School of Marketing London Ltd

School of Marketing London Ltd Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Darrell Bate, Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection dates: 30 November and 1 December 2022

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Address:

Mappin House 4 Winsley Street London W1W 8HF Monitoring visit: School of Marketing London Ltd, 30 November and 1 December 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

School of Marketing London Ltd joined the register of approved apprenticeship training providers in May 2020 and recruited its first apprentices in March 2021. At the time of the visit, there were 48 adult apprentices all undertaking the level 3 digital marketer apprenticeship with employers across England.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have a clear vision to address the skills needs of digital marketing employers. They make good use of labour market information to identify national skills gaps and have designed a curriculum that enables apprentices to gain the knowledge and skills they need to gain careers in this industry.

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Reasonable progress

Employers speak positively about their relationship with staff at the provider. Employers provide good support to their apprentices to ensure that they have the time they need to complete their studies. Leaders provide apprentices' line managers with clear guidance about the requirements of the apprenticeship and what is expected of them as employers.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have put in place appropriate staff resources to teach the apprenticeship programme. Coaches and tutors have relevant industry experience. Apprentices benefit from a useful range of specialist learning content, and podcasts, and have access to a mentoring programme provided by corporate marketers.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have sourced a well-structured and experienced board of non-executive directors. The board helps leaders to shape their strategy. However, board members are not sufficiently informed about apprentices’ progress to provide effective support and challenge to leaders more broadly. Monitoring visit: School of Marketing London Ltd, 30 November and 1 December 2022 Leaders have developed appropriate processes to ensure the quality of their provision. However, these are at an early stage of implementation. Leaders are taking steps to improve their provision. For example, they have improved the process for the selection of apprentices and developed the support available to apprentices during their programme.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders did not always match apprentices to their job roles well. Consequently, a few apprentices, while working in roles associated with marketing, do not have enough digital marketing work. They learn new knowledge and skills through their off-the-job training, but do not have sufficient opportunities at work to develop these further. As a result, too many apprentices leave their programme early. Leaders recognised this shortfall and have become more careful in matching apprentices to appropriate roles.

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Reasonable progress

At the time of the monitoring visit, no apprentices had taken their end-point assessments. Those nearing completion were already past their planned date for taking these assessments.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have designed programmes that apprentices enjoy. They quickly learn new knowledge about marketing and can apply what they learn practically, such as by creating social media campaigns. Apprentices study specialist electives, learning complex skills such as coding and search engine optimisation. Apprentices synthesise and apply their knowledge well in their end of programme project.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors make effective use of assessment to inform their teaching. They give apprentices detailed feedback about the technical competencies they have achieved and how they can improve further. Tutors prepare apprentices well for the examinations taken as part of the standard.

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Reasonable progress

Staff assess apprentices’ prior learning very well. They use this benchmark to check apprentices’ progress in the middle and at the end of their programme. However, tutors do not use what they know about apprentices’ prior learning to adjust the planned length of programme for individual apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

The few apprentices who need to achieve functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics are supported well by staff at the subcontractor. Apprentices pass these qualifications early in their programme. Tutors guide apprentices to useful online tools to improve their writing skills.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors meet frequently with apprentices to review their progress. Line managers are suitably involved in these reviews and help to appraise the progress apprentices make, both in their studies and at work. However, tutors and line managers do not Monitoring visit: School of Marketing London Ltd, 30 November and 1 December 2022 sufficiently plan together how apprentices can apply at work what they have been taught at different points in the programme.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors do not routinely assess what apprentices know at the start of sessions and do not sufficiently check during and at the end of sessions that apprentices have understood the topics taught.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors provide good support to apprentices to prepare for their end point assessment. Apprentices are clear about the expectations for these assessments and the different grade criteria. They make use of good online resources to prepare.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders use effective recruitment procedures to ensure staff are safe to work with adults. Senior staff are trained and have oversight of safeguarding. All staff complete appropriate training in safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty and refresh this training regularly.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have put in place suitable safeguarding policies and procedures, which include how staff or apprentices should report any incidents. To date, no referrals have been made. Staff cover safeguarding in detail at induction, and apprentices know who to report concerns to if they have any. Coaches provide helpful pastoral support for apprentices who have welfare problems or other concerns. Apprentices feel safe at work.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have not considered sufficiently the dangers of radicalisation and extremism that digital marketing apprentices may experience while at work. Apprentices have a mixed understanding of these topics. There are too few resources for apprentices to enrich their knowledge around wider issues such as cyber-attacks or sexual harassment. Monitoring visit: School of Marketing London Ltd, 30 November and 1 December 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

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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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