Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

Inspection number 330151 Yorkshire Training Partnership Limited

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Background information ............................................................................... 3

Inspection judgements ..................................................................................... 3 Scope of the inspection..................................................................................... 3

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Overall judgement ........................................................................................ 6

Effectiveness of provision.................................................................................. 6 Capacity to improve ....................................................................................... 6

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Main findings................................................................................................. 8

Achievement and standards .............................................................................. 8 Quality of provision .......................................................................................... 8 Leadership and management ............................................................................ 9 Equality of opportunity ................................................................................... 9

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Sector subject areas ................................................................................... 12

Health, public services and care ...................................................................... 12 Engineering and manufacturing technologies ................................................... 15 Retail and commercial enterprise..................................................................... 18 Business, administration and law..................................................................... 21

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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’ monitoring 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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Scope of the inspection

 Health, public services and care  Engineering and manufacturing technologies  Retail and commercial enterprise  Business, administration and law

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Description of the provider

1. Yorkshire Training Partnership Ltd (YTP) was established in September 2000 to support a consortium of work-based learning providers and work on behalf of these providers with the South Yorkshire LSC. YTP is based in Wath upon Dearne, Rotherham. It supports provider partners and the LSC to increase participation and achievement in work-based learning in line with LSC regional and national priorities. To support these aims YTP also works with a number of other organisations including West Yorkshire Learning Providers and Consortium for Learning and Providers in Partnership.

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Description of the provider

2. YTP has an elected board of directors drawn from four area training associations based in Doncaster, Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham. Two independent seats are allocated to YTP members outside these groups. YTP’s management team consists of an operations manager, a contracts and quality manager, a contracts co-ordinator and an administrator. These staff carry out administration and development of the organisation, manage the LSC contracts and seek additional funding.

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Description of the provider

3. The main source of income for the YTP management team comes from the fees charged for the management of the Train to Gain consortium. YTP currently holds a Train to Gain contract with South Yorkshire LSC to deliver programmes in a range of sector subject areas across Yorkshire and Humberside. These include engineering and manufacturing technologies, retail and commercial enterprise, business administration and law, health and social care, education and training, and more recently, skills for life. The following table shows the providers associated with the YTP Ltd consortium.

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inspection

Independent Training Services 97 * YMCA 90 * Morthyng 13 * Doncaster Motor Trades GTA 32 * Aspect 47 * GLAD 58 * First2Train 14 * DC Training and Development 60 * Employment Training Links 100 * Palmer Training Associates 10 * Kingfisher Training 74 * Optimus Training 201 * Xtol Development Systems 37 * Park Education & Training 40 * Achieve Through Learning 74 * Care2Care 23 Prospect Services Limited 0

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Summary of grades awarded

Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Summary of grades awarded

Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Summary of grades awarded

Leadership and management Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Summary of grades awarded

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Sector subject areas

Health, public services and care Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Sector subject areas

Engineering and manufacturing technologies Good: Grade 2

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Sector subject areas

Retail and commercial enterprise Good: Grade 2

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Sector subject areas

Business, administration and law Good: Grade 2

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

4. The overall effectiveness of the provision is satisfactory. Achievements and standards and the quality of provision are good. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Equality of opportunity is satisfactory.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

5. YTP has a satisfactory capacity to improve. Overall success rates fell in 2007/08 but remain high. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, and the standard of learners’ work is generally high. Programmes meet the needs of employers and learners particularly well. Support for learners is good, and flexible arrangements help them to achieve. However, skills for life provision is not well promoted to learners. YTP has satisfactory arrangements for improvement, but these are recent and have not fully impacted on the quality of provision. Although these newly developed systems are designed to monitor the quality of learners’ experience, at present, the consortium audits provision only for compliance. Its self-assessment process is not developed well, and many of the partners remain inexperienced in self-assessment. The current self-assessment report matches inspection findings in some respects.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

6. The self-assessment process is satisfactory. It is consultative, but remains insufficiently developed. The report is evaluative, but lacks precision on the exact nature of strengths and areas for improvement. In parts, it is too descriptive. The provider has recently compiled its first joint self-assessment report which collates information from the reports produced by the various strands of the consortium. Inspection grades matched most of those of the report. In one case, inspectors awarded higher grades than the provider.

