Accountancy Learning Ltd

Accountancy Learning Ltd

Address: Southernhay Lodge, EX1 1QT Unique reference number (URN): 1276444

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, learners are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect providers for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders maintain a strong focus on reducing barriers to learning for their apprentices and learners. They have put in place purposefully designed curriculums that are highly accessible and provides high-quality learning resources to meet individual apprentices' and learners' needs. Leaders ensure that all apprentices and learners receive the targeted support they need to make sustained progress.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders consistently ensure that staff accurately identify the individual needs of apprentices and learners at the start of their course and through ongoing discussions. They ensure that tutors use this information to produce highly effective support plans, enabling apprentices and learners to thrive. Leaders work closely with specialist professionals and external agencies to ensure that apprentices and learners with the most complex learning needs are very well supported.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders closely monitor the support strategies that tutors implement to ensure they are highly effective. Leaders provide tailored weekly contact with tutors for their apprentices and learners. They ensure that this support helps them to build their independence. Leaders ensure that the support provided for the development of English and mathematics knowledge and skills is patient, personalised and relevant to accountancy contexts. This successfully contributes towards apprentices and learners achieving very well.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors have a clear vision and strategy to provide high-quality accounting curriculums. Since the previous inspection, they have expanded the curriculum offer by forming a key partnership with Cornwall Council to offer Skills Bootcamps for learners. Leaders have fostered positive and collaborative relationships with employers to meet specialist accountancy skills needs.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors know their strengths and ensure that they take effective actions to improve areas for development. Governors effectively use their educational expertise to hold leaders to account through purposeful challenge and support. This ensures that the impact of leaders' actions to improve the quality of teaching is beneficial to their apprentices and learners. However, the wider curriculum for apprentices and learners is not yet of a consistently high standard.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors ensure that they meet the best interests of their apprentices and learners. They provide courses that allow them to study at the most suitable level for them. Leaders ensure that apprentices and learners are supported effectively through purposefully designed, course-specific learning resources.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders ensure that tutors receive useful professional development. They ensure that the tutors they recruit maintain their specialist knowledge in accountancy. Leaders provide tutors with carefully planned training opportunities to improve their teaching skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders create a supportive environment that helps staff to feel valued. They make sure workloads are manageable through close monitoring and provide useful support to tutors. Staff work in a supportive culture, where tutors use their own industry experience to support one another.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make the expected progress from their starting points. Learners with prior bookkeeping experience improve on what they already know by developing new knowledge in using up-to-date digital accounting systems. Learners who are new to accountancy successfully learn core principles, such as double-entry bookkeeping.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners produce work at the expected standard. The technical digital skills they acquire show a proficient understanding of the content they learn. They competently use up-to-date cloud-based platforms that are used to provide financial insights. This improves learners’ employability skills, and for learners who are self-employed it enables them to submit their tax returns digitally.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners are well prepared for their next steps. They develop the confidence they need to succeed and apply the practical skills that they have learned to real-world contexts, such as completing businesses' bank reconciliations. The vast majority of learners seeking a career change into accountancy secure a related job interview.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders understand their provision well and have designed a Skills Bootcamp course that closely aligns with the skills priorities identified by Cornwall Council. The course is well tailored to meet the bookkeeping training needs of learners in Cornwall. Leaders have deliberately designed the course to meet individual learning goals, including developing learners' digital skills to enhance their current job role or transition into a new career.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders provide a well-sequenced Skills Bootcamp course. Tutors ensure that learners know subject-specific terminology and core principles of bookkeeping before advancing on to more complex topics, such as full sales cycles. Learners gradually develop confidence in applying their new knowledge.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors are accountancy specialists. They use their expertise to provide a curriculum that enables learners to develop the up-to-date knowledge and digital skills they need in relation to the modernisation of the tax system. Tutors provide useful explanations and expert demonstrations to their learners while emphasising key terminology.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors use well-designed scenarios and project-based tasks so that learners can practise their new knowledge and skills. They ensure that learners practise using relevant accountancy software. In a few cases, tutors miss opportunities to check learners' understanding of the new content they are learning before moving on to new topics.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure they provide an accessible curriculum. They provide high-quality online resources so that the course is accessible for learners living in remote areas. Tutors provide the effective one-to-one support needed by learners throughout the 12-week duration of the course to supplement the online components.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders and tutors provide learners with a professional online learning environment. Learners demonstrate high levels of respect and courtesy towards their tutors and their peers. They are punctual to their lessons and attend well. Tutors provide useful catch-up sessions on the rare occasions when learners miss a lesson, ensuring the continuity of their learning.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders ensure that learners receive well-structured careers guidance. Learners benefit from one-to-one advice from their industry-experienced tutors about future learning and job opportunities available to them. Those who are seeking a career in accountancy are helped with their job applications and interview preparation. This equips them with the knowledge and confidence they need to make informed decisions about their future.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Learners feel safe attending their lessons online. They feel confident that their tutors would respond promptly if they had a welfare concern. Learners value the information they receive about radicalisation and extremism. They develop a good awareness of potential risks online and in rural areas. Tutors have plans in place to provide further, wider development opportunities that are suitable for their adult learners, but these are not yet specifically targeted to meet individual personal and social development needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders provide highly ambitious accountancy apprenticeship curriculums. They successfully meet employers' skills needs to train apprentices to be highly skilled in accountancy. They maintain a close overview of the training. They are highly committed to providing training at level 2 for the small proportion of their apprentices who require it as their first step, thereby, creating excellent career opportunities into accounting.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Tutors work very closely with employers to plan curriculums that meet the training needs of their apprentices. They ensure learning is sequenced expertly to reflect the tasks that apprentices complete in their job roles. Apprentices benefit from this highly individualised approach that, with the help of their tutors, helps them to link the content they learn to their workplace experiences.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Tutors are highly effective in using their significant accountancy industry expertise in lessons. This helps apprentices quickly to relate new content to their job roles. Tutors provide expert demonstrations that help apprentices to develop the competencies they need. They give very helpful explanations so that apprentices can link the content to their final assessments. Apprentices with special educational needs and/or disabilities feel very well supported by their tutors.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Tutors provide highly effective guidance through feedback on apprentices' assignments that helps them to produce work of a consistently high standard. Apprentices use high-quality learning resources that have been designed by their tutors to meet their specific training needs. These include skilfully designed online interactive programmes, podcasts, video tutorials and textbooks to support apprentices' independent learning tasks.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices achieve well, including in English and mathematics. A high proportion of apprentices who complete their final assessments pass their qualifications. The few apprentices who exceed their planned training end date are effectively supported by tutors, ensuring they remain on track to achieve their qualifications.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders accurately identified the reasons for low achievement at level 2. These apprentices are now benefiting from highly effective support that helps them better prepare for their final assessments. At the time of the inspection, almost all apprentices studying at level 2, who had completed their final assessments, had passed.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices produce work to the expected standard. Written assessments demonstrate competence in applying the new technical knowledge and skills that apprentices have developed. For example, apprentices accurately complete financial statements.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices are prepared well for their next steps. Most apprentices remain in employment and many move on to studying accountancy-related training at a higher level.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders set high expectations for the professional standards of their apprentices. Tutors and employers work closely together to monitor the standards achieved by apprentices. Apprentices know the importance of independent study so that their learning reflects the industry they work in. They attend highly and are motivated to succeed.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders ensure that apprentices broaden their knowledge of important topics. For example, young apprentices develop an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships. Tutors support apprentices to develop their understanding of equality, diversity, and inclusivity topics, as well as fundamental British values. Although, in a few cases, tutors miss opportunities to embed these wider topics during lessons so that apprentices can consistently apply their learning to the workplace. Tutors promote suitable activities for meaningful personal development, but few apprentices participate in these opportunities.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders ensure apprentices receive effective careers education. Tutors provide tailored guidance to help apprentices make informed decisions about their future. For example, apprentices know the higher-level training opportunities available to them on completion of their qualifications.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices feel safe and know about potential risks. They know who to contact if they have a concern and feel confident that staff will respond appropriately. Tutors frequently check learners' wellbeing during review meetings.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices and learners thrive in a highly inclusive learning environment. They receive high levels of support from their tutors to overcome barriers to their learning. Apprentices and learners value the structured one-to-one support that tutors provide and feel well prepared for their next steps. This helps them to achieve their personal goals and career aspirations.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices highly appreciate the opportunity to develop their confidence and knowledge to perform their job roles, including as financial accountants or tax specialists. They benefit from well-designed learning materials to practise their skills in the professional environments that tutors provide. Most apprentices who remain on their course achieve their qualifications, including in English and mathematics. Leaders rightly recognise that historically too few apprentices studying at level 2 achieved their qualifications. They have since put in place highly effective support for these apprentices, which is having a positive impact.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners studying an online Skills Bootcamp develop the competence to complete financial administrative tasks. They value the teaching they receive from tutors to learn bookkeeping tasks and to build their experience in using accountancy-related software to complete tasks digitally, such as bank reconciliations. Learners secure job interviews or take on more finance-related responsibilities at their workplace, such as financial reporting.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices and learners routinely demonstrate professional behaviours, such as respect and reliability. They learn about important topics relating to keeping themselves safe online and about the potential risks in society relating to radicalisation and extremism. This equips them well in their personal and working lives.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

