Imeta Training and Solutions Ltd

Imeta Training and Solutions Ltd

Address: Hagley House, 93a Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, B16 8LA Unique reference number (URN): 2791017

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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 quickly identify learners' barriers and promptly put appropriate support strategies in place, enabling learners to settle into learning quickly. During enrolment, learners take assessments to identify barriers to learning, and, when required, coaches conduct further assessments to determine the adjustments and support needed. Individual support plans are implemented quickly to help learners participate in learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Coaches monitor and review the effectiveness of support arrangements and adapt them as needed, so support remains appropriate. Learners who receive fortnightly support because of low confidence move to more frequent interventions if they become overwhelmed. Coaches reduce the frequency of check-ins as learners' confidence and independence improve. Consequently, these learners make good progress towards their goals.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Coaches provide tailored support that helps learners to overcome barriers to participating in learning, and to develop their knowledge and skills in line with their peers. Learners with ADHD benefit from agreed adaptations, such as scheduled breaks every 30 minutes. Learners with dyslexia receive additional tuition, access to learning resources and extra time in assessments.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Trainers effectively support learners in overcoming barriers to employment. They use their knowledge and experience well to respond to learners' individual needs, such as low confidence. During lessons, trainers identify and resolve wider concerns that may hinder progress. Through practical guidance and encouragement, trainers help learners build resilience, stay motivated and stay focused on achieving their employment goals.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders understand their strengths and areas for development well. Working with their advisory board members, leaders frequently review the quality of their provision to identify areas for further development. They recognise their need to develop their work with employers in the digital sector to increase the number of learners progressing into employment after completing their courses.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders support trainers in innovating their teaching content and responding to changing industry needs. For example, by adapting the business data analyst curriculum to reflect industry changes and introducing topics such as the impact of AI in many businesses.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have created an innovative tool to monitor and track learners' progress from start to completion which provides an effective analytical review of each learner's performance. This enables leaders to identify learners who may be at risk of not achieving and quickly put interventions in place to help them stay on track and achieve.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders place a strong focus on individualised staff development through the observation of teaching. Alongside this, they frequently provide training on the craft of teaching, recently delivering several sessions to support teachers to develop their teaching online. Leaders subsequently check the impact of this training by visiting lessons and seeing it implemented in teaching.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have in place an effective advisory board. Board members are well informed about the provider's priorities and performance. They use their experience to support and challenge the leadership team effectively. They persistently challenge leadership by pursuing discussions about performance measures and projects to guide improvement.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Learners develop highly relevant skills that help them become valuable members of the workplace. Learners new to the digital skills sector quickly learn business etiquette and how to build positive working relationships with colleagues and senior staff. Adults seeking to re- enter the job market build confidence by liaising with trainers and careers staff who highlight their strengths and help prepare them for job applications and interviews.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders maintain a consistent and comprehensive focus on attendance and participation. Attendance is high and leaders use rigorous methods to monitor learner attendance and progress. Where interventions are required, such as when attendance drops below trainers' high expectations, leaders act quickly to ensure learners re-engage and continue their learning.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Coaches provide high-quality careers education and guidance. They support learners with one-to-one guidance, specialist advice, skills development programmes and progression planning. For example, learners seeking employment in sectors that are new to them, such as in AI, develop industry-focused CVs that highlight their programming and digital dashboard skills. The support that coaches provide helps learners to understand clearly their potential future pathways, prepare for their next steps and secure job interviews.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders and staff have established a highly inclusive environment for learning where online teaching sessions are calm and productive. Leaders do not tolerate bullying, unlawful discrimination or any other behaviour issues which might impinge on the experiences of learners.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make suitable progress from their starting points. Many build self-confidence which enhances their employment prospects and workplace skills. Learners studying level 3 AI for business, many of whom start with little or no previous coding experience, develop increasingly complex knowledge and skills in areas such as programming, machine learning and automation. As a result, they understand how to use these skills to improve business efficiency.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners produce work that at least meets the standard expected for their course. They generally improve their English and mathematical skills. For example, level 3 data analytics learners use increasingly sophisticated technical and vocational vocabulary to explain errors, solutions and the reasoning behind their approach.