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Key strengths

 Good overall success rates in most areas  Good development of learners’ confidence and workplace skills  Flexible learning programmes that meet employers’ and learners’ needs  Adaptable and flexible support for learning  Strong leadership  Productive and responsive partnership working  Strong support for new partners

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Key areas for improvement

 Poor target-setting  Insufficient promotion of skills for life provision to learners  Insufficiently established quality improvement arrangements  Insufficient use of data to plan, evaluate and monitor provision  Insufficient use of progress reviews to promote equality of opportunity

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Good: Grade 2

7. Achievement and standards are good. This was identified in YTP’s self- assessment report. YTP has two full years of success data from 2006 to 2008. Over this period overall success rates have declined from 93% to 83%. Success rates vary across sector subject areas, ranging from a very high 94% in engineering and manufacturing technologies to 72% in health, public services and care.

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Good: Grade 2

8. Timely success rates for the provision as a whole are satisfactory and improved from 60% in 2006/07 to 65% in 2007/08. The range of timely success rates includes a good rate of 80% in engineering and 42% in care.

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Good: Grade 2

9. Many learners take skills for life qualifications alongside their vocational qualifications. Success rates in 2007/08 were good at 84%.

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Good: Grade 2

10.The quality of provision is good as identified in the self-assessment report. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Learners’ programmes are developed on an individual basis. YTP has developed a flexible and successful approach to supporting learning. Its members work hard to make learning and assessment interesting and inclusive. All tutors, assessors and employers are particularly effective at using learners’ existing experiences to develop new skills to improve understanding and confidence levels. Employers recognise the improved skill and productivity levels gained from learners’ participation in the programme.

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Good: Grade 2

11.Programmes meet learners’ needs and interests well. This was broadly identified in the self-assessment report. YTP ensures that in most cases a detailed training needs analysis takes place to identify the most appropriate range of qualifications to meet employers’ and learners’ development needs. However, specialist skills for life support has been poorly promoted to learners across the partnership. Retention, success, and learner and employer satisfaction levels are good.

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Good: Grade 2

12.Support arrangements are good, as identified in YTP’s self-assessment report. Reviews are regular and frequent. They provide learners with highly effective pastoral and motivational support. Learners’ skills for life needs are systematically identified through a process of initial assessment. An increasing number of learners are now taking up the offer of skills for life support. Information, advice and guidance are generally satisfactory across all programmes. Learners across an increasing range of sector subject areas progress to higher level qualifications. However, target-setting to support learners’ progress towards their qualification is an area for improvement in the review process.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

13.Leadership and management across the partnership are satisfactory. This was identified in YTP’s self-assessment report. YTP has a clear strategic direction to identify and provide comprehensive and relevant training in the region. The board of directors provides the partnership with strong leadership through good strategic direction, supporting members well in all their operations. Partner organisations are given autonomy to run their businesses in line with their particular expertise, and YTP supports this in an appropriate manner. YTP concentrates its resources effectively to support those partners who need it most. It has recently introduced a comprehensive series of measures to monitor and improve the quality of provision across all providers. It now has good arrangements to assure and improve the quality of provision. However, their effectiveness has not yet been tested as part of an established quality cycle.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

14.YTP engages well with a good range of employers and works with them effectively to develop their businesses through relevant staff training. This is partially identified in YTP’s self-assessment report. It conducts thorough training needs analyses of employers, and discusses its proposals for provision with them in detail. It meets the needs of local employers very well, and many employers have successfully improved the skill levels of their staff, and improved their output and productivity, as a result of their links with YTP. Contact with employers is frequent and supportive.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

