Assist Knowledge Development Limited

Assist Knowledge Development Limited

Address: The Sanderum Centre, 30A Upper High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3EX Unique reference number (URN): 1278647

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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

Staff quickly and accurately identify apprentices’ support needs and the barriers that they face to learning. If new needs or barriers emerge, staff adapt support to reflect apprentices’ changing requirements. Leaders keep support under review, making necessary changes so that apprentices’ needs continue to be met. For example, apprentices experiencing bereavement receive additional support for as long as it is needed, helping them to manage their learning during this difficult time.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff make sure that apprentices have the support they need across all aspects of their learning and work. They liaise with employers so that apprentices get the help and adaptations they need in the workplace. Staff make sure that apprentices can access and fully participate in their final assessments.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have recently enhanced their approach to meeting apprentices’ support needs. They have reviewed and strengthened processes and appointed staff with suitable expertise. Leaders rightly appreciate the need to embed these new processes, ensuring that they are consistently applied across all apprenticeships.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with relevant professional learning, useful briefings and expert guidance that helps them understand and meet apprentices’ needs well. Leaders provide comprehensive ‘help sheets’ that aid staff in supporting apprentices with commonly occurring special educational needs and/or disabilities such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have established a clear strategy and set of values that prioritise apprentices’ best interests. Leaders and those responsible for oversight generally understand the strengths of the provision and act where further improvement is needed. For instance, their actions have led to a sustained increase in the proportion of apprentices with barriers to learning who achieve a distinction in their final assessments, closing the gap with their peers. Leaders have recently taken sensible steps to strengthen further arrangements to assure the quality of the provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have put in place suitable arrangements for oversight of the provision. Well- informed board members provide leaders with helpful support and challenge. For instance, they prompted leaders to review how apprentices’ support needs are assessed and understood, leading to a more systematic approach.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have created an organisation in which staff feel valued and appreciated. Staff workloads are generally manageable, and staff talk to leaders when they have concerns. Staff take pride in being part of the organisation and enjoy their roles.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with a wide range of professional learning opportunities that help them to maintain and further extend their skills and knowledge. Helpful ‘lunch and learn’ sessions and trainer and mentor days allow colleagues to share good practice and receive updates on topics such as methods of modelling data and developing a growth mindset.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices thoroughly acquire valuable new knowledge and skills that they apply confidently at work. For instance, they lead projects to design business processes that improve organisational effectiveness and efficiency.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices consistently make extensive progress from their individual starting points. Staff carefully adapt learning activities to reflect apprentices’ existing knowledge, so that all apprentices are suitably challenged and supported. Apprentices consistently produce work of a very high standard.

