Wow Hair Academy Limited

Wow Hair Academy Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Steve Kelly, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: 6 King Street Wolverhampton West Midlands WV1 1ST Monitoring visit: Wow Hair Academy Limited, 22 Day and 23 July 2024

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Context and focus of visit

Wow Hair Academy Limited was inspected in October 2023. 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

Wow Hair Academy Limited (Wow) is an independent learning provider based in Wolverhampton. At the time of the visit there were 35 apprentices in training. Twenty-four apprentices were studying the level 2 hairdressing professional apprenticeship. Six were studying the level 2 barbering professional apprenticeship and the remaining five apprentices were studying the level 3 apprenticeship in creative hairdressing professionals. Thirty-one apprentices were under the age of 19.

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Insufficient progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have put in place new governance arrangements. For example, they have created links with an apprenticeship provider, sought additional expertise from the education and employment sectors and attended training to improve their knowledge of the function of governance. Governors are developing their understanding of the curriculums. They have begun to develop quality assurance procedures that are designed to help them to gain a well-informed insight into the quality of education.

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Insufficient progress

Governors meet with leaders and managers regularly. They encourage leaders to assess the quality of provision accurately and have started to develop a robust quality improvement plan. However, remedial actions to address identified areas of improvement have been slow. Although governors have focused on activity, such as the reporting on apprentice enrolment, completion and satisfaction rates, they have not scrutinised sufficiently the quality of the training that apprentices receive.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not focused sufficiently on assessing the quality of teaching and learning to enable them to support teachers to improve their practice. Teachers have started to complete teaching qualifications, which they have found helpful in developing their teaching skills. However, leaders and managers have set teachers clear developmental targets, so that they know what and how to improve their teaching. Monitoring visit: Wow Hair Academy Limited, 22 Day and 23 July 2024 Leaders and managers have sought more support and direction from governors to help them to continually improve quality. Managers recently developed a focus group, where members have begun to implement quality improvement remedial actions. Governors have started allocating responsibilities to board members to help them to focus on and aid rapid improvement. It is too soon to know whether leaders’ actions have resulted in improvements in the quality of education.

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have moved premises to a town centre location that is more accessible for apprentices and enables them to study in an environment that is more conducive to learning. They now provide apprentices with a dedicated classroom for the teaching of knowledge, an information technology suite, and a commercial salon for developing practical hairdressing skills.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have recently revised the curriculum by developing an off-the-job and on-the job curriculum plan that includes the teaching of the underpinning knowledge linked to apprentices’ practical skills. This helps apprentices to acquire new skills and build their knowledge from their starting points.

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Reasonable progress

Teachers have significant vocational expertise and commercial currency. Since the previous inspection, leaders have provided them with the opportunity to study towards achieving formal teaching qualifications. While this is a recent development, apprentices speak positively about how lessons have improved, and how they are developing useful knowledge that links well to their practical skills.

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Reasonable progress

Most teaching uses assessment and clearly presented practical demonstrations effectively to recap knowledge and identify what apprentices have learned. Teachers adjust teaching to ensure that apprentices’ knowledge is secure before moving on to new topics.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have improved the curriculum for those apprentices who do not attend the training centre for their learning, particularly those studying on level 3 apprenticeships. For example, teachers visit apprentices in their salons to teach them new knowledge. This helps to ensure that apprentices develop their knowledge and skills in line with their peers who attend learning sessions at the training academy.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders and managers have not provided apprentices with the career education, information and guidance they need to prepare them for their next steps. They have Monitoring visit: Wow Hair Academy Limited, 22 Day and 23 July 2024 started to develop information, advice and guidance sessions that they plan to provide to apprentices as part of a personal development programme.

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Insufficient progress

Managers and teachers do not routinely consider apprentices’ career aspirations when planning the curriculum or during meetings about the progress apprentices are making in their learning. Leaders and managers have recently added additional questions to the apprenticeship enrolment process to help to identify apprentices’ aspirations early in their programme. This action has helped newly recruited apprentices to begin exploring the career options available to them after they have completed the apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have recognised rightly that hairdressing apprentices require additional knowledge of personal finance and business skills. They have provided apprentices with sessions that teach them about the tax system and self-employment. Managers have also invited previous apprentices to share their experiences of starting a business.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have been too slow to take action to support apprentices to achieve their functional skills qualifications. While apprentices develop vocationally relevant knowledge of English and mathematics throughout their learning, such as the use of angles when cutting hair and calculating product and staffing costs, they do not receive sufficient teaching and support to prepare them for their examinations. Since the previous inspection, leaders provide apprentices with online tuition in English and mathematics. However, they do not sufficiently monitor if apprentices are using this resource and developing their knowledge, or take remedial actions when they do not make the expected progress. Teachers do not set apprentices sufficiently challenging targets so that they know what they need to do to improve. At the time of the visit, a few apprentices were approaching their hairdressing end-point assessment and had not achieved their

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Insufficient progress

English and mathematics qualification. Monitoring visit: Wow Hair Academy Limited, 22 Day and 23 July 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient 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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