Pros
Cannot think of a single positive. The person who titled their review “Happy” a few before this is either: A) The CEO or one of the other directors B) Suffering from mental health issues C) Lying
Cons
Oh boy, where to start! The Ofsted grade was deserved and dates back to the greedy bums on seats culture of the business that proceeded the years prior to the inspection. Management got greedy and piled on far to many learners who had no reason or need to complete a qualification. At the same time, they closed centres and allowed quality to slip, giving assessors zero support with caseloads far too high. Other costs were stripped back with salaries way below the industry average, no pay rise for years and working hours and travel far higher than is healthy for a decent quality of life. Sadly, the SMT did not learn and this still remains the case. Post inspection, a throw anything at the problem and see what sticks solution has been the order of the day. Rather than tackle the issues, most managers and directors (that Welsh woman being particularly horrendous) have taken to manipulating the data and will think nothing of ruining your Monday by emailing a particularly user unfriendly spreadsheet covered in red to show you where you are going wrong. These managers will imply and harrass you to upload any old rubbish to tick a box so that the learner shows as making progress. If you refuse, you will simply be bullied until you can’t take it anymore. On the rare occasions that you can see 50 odd learners within a month scattered over far too large a geographical area, complete a review, update the ILP, obtain off the job evidence, make progress within their main aim, support them with functional skills, speak with the employer to show engagement and upload their work within a reasonable period of time then don’t worry - learndirect will still spoil your day by adding to your woes with a stupid incentive such as “embracing excellence”. This pointless idea requires the assessor to “prove” how they meet the standard of excellence by sending off evidence for their line manager to review on a range of topics communicated weekly. Is this not the remit of quality assurance? It is yet the latest in a long line of tasks that seem to serve no purpose other than to add to the workload of an already stressed and demotivated workforce. This business is beyond saving. A real shame. As JHP, it was staffed by a team of managers, assessors, admin staff and sales people who cared and had the flexibility to do a decent job and make a real difference in learners lives. Learndirect and the SMT have ruined this company and should hang their heads in shame. Re-naming it LDA is just a way to con some further cash for a few extra years. Disgraceful.