Penshaw View Training Limited

Penshaw View Training Limited

Address: 11 Ashdale, Mount Pleasant, Houghton Le Spring, Tyne and Wear, DH4 7SL Unique reference number (URN): 1276406

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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 Expected standard

Leaders have created a culture in which apprentices' needs are quickly identified and effectively met. Trainers recognise a wide range of barriers to learning and vulnerabilities apprentices may face. Apprentices have frequent opportunities to discuss their needs with trainers. They receive timely support to help them make progress on their course and improve the quality of their work.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have recently appointed staff to designated inclusion roles to help support staff and apprentices to reduce barriers to learning. Support staff are well qualified and experienced to provide support for apprentices. Trainers provide tailored support to apprentices with dyslexia. They adapt teaching to accommodate apprentices' needs. Leaders and trainers recognise temporary barriers to learning. They have introduced a menopause policy and staff training to help provide apprentices with support.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff monitor the progress that apprentices who face barriers to learning make. Staff recognise apprentices' changing needs and adjust or reduce the support for apprentices as required. They review the support with apprentices to adapt it and ensure it is effective and appropriate. Apprentices with barriers to learning make secure progress. They become more independent learners and achieve well. Apprentices with barriers to learning typically achieve higher grades than their peers.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have sufficient oversight of the provision in order to understand most of the strengths and areas for improvement. They recognise that the achievement of the small number of level 2 apprentices has been too low and have identified the contributing factors. However, leaders have not identified weaknesses with the quality of the off-the-job training in between trainer meetings for a few apprentices.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders ensure that trainers undertake useful industry-specific training. Those trainers new to teaching are supported to gain recognised teaching and assessing qualifications. However, leaders provide less opportunity for more-experienced trainers to develop and enhance their teaching practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and managers have a strategy to provide bespoke training to develop and upskill the workforce of employers nationally. They foster effective relationships with employers. Staff meet with employers to identify the specific skills that apprentices will need to ensure that apprentices are the right fit for the job.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have in place a suitable governance board to help monitor the quality of the provision. Leaders provide useful reports about performance and any concerns or risks to apprentices' achievement for the monthly meetings.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders focus well on the emotional and physical wellbeing of their staff. Staff state that their workloads are manageable. Leaders have regular wellbeing meetings with staff and implement effective support to meet their individual needs, including caring responsibilities. Staff feel proud to work for the provider.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices develop the skills and knowledge that they need to do their job roles. Over time, level 3 human resource support apprentices deal with clients who have more complex requirements with reduced support from their mentors. Level 5 operational manager apprentices develop new skills using research, analysis and financial management to inform staff restructuring and improvement planning. Most apprentices remain in their job roles, gain promotions and increase their responsibilities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Most apprentices make sustained progress from their starting points and achieve their qualifications within the planned timescales.

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Achievement Expected standard

Apprentices produce work of the expected quality and many produce work of a high standard, including those apprentices with barriers to learning. Apprentices take pride in their work. For example, level 3 safety, health and environment technician apprentices are proud of the work they complete in consultation with their employers, such as equipment audits, risk assessments and accident investigations.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that employers understand the requirements of the apprenticeship and trainers and employers both provide off-the-job training for apprentices. However, trainers do not routinely check the quality of training in the workplace, which is not of consistently high quality. Too often, apprentices are provided independent study to complete without enough supervision or guidance.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders mostly have an accurate understanding of the quality of the curriculums. Trainers meet monthly with their line managers to review apprentices' progress, identify those falling behind, and arrange additional support for apprentices where needed.

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Needs attention

Leaders and trainers ensure the curriculums are designed to meet employers' skills needs. They sequence the curriculums well to build knowledge over time. Trainers provide effective one-to-one sessions that help to link theory with workplace practices.

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Needs attention

Trainers use a range of assessment strategies to help apprentices connect theory to real-life scenarios and to check learning. They encourage apprentices to talk about workplace practices to help develop and deepen their understanding. Trainers provide useful feedback to help apprentices improve their work and achieve higher grades.

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Needs attention

Apprentices benefit from regular progress meetings with trainers and employers. These discussions are used to help identify barriers to learning, assess newly developed skills, and plan next steps to ensure that apprentices stay on track and achieve their qualifications.

