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A4e’s Training, Education and Advice division awarded a ‘Good’ rating by Ofsted

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A4e has shown significant improvements to achieve a ‘good’ rating by Ofsted for its delivery of classroom-based learning and apprenticeships, it can be confirmed today.

Ofsted inspectors, who visited A4e in May, awarded ‘good’ grades in all key areas, including learner outcomes, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the effectiveness of leadership and management in all subject areas inspected. This ensured A4e secured its ‘Good’ rating for overall effectiveness.

Their report, which was published today (June 25), singles A4e out for praise for the way it supports learners to overcome multiple barriers to achieve their qualifications and for designing curriculums that meet regional skills shortages.

Jan Richardson-Wilde, A4e’s Head of Quality and Curriculum, said: “The fact that we have risen from a Grade 4 to a Grade 2 in such a short time is a tremendous achievement and is the result of the all the hard work and dedication by all our staff to continuously improve the service we deliver to our learners. “

“A4e has a detailed and ambitious quality improvement strategy, as the report itself notes, and with the work we’re doing and the quality of our teaching staff, we are firmly setting our sights on achieving ‘outstanding’ status at the next inspection.”

The report highlights A4e’s successful integration of skills training with employability programmes, with inspectors noting that as a major provider of employability programmes on the Work Programme, A4e ‘works effectively’ with some of the most disadvantaged people in the country.

Half of learners have been unemployed for more than two years, a third have literacy levels below level 1, and just over a third have some form of learning difficulty and/or disability.

Inspectors reported: “Success rates for the single largest sector subject area, preparation for life and work, are now above the national average….Staff at A4e develop the personal, social and employability skills of their learners particularly effectively. Learners with low levels of self-confidence due to long periods away from the workplace are highly motivated to improve their communication, team-working, time-management and personal presentation skills.

“The large majority of learners successfully complete their qualifications and progress to employment or further education and training; they develop a range of useful skills, such as how to search for jobs on the internet, and the ability to speak confidently in job interviews and in social situations. “
A4e’s Training, Education and Advice division delivers its training and skills provision through a network of learning centres in the north-west, the north-east, the Midlands, London, and Yorkshire and Humberside. It currently has over a 130 staff to manage and deliver its training courses.

At the time of the inspection in February, A4e was working with 2,771 employability learners – including 1800 people on Level 2 training programmes and 966 at level 1 or below. An additional 388 apprentices were at intermediate level and 266 were receiving advanced training.

Managers and staff are praised in the report for their strong commitment to improving the quality of training for the benefit of learners, particularly for those who have low prior attainment or have suffered from long-term unemployment. The report adds: “The large number of strategies devised to address a wide range of issues and developments…have been effective in improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.”

The report also says that A4e has also successfully responded to calls by employers to close the skills gap. “The effective combination of vocational and personal skills development results in a sizeable minority of learners securing sustainable employment,” it says, “Managers design employability programmes successfully to meet the specific requirements of major national employers, such as customer-service skills for a call centre within a utility company, where half of the learners on the course secure jobs. … Learners develop good workplace skills, grow in confidence, self-esteem and improve their communication skills.”

A4e works in partnership with sub-contractors Acorn Training, the Shaw Trust, Smart Development and SLIC Training to deliver training on behalf of the Skills Funding Agency. The inspectors also noted A4e’s ‘very effective’ work with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) in the regions where it delivers provision.
Here’s what the inspectors had to say:

 

On Apprenticeships – “Apprentices make better timely progress than in previous years…Learners benefit from a high level of engagement and support from their trainers to help them achieve their learning goals; learners and employers are positive about the teaching, learning and assessment experiences and the levels of service and support offered by staff…A high proportion of apprentices achieve their overall qualifications, particularly those at the intermediate level. Apprentices who complete customer-service qualifications are now confident and valued members of staff employed by major national companies.”

On Mathematics teaching – “Assessors are patient, and help to motivate and encourage learners. They use their industrial knowledge and experience effectively to contextualise learning…. Assessors make good links between English and mathematics skills and workplace practices.”

 

On Warehousing courses – “Within business programmes learners gain relevant knowledge about using social media to promote products and services, and on warehousing programmes they gain good practical experience in locating, picking and packing stock safely and securely for despatch.”

On Foundation English and Mathematics training – “Over the past three years the proportion of learners who complete their courses and achieve their qualifications has risen; the numbers who progress to the next level are high.”

On Employability programmes – “Apprentices and learners….appreciate the highly relevant support that trainers give them throughout their courses, particularly when it comes to progressing to higher levels and applying for jobs.”

On matching learners to the right courses – “Pre-course information, advice and guidance are good and, coupled with thorough initial assessment, ensure that learners are placed and retained on the right courses.”

On improvements – “Effective changes made to the way learners are recruited, inducted and supported on courses have improved retention, so more learners now stay and complete their qualifications.”


On promoting equality and diversity
– “Managers prioritise the development of staff skills in embedding equality and diversity within their teaching and assessment practices…learners demonstrate respect for people’s different beliefs and characteristics, and have a good understanding of why prejudice and discrimination are unacceptable in the workplace and in everyday life.”

On safeguarding – ‘Systems and processes to safeguard learners and staff are good. A4e continues to meet all of its statutory requirements to safeguard learners and vulnerable adults. ‘

 

 

ends

 

A4e has now combined with Avanta to form PeoplePlus, part of a group of companies operated by Staffline Group Plc, a leading outsourcing organisation. Following the recent acquisition of A4e by Staffline, PeoplePlus will be formally launched later this year, making it one of the largest Work Programme providers in the UK.

 

Notes to Editors:

For further information, please contact Justine Smith, media relations officer, at jsmith@a4e.co.uk or 07435 751602, or Jane Kerr, at jkerr@A4e.co.uk or 07843 036990.

 


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