Release Potential Ltd

Release Potential Ltd

Address: The Bridges, Lead Road, Stocksfield, NE43 7SF Unique reference number (URN): 59126

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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 have a very carefully planned approach to inclusion which enhances the experiences and opportunities for all learners. Inclusion is embedded in the culture of the organisation and its practices. Leaders establish a supportive culture in which learners feel welcome and grow in self-belief.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff identify learners’ barriers to learning quickly and accurately. They swiftly provide learners with highly effective support which enables them to complete their courses successfully and be very well prepared for employment. Staff maintain high expectations, and learners often achieve goals they had not previously believed possible.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Tutors carefully review the support that learners receive throughout the programme. Where appropriate, staff reduce support to promote independence to prepare learners for employment.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff complete high-quality training to gain greater awareness of the range of barriers to learning and to help them identify learners who are struggling but have not declared a particular barrier.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff work tirelessly to ensure that learners with barriers to learning have the same opportunities to participate in work placements and employment events, and ultimately in gaining employment which is right for them.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have a very clear vision to provide opportunities for unemployed adults to gain and sustain jobs in the Civil Service and public sector. Their aim is for learners, who are often furthest from employment, to gain employment in a career in which they can grow.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have established a culture of valuing the privilege to work with unemployed adults, often with multiple barriers to learning and far from the job market. This philosophy is translated throughout the organisation, and learners are celebrated, cherished and nurtured.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders are innovative and pioneering in their approach to adult education. They recognise that learners not only need useful qualifications and skills to gain employment, but also to know that they are valued and capable. Leaders provide curriculums that purposefully challenge learners to go further than they have before, develop new skills and gain self- belief, which they take forward into employment.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Governors bring a wealth of expertise and experience including in finance, people management and quality of education. They are highly effective as critical friends and provide different ideas and perspectives.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have established an indefatigable culture of continuous improvement. They are tenacious in their pursuit of providing the highest quality and broadest reach to support learners into employment. They have established rigorous quality procedures which leads to improvements in their provision, including providing bespoke support for individual tutors to develop their craft of teaching and support for learners.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders value staff very highly and are highly considerate of their workload and conditions.

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Achievement Strong standard

Learners consistently make extensive progress from their starting points. On the short, two- to five-week courses, they rapidly and securely gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours to complete their courses successfully and be very well prepared for their new job roles.

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Achievement Strong standard

Learners produce high-quality work such as personal statements which are detailed and well structured. They make significant progress over time. For example, learners develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to create behavioural statements which show a deep understanding of what employment in the Civil Service requires and demonstrate that they meet these expectations.

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Achievement Strong standard

Almost all learners complete their programmes and achieve very highly, both on accredited and non-accredited courses, including those with additional needs and barriers to learning.

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Achievement Strong standard

The vast majority of learners gain meaningful employment which meets their aspirations, mostly in the Civil Service or in the public sector.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders and tutors plan curriculums very effectively to boost learners’ confidence and quickly equip them with the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they need to gain employment. They begin each course with an impressive two-day project, such as filmmaking with a professional crew, which quickly builds learners’ motivation, camaraderie with new people and the confidence to take on new challenges.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders and staff take time to understand each individual learner, including their prior knowledge and aspirations for employment. They use what they find out to tailor their teaching and support for each learner. Leaders sustain strong partnerships with stakeholders, who champion these courses and support leaders to develop opportunities for learners, including excellent work experience, events such as JobFest and large-scale recruitment drives in the Civil Service. Leaders have a deep understanding of the needs of the region and weave this skilfully into their programmes.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Experienced and enthusiastic tutors use a wide range of highly effective teaching strategies to help them understand new concepts and remember what they have learned. For example, tutors skilfully lead discussions on topics such as the Dunning-Kruger effect of cognitive bias on self-assessment and how this can be mitigated to give accurate measures of competence.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders and tutors use a range of assessments very well to provide opportunities to check learning, offer feedback and enable learners to reflect on their own skills and progress. Learners complete business projects and deliver presentations which develop their employability skills, such as confidence, negotiation and public speaking, alongside subject knowledge.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Learners develop a wide range of important skills for the workplace, such as decision- making, negotiation and team-building. They grow in confidence and self-esteem and are prepared fully to move into employment and build their careers.

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Participation and development Strong standard

At the start of their course, learners complete innovative and enterprising projects. They quickly become highly motivated and have high attendance and participation throughout their courses.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders and staff provide expert careers information which supports learners to plan their next steps and future careers. They provide comprehensive information about the vast range of career opportunities in the Civil Service and the public sector. Learners discover roles which motivate them to succeed.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Learners are inspired by frequent visits from interesting guest speakers who discuss their own career journeys and how they overcame the hurdles that they faced. Learners become more determined and resilient in their pursuit of gaining employment and forging a career.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders and tutors skilfully embed topics such as British values, cultural diversity and wellbeing into their curriculums. Learners have a secure understanding of key topics such as understanding the risks of extremism and radicalisation. They are highly respectful and develop a sense of civic duty as they learn more about the Civil Service.

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

From the start of their courses, learners are galvanised and grow in confidence due to the carefully planned curriculum created by leaders and tutors. Learners participate in an innovative two-day project, such as filming a television show with a professional film crew, and often surprise themselves with what they achieve in a short time.

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

Staff take time to get to know each learner as an individual. Tutors use what they find out about learners to plan their teaching. Inclusive teaching practice is consistent and deliberate. For example, quieter learners are actively brought into discussions and learners with limited digital experience are placed into roles to build confidence with technology. Learners excel in the development of their personal, social and employability skills.

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

Learners benefit from a curriculum which goes beyond the core requirements of their course. For example, they improve their written English skills extremely well and develop professional vocabulary such as organisational culture, a balanced perspective and 360- degree feedback, and learn how to use referencing in their qualifications.

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

During their short courses, learners gain a deep understanding of the breadth of the Civil Service and the skills needed to gain and sustain employment in this sector. Leaders and tutors structure the programmes thoughtfully and generously to enable learners to have sufficient time to practise and revisit the valuable skills that they are learning. Learners develop skills in communicating confidently, such as clearly articulating their viewpoint and negotiating.

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

Learners articulate clear personal development goals and become committed to achieving their aspirations of gaining employment and developing a career. They often significantly exceed their own expectations, and many learners say they would not have been able to gain employment without this provider’s help and training.

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Next steps

Leaders and governors should continue their fervent endeavours to make improvements to achieve and sustain exceptional standards of teaching and achievement, in order to have a transformational impact on all learners.

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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 the chief executive officer, the director of finance and technical, the director of operations, the curriculum manager, managers, tutors, learners and partners and stakeholders during the inspection.

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About this inspection

Release Potential Limited is an independent learning provider based in Stocksfield in Northumberland. It currently provides adult learning programmes across the West Midlands, funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority. At the time of this inspection, there were 157 learners enrolled on a range of courses aimed at supporting adults into employment.

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Team inspectors:

Jacquie Brown, His Majesty's Inspector Kay Hedges, Ofsted Inspector Victoria Sylvester, Ofsted Inspector Ravinder Jhite, 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 97 87 Close to average This includes employability courses and accredited courses in coaching and mentoring, business administration and leadership and management.

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national average

Chief Executive Officer : Gaye Hutchinson

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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. 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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