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Needs attention

Leaders have recruited experienced and qualified staff to deliver their programmes. Trainers have experience in the sectors they teach in different roles from operational to management. They use their expertise well to provide relevant training to apprentices.

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Participation and development Needs attention

The quality of the careers information advice and guidance that apprentices receive is not of high quality across different courses. While some apprentices are clear about their next steps, too many apprentices, particularly those at the start of their career, do not benefit from tailored information, advice and guidance to help them understand the progression opportunities open to them.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Leaders do not provide apprentices with enough opportunities to develop learning over and above the curriculum. While leaders offer a personal development curriculum online, too many apprentices do not access the courses. This means that if individual trainers do not include these topics in their training sessions, apprentices miss these elements of the curriculum.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Trainers set high expectations for apprentices' attendance and professional behaviours. They set clear guidelines for the online learning sessions, including respect for others' views and opinions, keeping phones switched off and using appropriate professional language. Apprentices apply these behaviours in the workplace when dealing with clients and chairing meetings.

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Participation and development Needs attention

Leaders and staff ensure there is a high focus on safety and wellbeing, including in the workplace. Apprentices know how to raise any concerns they may have and are confident that concerns would be dealt with appropriately.

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

Too many apprentices do not receive sufficient information to develop their understanding of career opportunities. On level 3 business administrator, apprentices are not clear about the options for their longer-term careers when they have completed their apprenticeship.

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

Leaders do not plan the curriculums well enough to provide apprentices with information and activities that develop their skills and interests beyond the taught curriculum. They rely too much on individual trainers' skills and knowledge to provide wider opportunities for apprentices to prepare them well for the future.

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

Most apprentices are positive about their training. The majority enjoy the flexibility of the online training meetings. However, in a few cases apprentices do not receive sufficient guidance on the training and self-study they complete in between their training meetings. This means that these apprentices are less positive about their experience.

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

Apprentices feel safe and welcome during their training, including apprentices with barriers to learning. Apprentices with health conditions receive support to achieve their qualifications, such as scheduling training meetings around treatment times. Trainers provide extra sessions to apprentices who have family commitments.

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

Apprentices develop new knowledge, skills and professional behaviours throughout their course. Apprentices on the level 3 retail apply their learning to improve customer experience. Those on level 5 operations manager improve their team's performance and operational outcomes as a result of their learning.

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

Apprentices, including those who have additional needs or who are from disadvantaged areas, receive effective support to help them overcome barriers to learning. Trainers provide sessions that include development of English and mathematics skills. Apprentices with English as a second language improve their writing skills. Apprentices develop their confidence and independence and learn to apply their skills and knowledge in the workplace. Employers value apprentices' improved communication skills and fluency of technical vocabulary.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that apprentices, particularly those at the start of their career, receive tailored careers information and guidance so they understand the opportunities open to them after the apprenticeship. Leaders should ensure that apprentices participate in a personal development curriculum that prepares them well for the future. Leaders should ensure that trainers plan and monitor off-the-job training that takes place in the workplace in between training sessions to provide high-quality training for apprentices throughout their course.

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Team inspectors:

Hayley Lomas, His Majesty's Inspector Neil Clark, Ofsted Inspector Marina Gaze, Ofsted Inspector Chris Wiley, Ofsted Inspector Daniel Bowater, Ofsted Inspector Mark Keen, 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. Leaders should plan a programme of training to develop and enhance trainers' professional practice.

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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

Inspectors spoke with leaders, trainers, apprentices and stakeholders 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

Penshaw View Training Limited provides apprenticeships nationally through online training. At the time of the inspection, there were 186 apprentices mostly over 19 years of age, with 20 apprentices under 18 years of age. There were 126 apprentices on eight level 3 apprenticeships with the largest cohort of 70 studying on the level 3 health, safety and environment technician. The remainder were on apprenticeships at levels 2, 4 and 5.

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About this inspection

There were 22 apprentices working towards achieving their functional skills qualifications in mathematics and 17 working towards English functional skills qualifications.

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About this inspection

Managing Director: Philippa Breckon This data is from 17 March 2026

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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

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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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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