Yorkshire Ambulance Service Celebrates Ofsted Outcome for Apprenticeship Provision

Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s apprenticeship provision has been hailed as good with outstanding features, following a full Ofsted inspection.

The Trust currently has 587 apprentices in both clinical roles and corporate services which accounts for 9% of the workforce (the Government target is 2.3%).

The inspection of the Trust’s apprenticeship programmes took place in June 2023 and included the clinical Ambulance Support Worker, which includes advanced and emergency driving, and the Associate Ambulance Practitioner roles.

The Ofsted inspectors were impressed by the behaviour of the apprentices, their extremely positive attitudes to learning and the way in which they support and constructively challenge each other to develop their skills.

The inspectors recognised the expertise of YAS Educators, the well-planned curriculum and quality of assessments.  Learner support was deemed strong with Educators building the confidence and resilience of apprentices very effectively.

Dawn Adams, Associate Director of Education and Organisational Development (Interim) for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “I am exceptionally proud of our apprenticeship provision in YAS. Our achievement rates are strong and distinction rates are excellent.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our apprentices for their hard work and determination to succeed, and to thank all those who support our apprentices; it really does make a difference.”

The areas identified for improvement are already part of an ongoing Quality Improvement Plan being implemented by the Trust. 

The Ofsted report follows on from the announcement that Yorkshire Ambulance Service was named as the top-rated NHS trust in England at number 36 of the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers.  This list is produced annually by the Department for Education.

The full Ofsted report can be viewed here.