15.YTP provides good support for new partners. It examines new partners’ strengths and areas for improvement and draws up relevant and supportive action plans, which are carefully monitored to measure improvement and implementation. For example, many new providers have not previously self-assessed their provision, and YTP provides good support and training in how to do this. It makes good use of the expertise of its more experienced and established partners to support new partners. It communicates good practice in new providers to others who might benefit. New partners benefit from good advice and guidance on a wide range of issues, including financial management, resourcing and business processes. YTP equips partners well to function independently when they are ready to do so. This strength was not identified in the self-assessment report.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

16.Staff are adequately qualified and experienced. YTP shares information with partners on relevant training and information, and all teaching staff are currently being supported to gain initial teaching qualifications in line with government requirements.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

17.Resources are generally satisfactory and fit for purpose. They are good in on-the- job training. Learners have access to the resources they need to complete their programmes successfully. 18.YTP has insufficiently well established quality improvement systems to monitor and improve the quality of provision. This is identified in YTP’s self-assessment report. Although good arrangements are in place, they are too recent to be effective. Quality audits are planned and conducted, and these are effective in demonstrating compliance with a series of measures. However, they do not monitor the quality of provision. Each partner organisation conducts its own observations of teaching and learning. Some observation records are insufficiently judgemental about the quality of teaching and learning. Target-setting is weak across provision, and both learners and assessors have difficulty in monitoring learners’ progress. Self-assessment is underdeveloped across the partnership.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

YTP has identified this and has recently worked hard to make the overall process more inclusive, and to make the combined self-assessment report appropriately evaluative and focused. Inspection grades generally matched those in the self- assessment report.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

19.YTP makes insufficient use of data to plan, evaluate and monitor provision. It has recently invested in a new management information system, and is currently populating this to give good information on provision overall. However, no analysis of the performance of different groups takes place to plan improvements to provision. Similarly, data is not used well to monitor performance within sector subject areas or to compare the performance of different providers. This area for improvement is partially identified in the self-assessment report.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

20.All YTP’s partners conduct some form of initial assessment with learners. However, if learners are identified as needing additional skills for life support, this is not always well promoted. Take-up of support is low but increasing. YTP has identified this area for improvement in its self-assessment report. It has successfully engaged partners with expertise in skills for life to support provision and is developing other members of staff to deliver skills for life.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

21.YTP’s equality and diversity arrangements are satisfactory. YTP has a range of policies and procedures to support its role as lead partner across the partnership. It ensures its members have an appropriate range of equality, diversity and health and safety policies in place. It has been successful in sharing equality and diversity information across the partnership and in running well received training events on issues such as safeguarding. The partnership has good arrangements to promote a range of work-based learning opportunities to employers. Recruitment levels and the range of qualifications available have increased over the last two years as have the participation levels of adult learners taking skills for life qualifications.

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Satisfactory: Grade 3

22.YTP has just started to analyse participation by race, gender and ability levels. However, analysis of this data is insufficient to determine variations in performance across different learner types. This was identified in the self- assessment report. The partnership is keen to promote equality and diversity at learner reviews. However, learners’ progress reviews are not always used well to promote equality and diversity. YTP ensures that the partnership members’ procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements.

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What learners like:

 ‘My tutors are excellent’  ‘Being able to contact my assessor at any time’  Time off from work to study  Getting a qualification  ‘All the support we get to achieve’  Developing new skills

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What learners think could improve:

 ‘More time when I am at work to do the national vocational qualification (NVQ) work needed’  ‘I get too many interruptions at work when my assessor comes to visit’  Too much written work

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Context

23.YTP works with eight consortium members to provide Train to Gain programmes in health and social care for 337 learners. Of these 224 are working towards NVQ level 2 in health and social care and 113 learners are working towards NVQ level 3. Most learners are currently funded for training and assessment and 55 of the current learners are working towards an adult literacy or numeracy qualification, mainly at level 1. All learners are employed within the local care sector including residential care, hospitals and domiciliary settings. Training and assessment is mostly provided in the workplace.

