DELIVERING THE HOMEOFFICE APPRENTICESHIP IN POLICING, RESEARCH FINDINGS CYFLWYNO’R BRENTISIAETH MEWN PLISMONA SWYDDFA GARTREF Jemma Jones, Skills for Justice

OVERVIEW - LEVEL 3 APPRENTICESHIP IN HOMEOFFICE POLICING (THE BRIDGE) Piloted in Dyfed Powys Police (with Coleg Sir Gar), Gwent Police and South Wales Police (with Skills Academy Wales) L3 Apprenticeship in Home Office Policing Diploma in Policing Level 3 (QCF) Communication Level 3 Application of Number Level 2 Employee Rights and Responsibilities Information Communications Technology Level 2 Work based mentori ng (tutor constable phase) Runs alongside IPLDP

KEY BENEFITS OF THE APPRENTICESHIP Up-skilling in Essential Skills: Communication (Level 3) Application of Number (Level 2) Information and Communication Technology (Level 2) Supporting professionalism in policing Essential Skills training embedded within a policing context Towards improved consistency of individual and collective operational capability and competence

CONTROL GROUP FINDINGS Around 40% of new recruit constables would still not reach Level 3 in literacy skills Around 44% of new recruits would still not reach Level 2 in numeracy skills Evidence suggests that Essential Skills training leads to greater confidence in interpreting and reviewing data in file preparation

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS – SOUTH WALES CASE STUDY Potential long-term impact: reduction in the cost of cracked and ineffective trials (this is just one example where Essential Skills can improve police officer performance) Sensitivity tests - optimistic and pessimistic scenarios Results: In-house delivery incurs more costs within the first year. Potential decrease of 6.45% over 5 years, compared to delivery in partnership The base scenario (medium) suggests for every £1 spent on Essential Skills development of police constables could, potentially, create £3.17 in savings to the public purse

POTENTIAL IMPACT – EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY Potential to increase pool of applicants (recruitment) Provides ongoing essential skills development (retention and progression)

CHALLENGES: THINGS TO CONSIDER Misunderstanding and stereotypical views of Apprenticeships Limited recognition of the relevance of accredited learning Perceived conflict with the highest level of qualifications achieved by recruit constables Some limited awareness of the relevancy of essential skills training to the role of a police constable Dissatisfaction with repetition of initial assessment for essential skills, as recruits felt they had completed assessment in these areas through the Police SEARCH® recruitment process

DELIVERY – KEY POINTS OF LEARNING DIPLOMA IN POLICING For any police force that is new to accrediting the Diploma, it is best to ensure that learning is assessed during accreditation rather than retrospectively 62% of apprentices value the fact that they will gain an accredited qualification in policing The majority of apprentices, across both completers and non-completers, believe that the Diploma is about the right level

DELIVERY – KEY POINTS OF LEARNING ESSENTIAL SKILLS WALES (ESW) Strong partnership approach Providers need to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of the police service Embed delivery and assessment early in the initial training of recruit constables To prevent unnecessary duplication of tasks, assessment should be considered holistically Where possible, link assessment to the evidence required for the Diploma in Policing units Around 78% of apprentices required no additional support beyond the classroom

DELIVERY – KEY POINTS OF LEARNING EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBITIES (ERR) Clearly outline roles and responsibilities of all partners involved Completion during induction ERR is only a requirement in Wales and Northern Ireland

DELIVERY - KEY POINTS OF LEARNING PROGRESS REVIEWS Lessons learnt Logistical challenges in accessing apprentices due to the geographically dispersed BCU units Nature of police work: many meetings were missed due to officers being on initial response United approach between police force and provider is required Progress reviews are valued by apprentices Ideas for future delivery Put sanctions in place for apprentices that fail to take part in the reviews, if it could have been avoided Give training providers access to student rotas Plan progress review meetings two months in advance Embed into existing SOLAP processes

Discussion