A training facility which helps Burton learners who have disabilities or poor exam grades with a second chance at employment is celebrating after an inspection found its teaching standards to be good.
Juniper Training, in New Street, offers study programmes for 16 to 18-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training. After being told it required improvement in its official inspection by education watch dogs from Ofsted in February last year, the service has gone from strength to strength.
After working tirelessly to brush up on their weaknesses, the team was "over the moon" to have been rewarded with a good rating from Ofsted, with highlights of the report showing that learners "work harmoniously well" and are given great opportunities that match their individual aspirations.
The positive feedback, which saw the programme awarded good in all areas, also reflected on Juniper’s effective partnerships with employers which helps learners overcome barriers to restart their learning.
Gill Milligan who opened the Burton centre in 2008 with Fran Galland, said the centre has grown so much and she is "so proud" of all the hard work the staff and the team have put in during the past 18 months to get the programme up to scratch.
Mrs Milligan, manager of the centre said there was a "very good vibe" at the centre, which was well deserved by the Juniper team.
The 62-year-old who lives in Swadlincote, said: "We are over the moon. We have had a very busy year but it has been so worthwhile and we have come out of the other side with a better programme and students achieving work skills and better qualifications.
"Most of the students come to us at a stage in their life where maybe they don't know what they want to do in the future but we offer a robust induction with work tasters and the opportunity to realise their future career destinations.
"Sustainable employment is the end goal and with 85 per cent of students coming out with jobs and going back into education, we could not be prouder."
Mrs Milligan said the great results are down to the hard work that went on behind the scenes and she hoped they would put Juniper on the map.
She said: "We don’t always get much recognition for our hard work but we do it because we want to improve and get the learners the best results possible. This rating is very well deserved because we are always hearing from students and parents that we are doing a great job and now Ofsted think so too.
"In the past 18 months we have worked tirelessly to put in more resources and support for the students which has really paid off. It has been a super year and the success rates are fantastic so I am very proud."
At the time of inspection last month, over half of the learners had a learning difficulty and/or disability, with a high proportion also coping with personal issues, such as mental health, that affect their learning.
Despite that, they were seen to behave courteously to staff, their peers and visitors after learning through the programme how to live successfully within their own communities and understand the expectations required of living in a modern, democratic society.
Students are also encouraged to keep themselves fit and healthy through recently introduced ‘hot topics’ sessions and fitness weeks, which sees learners regularly take part in sporting activities such as cross-country running, rounders and football.
As a high proportion of learners at Juniper Training have had a negative experience, or limited success at school, the staff hold monthly award ceremonies to celebrate their achievements.
Learners say they are motivated by the recognition they receive from staff, with people who have previously been bullied, left out and discriminated against feeling valued, treated with respect and fully included at Juniper.
Through delivering a "culture of high expectations" staff have successfully engaged and motivated these learners to study and the proportion of learners staying to the end of their course is now high.
However, there is still room for improvement, with inspectors noting that tutors need effective training so they can identify the spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors in learners’ work and should set the target to increase the proportion of learners who achieve a grade C or above in GCSE English and mathematics qualifications.
Mrs Milligan added: "Juniper is on the up and we do wonderful things her, if any students are interested in coming for a look round and getting stuck in to our taster sessions, we will make them very welcome."
What is Juniper Training?
Juniper Training Limited (Juniper), formerly known as Carver Training, was established in 1983 as a youth training centre for warehouse training.
With 560 learners currently on study programmes and 83 learners on 'traineeships', youngsters work towards a 'work skills' qualification to develop their work-related skills and prepare them for employment. The very large majority of learners who start their training with Juniper have not previously achieved well at school and are disengaged from education.
