VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Employer Feedback 2023/24 (click here)

Learner Feedback 2023/24 (click here)

Ofsted Report 2021 - Good

CMS and the Educational Inspection Framework

CMS Vocational Training Hadyn Luke posted this on Monday 22nd of June 2020 Hadyn Luke 22/06/2020

Tags:

CMS and the Educational Inspection Framework

The Educational Inspection Framework (EIF) outlines inspection processes for providers of education in early years, at state schools and in further education, including sixth-form colleges. The Framework set out is also followed by training and skills providers, such as CMS.

Previously known as the Common Inspection Framework (CIF), the EIF is administered by Ofsted, the government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

As a training company, CMS must fulfill the requirements of the EIF as part of our delivery of high quality training.

What are the key areas of the EIF?

The EIF exists to ensure that training providers offer a high level of teaching, with particular focus on four elements:

  1. Quality of education
  2. Behaviour and attitudes
  3. Personal development
  4. Leadership and management

1. Quality of Education

This is measured in three ways: Intent, Implementation and Impact.

Intent relates to the design, coverage and appropriateness of the curriculum and the way it is delivered.

At CMS, it starts with a thorough initial assessment and pre-screening of the learner to find out their strengths and weaknesses, what they would like to achieve on the course and their future ambitions, as well as what the employer would like them to learn.

It is also about how we plan and deliver our curriculum. Careful initial assessments and forward planning helps us to implement a high level of teaching.

Implementation covers the delivery and teaching of the curriculum, and the formative and summative (ongoing and final) assessments of the learner’s achievements.

As well as delivering the curriculum, it’s about providing support for the learner, from supplying teaching materials to communication with their tutor. We also liaise closely with the employer to ensure that the learner’s engagement is maintained and that they are progressing as expected.

Impact is about the learner’s attainment, from passing their qualifications and assessments to developing the knowledge and skills that will help them reach their destination and fulfil their career ambitions.

Evaluating the knowledge and skills of the learner is essential to prove impact. Learners should have progressed throughout the course and this should be measured both through their achievements and by their own and the employer’s expectations.

It also relates to how the training has impacted their career opportunities and personal life, for example, building confidence and self-esteem or improving communication skills.

2. Behaviour and attitudes

This covers the student’s attitude to learning, how they behave while on the course and in a work environment. It helps to determine how employable they are, by looking at issues such as attendance and punctuality, respect for colleagues and tutors, and approach to learning.

3. Personal development

Students are expected to be enriched by their learning and prepared for the next step in their career. Personal development can cover anything from safeguarding, health and wellbeing to careers guidance.

4. Leadership and management

This relates to the training provider’s responsibility for their learners, but also for their staff. The training provider will be judged on their vision and ethos, company governance, and the workload, wellbeing and development of their staff.

How are training providers assessed

Training providers are assessed by Ofsted and given a grade of 1-4, where:

1 = Outstanding

2 = Good

3 = Requires improvement

4 = Inadequate

The frequency of re-inspection will depend on the grade given, as will the type of inspection: full inspection, short inspection, survey and research visit, or monitoring visit.

Is the framework the same for all learners?

The basic framework is applicable to all, but training providers should modify their approach depending on the ability and experience of the learner. An 18-year-old starting their first job is likely to be on a different learning curve from a 30-year-old on their fifth job, even though they may be following the same training course.

Because we understand that no two learners are the same, our tutors will assess the different starting points and abilities of each learner before training begins.

What is Bloom’s Taxonomy?

In addition to working within the Educational Inspection Framework, CMS uses a teaching model called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Created in 1946 by an American psychologist called Benjamin Bloom, it allows tutors and students to classify and organise learning objectives so that they can see what level a learner has reached.

It sets out six steps of learning:

  1. Remember – rote learning and recollection of facts without much understanding
  • Understand – decoding information and understanding what has been learned
  • Apply – applying our understanding of what we have learned
  • Analyse – examining information and breaking it into components, determining how these components relate to each other and finding evidence to support generalisations
  • Evaluate – critiquing and comparing
  • Create – formulating a plan to create our own version of what we have learnt about

Each level comes with a clear learning objective that can be tested.

Conclusion

The EIF is an important framework for the provision of training and education. By employing experienced tutors, providing excellent teaching resources and supporting learners from initial pre-assessment to qualification, the tutors at CMS are able to have a positive impact on each and every individual’s progression, both in their career and with their life skills.

Subscribe to the blog