St Mary's University, Twickenham

St Mary’s University, Twickenham Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 September 2025

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Type of provider: Higher education institution

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Address:

Waldegrave Road Strawberry Hill Twickenham London TW1 4SX Monitoring visit: St Mary’s University, Twickenham, [24 and 25 September 2025]

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Context and focus of visit

St Mary’s University, Twickenham was inspected in November 2024. 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

At the time of the monitoring visit, there were 13 level 4 children, young people and families practitioner apprentices and 12 level 7 senior leader apprentices. Apprentices are all aged over 18 and work for schools and dioceses across the country.

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Reasonable progress

Since January, leaders have focused well on helping to ensure that apprentices are fully prepared for their end-point assessment (EPA). Apprentices now benefit from information much earlier in their apprenticeship than previously. Apprentices have benefited from better guidance on what they need to provide to cover all the required knowledge, skills and behaviours. Apprentices now have an EPA action plan that helps them to identify what evidence they need for their portfolio and any gaps in their evidence. This helps apprentices to feel better prepared when they submit their work for assessment. Tutors do not currently conduct mock EPA interviews with apprentices. Plans are in place for on-site observations in the apprentices’ workplace. However, at the time of the monitoring visit, this had not yet started. Early on in their course, apprentices on the senior leadership apprenticeship discuss with their mentors and tutors the ideas they have for their research project. This

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Reasonable progress

helps to make sure they are realistic and achievable. Staff ensure that apprentices know when they are due to complete their apprenticeship and know what they need to achieve in their remaining time on the programme. During progress review meetings, tutors discuss the progress apprentices make through their course and arrange additional time if they need to catch up. As a result, most apprentices are on track and confident they will complete on time. Monitoring visit: St Mary’s University, Twickenham, [24 and 25 September 2025] Apprentices are aware of the possible grade outcomes and are ambitious to achieve well. Tutors guide apprentices on what they need to do to achieve a distinction, and apprentices know how to achieve this. A few apprentices from earlier cohorts feel rushed towards the end of the course and feel overwhelmed with the EPA process. Tutors support these apprentices to complete their course, but they will complete the apprenticeship later than expected.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders and managers have made substantial changes to their oversight arrangements since their inspection. The apprenticeship provision now sits within a central team at the university, rather than within an academic school. This has increased the profile of apprenticeships throughout the university and allowed for clearer reporting to be implemented. Senior leaders now have a good understanding of the apprenticeship provision. The recently established Apprenticeship Quality Board brings together academic leaders with colleagues from registry to ensure that there is sufficient operational oversight of the progress that apprentices make. This has led to increased scrutiny and oversight by university committees. The recently appointed Head of Apprenticeships has quickly established regular meetings with course leaders within the academic schools that teach apprentices. Frequent meetings ensure that leaders and managers have a good understanding of

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Reasonable progress

the progress that apprentices make. Staff benefit from a range of training to understand the expectations that leaders have set around apprenticeships. This includes training for workplace mentors and tutors on the requirements of the end-point assessment, as well as on completing effective progress reviews. This is starting to have an impact on apprentices who, for example, now understand fully the requirements of their end-point assessment. Workplace mentors are positive about the increased level of communication from the university. Mentors feel confident that issues raised will be dealt with in a timely way. Leaders and managers have recognised and taken action to improve the tracking of apprentices’ progress. Leaders have invested in a digital portfolio system, which is currently being set up. While not operational at the time of the monitoring visit, this will make the oversight of apprentices’ progress easier to track and monitor.

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Reasonable progress

Monitoring visit: St Mary’s University, Twickenham, [24 and 25 September 2025]

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they learn through their training?

Leaders and managers have ensured that all apprentices on both standards have workplace mentors, who take part in suitably frequent tripartite reviews. This has led to mentors being able to work effectively with apprentices to plan activities that allow apprentices to put into practice what they learn on the course. For example, after learning about resilience, apprentices delivered a training session to staff on how to become more resilient. As a result of the new knowledge and skills apprentices have gained on the course, they have designed and delivered training to staff in their workplace on resilience. Apprentices have quickly become valued members of their team in the workplace. They use the knowledge gained from the course to great effect. For example, after learning about learners who have specific learning needs and difficulties, they are now able to support children who have specific needs, such as autism, effectively.

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they learn through their training?

Mentors help apprentices to reflect on the progress they make with their course. They help apprentices to identify areas for development, and opportunities where they could demonstrate the required knowledge, skills and behaviours. This helps apprentices make progress and current apprentices are on track to achieve within their planned timescale. Staff do not always plan with apprentices and their mentors opportunities from the start of their courses to link training to apprentices’ competencies in the workplace. This has led to on- and off-the-job training not always aligning. This is better for apprentices on the senior leadership apprenticeships, where tutors and mentors develop plans from the outset to identify and bridge gaps in apprentices’ knowledge. For example, where apprentices do not routinely work with finances, opportunities are planned for apprentices to shadow the finance manager when they are

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they learn through their training?

completing specific tasks. Monitoring visit: St Mary’s University, Twickenham, [24 and 25 September 2025] 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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they learn through their training?

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they learn through their training?

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they learn through their training?

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they learn through their training?

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