A Blackburn-based apprenticeship provider has been praised for making good progress in improvement following a visit by Ofsted.

Get Set Academy, based in Richmond Terrace, had at the time of the visit 120 apprentices on its roll, in industries including education, healthcare and business administration, plus six adult learners on a skills bootcamp.

At its first Ofsted inspection in August 2023, it was rated as requiring improvement by Ofsted, and the monitoring visit in July was the first time Ofsted has been back since the inspection.

During the visit, inspectors evaluated the progress leaders have made in implementing the improvements identified at the inspection.

The skills bootcamp was one area needing improvement, and Ofsted noted ‘significant progress’ has been made to ensure it meets learners’ needs.

The report said: “Leaders have redesigned the Skills Bootcamp curriculum extensively.

“They have created a well-considered and logically planned course that helps learners develop the practical skills they need to gain successful employment in the digital sector.

“Leaders work closely with employers to ensure that the content of the curriculum meets their needs.

“Learners develop substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours quickly and benefit from working on ‘live’ briefs provided by local employers.

“Most learners who complete the Skills Bootcamp course secure employment, become self-employed or progress to higher-level courses.”

Get Set Academy was found to have made reasonable progress in other areas where improvement was needed.

This included implementing effective quality assurance processes to improve provision and improving processes to monitor learners’ and apprentices’ progress.

It also looked at how coaches plan and coordinate training for apprentices to develop their skills and knowledge, the quality of initial information so learners know the commitment and expectations of courses, and the planning of careers information.

Ofsted added: “Leaders have successfully redesigned their approach to how they recruit apprentices, learners and employers to establish the suitability of the learners.

“Most learners and apprentices now demonstrate full commitment to their learning programmes and remain on their course or apprenticeship.

“Tutors provide individualised actions to help learners and apprentices to develop their skills further and to make even better progress.”