for equality of opportunity .

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Key for inspection grades

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate

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Key for inspection grades

Further information can be found on how inspection judgements are made on www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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Scope of the inspection

In deciding the scope of the inspection, inspectors take account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and comments from the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) or other funding body. Where appropriate, inspectors also consider the previous inspection report ( www.ofsted.gov.uk ), reports from the inspectorates’ quality monitoring or annual assessment visits, and data on learners and their achievements over the period since the previous inspection.

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Scope of the inspection

In addition to reporting on overall effectiveness of the organisation, its capacity to improve further, achievement and standards, quality of provision and leadership and management. This inspection focused on specialist provision in

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Description of the provider

1. Andrew Collinge Training Limited (Andrew Collinge) is a privately owned training company providing work-based hairdressing training in Liverpool, Wirral, Chester, South West Lancashire and Manchester. The company has three training centres in Liverpool and one in Birkenhead. A training manager heads a team of five senior managers and three administrators. Each senior manager specifically co-ordinates quality assurance, health and safety, occupational training or key skills, and has overall responsibility for the day to day management of the provision. Andrew Collinge has 23 staff, of whom 11 are employed part-time. In 1999 Andrew Collinge was awarded Investors in People, which was affirmed in 2006. Beacon status was awarded in 2004 with Beacon Initiative Funding in December 2006, for the dissemination of the company’s electronic learner monitoring system.

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Description of the provider

2. At the time of inspection Andrew Collinge provided apprenticeship training for 171 learners, of whom 131 were apprentices and 40 advanced apprentices. 15% of learners are male, 10% require additional learning support and 1% are from minority ethnic groups. Currently 49% of learners are employed by Andrew Collinge, working in their eight salons. The remainder are employed in 48 salons throughout Merseyside and Lancashire. All apprentices attend Andrew Collinge training centres for one day each week, for off- the-job training and assessment. In their second year, apprentices employed by Andrew Collinge attend the training salon an extra three days in every four weeks for additional practical training. Advanced apprentices attend graduate training for a day each week in the graduate salon, with Andrew Collinge employees remaining in the salon full-time. Learners are recruited by word of mouth or directly from schools or Connexions advisers.

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Description of the provider

Learner reviews are completed each eight weeks in the workplace with employers’ involvement. Practical assessments are completed at the training centre and in learners’ salons. There are 25 work-based assessors of whom 14 are actively involved in the on-the- job assessment of learners.

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Description of the provider

3. Liverpool is the second most deprived district in England. Employment is 70% compared with the national average of 74%. Currently 28% of people of working age claim key benefits against a national average of 14%. Minority ethnic groups make up 5% of the population compared with 8% nationally and 48% of pupils leaving school achieve 5 or more GCSE’s of grades A*- C against a national average of 56%.

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Summary of grades awarded

Effectiveness of provision Outstanding: grade 1

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Summary of grades awarded

Achievement and standards Outstanding: Grade 1

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Summary of grades awarded

Quality of provision Outstanding: Grade 1

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Summary of grades awarded

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Good: Grade 2

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Sector subject area

Hairdressing and beauty therapy Outstanding: Grade 1

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Outstanding: Grade 1

4. The overall effectiveness of the provision is outstanding. Achievement and standards are outstanding, as is the quality of provision. Leadership and management and the capacity to improve are good. Meeting the needs and interests of learners and the promotion of equal opportunity and social inclusion are also good. Learners receive high levels of individual support and guidance throughout their training, with specific training on equality and respect for others. Andrew Collinge has good strategies to promote equality and diversity, establishing specific links and partnerships to attract under-represented groups. The provision in hairdressing is outstanding. Andrew Collinge places the learner experience and the development of skills to promote success and extend career opportunities at the heart of training. Well planned and varied teaching from highly skilled practitioners, exceptional skill development and highly effective learner support provides

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Outstanding: Grade 1

learners with very good opportunities to succeed.

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Good: Grade 2

5. Andrew Collinge demonstrates good capacity to improve its hairdressing training and to maintain high standards over a long period of time. Hairdressing has been outstanding at three consecutive inspections. The effectiveness of steps taken to promote improvement since the previous inspection is good. Equality of opportunity, management systems and support for learners with literacy and numeracy needs have all substantially improved, as well as success rates. The responsive actions to learner and tutor feedback, the systematic and effective observation of teaching and learning, the sharing of good practice and close monitoring of learners’ progress are all effective in the continued improvement of provision. Most of all, the improvements have been achieved by a strong commitment to excellence in hairdressing and training, with highly skilled staff.

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Good: Grade 2

6. The self-assessment process is well established and inclusive. All staff contribute to the judgements in the self-assessment report. The views of learners and employers are taken into account. Data is appropriately used as the basis of judgements. Directors, managers and staff are all well aware of the excellence of the hairdressing training and still have ideas for further development. The self-assessment report is thorough, self-critical and accurately lists the strengths of the provision, although some aspects of the report are overly descriptive and lack evaluative evidence.

