NewsRapido Training now on Twitter05 August 2010
not going to uni guide to Distance Learning27 July 2010 University is not the right option for everyone and the majority of school and college leavers are not properly informed about the alternative options to the traditional university route.
Rapido Training now on facebook!13 July 2010 Now you can keep upto date with all our latest news and training dates via your facebook account!
New PTLLS Autumn Special offer- now at a discounted price07 July 2010 Are you delivering training? Need to get accredited? Join our Preparaing to Teach in the Life Long Learning Sector (PTLLS) this Autumn.
Business Administration apprentices needed- Vacancies waiting07 July 2010 Are you 16-18 and looking for work? Are you interested in a career in Business Administration?
New Qualification Credit Framework21 June 2010 Vocational qualifications are changingThey're becoming more responsive to the demands of employers and learners. They'll be more relevant to employers’ needs and more accessible to a wider range of learners. It's the new framework for creating and accrediting qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will give a wider range of learners the opportunity to get the qualifications they need, in a way that suits them. QCF qualifications are designed with the help of employers so learners can be assured that they're gaining skills that employers are looking for. The QCF:• recognises smaller steps of learning and enables learners to build up qualifications bit by bit
Enter our Safeguarding quiz £10 topshop prize draw14 May 2010 Rapido Training Learner Safety Information. Your chance to win a £10 Topshop voucher! Deadline extended. Still time to enter! Spend a few minutes reading the information below and entering our quick quiz to take part in our prize draw to win a £10 Waterstones voucher! Click here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CPTJZW2 to enter our quick learner safety quiz and enter into our prize draw to win a £10 Topshop voucher! Rapido Training are here to provide you with a safe and supportive environment in which you can learn and achieve your potential. This means helping you to protect and safeguard yourself and the others around you. To help you do this we have a safeguarding manager: Debbie Horseman who you can contact during office hours of 8.30-4.30 Monday to Friday on (01452) 886625 or debra@rapidotraining.co.uk to provide you with information, advice and guidance or signpost you to someone who can help with any concerns you might have over your or safety or support at Rapido Training. We want to help you maintain your safety responsibilities of: Looking after yourself and others and reporting any safety or support concerns to your line manager or to Debbie Horseman at Rapido. Rapido Training also have responsibilities to make sure you stay safe and supported: Offer you a safe and supportive learning environment
World Asthma Day 201010 May 2010 Shocking new data* released by Asthma UK on World Asthma Day (4 May) suggests that 88% of UK adults would not be completely confident about what to do if a child with asthma in their care had an asthma attack. If this includes you follow the link to find out more www.asthma.org.uk
Rapido Training on the Excellence Gateway20 January 2010 The challengeRapido Training wanted to ensure that it would be able to develop its systems and make improvements to its assessment methods. The main challenge was to find a way to look at how it could develop its assessment methods to offer more choice to learners in the future. Traditional methods of assessment include written work and observation in the workplace, but there are other methods available which may meet the needs of learners more closely. Many learners have stronger verbal communication skills than written and prefer to talk about their knowledge than to write it down. Apprentices and Train to Gain learners are employed and so often find it difficult to find the time to write assessments. Furthermore, marking assignments and providing written feedback is time-consuming for assessors and may be difficult for learners to understand. It was on reflection of these issues that Rapido Training decided to research and develop an e-strategy that will allow the offer of other methods of assessment, which may more closely reflect the needs and preferences of the learners, particularly those with limited literacy skills. Staff found that a good starting point to developing their e-strategy was through investing in self-assessment methods, by using Generator and WeLPs (work-based e-learning positioning statement) tools. The activity
Benefits of loaning out equipment and trialling resources: The JISC RSC South West also provided advice for how to research and prepare both a LIG 5 bid, to secure funding for the future to help support and further invest in technology at Rapido Training, and an application for the Technology Exemplar Network. David Rowe provided support to Rapido during the writing phase, helping to clarify and refine Rapido's ideas and enabling it to realise its potential. This also involved provision of information regarding excellent websites and free-to-use software available from the web, such as: Photostory and Glomaker. The outcomesRapido Training has been able to successfully identify and improve its use of technology and has an e-strategy in place to continue this development. The assessor teams at Rapido Training have led the way in trialling the use of different methods of gathering evidence: The Childcare team has:
