A film and media training firm has jumped from Ofsted ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ after exiting apprenticeships and moving into skills bootcamps delivery.
All Spring Media Ltd endured what managing director Martina Porter described as a “traumatic” inspection 18 months ago that resulted in the lowest possible judgment.
The Buckinghamshire-based provider accused inspectors of “lacking industry expertise” and went on to file legal action after the government threatened to terminate the company’s apprenticeship contract over the disputed result. But the provider eventually withdrew its claim.
After the fiasco, All Spring Media continued delivering a range of entry-level and CPD programmes, specifically for production-related roles in the screen industries. It then won a skills bootcamps contract with Hertfordshire local enterprise partnership in September 2023 which brought the provider back into scope Ofsted.
The provider secured ‘good’ grades across the board in a report published today.
Inspectors found that the 24 learners “rightly recognise how the skills bootcamp is providing them with the required skills and industry introductions essential to them achieving their ambitions”.
The report added: “Learners enjoy their learning and build positive relationships with their trainers, peers and with those working in the sector.”
Inspectors also praised leaders for having “designed a programme of learning logically to build the fundamental knowledge learners need to work in the television and film industry” and as being “clear in their ambition to provide opportunities for learners from diverse backgrounds to access the sector”.
Porter said: “Our team was understandably apprehensive before the inspection due to the unjust nature of the first one. However, the inspectors arrived with a different approach, putting our team at ease and wanting to learn about our industry. We hope this is the start of a new era of collaborative inspections from Ofsted.”
Your thoughts