Ofsted acts over 999 apprentices

Almost 700 apprentices at the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) face an uncertain future after Ofsted removed the trust as a registered provider because of “inappropriate behaviour.”

Ofsted carried out an inspection of the EEAST in June after safeguarding concerns and the report, published this week, has come down hard on the trust.

The findings have led the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to withdraw funding for the trust’s level 3 and 4 apprenticeship learning. This means that the trust can continue to employ apminority prentices but their education provision will have to be transferred to another provider.

This has left many apprentices in limbo and looking for a new provider. When Ofsted carried out the report, there were 661 apprentices studying on level 3 and 4 apprenticeships at EEAST.

In September 2020, the trust was placed into special measures after a report from The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found evidence of abuse and bullying.

The latest Ofsted found that leaders had been too slow to make changes to improve the safety of their apprentices and even though the number of staff in the safeguarding team has significantly increased, this has not yet stopped inappropriate behaviour that a significant of apprentices still experience.

The report does, however, praise the trust for promoting high professional standards and taking swift action when concerns are raised.

Dr Tom Davis, interim CEO at the trust, said: “We’re working closely with partners to make sure the transition to a new learning provider is as seamless as possible for our apprenticeship students and are determined to make improvements so that these learners feel well supported while they continue their clinical placements with us.

“We want every staff member to have a positive experience of our organisation. We’ve since put further changes in place to strengthen our safeguarding training and student support”