Horwich: Alliance Learning Ofsted rating of 'inadequate'

Horwich-based Alliance Learning was given the rating in an Ofsted report published this week after inspectors visited last February.

Inspectors were particularly concerned about safeguarding issues, but a newly installed leadership team say they are working hard to address issues like these.

Despite the rating, inspectors also found several positives including that apprentices value the support the get from tutors, that they develop confidence thanks to their courses and that leaders have a “clear rationale” for the training they provide.

Chief executive Dr Gill Waugh said: “We’ve put a very robust action plan in place that is directed directly towards the issues raised in the Ofsted report.”

She added: “Safeguarding is now an agenda item on our management meetings, on our all-staff meetings and we’ve heard how our staff have really moved on significantly in terms of safeguarding.”

Alliance Learning became part of the University of Bolton Group in 2020 (Image: University of Bolton)

Alliance Learning, based at the Hurst Building, Horwich Business Park on Chorley New Road, currently trains a total of 353 apprentices across a range of levels and aims to help people into careers across Greater Manchester.

It became part of the University of Bolton Group in 2020.

The inspectors, led by Suzanne Horner, concluded in their report that the arrangements for safeguarding were not effective and that historically leaders at the provider “have not ensured that staff always follow the safeguarding policies and procedures, and document all concerns raised by apprentices.”

Overall, the inspectors ruled to be “inadequate” overall, a decline from its previous “good” rating awarded after the last full Ofsted inspection carried out in July 2013 and from a “good” rating awarded after a short inspection in June 2017.

They ruled that the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and apprenticeships all “require improvement” while the leadership and management was “inadequate.”

Dr Waugh emphasised that, having started her role just weeks ago, the provider’s staff had worked hard to address this.

She said: “It focuses mainly on low-risk historic reporting of safeguarding issues, so at no point was anyway at risk, the issue was around the recording of low-level risks that could then lead to safeguarding issues.”

Dr Waugh and her colleagues say that safeguarding policies and that staff have been trained by external sources at the appropriate level.

The provider had also identified and trained new safeguarding leads and has taken part in an independent review of safeguarding where the reviewer states that they have made “swift and decisive progress” and that safeguarding is now effective.

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Other actions Alliance Learning has taken include appointing Dr Waugh as CEO, brining Bolton College principal Bill Webster and executive Jane Marsh onto its board.

Despite the rating, inspectors also found several positives including that apprentices value the support the get from tutors, that they develop confidence thanks to their courses and that leaders have a “clear rationale” for the training they provide.

Dr Waugh said: “It doesn’t read like an inadequate report, it acknowledges that there are improvements that need to be made and we will do that and move on, but it doesn’t read like an inadequate report.”

She added: “I’m confident that we are moving quite quickly to put things right.”