Ofsted round-up – This week: Reports from across England

Tribal Consulting Limited, Birmingham

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

Achievement and standards Satisfactory: Grade 3

Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

Leadership and management Satisfactory: Grade 3

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

Sector subject areas:

Education and training Satisfactory: Grade 3

Business, administration and law Satisfactory: Grade 3

Tribal Consulting’s Community Development Team (Tribal) was established in 2003 to deliver training, education and consultancy, with a particular emphasis on working in areas of deprivation on projects to combat social exclusion. The initial focus of the LSC contract was the implementation of Train to Gain provision within the creative industry sector. With particular emphasis on education and training, Tribal renegotiated contracts with the LSC in the East and West Midlands to extend recruitment. Recruitment of learners began on 1 February 2008 and by 31st July 2008, a total of 123 learners had been recruited. Currently 240 learners are on LSC-funded programmes.

Ofsted has found that Tribal’ overall effectiveness of the provision is satisfactory with a satisfactory capacity to improve. With a slow start being made to many of the Train to Gain programmes with poor retention and insufficient capacity, Tribal has tackled them effectively by appointing new staff and renegotiating the LSC contract. Ofsted has found that programmes satisfactorily meet employers’ and learners’ needs and that although Tribal has some good quality systems in place; many of them are recent and have not adequately affected the quality of the provision.

Ofsted has found that Tribal’s self-assessment report is satisfactory and that they have completed their first self-assessment report with a range of staff being involved in compiling it. However, the report was not sufficiently inclusive of learners’, employers or subcontractors’ views. Key strengths include good progression of learners, particularly effective development of job-related skills, good promotion and take-up of Skills for Life and good training opportunities for staff to the benefit of learners.

As identified in the self-assessment report, achievements and standards are satisfactory. Although a full year of data is not yet available, current overall success rates for Train to Gain learners are 52% with timely success rates at 48%. Evidence indicates that overall success rates at the year-end are likely to be substantially higher. Employers recognise the improved skill and productivity levels gained by learners’ participation on the programmes.

Compass Group, Uxbridge

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade3

Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

Achievement and standards Satisfactory: Grade 3

Quality of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

Leadership and management Satisfactory: Grade 3

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

Sector subject areas:

Retail and commercial enterprise Satisfactory: Grade 3

Business, administration and law Satisfactory: Grade 3

Compass Group UK and Ireland (Compass) provides extensive food and support services to a wide range of UK markets including business and industry, healthcare, education and many others. Compass gained its first funding contract with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in 2006, receiving funding from the National Employer Service. The company receives funding for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) and apprenticeships in health and social care, hospitality, literacy, numeracy and business administration.Currently there are 546 learners on programme.

Ofsted has found that the overall effectiveness of the provision is satisfactory and that Compass has demonstrated a satisfactory capacity to improve. The provider has made significant recent improvement to the monitoring and supervision of its subcontractors. There is a greater degree of oversight of all programmes now taken by middle and senior managers.

Inspectors said the self-assessment process to be inadequate with the report being insufficiently evaluative. Managers do not make explicit and thorough judgements about vocational areas to inform the quality improvement plans and the report did not reflect many of the inspectors’ judgements. Ofsted also found that the report does not effectively involve stakeholders. Key strengths include good development of practical skills on hospitality and catering programmes, clear commitment to managing for improvement and good relationship with partners.

Achievements and standards are satisfactory with overall success rates showing a marked improvement. Success rates for 2006/07 were low at 49% and fell to 35% for 2007/08. However, Current in-year success rates have risen to 71%. In 2007/08 the success rates for Train to Gain learners was low at 38%. The success rates have risen to 72%. The in-year success rate for apprentices is currently 64%. Ofsted found that learners of the hospitality programme develop good practical skills and are competent using a wide range of cooking methods to produce complex dishes from extensive menus.

Southampton City Council, Southhampton

Summary of grades awarded:

Effectiveness of provision Satisfactory: Grade 3

Capacity to improve Satisfactory: Grade 3

Achievement and standards Satisfactory: Grade 3

Quality of provision Good: Grade 2

Leadership and management Satisfactory: Grade 3

Equality of opportunity Contributory grade: Satisfactory: Grade 3

Sector subject area:

Preparation for life and work Good: Grade 2

Southampton City Council (SCC or the service) offers adult and community learning through its contract with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LSC for the provision of personal and community development learning (PCDL), neighbourhood learning in deprived communities (NLDC) and a skills for jobs programme. Programmes in these areas form the basis of this inspection. SXX subcontracts most of its programmes to local colleges, community schools and voluntary sector providers. SCC additionally provides programmes not in scope for this inspection for ex-offenders, unemployed adults and young people using funding from the European Social Fund. It also has a small LSC funded Train to Gain programme too recent to inspect.

Ofsted has found that the overall effectiveness of the provision is satisfactory and that SCC has satisfactory capacity to improve. It has maintained satisfactory standards since the last inspection despite a significant restructuring and has remedied weaknesses in curriculum planning and in its arrangements for improving teaching and learning.

The self-assessment process is found to be satisfactory with the service having a clear and well-communicated annual self-assessment and development planning cycle. The service provides good support and guidance to its own staff and subcontracted partners to carry out their own self-assessments, which contribute appropriately to the service’s self-assessment report. The current self-assessment report is critical and generally accurate with inspectors agreeing with many of the judgements it contained, although gave less weight to some of the strengths the report claimed. Key strengths include good teaching and learning, good range of programmes to meet the needs of individuals and the community, good partnership working to develop community capacity and good strategic planning to reach priority groups.

Achievements and standards are satisfactory, a lower grade than that given in the self-assessment report. Some 80% of the provision consists of courses that have non-accredited outcomes. Measures of achievement the service uses on these courses are not sufficiently reliable. Success rates are high on the mainly short programmes leading to accreditation, often at 100%. Retention rates were high in 2007/08 at 100% on courses leading to accreditation, and 96% on those with non-accredited outcomes. However, data for 2008/09 show a declining trend in retention on both types of course, most of which are short.

Natalie Hailes