The training and education apprentices and learners receive meets their expectations. They are motivated to do well. Apprentices and learners attend well and fully participate in learning activities. They develop the technical knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their job roles or to enhance their future employment prospects.

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Next steps

• Leaders should ensure that apprentices studying at level 2 consistently make extensive progress from their starting points and achieve well. • Leaders should ensure that teaching in Skills Bootcamp courses is consistently of a high standard, and that tutors check that learners can connect new ideas with existing knowledge. • Leaders should ensure that apprentices and adult learners receive and participate in a rich and carefully tailored programme of wider opportunities that directly relate to their development needs.

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Team inspectors:

Sarah Biddulph, His Majesty's Inspector Russ Henry, His Majesty's Inspector Nikki Brady, His Majesty's Inspector Mark Care, His Majesty's Inspector Rochelle Saneria, His Majesty's Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspection activities: Inspectors spoke with governors, leaders, tutors, employers, apprentices and adult learners during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider:

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About this inspection

Accountancy Learning Limited is an independent learning provider located in Exeter, Devon, that primarily provides apprenticeship courses. Around seven tenths of apprentices study online and work across the country. The remainder study at one of the training centres in Exeter, Taunton, Plymouth or Falmouth. In October 2025, the provider began teaching an online Skills Bootcamp course in bookkeeping and digital skills to adult learners living in Cornwall.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 306 apprentices, 23 of whom were aged between 16 and 18. There were 6 adult learners studying a Skills Bootcamp course.

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About this inspection

All apprentices study an accountancy-related course. Around three quarters of apprentices study at level 3 or at level 4, and around one quarter study at level 2 or at level 7.

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About this inspection

Co-directors: Mr Simon Deane and Mrs Prue Deane

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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