Trainee teachers dumped in cafes and shops for work placements 

Trainee FE teachers did work placements at cafes, clothes shops and with dissolved companies – before their private training company closed itself down while under investigation.

Applied Business Academy (ABA), which had campuses in Luton and Canary Wharf, went into liquidation in October while being probed by the Office for Students (OfS), avoiding potential “significant penalties”.

The firm delivered the FE teacher training qualification, the level 5 diploma in education and training (DET), alongside degrees under franchises and validation agreements with Leeds Trinity University and the University of Buckingham.

A summary investigation report published this week outlined the OfS’ findings related to ABA’s DET courses, which had over 2,000 students.

The course, awarded by City and Guilds, required 100 hours on a teaching placement. OfS found only six per cent of placements for ABA’s 2,031 DET students “appeared capable of satisfying the requirements” of the course.

‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ a proper placement

OfS investigators found “unsuitable” companies recorded for teaching placements, including organisations listed as dissolved on Companies House and others that had “no clear link to education”.

“We found examples of small cafes, childcare providers, clothes shops, freight firms and building firms among others,” the report said.

One company allegedly used to host 28 DET placements, clocking up 2,800 hours, had no employees of its own and a “low turnover”.

OfS was also unable to verify the qualifications of ABA staff who acted as mentors and observers for trainee teachers.

Investigators were “concerned” to find no evidence of “any quality assurance processes or oversight for those staff involved in the provision of DET course placements”.

The report said none of ABA’s DET students were able to qualify.

“In all cases there was not sufficient evidence for City and Guilds to confirm the qualification requirements had been met. City and Guilds has confirmed these outcomes to students and continues to respond to any queries raised,” it said.

The OfS said it was publishing its DET findings so other providers could ensure their placement offerings are up to scratch.

Philippa Pickford, director of regulation at the OfS, said: “Students signed up to these courses to become further education teachers yet found themselves on wholly unsuitable placements with little or no oversight.

“If ABA had not entered liquidation and we had found breaches of our requirements for quality, standards and governance, we would have likely imposed significant penalties.”

Pruthvi Raj Gillella, the sole director and owner of ABA, was approached for comment.

Spotlight on franchises

ABA became an OfS registered higher education provider in March 2020. The company also delivered apprenticeships at that time. In May 2021, Ofsted inspectors chastised the company for training apprentices who did not have jobs, alongside leadership and safeguarding faults at the provider.

In 2022 it received a ‘requires improvement’ full inspection result and in 2023 was found to be making ‘insufficient progress’ in three out of four themes measured.

The company was removed from the apprenticeships register in early 2024.

Around that time, February 2024, the OfS launched an investigation into “potential concerns” over Leeds Trinity University’s subcontracting arrangements. ABA was listed by Leeds Trinity as one of its seven “academic partners”.

Then, in April, the OfS announced it was investigating ABA, specifically its management and governance. Data analysis during the investigation flagged concerns over its DET courses. The Department for Education told the Student Loans Company to suspend tuition fee payments to ABA around this time too.

By September 2024 ABA had de-registered itself from the OfS and appointed liquidators the following month.

Gillella remains an active director with seven companies, owning a solar-powered gazebo company, a cyber-security company, IT consultancy and a “maritime school”.

Pickford added: “’All institutions running similar courses need to ensure they are effectively run, are of high quality and that students are supported to gain teaching experience through their placements.

“Where courses are run as part of franchised provision, lead universities must also ensure the quality of courses remains high. We will continue to prioritise our work on franchised courses to ensure students can be confident that they will study on a high quality course that leads to positive outcomes.”