National children’s services organisation becomes approved apprentice provider

A national children’s services provider has been approved for the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR), a government-managed list of training providers who can deliver apprenticeship training.

Polaris Community, which is one of the largest children’s services providers in the UK and has services in foster care, adoption, residential and education, submitted the application to become a provider in December 2024, before being approved in February this year. Polaris was also approved as a centre for NCFE in March.

The organisation previously relied on external providers for its apprenticeship needs but after receiving varied feedback and levels of satisfaction from apprentices decided to become an independent provider.

Ellen Copperthwaite is the head of learning and development at Polaris and has been working on the application, she said:

“The children and young people using our services will benefit from receiving support from a highly trained and qualified workforce with our own standards being instilled in those receiving training, not those from external providers.

“While this provision is fantastic for our staff, my ultimate aim is to provide employability skills and apprenticeship options to the young people our community supports – particularly those who might be struggling at school – alongside vocational courses.”

Initially, Polaris will be offering levels four and five in Children, Young People and Families, in keeping with the support provided to children and young people across the country but plans to expand the qualifications available year on year. 

Polaris has appointed a new apprenticeship services manager in Clare Makepeace, former learning and development lead, and now has six months to onboard its first cohort of apprentices.

Clare said:

“We want both new and existing staff to unlock their potential and develop their careers and education in ways that are right for them and we know apprenticeships are a great way to do this. 

“We are so looking forward to welcoming our first group and can’t wait to see what they achieve and the positive impact this will have on our children and young people.”

Next steps for the business are to create the full curriculum and prepare for Ofsted and the Department  of Education’s first monitoring visit.