Care work apprenticeship trainer rated inadequate

Geoseis Consultant Limited, in Waterloo Road, began offering the service in April 2020.

At the time of the inspection, the findings of which were published this week, the company had 55 apprentices on its books.

The company delivers both remote and face-to-face training. However, Ofsted said that too many apprentices did not receive their full entitlement to off-the-job training, with the majority expected to learn in their own time without support from employers, resulting in slower progress.

In his report, lead inspector Martin Ward said: “At the time of the inspection, the director had reduced the size of permanent staff at the provider, compared to those employed at the previous monitoring visit. The remaining managers and team members do not have the knowledge or skills to manage, monitor and improve the quality of training that apprentices receive.

“Level 2 apprentices do not always receive their training in a calm learning

environment, and too often learn in noisy workplaces or through online meetings with no practical opportunities. Also, tutors and apprentices often cancel appointments at short notice.

“Leaders’ assessment of the quality of education that apprentices receive is too positive and does not identify the many weaknesses at the provider, and they have not taken sufficient action to improve the quality of training that apprentices receive.

“Too many employers are only interested in their apprentices achieving the diploma qualification, which is only part of the apprenticeship, rather than the knowledge, skills and behaviours that the apprenticeship standard prescribes. Apprentices are often unaware of the requirements of the end-point assessment or the requirements of the broader apprenticeship.

“Also, tutors do not teach an ambitious curriculum. They select content in an order which is determined by the diploma specification and do not revisit or recap on previous learning. This leads to uninspiring teaching – apprentices do not consolidate learning or are able to recall what they have been taught,” he added.

“The director has recently employed a specialist functional skills tutor to support apprentices to improve their English and mathematics skills. Early signs are that apprentices make positive progress when they receive this support. However, too many apprentices have made slow progress in English and mathematics prior to this support being introduced. Too few apprentices have achieved their apprenticeship and hardly any have completed it on time.

“Apprentices feel safe and know what to do if they have any concerns for their own safety. However, they have little understanding of the dangers of radicalisation and extremist behaviour. Despite being informed at induction, they cannot remember how to recognise the signs of extremism.”

However, Geoseis director Benjamin Yarere said he felt Ofsted had been unfair in their overall assessment of the business. He said: “It is upsetting. When we started providing training, Covid was at its peak – so setting up in business alone was an enormous challenge in itself. I have put a lot of money into the company and we are very proud of what we have achieved so far. As with apprenticeships in any line of work, not everyone achieves a distinction, and I felt that was what they were expecting to find.

“Around 90 per cent of our clients do not have English as their first language, and also we have had many people from Asia who arrive with little or no English at all, so you have to start from scratch and support them in every way you possibly can.

“Therefore, we select our tutors accordingly, and 80 per cent of those at Geoseis speak more than one language. I have met and worked with some great people and well-respected local employers. I felt that I wasn’t given the opportunity to present the company properly to Ofsted and that the report is unfair. I also felt that they didn’t truly understand the regional climate and our clientele when it comes to the apprenticeship training we offer,” he added.