Company Conference 2010

At last an opportunity for us all to get together and have a few social drinks, listen to our illustrious leaders convey their vision for our future along with a nice bit of grub..... a few of us took the opportunity by the literal horns... nuff said Mr T!

Twenty One - not out!

News on Friday was that our External Verifier could find nothing amiss with the twenty one portfolios inspected and complemented us again on the quality of our assessment and verification. We all know we can improve on this still so it's up to us now to drive forward with quality and standardisation. Well done to all involved... no doubt a complimentary email from our resident QM will be conveyed to the company hierachy.

More new additions....

We welcome two new additions to the Quality Team, Chris Lee and Victoria Kiernan, both of Birmingham academy. This now means we are depleted in the Facilitator numbers so a bit of recruitment required again to get us back up to full strength.

A solid start....

...and we're off!!!! The first few weeks of the intake have gone without too much of a hitch. We have a new Quality Manager (although the quality of the aforementioned manager is questionable! Only messing! I'm genuinely pleased with the appointment) we have two additional RQV's soon to start in the Midlands thus bringing the Quality Team to full strength. Assessment and verification has been carried out to a good standard and with the inclusion of moderation this intake the quality is getting better and better. With regards to my own department (Training Quality Inspectorate) we have carried out inspections of the three larger academies so far and are more than happy with the standard presented, obviously there are areas for development but we feel we are harsher than ofsted which can only be a good thing! We are now breaking into regional inspections with Wilson and I doing Derby this coming Wednesday (13th Oct) and Rod and Andre doing Luton on Thursday (14th Oct). As we look to improve the quality of every area of our programme we will be branching into inspections of progress, standards and quality meetings, intake interviews, employment interviews etc. As OfSted will look at more than just training, assessment and verification then so must we. All in all we are on the right track and doing well. Keep up the good work amigoes!

Inspection Ready???

The schedule for the Training Quality Inspectorate team has been confirmed with September and October seeing the inspection of the larger academies, Manchester, Birmingham and London. The role of the inspectorate team is to inspect and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisational training centres, inclusive of all elements, training, assessment, administration, auditing etc. The TQI (Training Quality Inspectors) ensure provision of education and training meets the needs of learners and to accelerate the pace of quality improvement by identifying strengths and areas for improvement, highlighting good practice and judging what steps need to be taken to improve provision further. This practice will, over time ensure that every academy is consistently inspection ready so if OfSted were to walk through our door unannounced we would be 'good to go'!

National Trainer Meeting

The trainer meeting has come and gone, a thoroughly enjoyable experience from Breakfast to Booze and all inbetween. I look forward with a beer fueled eagerness to the company meeting due to take place in November. For those who experienced their first taste of the national comradeship, team spirit and togetherness that these conferences present, this will stay with you for a long time... it's great to be Zenos! Be proud, stand tall and drink your body-weight when the opportunity presents itself!

The Knowledge Base

I have reignited the knowledge base due to the fact that we have an increased number of new trainers and new quality staff. The link is at the bottom of the page and you will need to register to log questions or view questions and answers already handled. I think this will be a useful tool going forward but I need to get it approved before we can roll it out to the ATM's/RTM's, in the interim period we can use it in a trial capacity.