On 12^th May 2020 Ofsted published the report of its first full inspection of The National Logistics Academy and rated it ‘good’ for overall effectiveness and for every other aspect of its apprenticeships provision.

The National Logistics Academy was formed in 2016 to provide training, apprenticeships, and workforce development to large, levy-paying national logistics employers through a nationwide network of 25 specialist logistics training providers.

In March 2020 the 7-strong Ofsted inspection team spent a week visiting the Academy’s delivery partners across the country and speaking to around 80% of its apprentices and employers. In their inspection report, Ofsted specifically highlights a number of strengths in The Academy’s approach. In particular, it confirms that the academy’s unique subcontracting model is effective in serving the apprenticeship needs of the UK’s largest logistics operators:

“Leaders and managers haven nurtured very effective links with an extensive network of training partners across the country.”

Ofsted also found that:

“Apprentices have high aspirations, which ultimately results in raising their earning potential significantly and improving their self-esteem.”

They were complimentary about how the Academy develops its apprenticeship programmes:

“Managers have worked very closely with sector specialists and employers to develop a meaningful curriculum with up-to-date content.”

They also found the Academy’s delivery to be particularly effective:

“Development coordinators and tutors use a range of assessment strategies to ensure that apprentices learn more and remember more as part of their apprenticeship.”

Commenting on the inspection report The National Logistics Academy Chief Executive Mark Currie said: “This is clearly a great result especially since the Academy is a relatively new provider and it was our first full inspection. I would like to thank Ofsted for conducting a comprehensive and rigorous inspection. The feedback in the inspection report has been highly useful in that it not only confirms what is good with our delivery model, but it has also given us some useful pointers as to how we can become even better. Our aim is to deliver high-quality skills, knowledge, and behaviour training our customers need as they adapt to the fast pace of change that is being driven by the exponential growth in online retail. I would also particularly like to thank our team, partners, customers, and apprentices for the part that they played in the inspection and development of the Academy over the last 4 years.”

Ofsted report

https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/1276505