The DWP Quality Framework

Last updated May 2009

Also in this section - Quality improvement and self-assessment.

Introduction

1. DWP is committed to raising the standards of its contracted employment provision by placing quality at the heart of its contracting arrangements.

2. The DWP Quality Framework provides the basis of our approach to maintaining and improving quality in DWP contracted employment provision.

3. The framework aims to:

• encourage providers, with support from DWP, to strive for continuous improvement in the quality of the service and accessibility of provision available to our customers
• give greater clarity to the concept of quality for DWP contracted employment provision and
• provide a basis for judging the extent to which all elements of quality are being delivered

4. Our goal is to build and sustain a culture of continuous improvement in DWP contracted employment provision in a way that strives to minimise bureaucracy.

Defining Quality

5. High levels of job outcomes and moves into sustainable employment will always be our ultimate goal, however it is equally important that all customers have the opportunity to improve their employability during the time they spend on our externally delivered provision.

Key elements of the Quality Framework

6. Each element of the framework plays a critical role in raising standards, none of which are designed to stand alone; rather they complement and inform each other. Embracing all these key elements will enable providers, who have the prime responsibility for raising quality, to pursue their continuous improvement strategies. The key elements are:

• Learning and Development Plans
• Continuous Self-Assessment and Development Planning
• Management and Review
• Commitment to develop and share good practice, and
• Independent external inspection

Learning and Development Plans

7. Placing the individual at the heart of the process and establishing effective feedback mechanisms is the driving force behind the principle that all customers on DWP contracted employment provision should know what they can expect from the provision and their corresponding responsibilities.

8. Through a process of initial assessment, including Basic Skills Assessment where appropriate, the needs, expectations and responsibilities of the individual should be clearly identified and documented at the outset. It should also be clear how these will be reviewed during and at the end of their period on provision. This will ensure that:

• their individual needs are properly assessed and that provision is, as far as possible, tailored to meet these needs and
• individual progress is monitored and reviewed at appropriate stages and that any resultant changes are recorded

9. To support these principles every customer should have a named provider contact to who they can address any concerns they may have.

Continuous Self-Assessment and Provider Development Planning

10. Continuous Self-Assessment and Development Planning are key factors in effective quality improvement. Following the award of a contract, providers will complete a Quality Assessment Questionnaire (QAQ), which will give information about the quality of the provision they are about to deliver. The QAQ is used by the DWP Contract Manager to award a quality risk rating which informs the management of the contract. The QAQ will also be used by providers and DWP Contract Managers to discuss and agree actions for the coming year. These actions are recorded on the provider's Contract Start-up Plan until their first Provider Performance Review after which the Provider Development Plan is used.

11. The Provider Development Plan is a 'living' document, for use throughout the life of the contract, on which to record actions required to address areas for improvement and building upon strengths in quality and performance.

12. The Provider Development Plan together with the QAQ will inform the Self Assessment Report (SAR) which must be submitted to the DWP within the first twelve months of the contract and annually thereafter.

13. The process of continuous self-assessment will ensure providers critically appraise and grade their provision to assess its impact on the experience of our customers.

14. Self-assessment against the relevant Common Inspection Framework will enable providers to make judgements about the quality of their provision.

15. Following self-assessment, the provider will update their Provider Development Plan with any actions required to address the issues identified. This will assist in the development of a culture of continuous improvement.

16. DWP Contract Managers will agree a date for providers to submit their SAR and will input this date to Momenta. When a SAR is due, Momenta will automatically notify the provider and prompt them to upload their SAR to Momenta.

17. DWP Contract Managers are responsible for assessing the rigour of reports. Where they identify improvements that would make the report more robust, they will input feedback to Momenta for the provider to view.

18. The DWP Contract Manager and provider should use the SAR to discuss and agree areas for improvement to record on the Provider Development Plan. The SAR will also inform the Provider Risk Rating, which is decided by considering quality, performance and the annual contract value. The Provider Risk Rating determines the frequency of the review process undertaken by DWP.

Management and Review

19. The management and review process within DWP is the principal means by which provider performance and progress is assessed. The Provider Development Plan is central to the reviews, which give the provider and the DWP Contract Manager the opportunity to discuss and assess the impact of quality on the performance and potential of the provision as a whole.

20. Providers are expected to demonstrate year on year improvements in performance and quality through the development of a continuous improvement strategy.

21. Evidence of delivery and headline performance are major areas for discussion along with specific aspects of quality including leadership and management, quality improvement, equality of opportunity and programme delivery. These are informed by grades achieved through independent external inspection, where applicable.

Commitment to develop and share good practice

22. In order to build and sustain a culture of continuous improvement, providers need to build on what works well. This involves sharing good practice identified through self-assessment, monitoring and review, independent external inspection and feedback from customers and other stakeholders.

23. DWP is committed to raising the quality of its externally contracted provision and will endeavour to support the provider community through:

• the work of the Contract Managers
• the Provider Quality Improvement Team in Delivery Directorate, part of EG (Employment Group)
• networking arrangements with other stakeholders; for example Ofsted or Estyn, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)
• investing in raising standards through accessing, where available, development activities for DWP staff and the provider community
• working with the LSC and other stakeholders to maximise coherence to meet respective needs and
• encouraging the exchange of good practice

Independent External Inspection

24. Providers of post-16 government funded training or education are covered by the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and are subject to independent inspection by Ofsted in England and Estyn in Wales. The key purpose of inspection is to:

• give an independent public account of the quality of provision, the standards achieved and the efficiency with which resources are managed
• help bring about improvement by identifying strengths and areas for improvement and highlighting good and poor practice and
• keep the Secretary of State and the funding body informed about the quality and standards of DWP contracted employment provision

?25. DWP are working with HMIe (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education) to implement an inspection regime in Scotland during 2009/10. However, providers are still required to apply the principals set out in the DWP Quality Framework and adopt a continuous approach to self-assessment and quality improvement.

26. External inspection will primarily focus on the experiences and expectations of individuals on provision, through the evaluation of:

• the standards reached and individual achievements, taking into account their prior attainment
• the quality of teaching, training and learning
• other aspects of provision that contribute to the standards achieved, such as the range, planning and content of courses or programmes, resources and support available for individual customers
• the effectiveness with which provision is managed, quality assured and improved and how efficiently resources are used to ensure the provision gives value for money and
• the extent to which provision is educationally and socially inclusive and promotes equality of access to education and training, including provision for those with learning difficulties

27. Providers are expected to build upon the experience and findings from inspection as part of their commitment to continuous improvement.

Measuring Success

28. Sustainable employment is the main focus of DWP contracted employment provision and job outcomes will always be a key measure of provider success. Other measures DWP Contract Managers may include are:

• effective learning and development plans which ensure customers needs and achievements are adequately reflected and are updated in response to further needs as and when they emerge
• evidence that customers have satisfactorily completed all aspects of their learning and development plans
• equality of opportunity - evidence to show parity of outcomes for all customers

29. Grades achieved through independent external inspection will where applicable, contribute to measuring the success of the provision and may be a factor for consideration in awarding contracts for the external delivery of DWP contracted employment provision.

Star Rating

30. DWP have developed a star rating system to promote performance improvement of contracted employment provision.

31. Star Rating is an overall assessment of DWP contracted employment provision, using a range of measures. A four grade scale will be used to award a star rating for each contract, based on the score achieved against outcomes and benchmarks set for quality and compliance.

32. The Star Rating model uses information from the QAQ, self-assessment and external inspection as measures for Quality in DWP contracted employment provision.

Glossary of Terms