Applied Business Academy Limited

Applied Business Academy Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Jon Bowman, His Majesty's Inspector

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Address:

5 Limeharbour Court London E14 9RH Monitoring visit: Applied Business Academy Limited, 15 and 16 March 2023

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Context and focus of visit

Applied Business Academy Limited was inspected in February 2022. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

The focus of this monitoring visit was to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in resolving the main areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Context and focus of visit

Since the previous inspection, new staff have been appointed to increase capacity at management level. A new level 3 content creator apprenticeship standard has been launched. At the time of the monitoring visit, the provider had fewer than five apprentices enrolled on the content creator apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Since the previous inspection, managers have put in place a new performance management framework, which they aim to use to improve the quality of teaching and assessment. Leaders and managers intend to use a range of information, such as from classroom visits, and feedback from apprentices and employers to determine what training and development tutors need. However, managers have not fully implemented the framework. As a result, there has been limited impact on the quality of education that apprentices receive. Managers do not carry out frequent enough checks on the quality of teaching. Where they identify areas for improvement, they are too slow to put in place training to improve teaching. Managers meet frequently to review the training. However, they focus on processes such as recording and claiming funding rather on than the quality of apprentices’ experiences. Managers have been slow to support staff to hold more productive

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Insufficient progress

reviews with apprentices that focus on the progress apprentices make. Monitoring visit: Applied Business Academy Limited, 15 and 16 March 2023

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have put in place processes to establish what apprentices know and can do at the start of their training. For example, apprentices complete a skills scan to use as a tool to assess their existing skills and plan learning based on their individual needs. However, staff do not use information from the skills scan to create and teach a personalised programme based on apprentices’ existing knowledge, skills and behaviours. As a result, apprentices are taught the same subject content regardless of what they already know and can do. In workshop sessions, tutors do not link subject content well enough to what apprentices do at work. In their workplaces, apprentices do not always have sufficient opportunities to put into practice what they learn in training sessions. For example, they do not have access to software tools they are taught about. They do not practise tasks such as using social media analytics or scheduling tools or create

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Insufficient progress

marketing personas to target audience segments. As a result, apprentices do not sufficiently consolidate and develop their skills and knowledge at work.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers do not ensure that apprentices get consistently high-quality feedback on their work. Tutors do not give feedback to apprentices to enable them to identify what they need to do to improve or what gaps in knowledge they have. Skills coaches give apprentices useful information about broad areas of training they can do, for example, in software accreditation. However, they do not provide good enough guidance on specific areas of knowledge that apprentices need to improve on well.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not ensured that apprentices receive structured enough feedback on the work they complete in their job roles. Leaders have not worked with employers to help them align and assess work activities with their apprentices. For example, leaders have not set expectations on employers to provide helpful industry-based feedback on what apprentices do, so they can improve in their job roles. Monitoring visit: Applied Business Academy Limited, 15 and 16 March 2023

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have developed a personal development module for apprentices. This includes a session on career planning, which is introduced at the start of the programme. Current apprentices have had an initial careers meeting, where they discuss their short- and long-term career goals. Apprentices have useful discussions with their industry experienced tutor. While not all apprentices inspectors spoke with were clear on their career options following completion of their programme, leaders and managers have taken positive steps to ensure that careers guidance is integrated into the programme. Apprentices are able to explain, for example, the higher-level courses they could take on achieving their current programme. They know the job roles that they would be suited to as a result of their training. Monitoring visit: Applied Business Academy Limited, 15 and 16 March 2023

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Reasonable progress

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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