Ofsted now visits all new apprenticeship training providers within their first year of delivery.  

This is a big change for everyone. Before the monitoring visits were introduced in November 2017, Ofsted just inspected new providers within 3 years of them starting out. But since the RoATP was introduced, the number of providers has trebled to 2,565 – and 55% of these have never been inspected before. Because of this influx of providers, Ofsted has rolled out early monitoring visits – a mini inspection within the first 2 years of delivery.  

How do monitoring visits work?  

Monitoring visits apply to all newly funded training providers delivering level 2 to 5 apprenticeships. Ofsted inspectors visit new providers within their first 2 years of delivery and spend 2 days making their judgements. Providers will then have their full inspection within the next year.  

What do inspectors look at?  

The inspectors don’t look at the whole inspection framework, a just a few key themes:  

1. Leadership  

2. The quality and outcomes of training  

3. Safeguarding  

The inspectors look at each theme and how they impact apprentices. They want to see that providers have clear plans in place to deliver the programme and make a positive impact on apprentices.  

Many providers are new to Ofsted and are falling short of the requirements. At the end of 2018, Ofsted found a huge variation in the quality of training in their monitor visits. 20% of providers had at least 1 insufficient judgement, 63% had reasonable progress, and the remaining 17% received only 1 significant progress judgement.  

So what can providers do to make sure they’re making a considerable positive impact on apprentices? 

Leadership  

• Providers need to have a comprehensive recruitment process in place to make sure candidates are matched with the right apprenticeship for their long-term career goals. 
• Leaders and managers need to work extremely closely with the employer to make sure apprentices receive high-quality on- and off-the-job training.  

Quality and outcomes of training  

• Providers offer highly effective careers information and advice to help apprentices plan for their future career.  

• Managers and tutors intervene quickly and effectively so that apprentices get back on track if they’ve fallen behind.  
• Each apprentice has a comprehensive training plan to help them gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need.  
• A high proportion of apprentices complete their programme. 

Safeguarding  

• Providers and employers have stable relationships and processes in place to tackle bullying, harassment and discrimination.  

• Providers meet all their legal obligations under the ‘Prevent’ duty.  
• Providers ensure that all apprentices are appropriately employed: with a regular wage and regular hours.

For new providers, these requirements may sound a little daunting – but there’s a few things you can do to make a difference. One of the best ways to make sure you meet each of the judgements is to use a learning software – so the positive impact you’re having on apprentices is recorded and audit-ready. 

At OneFile, we’ve designed our software with Ofsted in mind, so it has loads of built-in features to help you show inspectors how you make a positive impact to apprentices.  

To see exactly how OneFile supports Ofsted monitoring visits, download our free guide. We’ll explain each theme in detail and show how OneFile can help you improve your judgement.