Holland and Barrett Retail Limited

Holland and Barrett Retail Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Maria Navarro, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Address: Samuel Ryder House Barling Way Eliot Park Nuneaton Warwickshire CV10 7RH Monitoring visit: Holland and Barrett Retail Limited, 23–24 March 2022

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Context and focus of visit

From October 2018, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and/or the apprenticeship levy. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the ‘Further education and skills inspection handbook’, especially the sections entitled ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Holland & Barrett International (Holland and Barrett) is a global health and wellness business, supplying its customers with a wide range of health supplements, such as vitamins and minerals, specialist foods, and natural beauty products. Holland and Barrett has over 150 years of experience in this industry and more than 700 stores across the UK.

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Context and focus of visit

Holland and Barrett joined the apprenticeship registry in February 2020 and began delivering its main apprenticeship programme 12 months later. The apprenticeship is part of a series of planned pathways that offers employees the choice to become health specialists or to progress all the way to senior management. At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 87 apprentices following a level 3 retail team leader apprenticeship standard. A further seven apprentices were taking part in the pilot of the level 5 operations or departmental manager apprenticeship standard.

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Reasonable progress

Holland and Barrett has developed a retail apprenticeship that supports its employees well to become managers within 12 months, thus meeting the provider’s strategic objectives of business expansion.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have built a sound curriculum around the main retail standard qualification. They have involved different parts of the business, such as merchandising and customer insight in the design of the content of the apprenticeship. Store managers have also contributed their experience when designing learning activities. As a result, apprentices access learning that is highly relevant and prepares them well for their new leadership roles. Monitoring visit: Holland and Barrett Retail Limited, 23–24 March 2022 The curriculum is well structured and planned. Innovative activities, such as working in different stores, enable apprentices to practise confidently their newly acquired skills and behaviours away from their familiar teams and stores.

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Reasonable progress

The apprenticeship offers learners plenty of opportunities to develop their English and mathematics skills, but not as many for the development of their digital skills. The apprenticeship meets the expected requirements, including end-point assessment and offering off-the-job training opportunities to learners.

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Reasonable progress

The recruitment and selection process for apprentices is thorough and well communicated throughout the organisation. All apprentices undertake an extensive assessment of their existing skills, including screening for learning difficulties. This helps trainers plan the learning programmes, ensuring that all apprentices develop significant new skills, knowledge and behaviours, regardless of their previous experience.

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Reasonable progress

The apprenticeship has the committed and enthusiastic support of the retail operations directors. Together with the development team, they have recently set up a governance board that has already identified the need to work with each retail region to ensure apprentices are well supported to complete their training. However, leaders and managers do not yet receive enough impartial scrutiny to ensure that they are challenged to secure a high-quality training experience for their apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices develop new skills and leadership behaviours which enable them to become store managers. Most apprentices stay on the programme, and approximately a third of the apprentices have already secured a management role ahead of completing their apprenticeship. Learners increase their confidence and feel well equipped to take on new responsibilities.

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Reasonable progress

The programme is sequenced well so that apprentices deepen their knowledge of retail as they progress through the qualification. Apprentices demonstrate their increased knowledge on how the different parts of the business impact on each other. After learning about the work that buyers do in securing product offers, apprentices ensure that these offers are correctly displayed and fully promoted in their stores.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have a good awareness of their apprentices’ additional learning needs and support them with agreed strategies. For example, an apprentice identified as suffering with poor memory receives a written summary of all discussions with their trainer to help them remember what has been covered. Monitoring visit: Holland and Barrett Retail Limited, 23–24 March 2022 All trainers have been store managers previously in the company and they use their expertise well to support apprentices. However, they are all new to their training roles and are still undergoing training to develop their teaching skills. As a result, areas such as apprentices’ written work are of variable quality. In the better assignments, trainers ensure that apprentices’ work is detailed and demonstrates apprentices’ ability to analyse data. In other cases, trainers do not identify that assignments lack sufficient evidence to demonstrate apprentices’ application of their

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Reasonable progress

Many apprentices do not access their full entitlement to off-the-job training, and as a result are making slower progress than planned with their qualification. Trainers do not ensure that progress reviews have clear targets for what needs to be done by the apprentice to get them back on track.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have set up the necessary safeguarding arrangements to reach compliance levels when delivering the apprenticeships.

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Reasonable progress

All recruitment staff have undergone training, and training staff have undergone the appropriate checks to ensure that the provider adheres to safer recruitment practices. The three designated officers have also completed training that equips them well for their safeguarding key role. The provider has set up an anonymous safeguarding reporting mechanism which apprentices are aware of.

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Reasonable progress

The provider has a comprehensive safeguarding policy, including useful definitions of abuse and procedures for escalating safeguarding concerns.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers are planning to appoint a senior manager to lead on the further development of their safeguarding culture. They recognise that more oversight and strategic planning are required to ensure that their safeguarding training, including for the ‘Prevent’ duty, stays relevant to staff and apprentices, according to the business sector they work in. Monitoring visit: Holland and Barrett Retail Limited, 23–24 March 2022 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 and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council

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Reasonable progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Reasonable progress

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

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