Academy 1 Sports Ltd

Academy 1 Sports Ltd Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Penny Fawcus, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address:

The Old Granary Dunton Road Laindon Basildon Essex SS15 4DB Monitoring visit: Academy 1 Sports Limited, 30 to 31 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

Academy 1 Sports Ltd is a national independent learning provider based in Basildon, Essex. It provides training courses for the early years, adult care, sports, business support and digital marketing sectors. It has received direct funding for apprenticeship programmes since September 2020. The provider has approximately 161 apprentices on 12 different standards-based training programmes. Five apprentices are on a break in learning. Most apprentices are over 19 years of age, with only seven apprentices aged 16–18.

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Context and focus of visit

Academy 1 Sports Ltd offers apprenticeship programmes ranging from level 2 to level 5. Most apprentices are on level 3 programmes. These include 50 on early years educator, 21 on digital marketer and 19 on team leader or supervisor apprentices. There are five apprentices on the level 2 early years practitioner and five apprentices on the level 3 business administration. The level 4 sports coach programme has 13 apprentices in training. At level 5, there are 26 operations and departmental manager apprentices, 13 sports coach apprentices and 11 adult care apprentices.

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Context and focus of visit

At the time of the monitoring visit, the provider had fewer than five apprentices enrolled on a few programmes. These include level 2 community activator coach, level 3 human resources support, level 3 personal trainer and level 3 teaching assistant programmes.

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Context and focus of visit

The provider has no apprentices in receipt of high needs funding, and no subcontracted provision.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not work effectively with employers. Leaders do not secure employers’ commitment to the support and development requirements of apprentices in the Monitoring visit: Academy 1 Sports Limited, 30 to 31 March 2022 workplace. For example, too many apprentices do not receive planned time during working hours to complete their studies and apprenticeship-related coursework. As a result, too few apprentices make good progress with their coursework.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not have oversight of the progress that apprentices are making or the new skills and knowledge they are acquiring. Leaders do not identify those apprentices who are falling behind in their education and training. Consequently, too many apprentices are making slow progress.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that skills coaches have the qualifications and training they need to provide a high standard of education. For example, while skills coaches are assessor qualified, too few hold a formal teaching qualification. Staff are not qualified to identify and support apprentices with additional learning needs. Too few skills coaches know the requirements and arrangements for end-point assessment. As a result, apprentices are not being prepared adequately for their final examinations.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not yet implemented appropriate governance arrangements. They do not have an accurate view of whether the quality of education and training they provide is of a good or better standard. Where leaders have identified areas to improve, they have been slow to take appropriate action to remedy the weaknesses.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not planned and provided an effective apprenticeship curriculum. They do not ensure that apprentices learn substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours. Leaders do not identify what specific new skills employers need their apprentices to gain. Skills coaches do not know what apprentices already know and can do. Consequently, the order in which apprentices learn new topics does not match their individual needs and is not matched to the work they do in their jobs. Too few apprentices who need to develop English, mathematical and digital skills receive the training they need.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that apprentices are on an appropriate training programme for their job role. A small proportion of apprentices do not have the depth of previous experience needed to undertake the level of coursework required to complete their apprenticeship. A few apprentices are not in a job role that provides the breadth of work skills they need to complete their apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not ensured that the assessment of apprentices’ knowledge is sufficiently robust. Skills coaches do not use assessment to shape and inform apprentices’ ongoing skills development effectively, nor to check apprentices’ understanding of new knowledge. Leaders often rely on employers to assess apprentices’ practical skills, but do not check that employers are appropriately Monitoring visit: Academy 1 Sports Limited, 30 to 31 March 2022 qualified to do so. In early years settings, leaders rely on employers to assess all aspects of apprentices’ practical skills.

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Insufficient progress

Skills coaches do not provide helpful feedback to apprentices on the standard of their work. Too often, the feedback is confirmatory and does not enable apprentices to improve their work and aim for high grades. Skills coaches do not feed back on the standard of apprentices’ written English. As a result, the standard of apprentices’ written work does not meet the expectations for the level at which they are working.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not ensure that employers are routinely involved in the progress review of their apprentices. Skills coaches do not capture from employers the new skills that apprentices gain at work to tailor their learning plan. Leaders and coaches do not ensure that employers know the sequence of learning for apprentices. As a result, employers are unable to help apprentices to apply and deepen their new learning in the workplace.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices feel safe in their workplace. They feel comfortable to raise with their skills coaches any concerns that they may have. They are confident that the skills coaches will respond appropriately to any concerns they may have. Leaders carry out appropriate safeguarding checks with employers to ensure that apprentices are safe in their workplace.

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Reasonable progress

The safeguarding team has appropriate oversight of safeguarding cases. It makes effective use of online safeguarding resources, such as webinars and newsletters, to keep staff and students up to date.

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Reasonable progress

Too few apprentices have a detailed understanding of the local risks that apply to them in their personal lives and at work. Too few apprentices know who the designated safeguarding lead is for their apprenticeship programme. Monitoring visit: Academy 1 Sports Limited, 30 to 31 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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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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