CU Apprenticeships (Better Futures) Limited

CU Apprenticeships (Better Futures) Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Mark Parton, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: 8 Mile Lane Coventry West Midlands CV1 2TU Monitoring visit: CU Apprenticeships (Better Futures) Limited, 5 and 6 December 2023

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Context and focus of visit

Ofsted undertakes to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision funded 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

CU Apprenticeships (trading as Better Futures Limited) is a learning provider based in Coventry, West Midlands. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coventry University Group and began teaching apprentices in January 2023. The company specialises in the training of apprentices at levels 5, 6 and 7. At the time of the visit, there were 662 apprentices following one of twenty apprenticeships. The most popular of these were level 5 nursing associate, level 6 occupational therapist, level 6 civil engineer (degree), level 6 physiotherapist and level 7 senior leader. The provider does not work with any subcontractors.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have a clear rationale for the apprenticeships that they offer. They consult with employers to ensure that apprenticeships meet local, regional and national skill priorities successfully.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders work skilfully to ensure that the apprenticeships they offer serve to widen participation. Through leaders work, they ensure that a high proportion of apprentices in study are from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that apprentices are recruited with integrity. They share the expectations and demands of the apprenticeship with employers and apprentices effectively. At the time of the visit, almost all apprentices who started their apprenticeship were making the expected progress in their studies.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that teaching staff undertake worthwhile and effective professional development activities to improve their teaching practice. As a result, the teaching that apprentices receive is of high quality and teachers improve their teaching over time. Monitoring visit: CU Apprenticeships (Better Futures) Limited, 5 and 6 December 2023 Leaders ensure that apprentices have access to advanced and sector-leading training resources and equipment. Apprentices use these resources to develop specialised and sought-after skills for their places of work. For example, nursing associate apprentices with very little clinical experience quickly learn to monitor oxygen levels successfully.

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Reasonable progress

Governors support leaders and challenge them appropriately to improve the quality of education that apprentices receive. They demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the provider strengths and take swift actions to improve the areas for development within apprenticeship curriculums. For example, governors drive actions to recruit additional staff to further improve the oversight of apprentices’ performance.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders identify the strengths and areas for development of their apprenticeships effectively. They know that apprentices who require functional skills qualifications as part of their studies do not receive support for their English and mathematics skills development early enough. Leaders have acted to implement new support systems to improve this. However, it is too early to see the impact of these changes.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that teaching staff are highly qualified and experienced in the areas they teach. Teachers use their sector expertise to draw on real-world experiences to support apprentices to further their understanding successfully. For example, level 7 senior leader teachers use their experience of leading staff through a period of change, to contextualise teaching on change management effectively.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that the curriculums that apprentices study are well sequenced and designed to support apprentices to develop significant new knowledge, skills and behaviours. Teaching staff measure the vocational and academic starting points of apprentices carefully and ensure that they have a clear understanding of apprentices’ prior knowledge and understanding. Teaching staff use this information effectively, to plan, order and adapt future learning.

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Reasonable progress

Teaching staff use assessment well to measure the progress that apprentices make in their apprenticeship. Teachers use the results of these assessments skilfully to ensure that subsequent learning builds on prior understanding. The complexity of the learning that apprentices undertake increases quickly as they move through their studies.

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Reasonable progress

Teaching staff take clear actions to support apprentices to improve the quality of their work. They provide apprentices with clear, comprehensive and developmental feedback. This means that apprentices are fully aware of the steps they need to take to achieve either higher grades or to improve their skills in the workplace. Monitoring visit: CU Apprenticeships (Better Futures) Limited, 5 and 6 December 2023 Teaching staff, in most cases, involve apprentices’ employers in the planning and coordination of their on- and off-the-job learning. However, in some cases, such as the level 7 senior leader apprenticeship, employers are not always routinely involved. In these instances, apprentices are not always provided with opportunities to practise and incorporate their new skills into their workplace practice.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that apprentices benefit from frequent reviews of their progress. In most cases, employers contribute to these successfully. However, in a small number of these reviews, teaching staff focus too heavily on module or assignment completion. Apprentices, in these cases, are less clear on how they develop new knowledge, skills or behaviours which serve to improve their workplace practice.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have appointed a suitably qualified and experienced designated safeguarding lead (DSL) who oversees the safeguarding arrangements for apprentices diligently. The DSL ensures that all staff who support apprentices in their learning are trained to identify if apprentices display any signs of concern or harm and how to report these following organisational safeguarding processes.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that apprentices have access to an extensive range of support mechanisms relating to their mental health. For example, apprentices are provided access to full-time mental health practitioners and an on-demand counselling service should they need any support. Monitoring visit: CU Apprenticeships (Better Futures) Limited, 5 and 6 December 2023 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 looked after children, safeguarding

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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Reasonable progress

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

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