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Strengths

 Good overall success rates  Good development of workplace and personal skills  Good support from assessors and employers  Good employer engagement and partnership working

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Areas for improvement

 Poor target-setting  Insufficient quality monitoring of provision  Insufficient attention, by some providers, to learners’ slow progress

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Achievement and standards

24.Achievement and standards are good. Overall success rates between 2006/07 and 2007/08 have averaged 83% and are significantly above the national rate for 2006/07 of 50%. Achievement of additional qualifications is satisfactory. However, many learners make slow progress and do not achieve their NVQ within the scheduled time limit. Timely success rates are low at 42%. These aspects were identified in YTP’s self-assessment report.

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Achievement and standards

25.Learners develop good workplace and personal skills. Assessors make good reflective accounts to develop and improve learners’ practice. Learners demonstrate good levels of self-confidence in their work and their abilities. Learners are able to talk confidently about their practice and responsibilities at work. Employers are very supportive of learners and encourage them to attend training. The standard of learners’ portfolio work is satisfactory overall. Progression is satisfactory. The number of learners working towards NVQ level 3 qualifications is increasing.

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Quality of provision

26.The quality of provision is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Training occasionally takes place during off-the-job group sessions but usually takes place in the learner’s workplace on an individual basis. In the better sessions questioning is used effectively to develop and support learning. In the less effective sessions, insufficient account is taken of learners’ prior knowledge and experience when planning learning and delivering learning sessions. Working relationships between assessors and learners are good. Learners are highly motivated and in training sessions they work purposefully, share ideas, ask questions, and demonstrate good levels of knowledge and understanding. The quality of teaching and learning was overgraded in YTP’s self-assessment report.

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Quality of provision

27.Initial assessment is satisfactory. All learners have literacy, numeracy and skills assessments to identify any specialist support needs and to ensure the requirements of the qualification can be met. However, the outcome of assessment and the strategy for meeting identified needs is not always clear or recorded on individual learning plans. In many cases assessors provide literacy and numeracy support as a feature of their coaching and training sessions. Too few learners with identified literacy or numeracy support needs take a qualification.

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Quality of provision

28.Assessment practice is satisfactory. A good range of evidence is used to measure competency for the qualification. Feedback from assessors is generally helpful in providing guidance to learners on how to improve. Assessors attend regular standardisation meetings to support the development of assessment practices. Regular, thorough internal verification ensures that assessment standards are maintained.

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Quality of provision

29.Target-setting and progress review arrangements in most providers are poor. Some providers prepare detailed and thorough reviews of progress that are effective in setting specific targets and actions for improvement. However, most providers set learners insufficiently detailed targets, with no clear timescales. This was partially identified in YTP’s self-assessment report.

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Quality of provision

30.Programmes and activities to meet the needs and interests of learners and employers are satisfactory. Assessors take care to ensure that learning programmes accurately match job roles and that optional units chosen by learners are achievable. Participation and success rates in an appropriate range of additional qualifications, such as first aid, health and safety and manual handling are satisfactory.

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Quality of provision

31.Resources are generally satisfactory. Many learners are referred to the internet and to public libraries for research purposes. However, tutors and assessors make insufficient use of internet resources to support learning. Some employers make training facilities available. One employer is setting up its own learning centre with a virtual learning environment populated with qualification information and training materials to support learning. Most staff are appropriately qualified and experienced.

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Quality of provision

32.Guidance and support from assessors and employers are good. Staff are highly supportive, approachable and accessible at all times. They ensure that learners can easily contact them by email or telephone. Assessors work closely with employers to ensure opportunities for learning and assessment are identified at work and to reinforce the importance of training. Assessors visit the workplace at suitable times to ensure learners can be assessed and supported while carrying out their normal duties and shift patterns. This was identified in YTP’s self- assessment report.

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Leadership and management

33.Leadership and management are satisfactory. Employer engagement and partnership working are good. The marketing and promotion of Train to Gain has been successful. Recruitment of learners is increasing across a wide range of settings within the care sector including residential, hospital, day care, domiciliary and community care and across the range of service user groups.

