When Ofsted inspected the Educationwise Academy in July 2026, inspectors graded inclusion at Strong standard, finding “comprehensive and rigorous processes to assess swiftly the support that apprentices and adult learners need”.
The results bear it out. Of the apprentices who completed their end-point assessment in 2025/26, those Educationwise counts as disadvantaged all went on to a positive destination, and 91% passed. Behind those results is a process in which every apprentice is set up to take the Cognassist assessment at enrolment, and every case of learner support is checked by the quality team.
Educationwise is a national training provider delivering apprenticeships and professional qualifications across sport and physical activity, education, health and fitness, business and leadership. Educationwise has used Cognassist since 2021, and this is the second time inspectors have judged Educationwise highly; the first, under the previous framework, was Outstanding.
“Cognassist forms part of a wider inclusion process: identifying potential barriers, discussing them with the learner, agreeing support and checking whether it helps.” — Cara Anderson, Internal Quality Assurer, Educationwise
The same starting point for every learner
Every apprentice at Educationwise is set up to take Cognassist’s cognitive assessment at enrolment, with the aim that all learners will complete this at the start of their qualification, alongside their English and maths initial assessments. Learners on learner loans are offered it too, so that everyone starts in the same place.
“For us it was always every learner. Maths and English initial assessments are mandatory, and when we first started in 21/22, we wanted all learners to have the same opportunities.”
The Cognassist assessment’s first job is to open a conversation many learners would not start themselves.
“That Cognassist assessment gives us that initial conversation starter, because some learners still don’t like to say when they’ve had extra time at school or where they’ve got learning barriers.”
Starting it at enrolment means support begins before a learner falls behind, not after.
“We give the learner all the tools and support they need from the start of the qualification, rather than two, three, six months in. We can identify those barriers straight away, and we know exactly how to support them.”
Who does the work
When functional skills rules changed, Educationwise’s functional skills tutors took on a second role.
“We upskilled our functional skills tutors into a dual role we call learner inclusion support tutors. They’ve got more dedicated time to spend with the learners, to really individualise support based on their needs and their barriers.”
Educationwise’s learner inclusion support tutors are Shiani Andrews and Naomi Gradwell, both Functional Skills and Learning Support Tutors.
Every learner the Cognassist assessment flags, including those placed on monitor and review, passes straight to a learner inclusion support tutor, who goes through the results with them on screen in the Cognassist platform’s presentation mode, explains what they mean, and agrees what support, if any, the learner wants. The LIS tutor and the learner’s main tutor then work together: they record evidence each month and formally review support at least every three months. Today, 65 learners are actively supported this way.
The Cognassist report also strengthens requests for reasonable adjustments. One ESOL learner passed two English assessments but kept struggling with her reading exam, because processing the text took her time. “Her Cognassist report helped us to really strengthen the approval of 50% additional time, and she then passed straight away after that.”
I can't see us ever being without Cognassist.
Cara AndersonInternal Quality Assurer, EducationwiseSupport that is reviewed, and graduated
Inspectors noted that Educationwise reviews “the support they provide critically and adjust this over time to ensure that it remains impactful or can be removed”. The learner decides whether to carry on.
“At any point throughout their journey, they have an option to opt out, we refer to it as learner support graduation. All learners have an opportunity to opt back in at any point.”
Quality is checked throughout: tutors have KPIs for engagement and support, Power BI dashboards give leaders oversight, and every case is checked.
“At present, all of our learner support is 100% IQA’d, to make sure the learners are getting the support they need.”
The results
Of the 180 apprentices who completed their end-point assessment between August 2025 and July 2026, 94% passed, and 38% achieved a distinction or the highest grade. Of the disadvantaged apprentices, 91% passed, and all of them went on to a positive destination. Inspectors found that “nearly all apprentices who have an identified barrier to learning and remain on their programme achieve their qualification”.
“I can’t see us ever being without Cognassist. Even if a learner opts out, it still gives us that initial talking point.”
Not stopping there
Until now, Educationwise’s learner support process has lived in the team’s own documents alongside the Cognassist platform. Educationwise is continuing to develop how it uses Cognassist, bringing more of its learner support processes into the platform to improve consistency and make things easier for learners and tutors, and bringing in the wider inclusion data now collected at enrolment, from learning environment to background.
“Everything built into one platform is not only going to be easier for the learner, but more practical for the tutor.”
“Yes, we’ve had Ofsted, and yes, we got Strong in inclusion, but we don’t want to stop there. We want to keep the learner at the heart of everything we do.”