Solveway Limited

Solveway Limited Progress monitoring report

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Name of lead inspector: Sambit Sen, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: Barnwell School Barnwell Stevenage Hertfordshire SG2 9SW Monitoring visit: Solveway Limited, 11–12 March 2021

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Context and focus of visit

Solveway Limited (SL) received a new provider monitoring visit in February 2019. At that time, inspectors made progress judgements under three themes.

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Context and focus of visit

This monitoring visit focused on the extent to which leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action to provide education and training in the current circumstances. It was undertaken as outlined in the operational note on visits carried out from January 2021 and with reference to the further education and skills handbook.

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Context and focus of visit

These visits are to help learners, parents, employers and government understand how providers are meeting the needs of learners in this period, including those with high needs and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Context and focus of visit

Following changes to government guidance and the imposition of COVID-19 (coronavirus) lockdown restrictions, inspectors carried out this monitoring activity remotely. As a result, the range of evidence available to inspectors was narrower than would be the case during an on-site inspection. Therefore, this report provides a more limited level of assurance.

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Context and focus of visit

The impact of COVID-19 has been taken into account in the findings and progress judgement below. Inspectors did not evaluate leaders’ response to COVID-19 during the spring and summer of 2020, when the provider was not open to all learners and there were no national expectations regarding remote education.

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Reasonable progress

SL provides finance and information technology (IT) apprenticeship training predominantly in Hertfordshire. Apprenticeship programmes include assistant accountant, infrastructure technician and business administrator at level 3 and level 4 professional accounting or taxation technician and network engineer. Since the national pandemic in March 2020, SL have moved all their classroom-based training online. Most of the apprentices have continued working and learning remotely.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders provide the same accountancy apprenticeship programme irrespective of whether all course content meets employers’ business needs. Employers are not Monitoring visit: Solveway Limited, 11–12 March 2021 involved in the design of the apprenticeship to better meet their employment needs. In addition, employers do not plan workplace tasks and activities that appropriately link to the training apprentices receive from their tutors. As a result, apprentices sometimes are unable to practise accountancy concepts and develop their understanding further within their workplace.

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Reasonable progress

IT apprentices benefit from good-quality, vocational training provided by tutors and employers. Apprentices quickly develop technical knowledge and employment-related skills such as speaking to external customers and resolving IT-based issues accurately. As a result, employers are confident in giving apprentices more responsibilities and promoting them quickly.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors and work coaches provide timely and detailed feedback to apprentices. This helps apprentices improve their work and achieve higher grades in their final exams. For example, IT apprentices improve their report writing and research skills based on the feedback they receive from their tutors.

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Reasonable progress

Accountancy tutors do not always effectively assess the starting points of apprentices in their lessons. For example, in bookkeeping lessons, tutors do not identify or adapt their teaching to meet the needs of those apprentices who have prior knowledge of bookkeeping practices in their workplace.

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Reasonable progress

A small minority of accountancy apprentices fail to achieve their full qualification. Leaders and managers recognise that they have been slow to take steps to improve the learning experiences of apprentices. They have recently made changes to rectify this. However, as yet, its impact is not fully realised.

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Reasonable progress

Senior leaders have put effective governance arrangements in place. Governors have good oversight and provide effective support and scrutiny to senior leaders and managers. As a result, senior leaders are confident in the actions they take to improve the quality of training.

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Reasonable progress

Managers, tutors and work coaches safeguard their apprentices effectively. They discuss and provide good personalised support to their apprentices. As a result, apprentices feel safe and know who to contact if they have any welfare or well-being issues.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and those responsible for governance should take further action to:

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Reasonable progress

 ensure that managers and tutors provide a flexible accountancy apprenticeship programme that meets the employment needs of employers and the training and development requirements of apprentices  ensure that accountancy tutors adapt their teaching appropriately to take account of apprentices’ prior learning and knowledge  ensure that employers of accountancy apprentices provide appropriate work-related tasks and activities enabling apprentices to practise their skills and knowledge appropriately. Monitoring visit: Solveway Limited, 11–12 March 2021 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education

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Reasonable progress

and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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