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Leadership and management

34.Staff participate in a good range of appropriate continuing professional development activities. One training manager has completed a level 2 numeracy qualification and is now active in using this experience to encourage learners to take similar qualifications.

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Leadership and management

35.Equality and diversity are promoted well. Values and principles are integrated and reinforced in teaching, learning and assessment sessions. Learners’ understanding of care principles and of their own and service users’ rights is good.

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Leadership and management

36.The self-assessment report is broadly accurate and identifies most key strengths and areas for improvement. However, quality monitoring of the provision is insufficient. Managers make insufficient use of data for target-setting and for analysing the performance of groups of learners. Arrangements for monitoring the quality of provision across providers focus on audit and compliance checks. They do not fully support quality improvement.

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Leadership and management

37.Some provider staff have good access to management information systems and use this data to monitor the progress of learners systematically. Any slow progress is quickly identified and support provided to help them improve. However, these arrangements are not routine across all providers and some learners’ slow progress is not identified or rectified quickly enough.

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Context

38.YTP works with four partners to provide Train to Gain programmes in engineering and manufacturing technologies for 164 NVQ level 2 and 11 NVQ level 3 learners. Around two-thirds of learners are funded for training and assessment. None are currently working towards a skills for life qualification. Manufacturing learners work towards a range of qualifications including business improvement techniques while motor vehicle learners work towards vehicle maintenance qualifications. Most training and assessment is provided in the workplace with some off-the-job group training delivered at consortium members’ training centres.

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Strengths

 High success rates  Good training  Adaptable and flexible support for learning  Good partnership working

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Areas for improvement

 Poor target-setting at reviews  Poor provision to support learners’ literacy, numeracy and language needs  Insufficient quality monitoring of provision

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Achievement and standards

39.Achievement and standards are good as identified in the self-assessment report. Overall success rates at level 2 have been high for the last two years, declining slightly in 2007/08 to 88% from 94% in 2006/07. Learners are very effectively supported by workplace supervisors to develop a good range of skills. They develop a very good understanding of their work activities and responsibilities. Learners’ existing skills are often developed further and tutors encourage learners to apply their newly learned skills to improve their work performance and improve productivity. Their new skills and qualifications have supported several learners in their ambitions to progress or transfer between departments at work.

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Quality of provision

40.The quality of provision overall is good. Teaching and learning are good, as identified in the self-assessment report. Teaching in off-the-job theory sessions is good, providing learners with sufficient challenge to sustain good progress and maintain a keen interest in their learning. On-the-job training is good and well supported by a range of good quality learning resources. Computers are not widely used to support learning. Assessors and verifiers are appropriately qualified and experienced. Assessment practices and the arrangements to monitor and record learners’ progress are satisfactory. Assessors provide learners with clear written and verbal feedback after each assessment and at the end of each significant phase of their qualification. The standard of learners’ portfolios is satisfactory.

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Quality of provision

41.Progress reviews are weak and too often fail to set challenging targets for learners. Targets are too general and the review process fails to fully record work that has been completed since the last review. Employers do not routinely have access to progress reviews or targets set by assessors. Progress reviews fail to improve learners’ understanding of equality and diversity or health and safety.

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Quality of provision

42.Training programmes to meet the needs of learners and employers are good. The range of work carried out by learners matches the requirements of the qualification well, allowing speedy progress with little disruption to work planning or production processes. Learners are able to relate their training and assessment to their current job roles and understand their relevance to their employer.

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Quality of provision

43.Support and additional guidance for learners is good. Support for learning is provided in a flexible and adaptable way that meets the diverse needs of learners well, particularly those who work complex shift patterns. Employers are very supportive of the training programmes and, where possible, they ensure that work activities and assessment opportunities are made available to learners who need to perform specific activities to complete their qualification. Together with employers, the engineering providers within the consortium work hard to ensure that learners receive the support they need; this often includes non-specialist support with literacy and numeracy. However, as identified in the self-assessment report, provision for specialist literacy and numeracy support is poor. Initial assessment of support needs is satisfactory but the results of initial assessment are not always recorded in learners’ files or individual learning plans. If support

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Quality of provision

needs are identified, no structured additional support is offered. Provision for specialist support is available within the consortium but the value of additional learning support is poorly promoted to learners.

