University slow to improve apprenticeships - Ofsted

The University of Wolverhampton has been told to improve

The University of Wolverhampton has been criticised for the pace of improvement in its apprenticeship schemes.

Ofsted inspectors have renewed the university's ‘requires improvement’ rating – the second-lowest – following an inspection earlier this year.

Their report said: “Leaders and managers have been too slow to rectify the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.”

The university, which had 849 apprentices at the time of the inspection, said it had put a full action plan in place in response to the report.

The findings continued that senior leaders and governors had recently prioritised a number of improvements that could be made.

These included restructuring the roles of apprenticeship staff to “provide a more coherent structure of accountability”.

But the report said these changes were in their infancy and it was too soon to see any impact.

While most of the university’s apprentices were enthusiastic and spoke positively about their learning, inspectors said too many left too early without completing their training, while attendance was described as being too low.

“In these instances, apprentices do not demonstrate the positive attitudes and commitment to complete their apprenticeship fully,” the report added.

But it said those who do remain on their courses develop their confidence and character, particularly in areas like public speaking and academic writing.

The quality of feedback from lecturers to apprentices was described as too variable, generic and lacking specific information on how they can improve.

But lecturers were praised for their effective teaching strategies, particularly in healthcare subjects.

Inspectors said the university needed to increase the number of apprentices who complete their course as well as improve attendance, co-ordinate on and off-the-job training, improve the quality of feedback and assess apprentices’ knowledge and skills.

In response to the report, Professor Phil Gravestock, dean of students and education at the university, said it was committed to enhancing its provision so it can support the regional and national workforce.

He added: “The university has put in place a full action plan in response to the recommendations of the recent Ofsted report and is fully committed to rectifying the areas identified in the report.”