According to the ALI report, published in late December, the leadership, management and quality assurance of Jigsaw's work-based training was unsatisfactory, and equality of opportunity was 'very weak'. It said, 'The overall quality of the provision is not adequate to meet the reasonable needs of those receiving it.'
Key weaknesses listed in the report included inadequate initial assessment, slow learner progress, poor retention and achievement rates, and insufficient learning resources. It also identified poor planning as a factor in many of these problems, and observed that the company had experienced a large number of staff changes prior to the inspection, including the departure of its chief executive, Tom Shea, and a number of senior and middle managers.
The report said, 'Jigsaw has a large financial deficit. The company's current business plan contains strategies to rectify this. The management of the financial deficit has caused significant disruption to the usual management activities. Planned operational improvements have been delayed.
Since the beginning of 2002, the new management team has focused on recovering the commercial situation of the company.'
At the time of the inspection last October, Jigsaw was providing training for 96 advanced modern apprentices studying for an NVQ in early years care at Level 3. The report observed that the learners had good career progression opportunities and had developed good practical skills by working with experienced and appropriately qualified staff.
However, since 1999, only 12 learners have completed the advanced modern apprenticeship. Many either left the programme early or uncompleted, for reasons including 'having chosen the wrong course; pregnancy; the need to earn more money'. Some who had been on the training programme for more than 12 months had only successfully completed one unit of their NVQ.
The inspectors, who visited 17 Jigsaw nurseries, found many learners were frequently not released from work duties for their study time. There was no company plan for the provision of modern apprenticeship training, and individual nurseries varied in the success they had in training. Learners were not given information about the requirements of the apprenticeship framework or about the amount of work they would have to complete.
Heather Gibson, Jigsaw's director of human resources, said, 'As an organisation we are actively aware of the issues that exist in relationship to the management of our Modern Apprenticeship programme, and we are currently developing a plan to effectively manage the programme and take it forward. It's very much at the heart of our human resources strategy.'
The ALI report is available on the website www.ali.gov.uk.