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Quality of provision

44.Assessors provide learners with the opportunity for assessment on demand. Learners are encouraged to contact assessors if assessment opportunities become available and this helps to complete their qualification in a timely manner. Workplace managers and work colleagues are all very knowledgeable about the demands of learning while at work and provide learners with good pastoral support to help them through their programme. Learners are aware of the progression routes available to them and a small number have progressed onto higher level qualifications.

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Leadership and management

45.Leadership and management are satisfactory. Partnership arrangements are productive and successful at accurately identifying employers’ training needs and matching and adapting qualifications to integrate them into existing employer training programmes. Communication between the consortium’s partner providers and employers is satisfactory. Provider staff meet regularly to review learners’ progress. Monitoring of learners’ progress is routine and accurate. Planning arrangements to provide a successful Train to Gain engineering programme across the consortium are generally good.

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Leadership and management

46.The arrangements to promote and develop equality and diversity are satisfactory overall. Equality and diversity is a key feature of induction and Park Education and Training provide learners with a series of very informative booklets outlining equality and diversity, health and safety and the standards and expectations which learners’ should strive to value.

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Leadership and management

47.Monitoring of the engineering provision across the partnership is insufficient to support a coherent approach to quality improvement. Current arrangements focus on compliance checking rather than on making clear judgements about the quality of key aspects of the programme such as the quality of training, progress reviews, assessment practices and induction arrangements.

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Context

48.YTP works with seven consortium partners to provide Train to Gain programmes in retail, warehousing and distribution, driving and hospitality and catering at NVQ levels 2 and 3. Of the 119 learners 118 are working towards an NVQ level 2. Currently 72 learners are funded for training and assessment and four learners are also taking a literacy and numeracy qualification. All learners are employed. Induction and most assessment are carried out in the workplace.

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Strengths

 Very good retention  Good development of workplace skills  Particularly effective working relationships with employers and learners  Particularly good support for learning

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Areas for improvement

 Ineffective action planning and target-setting  Insufficiently thorough assessment practices in hospitality at one provider  Insufficient quality monitoring of provision

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Achievement and standards

49.Achievement and standards are good. Learners develop good workplace skills. This was partially identified in the self-assessment report. During their training, learners improve their confidence and motivation, develop valuable knowledge and understanding relating to health and safety legislation and develop new practical skills. Learners improve their skills enthusiastically. Prior attainment and experience are adequately accounted for when developing learners’ individual programmes. For example, some learners join the programme with a wealth of experience in their job role and are challenged to make faster progress. Most of the current learners are new to the programme and they are making satisfactory progress towards achievement.

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Achievement and standards

50.Retention is very good and few learners leave the programme early. Achievement is good. Of the 13 learners completing between 2006/07 11 gained their qualification.

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Quality of provision

51.The quality of provision is good. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Training is generally well planned, organised and effectively managed. Handouts and workbooks are used well and provide learners with clear and informative qualification-related information. Assessors make good use of their industry experience and subject knowledge to make learning interesting. They regularly refer to work-related situations to help learners put theory into practical contexts. Initial assessment and induction are satisfactory. Assessment practices are satisfactory. Assessment planning is particularly well detailed. Learners and employers are always fully aware of when assessment is taking place and what remains to be assessed. However, not all evidence is clearly cross-referenced in learners’ portfolios. Assessment on hospitality programmes at Independent Training Services is insufficiently thorough. The evidence presented for

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Quality of provision

assessment does not always cover all aspects of the NVQ or prove learners’ competence.

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Quality of provision

52.Target-setting and action planning for some aspects of the programme are ineffective. Learners and assessors do not always understand the value of target- setting to support progress. Target dates are not always set for key aspects of the learners’ programme and too many action plans, individual learning plans and targets on progress reviews are insufficiently detailed. YTP did not identify this in its self-assessment report.