  The Health & Social Care team has:
Teaching Assistant and Business Administration teams have:
Key skill team has:
The primary benefits of the above improvements have directly led to increased:
decreased:
Mobile communication and increased flexibility of delivery is now playing a much bigger part in how students and assessors communicate. It has been recognised that the photographs learners collect on their mobile phones can be used as very good evidence for NVQ, though very sensitive issues of confidentiality and the protection of vulnerable people means that this is not appropriate for those within the childcare or health and social care sectors. Instead, assessors are exploring the use of photographs without including children or people, such as photos of display boards, equipment or environments. The impactThrough the self-assessment process, Rapido Training has been able to prioritise its development activities, identify key milestones and plan a long-term strategy. This has had the added benefit of providing a tool against which it can measure its progress and identify its successes. In addition, such developments have had a positive impact on learners in several ways:
Emergency First Aid at Work04 January 2010 First Aid cover in the workplace is a legal requirement. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has been reviewing the current regulations and a new set of regulations came into force on 1 October 2009. This new one-day course has been designed to cover the most common risks. The syllabus has been specified by the Health & Safety Executive and can only be taught by either HSE approved providers of the First Aid at Work course or by Ofqual (QCA) registered providers. The Rapido Training course is nationally recognised and is certificated by Future (Awards and Qualifications), a national awarding body.
Hats for South Africa18 December 2009 Once again thank you for the support that you have provided to enable Rapido to sponsor children at the school in Underberg, South Africa. In total this year we have sent 10 parcels of 250 hats and 42 children’s jumpers plus over 500 assorted pens, a set of children’s football shirts and shorts and we have raised nearly £200 in total, to cover postage for the parcels and the remainder will be given to the school to sponsor individual children’s needs. Eileen
Jobcentre Plus £1000 recruitment subsidy18 September 2009 To help make your next recruitment decision an easy one, Jobcentre Plus is offering £1000 for every eligible person that you recruit, who has been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for six months or more. Thousands of eligible candidates looking for work want you to notice their potential and may refer to the £1000 in their letter of application, as part of their CV, on your application forms, or during your recruitment process. You may be recruiting a few people this year or you may be looking to bring 12 or more new people into your business. Either way the process for making a claim is quick and easy:
See the JCP website for more information
Apprenticeships for Teaching Assistants25 August 2009 During the past two years at Rapido Training we have successfully provided Apprenticeships at Level 2 & 3 for Teaching Assistants. The Apprenticeship in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools is for Teaching Assistants working in Primary, Secondary or Apprenticeships attract funding from the LSC and are open to all ages. We only ask for commitment from the school for the Apprentice by supporting their learning and allowing them time for assessment in their workplace. An Apprenticeship is a raft of qualifications including: NVQ Supporting Teaching and Learning Level 2 or 3 Technical Certificate Supporting Teaching and Learning Level 2 or 3 Key Skills The competences include: Keeping children safe Supporting the development and effectiveness of work teams Supporting literacy, numeracy and ICT development Contributing to the prevention & management of challenging behaviour in children Supporting pupils with cognition & learning needs Supporting pupils with behaviour, emotional and social development needs Leading an extra curricular activity Contributing to maintaining pupil records Supporting out of school visits Learning is provided in small groups by a qualified tutor at the Rapido Centre in Quedgeley. Assessment is provided 1:1 in the workplace by a Rapido qualified Assessor. We are holding an information and enrolment session at 6.00 pm on Thursday 24 September 2009, and the next programme starts on Thursday 8th October 5.30-8.30pm. Directions to Rapido are at: http://www.sitesplus.co.uk/user_docs//File/map%20and%20directions%2003-09.pdf To book onto the information and enrolment session, please contact debra@rapidotraining.co.uk, 01452 886625.
