APA meets Ofsted safeguarding requirements and is judged ‘expected’ overall

APA have met safeguarding requirements and was judged to be operating at the ‘expected’ standard overall in our Ofsted inspection on 3 February 2026.

Inspectors found an open, positive safeguarding culture at APA, where concerns are identified and acted on, and apprentices feel safe at work and online and know how to report any issues.

The report noted the positive culture we have created, where apprentices’ barriers to learning are identified early and addressed through comprehensive pre-entry assessments and ongoing monitoring, with extra sessions for those who struggle or face temporary difficulties.

Apprentices with special educational needs, disabilities, or health conditions achieve as well as their peers, supported through our graduated approach to tailoring help, including additional staff training in response to increased dyslexia diagnoses.

Our governors understand our strengths and areas for improvement, hold leaders to account, and share a clear vision to grow procurement apprenticeships, including our level 3 and level 6 programmes. We also recognise we need to strengthen how we link lesson observations to targeted professional development for tutors.

Ofsted reported that our apprenticeships also meet the expected standard for achievement, curriculum and teaching, and participation and development.

Most of our apprentices achieve well, with the large majority gaining top grades in at least one exam. Inspectors noted strong written English and digital skills, with many apprentices progressing to higher-level study, promotion or additional responsibilities.

We work closely with tutors and employers to plan coherent, relevant curricula focused on modern procurement practice, including ethics, environmental impact and the growing role of artificial intelligence. Apprentices apply their learning through real organisational projects, so they can contribute directly to improvements at work.

Our tutors are subject experts who use online tools to structure learning and discussion. We are strengthening our approach so tutors consistently check retention of prior knowledge and actively draw all apprentices into debate.

Apprentices benefit from clear careers advice, CV and presentation support, visiting  expert speakers and a well-planned personal development programme covering healthy relationships, inclusion, unconscious bias, British values, safeguarding and extremism.

Attendance is good, motivation is high and apprentices value networking and sharing practice through online sessions and employer-provided work shadowing.

As part of our continuous improvement, we are focusing on tailoring professional learning for tutors, embedding and analysing inclusion data more effectively, and ensuring tutors consistently check understanding and encourage active participation in discussions.

To find out more about APA’s procurement apprenticeships, please contact hello@apatraining.co.uk