A report by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) concluded that New Model Business Academy (NMBA), part of SimplyBiz, has not provided apprentices with the skills and knowledge required to become financial advisers or paraplanners.
The inspection found, for the second year in a row, that the adviser academy has made “insufficient progress” in two specific areas – namely, meeting all the requirements for a successful apprenticeship and ensuring high-quality training leading to positive outcomes.
Ofsted complained that the NMBA programme focuses too much on helping its apprentices pass their exams, and lacks in the development of knowledge and skills they require in the workplace.
The report found that “apprentices and their employers appear unsure about the requirements of an apprenticeship”.
“Many consider the programme to be purely examination-based, and do not focus enough on the requirements of the apprenticeship standard. For example, apprentices are not made aware of any contemporary issues that are affecting the financial services sector.
“Leaders do not involve employers well enough in planning the apprenticeship. This means that employers do not provide apprentices with the high-quality, on-the-job training opportunities that they need.
“Although leaders and managers recognise the strengths and weaknesses of their provision, they have been too slow to address weaknesses identified at the previous monitoring visit. The actions that they have taken, such as working with external partners to identify the improvements they need to make, have not had enough positive impact for apprentices and their employers.
“Managers ensure that staff are highly experienced in the financial sector. However, most staff are not appropriately skilled in the delivery of apprenticeships.”
Improvements
Additionally, Ofsted said NMBA’s apprenticeship development managers and trainers do not assess apprentices “well enough” to monitor or evaluate their progress.
Senior figures have been accused of being “slow to improve the quality of the provision and the performance of staff”, as few apprentices improve their English and mathematical skills “beyond the requirements of the apprenticeship”.
The monitoring body added that managers are failing to support trainees to be more confident in their communication skills when dealing with clients.
But some progress has been made on ensuring that “effective safeguarding arrangements are in place”, as all staff are suitably qualified, receive regular updates and participate in mandatory training.
Apprentices feel safe in their workplaces, Ofsted added, and are aware of the possible criminal activities related to the financial services sector, but do not have a “good enough understanding” of the wider risks they may be exposed to, including radicalisation and extremism.
Support of sector growth
Richard Ardron, managing director at New Model Business Academy, said: “We have made significant investments – both financially and in terms of time – into developing and improving the programme, including systems, training and resources, and we remain proud of the work the programme has done.
“Since our launch, we have helped apprentices to pass over 300 Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) exams, and saw our first apprentices graduate earlier this year.
“To date, all those who reached the end point assessment of the apprenticeship have graduated, with just over 60% doing so with distinction.
“The scope of an Ofsted apprenticeship inspection is very broad and includes a focus on some elements – including the maths and English skills of students – which fall more within the core expertise of professional bodies and schools.
“Our core focus, and the expertise recognised in the Ofsted report, is the provision of specialist financial services training and knowledge.
“We believe the continued growth of our sector is imperative; and will continue to support that in a number of ways.”
