The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust

Further education and skills inspection report

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Inspection of The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Information about this provider

The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust provides apprenticeship training to its 33 primary schools in London, the Midlands and East Anglia. The trust also trains apprentices from a multi-academy trust in the South East. Apprentices are taught online. The trust recruited its first apprentices in May 2020. At the time of the inspection, there were 31 apprentices across two apprenticeship standards. Of these, 26 study the level 3 teaching assistant standard and five study the level 3 business administration standard. 19 to 21 June 2024

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

Apprentices develop their confidence very well throughout their training. They learn new knowledge and skills that help them in their jobs so that they make a valuable contribution to the schools where they work. Staff give apprentices developmental feedback throughout their training, which boosts apprentices’ self-belief. Apprentices become more resilient and adaptable in the face of challenges at work, such as dealing with children’s poor behaviour in class.

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

Apprentices, many of whom return to education after a long break, develop positive attitudes to learning and work. They are motivated to learn and achieve because they receive effective teaching and support from staff and at their schools.

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

Apprentices show respect for each other in their online sessions. Staff create a safe environment where apprentices can share their own experiences and seek advice and guidance when they need it. This helps nurture their development. Apprentices attend and participate well in sessions and are supportive of each other.

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

Apprentices feel safe. They know who to speak to at work and in training if they have any concerns about their own or others’ welfare. They have confidence that staff would treat any concerns seriously.

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better?

Leaders and staff have designed and sequenced the curriculum well. They adapt the content well to reflect the school settings that apprentices work in. For example, apprentices can follow specialist pathways in special educational needs and/or disabilities and English as an additional language that reflect the needs of pupils in their schools.

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better?

In online sessions, staff use a range of effective teaching strategies to make sure that apprentices remember what they have been taught. Staff explain new concepts clearly, recap previously taught content and guide apprentices toward research and online resources. Staff use questioning effectively to check learning. Their questions elicit detailed responses from apprentices and increase their understanding of, for example, the key development stages of a child.

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better?

Apprentices gain new knowledge, skills and behaviours because they put into practice quickly what they learn through projects at work. This consolidates their learning. For example, business administration apprentices develop new online reporting systems for midday assistants to record accidents, allowing staff to have better information to communicate with parents and carers.

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better?

Staff provide useful and timely feedback to apprentices on their work. This identifies well where apprentices can improve, such as by including additional content and correcting punctuation in their written work. As a result, apprentices improve the quality of their work over time. 19 to 21 June 2024

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Staff prepare apprentices well for their final assessments. They provide good opportunities throughout their training for apprentices to develop the skills needed to succeed. For example, apprentices complete presentations on projects at the halfway stage of their training, which helps them develop the skills and confidence to give presentations. Consequently, apprentices understand what is expected of them at their final assessments.

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Staff integrate effective careers advice and guidance throughout the training. Apprentices have clear aspirations for their careers and next steps. They say that their course is preparing them well for what they want to do next, and most are well informed about their career choices.

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Leaders and staff have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. Leaders provide suitable oversight, support and challenge to staff. They receive a suitable range of performance information that keeps them informed of the quality of education that apprentices receive.

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When leaders began training apprentices, they did not make sure that those who needed to achieve mathematics qualifications got the support they needed. This led to too few apprentices completing their training in 2022/23. Subsequently, leaders put in place new arrangements to make sure that mathematics is not a barrier to apprentices’ achievement. Staff assess apprentices’ mathematics thoroughly at the start of their training. Through frequent and effective teaching, current apprentices develop their knowledge, skills and confidence well and make good progress in this subject.

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Staff provide good operational leadership and management. They perform a wide range of roles in doing so. However, the small team has limited capacity and this means that there are aspects of the training that are not fully effective. For example, employers are not consistently involved in reviewing apprentices’ progress and these reviews are not always held frequently enough.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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What does the provider need to do to improve?

 Improve the timeliness of reviews of apprentices’ progress.  Consistently involve line managers in reviews of apprentices’ progress.  Make sure that there is sufficient staff capacity to manage all aspects of apprentices’ training. 19 to 21 June 2024

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Provider details

Principal, CEO or equivalent Hugh Greenway

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Provider details

Provider type Independent learning provider

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Provider details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Provider details

Main subcontractors None 19 to 21 June 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspection team was assisted by the head of apprenticeships, 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

Jon Bowman, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Colin Smith Ofsted Inspector 19 to 21 June 2024

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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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