AJ Bell Business Solutions Limited

Further education and skills inspection report

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sInspection of AJ Bell Business Solutions Limited

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Apprenticeships Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this provider

AJ Bell Business Solutions Limited (AJ Bell) employs around 1,300 people from their offices in Manchester, London and Bristol. It is one of the UK’s largest investment platforms with over 480,000 customers.

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Information about this provider

AJ Bell received its first publicly funded contract for apprenticeships in November 2020. AJ Bell is an employer provider that provides training to apprentices in leadership and management for the financial sector. At the time of the inspection, AJ Bell had 13 apprentices, six following the level 3 team leader and seven following the level 5 operations or departmental manager apprenticeships. AJ Bell subcontracts a small proportion of its provision to the Chartered Management Institute. 25 to 27 July 2023

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices’ new knowledge, skills and behaviours are mapped closely to their job expectations. This supplements their financial knowledge and helps them to become effective leaders in the organisation. All apprentices gain in confidence, character and resilience in their current job role. They are ambitious to take on more difficult or complex roles through promotion and additional responsibility. Apprentices make rapid progress. They swiftly and effectively apply their new knowledge, skills and behaviours in their job. They make a significant positive impact to the business, their teams and their own career prospects.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices become highly motivated future leaders because of the exceptional quality of training that they receive. They are overwhelmingly positive about their apprenticeship, their learning and their work. Apprentices enjoy and are highly committed to their apprenticeship. Apprentices would recommend their apprenticeship to friends and peers. They are proud to work for AJ Bell.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices benefit from attending a broad range of extra-curricular activities beyond their apprenticeship. They take part in additional activities that support their personal interests and career aspirations, including community and social projects. Apprentices grow, develop and flourish as responsible citizens, keen to contribute to wider society. Apprentices communicate effectively and empathetically with their teams. They treat colleagues and clients with openness, honesty and respect.

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What is it like to be a learner with this provider?

Apprentices are very well prepared for their next steps. They receive effective careers advice and guidance that helps them to apply for, and gain, promotion. Apprentices work with mentors outside their line management chain to expose them to the wider business and raise their profile across the organisation. They benefit from discussions with their trainers and line managers to explore their potential career progression. Apprentices are well informed about their career choices and opportunities.

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better?

Leaders and those responsible for governance are passionate about providing highly ambitious and high-quality curriculums to train their apprentices to become the company’s leaders and managers of the future. They are fully committed to growing their own talent pipeline and investing in their people through their apprenticeships. Leaders and trainers plan well-thought-out curriculums that ensure that apprentices develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need to prepare them for aspirational leadership and management roles.

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better?

Leaders and trainers instil a strong culture of high expectations throughout the business, while maintaining apprentices’ and trainers’ positive health and well-being. They use the AJ Bell core behaviours and competencies framework, and guiding principles, to set the tone for purposeful work, attitudes and behaviours of 25 to 27 July 2023

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apprentices. Leaders and trainers create a calm, supportive, and positive work environment and culture in a fast-paced business.

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Leaders ensure that training staff are qualified and experienced subject experts. Trainers benefit from an extensive range of bespoke continuous development and training. This ensures they continually improve their practices as trainers, subject experts and company experts. This allows them to use their teaching skills to provide up-to-date and relevant learning that links directly to work.

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Trainers help apprentices to swiftly use their new learning to implement projects and practices that benefit their teams and the wider business. For example, apprentices have developed a new end-of-day checklist and system for allocating work to team members. This resulted in turnaround notification time of corporate actions being reduced from five days to two days.

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Leaders and trainers ensure that apprentices benefit from high-quality teaching and training. They sequence the curriculums in a logical order. Apprentices begin with self-reflection to build a more in-depth understanding of their own personal traits and how they make decisions. They then study working in teams, and managing teams, before applying their learning to business functions on operational leadership, project management and financial management. Apprentices develop a toolbox of strategies in how best to deal with the different personalities and situations in their team.

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Trainers carefully plan teaching in consultation with line managers to ensure strong links between off-the-job training and the work that apprentices undertake daily. They ensure that workshop days avoid the tax year end as this is a busy time for all teams to meet stringent immoveable deadlines. Apprentices negotiate project work with their line managers to improve team performance. They manage their workload well and apply their new learning daily. Apprentices routinely achieve their potential by gaining high grades on their final assessments, acquiring industry valuable qualifications, promotion and by being given additional responsibilities. They become highly valued employees.

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Trainers monitor apprentices’ progress closely throughout their apprenticeship journey. Communication between coaches, and apprentices’ line managers and mentors, is excellent. Assessments are well planned, and trainers provide apprentices with detailed feedback on how well they are doing and what they need to do next.

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Leaders take timely effective actions to rectify the areas for improvement identified through their new provider monitoring visit and self-assessment processes. They carry out lesson observations, listen to the apprentices’ and line managers’ feedback, and analyse assessment results to identify the many strengths and the few areas for improvement in the provision. Leaders measure the impact of high- quality training through the positive results of completing apprentices and in their subsequent retention and promotion at AJ Bell. 25 to 27 July 2023

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Leaders are mindful and considerate of training staff’s well-being, welfare and workload. They have recently invested in additional trainers to ensure that existing staff have a reasonable workload and to maintain and enhance the quality of training for apprentices. Staff enjoy their jobs and talk about how they are well led and managed. They benefit from an extensive employee assistance offer, including access to well-being ambassadors, the company gym, counselling and advice on a range of topics. Training staff are proud to work at AJ Bell.

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Governance is highly effective. The governing board ensures that apprentices and their training team have the resources that they need to flourish. They receive useful reports and information to provide senior leaders with the support and challenge they need to ensure that a culture of continuous improvement permeates the company at every level. Board members ensure that the apprentices and the apprenticeship provision align to the company talent development programme to train, retain, celebrate and promote their staff. They value their apprentices and the apprenticeship programme highly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders foster a culture of care and welfare across the organisation. They ensure that all apprentices and employees, including board members, receive an appropriate level of safeguarding training for their role. Managers benefit from additional training on blackmail, honeytrap and sextortion awareness because of their roles in the financial services sector.

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Safeguarding

Apprentices and training staff benefit from training on sector related issues, such as anti-money laundering and the funding of terrorism. They learn about staying safe online, online scamming and the threat of cyber-crime. Apprentices revisit learning on safeguarding and fundamental British values in every learning session.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that apprentices and staff are well looked after and cared for. They recruit staff safely. 25 to 27 July 2023

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Provider details

Address 4 Exchange Quay Salford Quays Manchester M5 3EE

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Michael Summersgill

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors Chartered Management Institute (CMI) 25 to 27 July 2023

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of learning and development, as nominee. Inspectors took account of the provider's most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. The inspection was carried out using the further education and skills inspection handbook and took into account all relevant provision at the provider. Inspectors collected a wide range of evidence to inform judgements including visiting learning sessions, scrutinising learners' work, seeking the views of learners, staff and other stakeholders, and examining the provider's documentation and records.

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Inspection team

Alastair Mollon, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector Bev Barlow Ofsted Inspector Ceri Evans Ofsted Inspector Alison Cameron Brandwood His Majesty's Inspector 25 to 27 July 2023

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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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