We recently held a training event for Civil Ceremonies Ltd that helped them achieve an Outstanding Oftsed Inspection. Read all about it from Anne Barber, Managing Director of Civil Ceremonies Ltd here...
Event Type and Objectives
"We were called on Monday 26th November to say that our first ever Ofsted inspection would take place the same week and a team of 3 inspectors would be with us for these 3 days. We had no practical training scheduled that week, but they insisted they could not change the dates. We therefore had to put on a very last-minute training day, to demonstrate the training we carry out, and needed this to happen quickly! After calling Rov at Highgate House, she magically found us a room, even though they were heaving with guests that day.
On the Thursday, all 3 inspectors and 3 trainees and tutors arrived and we held the training day! We also arranged for a steady stream of already trained celebrants to come in to the coffee areas and talk with the inspectors. It was an incredibly busy day!
Not only this, a member of the Highgate House event team made themselves available at short notice to explain to the inspectors how they work with us and how they do tours of their premises. One of our diploma courses involves teaching about wedding ceremonies at venues such as Highgate House, and so a tour and explanation is now part of the training. This was of real interest to the inspectors and we were really grateful that the venue were able to facilitate this for us."
Reason for choosing Highgate House
"We always use Highgate - the service is second to none!"
How did the venue help towards the success of this event
"The high standards at Highgate House enabled the inspectors to see the venue we use for training our students and how good it is. They saw the standard of accommodation, food and training facilities. The conference team knew exactly what we were trying to achieve that day and they worked tirelessly to help us with all requirements on room layout etc.
We achieved an outstanding grade in all five key areas inspected by Ofsted! This was quite incredible due to the fact that it was our very first inspection and even the inspectors said how unusual it was. We are in fact the first ever ‘loans only’ provider (we offer the government’s Advanced Learner Loans) in the country to ever achieve an outstanding Ofsted grade. We will be eternally grateful to all the Highgate House staff for the work they put in for us that day."