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Quality of provision

53.Arrangements for meeting the needs of learners and employers are good. Working relationships with learners and employers are particularly effective. Providers work closely with a range of employers to ensure they meet their needs and the individual needs of learners. Programmes are developed with care to ensure they motivate and encourage participation of learners. Communication between training providers and employers is good. Most employers are aware of the benefits to their company of staff participation on the programme.

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Quality of provision

54.Support for learners is particularly good. Learners have very frequent and effective visits from their assessors. For many, visits are every two weeks, or more frequently if required. Visits are timed to suit learners’ work schedules and not disrupt their work or productivity if at all possible. Learners are supported particularly well to gather specific evidence for their NVQ. All learners have personal contact telephone numbers for their assessors and use them regularly to support assessment planning and for pastoral support interventions. Assessors ensure additional support is made available where additional learning needs have been identified. Providers offer adequate support for learners with literacy and numeracy needs. Information, advice and guidance are routine features of the programme. Some providers make regular telephone calls to learners to inform them of other progression opportunities or training programmes.

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Leadership and management

55.Leadership and management are satisfactory. Training and development for provider staff are satisfactory. Communication with other consortium partners is satisfactory. Assessors communicate regularly with one another to discuss specific issues and share practices. Internal verification arrangements are satisfactory. 56.Quality monitoring of the provision is weak. Quality assurance arrangements do not adequately ensure that all key aspects of the learners’ experiences are monitored. Quality monitoring is generally carried out for compliance purposes rather than for continuous improvement. The self-assessment process is satisfactory.

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Leadership and management

57.Learners have an appropriate awareness and understanding of equality and diversity issues. However, the promotion of equality and diversity is generally weak. Equality and diversity is discussed at induction but rarely discussed or promoted after this initial discussion.

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Context

58.YTP works with nine partners to provide Train to Gain programmes in business administration and law. Of the 297 learners 124 are in customer service. The remaining learners are working towards qualifications, mainly at level 2, in business administration, team leadership and management and telesales. Most learners are funded for training and assessment and 98 learners are also taking a literacy and numeracy qualification. All learners are employed. Induction and assessment are carried out in the workplace.

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Strengths

 High success rates  Good development of workplace skills  Good progression  Programmes are matched well to learners’ and employers’ needs

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Areas for improvement

 Insufficient target-setting  Insufficient quality monitoring of provision

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Achievement and standards

59.Achievement and standards are good. Success rates are high as identified in the self-assessment report. Overall success rates improved from 86% in 2006/07 to 89% in 2007/08. Timely success rates improved from 44% to a high 75% over the same period. The standard of learners’ work is satisfactory. Portfolios contain a good range of supporting evidence and are organised well.

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Achievement and standards

60.Learners develop good workplace skills. This was not identified in the self- assessment report. Learner confidence is high and their communication and personal effectiveness skills improve while they are on the programme. One employer invited its learners to make a presentation to managers to show how their newly gained skills had contributed to cost savings. Some learners have asked to work towards more units than are required for their qualifications. For example in one company, two learners are completing a specialist information technology unit to develop the knowledge needed to implement a new system at work. Learners are very well motivated and many complete their programme earlier than planned.

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Achievement and standards

61.At two companies, the qualifications being taken by learners are highly valued and are now a key feature of these organisations’ development plans. The NVQ programmes for learners at these organisations are an important feature of their continuous professional development and their success is celebrated in company newsletters.

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Achievement and standards

62.YTP and employers provide good support for learners to progress to higher level qualifications or to new or more senior job roles. This includes the opportunity to work towards customer service and management at level 3. One successful learner has been promoted to the post of practice manager at a dental surgery, and is now responsible for three other colleagues who are working towards the NVQ. This support for progression was not identified in the self-assessment report.

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Quality of provision

63.The quality of provision is good. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Individual training and coaching sessions are planned well, with clearly defined outcomes. Assessors make effective use of laptop computers, handouts and workbooks to support learning. Teaching is informal and the pace of learning appropriate for learners’ needs.