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Achievement Strong standard

A very high proportion of apprentices, including those who face barriers to their learning, complete their apprenticeship and nearly all pass their final assessments. Many achieve a distinction.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices are very well prepared for their future. In addition to the technical knowledge and skills they acquire, they develop essential skills in literacy, numeracy and technology, such as the safe and appropriate use of artificial intelligence and academic research and writing. This contributes to the vast majority of apprentices gaining promotions, taking on greater responsibility and securing pay rises after their apprenticeship.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff use their significant expertise in business analysis and service design to provide apprenticeships that are closely aligned to apprentices’ and employers’ needs. They carefully plan online learning that builds on what apprentices know and can do. They adapt programmes to support apprentices with limited relevant prior knowledge, while challenging those with existing knowledge to consolidate and extend their understanding.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Apprentices are well taught and supported. Trainers use high-quality online resources skilfully to help apprentices gain a secure understanding of challenging concepts swiftly and accurately. Apprentices readily share with peers their experience of applying their theoretical learning in their workplaces, using appropriate technical language with ease and proficiency. Staff work closely with apprentices to put in place sensible adaptations and adjustments that enable apprentices to overcome any barriers that they encounter to their learning. For example, staff adjust the time of learning activities so that apprentices with mental ill health can access specialist external therapeutic services without disrupting their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff carefully and diligently check apprentices’ understanding of what they have learned. Mentors lead highly effective review meetings attended by employers, in which apprentices receive valuable feedback that helps them understand what they are doing well and how to improve their future work, which nearly all apprentices do. Mentors support apprentices to prepare for their final assessments very effectively. They provide apprentices with plentiful opportunities to apply and practise their skills, so that apprentices understand clearly what is expected of them and approach their final assessments with confidence.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders use their significant expertise and influence in the business analysis and service design sectors to provide apprentices with supportive and enriching experiences that facilitate their wider development very well.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Apprentices respond very positively to the high expectations that staff have for what they can achieve. Their attendance is high. On the rare occasions that apprentices’ attendance falls, staff act swiftly and compassionately to help them catch up. Apprentices are punctual, polite and courteous. They interact with peers and stakeholders with confidence.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Staff provide advice and guidance that is closely tailored to apprentices’ future career goals and aspirations. Staff use their industry expertise to help apprentices understand and navigate the further learning and career opportunities open to them. Apprentices are very well prepared for their future.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Staff provide carefully selected opportunities that extend apprentices’ learning and help them develop highly positive personal attributes. They embed relevant and useful topics in the curriculum such as healthy eating, appropriate relationships and fundamental British values. For instance, mentors talk to apprentices about contemporary themes such as the introduction of Martyn’s Law. This helps apprentices understand current issues and promote their own welfare very successfully. Staff make sure that apprentices have an appropriate understanding of the risks from radicalisation and extremism.

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

Apprentices thrive in the welcoming, respectful and inclusive online learning environments that staff create very successfully. They appreciate how staff help them to overcome the barriers that they face to their learning. For instance, apprentices with hearing loss benefit from mentors speaking precisely to the camera so that they can lip read and follow activities successfully.

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

Apprentices are motivated, work hard and are diligent in their studies. They respond positively to the challenging learning activities, which staff tailor to reflect their needs and aspirations. Overall, apprentices enjoy their apprenticeship and recognise the benefit it brings to their future progression.

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

Apprentices value greatly the high-quality online training and support that they receive from expert trainers and mentors. They appreciate the very effective online training sessions and resources that trainers provide, which enable them to learn new concepts swiftly. Apprentices benefit from very useful progress reviews, where they plan with their mentor and employer how they will apply their learning in the workplace. For example, they consider how they will use strategic analysis models to understand macro-environmental factors in the workplace. Apprentices recognise the significant progress that they make in developing substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours during their apprenticeship, enabling them to pass their final assessments, often at distinction level, and ultimately succeed in their chosen career.

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

Apprentices embrace enthusiastically the wide range of opportunities that staff provide for them to grow personally and professionally. They take part in industry competitions, speak at professional conferences and attend industry forums. These activities help apprentices to hone their skills, become more confident and develop professional networks that are important for their ongoing development and career progression.

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

Apprentices feel safe. They are aware of sensible steps that they can take to avoid harm, and they know who to contact if they have concerns.

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Next steps

Leaders should proceed with their plans to enhance further their processes to help them understand the strengths of the provision and focus improvement activities where they are most needed. Leaders should continue to apply and embed the recently implemented systems and processes designed to support the identification, planning and review of apprentices’ support needs.

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About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with leaders, provider staff, employers, those responsible for oversight and apprentices 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

Assist Knowledge Development Limited is an independent learning provider located in Thame, Oxfordshire. It provides apprenticeships throughout England. Nearly all learning and support takes place online. At the time of the inspection, there were 85 apprentices enrolled

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Team inspectors:

Christopher Dearnley, Ofsted Inspector Claudia Harrison, 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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national average

2023/24 68 60 Close to average on the level 4 business analyst apprenticeship and 7 on the level 6 service designer apprenticeship.

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national average

Chief Executive Officer: Jonathan Hunsley

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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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