The Square Metre Limited

The Square Metre Limited

Address: The Former County Court, 13 Church Road, Redditch, B97 4AB Unique reference number (URN): 2554082

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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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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the apprenticeship provision, which they monitor through frequent observations of teaching and feedback from meetings with apprentices and their employers. Where issues arise, leaders take decisive action to put in place strategies to make improvements. As a result, the quality of teaching has substantially improved since the last inspection.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors challenge and support leaders effectively to refine the quality assurance process and to improve apprentices’ achievement. They ensure that trainers and coaches have opportunities to develop their vocational skills and are updated with curriculum changes. However, leaders do not yet focus sharply enough on targets and training for coaches and trainers that develop their teaching skills. They do not collect comprehensive enough information about apprentices' experience to understand how to improve their learning experience further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are experts in the security and events management industry and work closely with employers and external stakeholders to understand industry priorities. Employers value the industry specificity of apprentices’ training.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff wellbeing and workload are prioritised. They manage staff welfare sensitively and support staff with access to private health care and counselling. Staff feel well supported in their work.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have established a welcoming and supportive culture in which apprentices’ needs are rapidly met. Staff are effective at identifying the needs of apprentices and indicators of disadvantage during the application stage and during apprentices' learning. When apprentices face temporary disadvantage in their lives or work, leaders put in place swift and effective support. Apprentices appreciate the highly empathetic support that they receive from coaches, trainers and leaders. Leaders have only recently redesigned policies and procedures that focus on inclusion to identify and support a wider range of barriers to learning. As a result, they do not yet routinely monitor or review the impact of their actions. While apprentices with barriers to their learning are well supported to achieve the same high grades as their peers, leaders are not yet able to measure the extent to which their actions are effective over time.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that staff receive specific training to deepen their awareness and expertise in supporting apprentices with special educational needs and/or disabilities. While leaders have plans in place for training, apprentices have not yet benefited from this development.

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Achievement Strong standard

Achievement rates are very high, and a high proportion of apprentices achieve distinctions at end-point assessment. Apprentices with barriers to their learning achieve at the same high rate as their peers.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices, including those who have barriers to their learning, develop substantial leadership skills that they use rapidly in the workplace. For example, they learn how to manage difficult conversations, coordinate large teams at high-profile sports events and deescalate conflict. Apprentices are well prepared for their next steps, and a large number go on to promoted roles within their organisations or set up their own businesses within the industry.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have designed a curriculum which is tailored to the security and events management industry and enables apprentices to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that leaders and managers of high-profile event teams need. Employers value the skills that apprentices bring to the workplace. Trainers use a range of effective teaching techniques to help apprentices gain the knowledge and skills needed. They use real-life scenarios and ask apprentices to apply the theory they have learned to develop their understanding. They encourage apprentices to share experiences with their peers, so that they can learn from each other. Apprentices reflect on their experiences and those of others to develop their work practice continually.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Skills coaches give apprentices clear and helpful feedback on their work, which outlines how apprentices can improve both their written work and their work-based practice over time. Apprentices respond positively to feedback, and many can show evidence of substantial improvement in their quality of their work throughout their studies.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders assess the prior knowledge and skills of apprentices at the start of their learning effectively. They use this knowledge to adapt the curriculum and to ensure that additional support is put in place rapidly. However, apprentices do not revisit these assessments consistently enough to understand where areas of weakness remain or to ensure that they are making the progress of which they are capable.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders provide apprentices with a broad curriculum that includes work-related content on mental health and maintaining healthy relationships in the workplace. Apprentices know how to protect themselves from radicalisation and extremist views and the importance of recognising signs of extremism, related to the event management industry. They know how to make informed choices about their own wellbeing.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices develop a clear understanding of cultural diversity and fundamental British values, which enables them to challenge prejudice effectively in their workplaces, should they witness it.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices attend their learning regularly. When apprentices struggle to attend, leaders ensure support is provided to enable them to improve their attendance quickly and re- engage in learning.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices receive coherent careers education and tailored guidance though a mixture of useful information packs, career planning workshops and individual guidance. Some apprentices undertake additional leadership qualifications in spectator safety, crowd safety management and education and training. Apprentices find these additional qualifications useful for their future career plans. They make informed decisions about their next steps and develop plans for career progression after the completion of their apprenticeship.

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

Apprentices are very well supported by diligent skills coaches who offer substantial additional support and training throughout their learning. Coaches and trainers work together to ensure that the curriculum is focused on the leadership challenges of the security and events management industry and, as a result, apprentices are highly motivated to learn. A very high proportion of apprentices achieve their apprenticeship and do so with distinction grades.

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

Apprentices bring the skills that they have learned expertly into their workplace. They lead large teams, rationalise the size of teams required for specific sport and music security projects, defend licencing decisions in legal settings and approach issues in the workplace more strategically. They develop their confidence and resilience rapidly, as a result of their learning. Employers highly value the skills that apprentices bring to their organisation.

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

Skills coaches identify any barriers to apprentices’ learning at the start of their studies and through the strong relationship that they develop over time. Apprentices are confident in declaring personal issues that create short-term disadvantage, and coaches put appropriate additional support in place rapidly. However, teaching staff and skills coaches have not yet experienced sufficient training to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to support learners with learning support needs fully.

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

Trainers and skills coaches ensure that apprentices have a thorough knowledge of life in modern Britain and its relevance to their industry. Apprentices understand the importance of respect and tolerance in events management, as well as having in-depth knowledge of extremism and the risk of terrorism relating to large-scale event planning. They discuss current local and national risks in the context of their work and the responsibilities of their roles so that they can make informed decisions about risk in their lives and work.

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Next steps

Leaders should further strengthen professional development for trainers to deepen staff awareness and expertise in supporting apprentices with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders should refine their inclusion processes to enable them to monitor the effectiveness of support plans for apprentices with barriers to learning. Leaders should further improve the training of staff to improve the quality of teaching, including the use of online tools and pedagogy. Leaders should sharpen the focus of the quality assurance process, including the collection of learners' feedback and targeted training for staff.

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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, staff, apprentices and employers during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider:

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Team inspectors:

Andrew John Thompson, Ofsted Inspector Lee Jamieson, Ofsted 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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national average

2024/25 100 65 Above The Square Metre Limited is an independent learning provider based in Redditch, Worcestershire. At the time of the inspection, there were 13 adult apprentices, all studying operations manager apprenticeship at level 5. All apprentices work in the crowd safety and security management sector and are based in regions across England.

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national average

'This provider' and 'national average' figures are taken from the publicly available DfE achievement rates. Where the DfE have supressed the figures, usually due to small cohorts, this has been mirrored in the Report Card and will be shown by an 'S'.

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Year This provider National average

'This provider' and 'national average' figures are taken from the publicly available DfE achievement rates. Where the DfE have supressed the figures, usually due to small cohorts, this has been mirrored in the Report Card and will be shown by an 'S'.

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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

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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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