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Quality of provision

64.Assessment practices are satisfactory overall. Assessors use well constructed questions that challenge learners’ existing knowledge and any questions answered insufficiently well are set as research targets for learners to complete before the next meeting. However, some portfolios contain unsuitable evidence, such as complete government publications on health and safety and other legal requirements when extracts and summaries would be more appropriate.

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Quality of provision

65.Resources to support learning are satisfactory. Coaching and learning sessions have clear aims and objectives, knowledgeable tutors and informative handouts to reinforce learning.

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Quality of provision

66.Target-setting is poor. This was not identified in the self-assessment report. Assessors and learners are insufficiently aware of the importance of clearly set and agreed targets for timely progress. Progress reviews fail to set realistic long- term achievement targets and many learners are unaware of the progress they are making towards qualification completion.

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Quality of provision

67.Arrangements for meeting the needs and interests of learners are good. Programmes are matched well to learners’ job roles and the needs of their employers. This was not identified in the self-assessment report. Optional units that make up learners’ qualifications are chosen jointly by employers and their learners to meet personal development needs and business objectives. Some providers offer learners highly flexible assessment arrangements. Assessors’ visits are regular and planned to suit employers’ business needs and learners’ job roles. Assessors are also keen to ensure that shift or work patterns do not restrict access to assessment.

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Quality of provision

68.Guidance and support for learners are good. Learners are supported well by their employers and assessors. Assessor visits are frequent and planned well and assessors are readily accessible by telephone or email should an assessment opportunity occur. Several learners who have been made redundant recently are receiving very frequent assessment visits from a team of assessors to ensure they complete their qualification before they leave.

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Quality of provision

69.Learners receive satisfactory information, advice and guidance. This includes career and qualification progression advice. All learners receive initial assessment, with diagnostic testing for literacy and numeracy. Appropriate arrangements are made for literacy and numeracy support where needed.

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Leadership and management

70.Leadership and management are satisfactory. All provider staff are appropriately qualified. Some hold a teaching qualification. Communication between other providers is satisfactory and some good practice is starting to be shared across the partnership. The self-assessment process is satisfactory. However, the report fails to identify all the strengths and areas for improvement in provision. Some delivery partners did not contribute fully to the self-assessment process.

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Leadership and management

71.Quality monitoring of the learning experience is insufficient. Quality monitoring is generally carried out for compliance purposes rather than for continuous improvement. Key aspects of the programme such as induction, training and coaching and learners’ progress reviews are not routinely monitored to measure their effectiveness or to identify areas for improvement.

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Leadership and management

72.Learners have an appropriate awareness and understanding of equality and diversity issues. They are aware of the NVQ appeals procedure and equality of opportunity in relation to their job roles. However, the promotion of equality and diversity is generally weak. Equality and diversity is discussed at induction but rarely discussed or promoted further. Annex

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Leadership and management

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Learners’ achievements

Success rates on work-based learning Train to Gain NVQ programmes managed by the provider 2006 to 2008

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Learners’ achievements

Programme End Year Success rate No. of learners* Provider NVQ rate** overall 132 93% 2006/07 timely 99 60% overall 444 83% Train to Gain NVQ 2007/08 timely 395 65%

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Learners’ achievements

Note: 2008/09 data is ‘part year’ only and is representative of the first three months or greater of the LSC contract year

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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 ** NVQ qualification success rates are calculated using data supplied to Ofsted by the provider before inspection

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Learners’ achievements

Success rates on work-based learning Train to Gain skills for life programmes managed by the provider 2006 to 2008

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Learners’ achievements

Programme End Year Success rate No. of learners* Provider skills for life rate** overall 46 84% Train to Gain 2007/08 timely 44 75%

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Learners’ achievements

Note: 2008/09 data is ‘part year’ only and is representative of the first three months or greater of the LSC contract year

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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 ** Skills for life qualification success rates are calculated using data supplied to Ofsted by the provider before inspection

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