Stanfords Training Ltd

Stanfords Training Ltd 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: 2nd Floor Wolverley House 18 Digbeth High Street Birmingham B5 6BJ Monitoring visit: Stanfords Training Ltd, 13 and 14 March 2024

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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

Stanfords Training Ltd is an independent learning provider based in Birmingham, West Midlands. The company began training apprentices in August 2022 and offers apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3. At the time of the visit, there were 113 apprentices. Thirteen apprentices were under 19. The most popular apprenticeships provided were the level 2 construction plant operative, level 3 early years educator and level 3 assistant accountant. The provider does not work with any subcontractors.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have clear rationales for the apprenticeships that they offer. They ensure that the apprenticeships offered mirror the local skills needs. For example, leaders have introduced the early years educator apprenticeship to help fulfil the need for qualified nursery staff in Birmingham.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders work with employers to plan, design and adapt curriculums successfully. For example, through employer requests, apprentices often study additional embedded qualifications. Construction plant operative apprentices attain additional accreditations such as the construction skills certification scheme and construction plant competence scheme. These accreditations prepare apprentices well for progression in their industries.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that apprenticeship curriculums are logically sequenced in nearly all cases. Construction plant operative apprentices first learn about health and safety in a construction environment before they progress onto more complex operations such as operating fork-lift trucks, telescopic handlers and ride-on rollers. Apprentices build on their prior knowledge effectively over time. Monitoring visit: Stanfords Training Ltd, 13 and 14 March 2024 Leaders have recruited assessors who are suitably qualified, sector experts and possess high levels of prior industry knowledge. Apprentices value their assessor expertise and use this to gain a better-developed understanding of their working roles.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have appointed and continue to source additional staff to redesign their quality assurance mechanisms. Leaders recognise that the current quality assurance systems place too much emphasis on compliance and the completion of embedded qualifications. This is at the expense of making sure that apprentices get an appropriate standard of training.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have acted very recently to construct a governing board to provide them with the challenge needed to improve the quality of education that apprentices receive. The members of this board are suitability qualified and experienced to challenge leaders and to hold them to account. However, as this board has only been recently formed, the impact of this cannot yet be seen.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders ensure that assessors review apprentices’ progress with employers frequently. Through these reviews, assessors and workplace mentors work collaboratively to ensure that most apprentices undertake on- and off-the-job training which is linked well. As a result, most apprentices put their new learning into practice quickly.

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Reasonable progress

Managers and tutors do not consistently assess what all apprentices know and can do at the start of their apprenticeship precisely enough. Tutors focus too much on the completion of qualification assessment tasks and not enough on apprentices’ development of knowledge, skills and behaviours. This means that these apprentices do not develop their skills as quickly as they could.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors and assessors provide apprentices with helpful feedback on their written work. Apprentices use this feedback to develop the content of their work successfully. Apprentices produce further work which shows a deeper understanding of what they have been taught. However, in a few cases, the written feedback that apprentices receive does not identify, correct and subsequently improve apprentices’ spelling and grammatical errors. A few apprentices repeat errors and mistakes in their future written work.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors and assessors ensure that most apprentices are prepared well for their final assessments. Construction plant operative tutors link ongoing practical assessments with the requirements of apprentices’ final assessments. Early year educator apprentices complete mock knowledge tests and professional discussions. This Monitoring visit: Stanfords Training Ltd, 13 and 14 March 2024 supports these apprentices to be aware of what is expected of them to be successful in their final assessments.

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Reasonable progress

Nearly all apprentices gain substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours. Early years educator apprentices plan play activities confidently; these activities support children in the early stages of development successfully. Apprentices, through their studies, become highly valued employees.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have put in place appropriate safeguarding policies to work with both young and adult apprentices. Leaders complete a range of appropriate checks when appointing new staff to ensure they are suitable to work with apprentices.

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Reasonable progress

The designated safeguarding lead has a clear understanding of the requirements of the role. They are suitably trained, as are their deputies.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders take action to establish relevant information about the dangers of extremist and radical behaviours. However, this information is not always effectively shared with apprentices. As a result, too few apprentices have a sound enough understanding of the risks they may face in their locality. Monitoring visit: Stanfords Training Ltd, 13 and 14 March 2024 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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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