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Achievement Expected standard

Most learners, including those facing barriers to learning, complete their courses and achieve. They are well prepared for their next steps. However, leaders recognise the need to improve the number of learners who progress into employment.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders accurately understand the effectiveness of the online teaching in their provision. They take suitable and swift action where improvements are needed. For example, they have introduced virtual learning labs in online lessons so learners on infrastructure technician courses can apply what they learn and practise in real time. This contributes to learners becoming well equipped for the workplace in the digital sector.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that the curriculum is coherently planned so that learning builds in complexity over time. Infrastructure technician learners learn about the components of a computer, types of networking cables, connectors and memory types before they practise building a network for a small business in a virtual machine.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders collaborate effectively with partner organisations to ensure that their curriculums meet local priorities to develop a digital workforce. They have adapted the curriculums by adding AI outcomes to reflect industry practice. As a result, learning is highly relevant to the digital skills industry.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Trainers are subject experts. They mostly use a range of effective strategies and tools to teach learners in online lessons. They make lessons interactive and provide real examples that bring learning to life. They explain new concepts clearly and break difficult topics down into small chunks to help learners follow complex ideas, such as how to recognise IP addresses. They do not consistently use learners' starting points well enough to inform their teaching, and consequently a few more-advanced learners do not progress as quickly as they are able.

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

Learners of all backgrounds feel highly valued and respected. Trainers establish a highly inclusive culture that celebrates diversity and pursues social equity. Learners become confident in voicing their opinions, debating and collaborating with their peers.

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

Learners quickly develop skills for the digital sector that help them progress into employment. Trainers and careers staff highlight their strengths and help prepare them for completing job applications and interviews. Learners become more confident and self- assured, and better equipped for prospective workplaces.

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

Learners are highly motivated and show a strong commitment to their studies. They take ownership of their progress, consolidating their learning by reflecting on what they now know and what they need to do next to develop further.

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

Learners demonstrate strong personal and social responsibility, such as by taking part in community projects and using their new digital skills to support their communities. For example, developing an AI-based project to help people experiencing homelessness find available supported accommodation. Learners participate as community champions to secure funding and plan projects around renovating community hub kitchens.

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

Learners confidently apply their understanding to their workplaces and local communities. Trainers expertly embed fundamental British values and respect for cultural diversity in modern Britain. Level 4 digital leadership and management learners engage in healthy discussions about the need for mutual respect and tolerance of staff opinions on the projects that they manage.

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

Learners feel valued and cared for by trainers. For example, trainers check on learners’ wellbeing at the start of lessons and offer support where needed. Learners feel safe and know how to report concerns. They have access to safeguarding links and contacts in newsletters which provide information such as how to contact West Midlands Police if needed.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to develop their inclusion strategies and systematically monitor and review support for learners with barriers to learning. Leaders should provide additional training for coaches to help them to continue improving their skills and become expert teachers. Leaders should further develop their partnerships with employers to increase opportunities for learners to progress into employment linked to their studies in the digital sector.

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Team inspectors:

Bev Ramsell, His Majesty's Inspector Maggie Fobister, Ofsted Inspector Robert Mottram, Ofsted Inspector Jack Bullock, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 15 September 2026

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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, coaches, learners, governors 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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About this inspection

iMeta Training and Solutions Limited is an independent training provider in Birmingham. It specialises in digital skills and digital-focused leadership. Since 2023, it has taught short adult education courses, funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority, to learners across the Midlands. At the time of the visit, 264 learners were in training. Of these, 73 were on business data analytics, 68 were on professional pen+ cybersecurity, 44 on cyber infrastructure technician, 40 on digital leadership and management, and 39 on the certificate in practical artificial intelligence for business. Courses are taught online in the afternoons and evenings.

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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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