University of Worcester's apprentices rated ‘good’ by Ofsted

The University of Worcester’s apprenticeships were handed the rating by watchdog Ofsted in the first inspection of the programme since it was introduced in 2018.

Ofsted said the university’s curriculum allowed apprentices to develop skills and knowledge from “expert” tutors over time which then led to assessments being “competently completed.”

Inspectors said the university’s “ambitious” apprentices “enjoyed their learning” and “demonstrated high levels of respect for staff, peers and colleagues.”

In the report, inspectors said: “Leaders and tutors plan the curriculum in a logical way. Apprentices develop new knowledge, skills and behaviours incrementally over time. Tutors teach apprentices key clinical skills, such as inserting a canula and recording a patient’s blood pressure.

“Tutors then challenge apprentices to apply this new learning into a full medical assessment of a patient displaying a range of symptoms, which they competently complete.”

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The university runs a number of apprenticeship programmes, mostly in health, including nursing associates, who work with healthcare support workers and registered nurses to deliver care, as well as advanced clinical practitioners and further education teachers.

Ofsted said the university still needed to ensure that all apprentices received feedback so they knew where to improve and career advice from the start of apprenticeships so they knew where they could go next.

The report also praised the facilities and resources provided by the university which helped apprentices develop professional practice.

“Leaders have invested significantly in high-quality resources to support the increase in apprentices accessing provision within the healthcare sector,” Ofsted said. “Apprentices access training suites equipped with a range of programmable mannequin devices that can be configured to simulate patients with a varying range of medical needs. Apprentices develop their professional practice as a result.”

Ann Jordan, university provost, said: “We are delighted to have achieved ‘good’ ratings from Ofsted for both our apprenticeship delivery and our initial teacher education of further education teachers.

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“We are deeply committed to providing a range of pathways for students to achieve their full potential and to help them to succeed in their chosen careers.”

The university currently has over 75 apprentices studying on its health apprenticeship programmes and is anticipating a major expansion over the next few years.

Robert Dudley, head of the university’s Three Counties School of Nursing and Midwifery, said: “Our apprenticeship programmes are carefully designed with our partners in the NHS in direct response to local, regional and national priorities. We work hard to ensure our curriculum is current, relevant and engaging and we are pleased that this report has identified our commitment to this.”

Teacher training at the University of Worcester was branded “exceptional” by Ofsted inspectors last month who gave an ‘outstanding’ rating in a glowing report.

The University of Worcester’s education for the next generation of primary and secondary school teachers was given the highest possible ‘outstanding’ rating by Ofsted with the university’s further education provision rated ‘good’.