The Swarm Training team get a big thumbs up from Ofsted!

As many of our clients and partners are aware, we were visited by Ofsted in February who came to do an audit of our provision and activities.  It was an intensive week but we were ready, knowing that we had come so far since they last attended and were already achieving great results and feedback to demonstrate in our inspection. 

Amongst so many other things, we were proud to be able to present to them an extraordinary apprenticeship completion rate of over 70% which we know is very high in the industry and well above the national average. The inspectors were impressed with all aspects of our provision and actually gave us some wonderful feedback whilst they were with us, awarding us outstanding for our leadership and management as well as outstanding for the behaviour and attitudes of our learners as a result of the work ethic and professionalism we foster and inspire them to adopt.

One of the inspectors commented:

“The leaders and managers developed an ambitious curriculum for all and learners have excellent attitudes to their learning and are proactive about developing their own knowledge further”

The quality of our education scored really highly as did the personal development training we deliver which runs alongside the specific apprenticeship subject matter knowledge. Inspectors were also impressed with how well we cared for employers.  Another inspector said…

“The stand out feature is the engagement with employers, that employers support the development of the curriculum, and that Swarm Training are meeting regional need.”

We were particularly pleased to receive the feedback from an inspector who commented that “Learners are very well prepared for the EPA and from the impact of the learning they can apply what they know to improve business systems.” He said that he saw how one learner implemented new systems in his organisation and was so impressed that he commented that he didn’t know how to express in words how impressed he was!

Ofsted were also very pleased to see the results of the employer and learner surveys which showed consistently positive scores over 95% demonstrating their support and satisfaction for our apprenticeships.

As a result of the full inspection we were delighted to achieve a “Good” rating; the full report can be found on the Ofsted website.

We are really proud to now be able to share with you the key statements that came out of our Ofsted report to provide a summary of who we are and what we deliver to our apprentices and clients…

Key Statements from our Ofsted Report:

●       The proportion of apprentices who achieve their apprenticeship: 70%

●       A high proportion of apprentices achieve distinction grades.

●       Leaders thoroughly check that the apprenticeships they offer meet the needs of apprentices and employers.

●       Tutors accurately check what apprentices know and can do at the start of their training and adapt training plans accordingly

●       Apprentices who fall behind in their studies get timely and effective support.

●       Apprentices benefit from curriculums that are stimulating and relevant for their job roles.

●       Knowledgeable and experienced tutors make highly effective use of a range of learning activities and assessment tasks.

●       Tutors provide good support for apprentices with identified learning difficulties and barriers to learning.

●       Apprentices with anxiety receive extra learning resources

●       Apprentices with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress and achieve in line with their peers.

●       Tutors prepare apprentices thoroughly for examinations, and most pass first time.

●       Leaders provide a comprehensive personal development curriculum

●       Apprentices have a good understanding of what they need to do to maintain their own mental health and physical well-being.

●       Most apprentices receive promotions and additional responsibilities at work when they finish their apprenticeship.

●       The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

If you would like to read the full report, you can also find it on our website here:
https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50273108