Rapid summer newsletter03 August 2009 We like to start this quarter’s newsletter with some good news: We have recently received a report published by Framework for Excellence for which we received an outstanding grade for the following items: Learner Views, Learner Destinations, Employer Views, Training Quality Standard, Success Rates, Financial Health and Resource Efficiency. FREE FIRST AID TRAINING for apprentices: For anyone who does their apprenticeship with us we are able to provide them with the following free First Aid training. * FREE Appointed Persons First Aid training or * FREE First Aid for Child Carers. FREE MANDATORY TRAINING: For those working in the Care Sector we are able to provide the mandatory * Alerters Guide to the Protection of Vulnerable Adults FREE of charge. • New CCLD apprenticeship courses are also starting at GL11 in September. The GL11 course is open to people who are employed so could do the apprenticeship or to people who do volunteer work in the early years sector. By doing the apprenticeship it is an opportunity for people to get their technical certificate and a nvq. This is a great opportunity for people to gain a qualification and they don't need to be in employment. It can be a great way of getting back into work and there is a free crèche available. For more information about this please contact with Tracey Stone at the office on the above number or email her on tracey@rapidotraining.co.uk
New CCLD apprenticeships starting15 June 2009 New Child Care Learning & Development apprenticeship courses are starting this September.
Rapid Spring newsletter31 March 2009 It is official, British summer time has begun and we here at Rapido would like to offer you our Spring greetings. The cold winter months are over and the time of new beginnings is here. We no longer want to hear the doom and gloom stories of recession and want to take a look at the future in a positive light. We have therefore been asking how can we tackle the problems of today’s economy and come out the other side stronger than before, and how can we help you to do the same. Download our Spring newsletter to read on and find out how providing training during a recession can help your company to weather the storm and come out on top. We all like good deals, especially in these economically difficult times and so we are going to start this issue by providing you with our SPRING OFFERS. Thanks to the Gloucestershire Workforce Development Group who have provided us with funding we are able to offer the following FREE training to help inform and up-skill your workforce. FREE FIRST AID TRAINING for apprentices: For anyone who does their apprenticeship with us we are able to provide them with the following free First Aid training. * FREE Appointed Persons First Aid training or * FREE First Aid for Child Carers. FREE MANDATORY TRAINING: For those working in the Care Sector we are able to provide the mandatory * Alerters Guide to the Protection of Vulnerable Adults FREE of charge. In the rest of this issue:
Free help for nurseries19 March 2009 Would you like some free help in your childcare setting? Why not take on a volunteer? We are providing NVQ level 2 CCLD training for a number of learners within Gloucestershire (particularly in the Cam and Dursley areas) who require volunteer placements within settings where they can get some experience working with children. The placements are usually for 10-12 hours per week for a period of approximately 9 months. Volunteers will be monitored and supported by one of our assessors throughout the whole period of their placement therefore requiring very little extra input by the setting but giving you an extra pair of hands for free.
Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work24 February 2009
Do you need training to start a job? At Rapido we may be able to help with payment for your training and childcare while you are starting training for work. If you are: Aged 20 or older Unemployed Living with a partner who is working 16 hours or more per week but earning less than £20,000 per year and have a child or children aged up to 14 years you may be eligible for free training for a job and funding for professional childcare while you are training. This should not affect your benefits. At Rapido we have training opportunities in Business Administration, Teaching Assistants in Schools, Care of adults and Childcare. Please contact us to discuss opportunities available to you. Phone us on 01452 886625 or e mail us at info@rapidotraining.co.uk
Rapid winter newsletter05 January 2009 The Rapid- Newsletter Winter 2008-9 Rapido Training Ltd Here at Rapido Training we would like to start by wishing you all a very ‘Happy New Year’ to you and all of your employees and to extend a big thank you for all your support and hard work throughout the year. Last year was a wonderful year for us and we hope that you enjoyed working with us as much as we enjoyed working with you. It is that time of year again when people tend to reflect on the year gone by and begin to plan for the year ahead and this is what we at Rapido have been doing too. In this issue, therefore, we would like to share some of last year’s achievements with you as well as highlight what’s up and coming for the year ahead. I have also attached a copy of our latest training courses and dates to help make booking easier. Courses and events: Details of the latest qualification start dates can be found below, whilst the latest dates and prices of all our short training courses can be found in the attached document. Further News Train to Gain, Achievement Rates, funding for Training, Rapido Growth, Quality Achievements (TQS, Matrix), Learners Feedback, employers Feedback, Charity Stamp Appeal For a copy of the newsletter please click here
Among the first to gain Training Quality Standard11 December 2008
Developed by the LSC in conjunction with employers, the Training Quality Standard is an employer-endorsed mark of excellence in training provision. It highlights excellence in the two areas that employers say are most important: training provider responsiveness to employer needs; and training provider excellence in a particular sector. The standard is tough to achieve and to date just 65 organisations in England have received the accreditation. Some of the latest organisations to achieve the standard are as follows: · S&B Automotive Academy (Bristol), which provides motor vehicle training · Rapido Training Ltd (Gloucester) · Avon Vale Training (Wiltshire) with excellence in Construction · Clarkson Evans (Gloucester) with excellence in Building Services Engineering · Leisure industry training provider Lifetime Health and Fitness (Bristol) · W&P Assessment and White Horse Training (Bath) Skills Secretary John Denham recently announced that small businesses are to continue to be the focus of government funds to help them train their staff. This follows research that suggests firms that invest in staff training were better equipped to survive the current economic downturn. “These organisations in the South West are to be congratulated on their achievement; we hope that other employers and training providers will recognise the benefits afforded by the Standard and be encouraged to follow suit.” The Standard is an employer-endorsed assessment framework designed to recognise and celebrate the best organisations delivering training and development solutions. It has been designed to reflect employers' priorities and expectations in sourcing training and development solutions, and the practices of the organisations proven to be the best at delivering them. For the article in full click here, or go to www.lsc.gov.uk for the latest lsc regional news
Rapido singled out for a business accolade26 November 2008 Accolades for Firms' Training
100% of learners stated that their course has improved their knowledge, skills and practice within their job28 October 2008
Other comments learners made included positive remarks about the following;
We would like to thank all of the learners who took part in our survey. We really value your opinions. We welcome your feedback at any time and can be submitted to us on line via our enquiry/feedback form on the contact us page of this website.
Rate our training using www.whattraining.co.uk15 September 2008 www.whattraining.co.uk is ia a newly developed Learning Directory which is a government funded national database of learning opportunities. It contains information on approximately 1 million courses from more than 10,000 providers in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
100% of employers said they are likely to recommend Rapido Training to others19 August 2008
As part of our 2008 employer survey an independent agent interviewed a sample of our employers and here is what they have stated as the impacts Rapido's training has upon their business;
Other comments included positive remarks about the following; The quality of the training
Rapido Training receive the Matrix Accreditation.15 March 2008
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South West Businesses among first to gain Training Quality Standard
(The Citizen, Wednesday, November 26, 2008) 
The results of our 2008 learner survey are back and we are very pleased to say with fantastic results! 
We are happy to announce that we have had a very positive result from our 2008 employer survey. With 100% of employers giving positive feedback when asked about the impact that Rapido's Training has had on their business needs. 
Here at Rapido Training we are commitment to student welfare and have now been officially recognised by the government quality standard ‘Matrix’ in providing a high quality information advice and guidance service.