High quality staff and service: “The excellent staff and the wide range of learning opportunities are great … it offers a very relaxed atmosphere.” Provision of, flexible, one to one support: “The personalised support. tailored to each individuals needs.” A comfortable and local, accessible venue: “A friendly but professional atmosphere that people can access services in their own neighbourhoods.” The ability to support vulnerable clients: “They are willing to support anyone even those with more complex needs/health issues.” Learning which is appropriate to local people: “Courses that are relevant to the needs and wants of the community.” One local organisation representative said: “I think the way they are placed right in the heart of local communities and are based in houses is excellent. It makes it less daunting for people to access. Also, the staff are skilled, compassionate and practical. The volunteer scheme is also very good and I know that several people return to the Hives to volunteer after originally accessing it for support.” Improvements to the Hives Frontline staff identified the following improvements that could be made: Increased human resource capacity: “Provide more than one tutor at each Hive … the single tutor is stretched balancing day to day assistance, set tutorials, events and general administration.” Increased opening hours: “They could be open for longer to make it more accessible.” An increased variety of courses: “More basic courses like food hygiene. CSCS training and other entry level opportunities in the local community.”
Learning Trust receiving financial, operational and strategic support for existing Hives and discussions about new Hives. A central part of this evaluation has been a consultation and critical reflection with all key stakeholders, looking back over the first two years of operation and sequentially looking forwards. As well as identifying impacts mentioned in the previous paragraph, a number of which were common to all stakeholders, there was a unanimous call for a continuation and expansion. When we talked of the project being two thirds of the way through the current grant period, there was worry expressed about its possible end, typified by the comment on page two. On the subject of strengthening the project, beneficiaries wanted a more formal mechanism for learner involvement, which is something we propose in the next section. 4.2 Recommendations On the basis of the research, we make the following recommendations: Increase human resource capacity: there was evidence to suggest that adding staff time to the Hives would increase their efficacy, impact and developmental potential. Increase number of courses: there were proposals for increasing the selection on offer to include employment ready/focused courses. This would also improve the potential for learner progression and attracting new service users. Adapt outcome measures: the current range of metrics does not totally capture and reflect the impact of the work, and needs to include annual number of learners (existing learners cannot currently be counted) and footfall figures. Consideration should be taken as to whether the number of qualifications gained should be the measure and not the number of people gaining qualificatiosn. Create a service user this would respond to the request to create a more formal and fundamental opportunity for learners to become involved