ESFA allows ‘inadequate’ apprenticeship provider to keep contract

Inspectors now say the provider has made 'reasonable progress' across the board

Inspectors now say the provider has made 'reasonable progress' across the board

An engineering and manufacturing specialist training provider has kept its apprenticeship contract despite being given an ‘inadequate’ rating from Ofsted.

Salford and Trafford Engineering Group Training Association (STEGTA) was downgraded from ‘good’ to the lowest possible judgment in March largely because of safeguarding concerns and poor oversight of subcontractors.

Education and Skills Funding Agency policy rules that a provider will usually lose its apprenticeship funding agreement if it receives an ‘inadequate’ verdict from the watchdog, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

STEGTA’s report showed ‘good’ ratings in three of the five fields inspected, including quality of education and apprenticeships. Leadership and management was the only area judged ‘inadequate’, which pulled the overall grade down to the bottom rating.

The provider was only suspended from new starts following the grade four report. It has since been revisited by Ofsted, which conducted a monitoring visit last month and published a report this week which said the provider was making ‘reasonable progress’ in all areas.

John Whitby, STEGTA’s chief executive, told FE Week that the ESFA chose not to terminate contracts and the provider had been “supported through the new ESFA intervention strategy” under its accountability framework.

Under that policy, the ESFA identified the training provider as being “at risk” and placed it under intervention before a monitoring visit inspection.

STEGTA remains on the register of apprenticeship training providers and its temporary ban from recruiting new apprentices has now been lifted, Whitby said. 

The provider delivers level 2 to 4 apprenticeships in engineering, manufacturing and construction, and had 318 learners at the time of the visit. It works with 16 subcontractors.

Ofsted’s monitoring report said the company had carried out a “wholescale review of safeguarding”, which included appointing two additional safeguarding officers.

The watchdog previously said that staff training on safeguarding was “not sufficiently comprehensive”, but since the ‘inadequate’ rating the team is now “appropriately trained and qualified” for their roles. 

It also said the provider addressed the lack of staff awareness around the Prevent strategy, and had started to teach students to understand the risks around radicalisation and extremism.

On top of that, STEGTA had taken “decisive action” to address Ofsted’s concerns that the provider did not assess the quality of the subcontractor provision well enough.

Latest education roles from

Principal & Chief Executive – Bath College

Principal & Chief Executive – Bath College

Dodd Partners

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

Apprenticeships are for life, not just National Apprenticeship Week

National Apprenticeship Week is one of the awareness events that we all mark in our calendars. It’s a hive...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

Functional Skills reimagined: Drive success in English & Mathematics with modern qualifications.

In today’s educational landscape, supporting learners with essential English and maths skills goes beyond traditional teaching. It’s about providing...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

Do you want to be part of The Bedford College Group’s next chapter?

At The Bedford College Group, we are passionate about transforming lives and communities through education. As one of the...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

It’s Education’s Time to Shine: Celebrate your Education Community in 2025!

The deadline is approaching to nominate a colleague, team, whole school or college for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching...

Advertorial

More from this theme

Apprenticeships, Ofsted

Public relations training firm rated ‘outstanding’

Apprenticeships provision at international PR company lauded for ‘exceptional’ leadership

Anviksha Patel
Ofsted

Ofsted report cards: We’ll face more pressure, not less, say FE staff

Leaders warn of 'greater risk of error' which is likely to lead to more complaints

Billy Camden
Ofsted, Politics, Skills reform

DfE considers extending ‘school profile’ plans to FE providers

Ministers will also rule on a new 'proportionate and relevant' approach to accountability amid Ofsted's report cards plan

Billy Camden
Ofsted

Ofsted report cards for FE: What you need to know

Watchdog sets out plan for new grading scale and areas that will be judged

Anviksha Patel

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One comment

  1. Just Saying

    If the ESFA were really learner centred they would change the rule so that that new starts are suspended first whilst an investigation with the ITP of the circumstances reported in the OFSTED inspection occurs. If a serious situation which cannot be addressed by the ITP then remains, termination of ESFA contracts could occur at this point. There is no doubt that on some occasions OFSTED should be seen as a red alert but on many others an amber alert that can be addressed is more appropriate perspective. If the ESFA focussed on such remedial actions rather than an automatic contract termination it would in many cases be in the best interests of learners. The transfer of learners to other providers isn’t something that the ESFA excel at managing and is made extremely challenging by their unwillingness to provide any extra funding to the new provider approached by them.