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Key strengths

 Outstanding success rates for advanced apprentices  Good success rates for apprentices  Excellent development of practical skills  Very good and well-planned training and learning to engage and motivate learners  Particularly effective monitoring of learners’ progress  Particularly good match of planned training to learners’ experiences  High levels of individual support for learners  Good strategic management  Very good management of training  Rigorous quality assurance leading to quality improvement  Good promotion of equality of opportunity and diversity

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Key areas for improvement

 Some insufficient management of on- and off-the-job training

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Outstanding: Grade 1

7. Achievement and standards are outstanding. Overall success rates of advanced apprentices are outstanding. They have improved markedly since 2005-06. Of the learners who left the programme during 2006-07, 91% successfully achieved full frameworks. During the same period the timely success rate for advanced apprentices is also outstanding and at 91% is 36 percentage points above national averages.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

8. Overall success rates for apprentices during 2006-07 are also significantly improved, and good, at 67%. The very good timely success rates of 64% for apprentices are 22 percentage points above national average.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

9. Combined apprenticeship success rates are consistently above national averages and are good. The current in-year overall success rate is 73% which is 14 percentage points above the national average. Learners currently on programme have a full understanding of their unit targets and work resolutely towards their achievement. During 2006-07 only one learner remained in learning beyond their expected end date.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

10. Learners develop excellent skills. Andrew Collinge places significant emphasis on clients’ rights to a highly professional service. Learners quickly adopt a professional and confident approach to client consultation, technical services and product promotion. Clients trust learners’ skills and judgements, responding positively to learners’ well considered suggestions. Within the graduate salon, advanced apprentices work as stylists producing highly proficient finishes across a range of colouring, styling and cutting contexts. Learners who were eight weeks into their programme had an excellent understanding of the relationships between air direction and tension when producing blow styling to a good commercial standard. Learners have exceptional motivation and use the guidance of tutors well to develop techniques. One learner achieved a well defined vertical roll after repeated practice, with detailed support from the tutor.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

11. The quality of provision is outstanding. Andrew Collinge engages learners’ interest and motivation through very good and well planned off-the-job training. They use their extensive resource of highly skilled occupational specialists and artistic team members creatively within the training programme. Team members join the tutors at appropriate points in the programme to raise learners’ aspirations and technical abilities. The inclusion of specialist workshops on creative make-up, colouring and emerging techniques, promoting services and product sales, permanent waving and long hair techniques are highly valued by learners.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

12. All learning sessions observed during inspection were good or outstanding. Sessions are well planned, drawing on emerging and current fashion trends to establish good links with on-the-job activities. Demonstrations incorporate new and classic techniques together with detailed explanations and well phrased questions to establish learners existing experience. The advanced apprentice programmes incorporate a photo shoot experience and a high profile hair show, and all learners train for an inter-salon competition attended by salon employers and parents. The ratio of staff to learners at the academy and training centre is one to four and learners benefit from the intensive and highly effective one to one coaching. Opportunities for assessment are good and key skill assessments are integrated within the occupational activities and assignments. Learners have ready access to good professional products and the facilities at the Birkenhead and the graduate salons are

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Outstanding: Grade 1

13. Particularly effective monitoring of learners’ progress includes frequent eight weekly on- the-job reviews with employers and bi-weekly off-the-job reviews with tutors. All learners are fully conversant with their medium and short term targets, making simple yet effective ‘to do’ lists under the supportive guidance of tutors. Tutors thoroughly monitor achievement, attendance and attitude of learners allocating colour codes according to the progress and development of each learner. The amount of training learners receive in their salons is closely monitored by Andrew Collinge and recorded on the review sheets.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

14. Arrangements to match learners’ individual needs to planned training and further development is particularly good. On starting the programme, medium- and long-term targets are influenced by the existing experience of learners. Key skills are planned to complement existing achievements. Learners with exemptions from mandatory key skills select from a number of wider key skills. Highly imaginative programme design facilitates free movement through three stages of learner development. Initially learners are able to develop basic principles of occupational good practice, improve basic practical skills and achieve key skills in the quiet and protective environment of the academy. They then progress to the training salon, working on clients with well planned and responsive tutor support. Those progressing to advanced apprenticeship move to the graduate salon. Excellent monitoring of learners’ confidence and skill development dictate when learners

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Outstanding: Grade 1

move through the stages. Learners who are slow to move to the next stage are very positive about the additional individual coaching and support they receive as they develop the necessary skills.

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Outstanding: Grade 1

15. Learners receive high levels of individual support that is well-planned, monitored and effective in helping them achieve. Comprehensive initial assessment and learner interviews, noted in the self-assessment report, are used effectively by specialist literacy and numeracy tutors to evaluate the degree of support required before learners start the programme. Diagnostic assessment outcomes provide a basis for meaningful individual support with improvement outcomes diligently recorded. Learners identified as at risk of falling behind target are referred to a designated mentor whose sole responsibility is to support at risk learners. Training days start with an evaluation of learners’ short term targets. Tutors use this information productively to plan suitably for clients and activities.

