Personal Trainer Ltd

Personal Trainer Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Richard Deane, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: 92 Broad Street Birmingham B151AU Monitoring visit: Personal Trainer Limited, 24 and 25 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

Personal Trainer Limited started delivery of apprenticeships in March 2020. They enrolled six apprentices, of which all are current employees. All apprentices are on standards-based apprenticeships. Five are on level 3 team leader and one on level 3 digital marketer. In July 2021, leaders gained approval for adult education funds to deliver fitness qualifications for learners who are unemployed or on low incomes in areas not controlled by mayoral authorities. They began recruiting adult learners in November 2021. At the time of the visit, 84 learners were following a level 2 planning gym-based exercise qualification.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have plans for an ambitious and challenging curriculum that links closely to the skills needs of the fitness industry. Their adult education course is planned to extend beyond level 2 to a level 3 personal trainer award, which is necessary for employment in the sector. However, they have failed to design a well-structured and comprehensive programme that meets the requirements of adult education and for their few apprentices.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have failed to meet most of their commitments to assure the quality of education. They do not ensure that they always recruit learners and apprentices who have the requisite skills and abilities to complete the course. They do not ensure that tutors know enough information about learners’ starting points. Consequently, tutors do not have sufficient information to plan a curriculum that enables learners who have an identified need, or gaps in their knowledge, to achieve their potential, including in areas such as English, mathematics and digital skills.

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Insufficient progress

Adult learners have access to appropriate resources, including a free gym membership for three months so that they can practise their gym programmes. However, they do not have sufficient access to tutors to provide them with direct Monitoring visit: Personal Trainer Limited, 24 and 25 March 2022 support in order to correct practical instruction skills and consolidate new knowledge, including posture, breathing, technique and other coaching points.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders ensure that tutors have the appropriate technical qualifications and rudimentary teaching and assessing awards for them to teach.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that learners or apprentices who have an identified learning need receive the support necessary for them to make good progress.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not monitor the quality of provision well enough. They do not know the impact of teaching on learners’ and apprentices’ progress. They do not check what learners and apprentices say about the training that they receive. Consequently, they do not know the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum to enable them to make rapid improvements.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders work with various external consultants to oversee the financial effectiveness of the organisation. They do not have any suitably experienced external ‘critical friends’ to hold leaders to account to ensure that all learners achieve their potential.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum meets all the requirements of successful apprenticeship provision. Apprentices have sufficient time to study off-the- job, but they do not develop new skills, knowledge or behaviours because of the poor teaching and lack of support both on- and off-the-job.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors have failed to plan the curriculum well enough. They do not organise and sequence information to help apprentices to develop new knowledge and skills over time. As a result of the pandemic, all content and materials were delivered online, but apprentices found the experience difficult to navigate, with materials disorganised and difficult to use. For example, they found it impossible to match the content with the assessment materials. This meant that they were attempting to complete an assignment before they had completed the learning materials.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors do not check apprentices’ prior experience and starting points sufficiently. Apprentices do not receive an assessment of their English and mathematics skills or training to close any gaps they may have in these subjects.

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Insufficient progress

Apprentices have not received high-quality training. They were scheduled to attend live webinars but have only attended three sessions. They found the content boring and were unable to give any examples of new skills learned. Apprentices were dissatisfied with the quality of teaching, handouts and resources. They could not provide any examples of applying new knowledge with their own experience at work – severely limiting their understanding and progress. Monitoring visit: Personal Trainer Limited, 24 and 25 March 2022 Managers and tutors do not monitor apprentices’ progress. Consequently, apprentices are unprepared for their end-point assessments and have not made sufficient progress to achieve the qualification. They have not received feedback on their work, nor have they had a progress review.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not check sufficiently information about learners’ needs and experience before starting the course, including in English and mathematics. As a result, learners do not receive helpful guidance to ensure that they are able to meet the demands of a level 3 personal training course and to ensure that they will develop significant new skills.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that learners receive enough teaching or the support to make at least the progress expected of them. Learners rely solely on workbooks and manuals to learn new information independently. Learners study topics separately and in isolation. Tutors do not encourage them to link information such as anatomy and physiology and the principles of fitness, so they can plan effective fitness programmes early enough. As a result, learners are unable to use this information to plan programmes confidently. A minority of learners engage in online personal training webinars. However, learners’ attendance at these sessions is low because they are not required to attend. Consequently, too few learners develop essential knowledge for future work.

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Insufficient progress

Learners do not receive sufficient opportunities to discuss and reflect on their work or to review the progress that they are making, so that they can consolidate their understanding. Consequently, neither learner, tutors nor managers know how well learners make progress. Instead, they are relying on completed workbooks near the end of the course. Although learners have one formal practical session with tutors, they do not provide learners with sufficient feedback to help them develop their understanding and improve their skills over time.

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Insufficient progress

Tutors do not routinely develop learners’ English and mathematics skills. They fail to identify opportunities such as the use of calculations for calorie intake and ‘body mass index’ in order to help learners extend their mathematics skills.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have failed to develop a strong culture of safeguarding. Policies include references that are out of date, particularly in the safeguarding of younger and vulnerable adults. There is no guidance on how to deal with a safeguarding incident. Monitoring visit: Personal Trainer Limited, 24 and 25 March 2022 They have not developed a sufficient understanding of the threats from extremist groups and do not ensure that staff and learners update their understanding of these themes, including any regional differences where learners and apprentices live.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not complete all appropriate checks when recruiting staff. They do not ensure that staff update their knowledge of safeguarding routinely, which is limiting their ability to help learners understand these concepts sufficiently well. For example, learners do not discuss the potential safeguarding threats they may face when lone working with personal training clients in gyms, some of which operate 24 hours. The designated safeguarding lead has not received sufficient training to carry out their role within the organisation.

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Insufficient progress

Learners and apprentices do not receive sufficient information about safeguarding or the ‘Prevent’ duty. As a result, learners and apprentices do not know the potential threats from extremist groups or how to protect themselves online. Monitoring visit: Personal Trainer Limited, 24 and 25 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 children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

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

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