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Good: Grade 2

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Good: Grade2 16. Leadership and management are good. Directors provide very good leadership and strategic direction. The company has followed a well-planned strategy to provide first class training based on excellence in hairdressing. Partnerships with employers are good. The expansion in the number of the employers and the development of the training salons has taken place gradually and carefully to maintain the quality of the provision. Managers and other staff are involved in the development of the strategy. Plans exist for raising the standard of hairdressing further through the establishment of an international academy. Andrew Collinge has high expectations of its learners and, from the start, raises their ambitions to excel. Staff are well qualified and experienced. The performance of training staff is appraised each year. Actions are agreed, based on their appraisal and the needs of

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Good: Grade 2

the business, and are then reviewed at subsequent appraisals. All staff undertake training to develop their skills.

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Good: Grade 2

17. The management of the training is very good, a strength identified in the self-assessment report. The completion of units by learners is monitored using a computer-based system. Staff have targets for the progress of their learners. Performance against these targets is monitored continuously in the form of graphs, which provides a powerful incentive to achieve the targets. A literacy and numeracy strategy produces very effective support for those learners who need it. The company now trains its own assessors and verifiers so that the training is set in the context of hairdressing in their salons. Several salons have active work-based assessors. A very good guide is given to the employers and contains all the information they need in a clearly presented format. A management information system has been introduced and is satisfactory.

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Good: Grade 2

18. Quality assurance is rigorous, a strength identified in the self-assessment report. Feedback from learners is thoroughly collected and analysed and is used well to improve the training. Feedback from employers has been less valuable. Feedback contributes to the self-assessment process, which has become well established over many years. All staff contribute to the self-assessment process. Action-planning is effective with clearly defined targets, responsibilities and timescales. The system of observation of trainers leads to improvements in the standard of hairdressing training and assessment. Internal verification is well managed with good planning and regular meetings of assessors and verifiers. Andrew Collinge frequently shares good practice with other training providers and picks up ideas for improving its own training through its position as a Beacon provider, the database of good practice and the local forum of hairdressing providers.

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Good: Grade 2

19. Andrew Collinge meets its obligations under equality and disability legislation. Equality and diversity are well promoted and have improved substantially since the previous inspection. Promotional literature is designed to use non-stereotypical images of hairdressing. Staff worked on a drama production with a local school which has a relatively high proportion of minority ethnic students. Recruitment activities focus on schools in deprived areas. Equal opportunities statistics are collected and reviewed regularly. The proportion of male learners has increased to 15% following strong encouragement for young men to participate. A high proportion of the learners live in deprived areas but the proportion of learners from minority ethnic groups is still low. All staff are given valuable training in equality and diversity. Learners have a satisfactory understanding of equal opportunities. They receive good training at induction and in

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Good: Grade 2

subsequent workshops. The material given to learners and employers about bullying and harassment is excellent. 20. Some management of the on- and off-the-job training insufficiently focuses on a shared approach to skill development, an area for improvement not identified in the self- assessment report. Although employers’ evaluations of their learners’ development needs are discussed, the form used at progress reviews does not facilitate the development of targets that reflect this and there is limited opportunity for recording any employer planned on-the-job training. Opportunities for training and assessment in the salons may be missed.

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What learners like :

 ‘The helpful and supportive tutors make you feel special and confident in your skills’  The highly professional approach to training  The expertise of tutors  The varied training – especially the specialist technical workshops  ‘The range and standard of techniques we are shown, particularly at advanced level’  The good advice and guidance at each stage of the programme  The very good individual support and coaching  The good introduction to the graduate salon  The learner involvement in making decisions to shape their training

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What learners think could improve :

 Introducing learners to working with the commercial training centre clients earlier  The introduction of a gala evening with apprentice awards and presentations  Nothing – I am so pleased to be training here Annex

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What learners think could improve :

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Learners’ achievements

Success rates on work-based learning ’apprenticeship’ programmes managed by the provider, 2004 to 2006

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Learners’ achievements

Programme End Year Success rate No. of learners* Provider/c ollege NVQ rate ** National NVQ rate** Provider/college framework rate** National framework rate**

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Learners’ achievements

overall 15 47% 43% 47% 32% 03-04 timely 14 50% 27% 50% 20% overall 16 75% 41% 56% 29% 04-05 timely 17 65% 28% 47% 20% overall 27 67% 45% 63% 36% Advanced Apprenticeships

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Learners’ achievements

05-06 timely 27 48% 26% 44% 19% overall 56 80% 63% 73% 50% 03-04 timely 56 59% 39% 55% 31% overall 69 64% 50% 58% 42% 04-05 timely 66 47% 33% 42% 28% overall 82 57% 55% 56% 52% Apprenticeships

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Learners’ achievements

* Learners who leave later than originally planned are counted in the year they actually leave. This group of learners are then added to the learners who planned to complete in a given year and did so or left earlier than planned ** College and national qualification success rates are calculated using LSC published data derived from the ‘Individual Learning Record’

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