The founders of one of the biggest apprenticeship providers in England have announced they are to leave the firm they set up.
Peter Marples and Di McEvoy-Robinson will leave the board of Aspire Achieve Advance Limited (3aaa) next week, after setting up the company 10 years ago.
According to Education and Skills Funding agency data, 3aaa received £31.5 million in apprenticeship, traineeship and adult education funding in 2017-18, the seventh highest allocation of any provider in the country.
Tes understands that an Ofsted report was due to be published in July, which 3aaa expected to pronounce it outstanding overall. However, the report has yet to be published.
An Ofsted spokesperson said they inspected 3aaa in May but then received new information about the provider.
They added: “We are now considering whether or not we need to return to the provider to gather more evidence while we await new information from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. We will do this using the Gathering additional evidence to secure an incomplete inspection protocol.”
When asked whether it was investigating the provider, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “We do not comment on any investigations, ongoing or otherwise.”
‘They will be missed’
In a joint statement, Mr Marples and Ms McEvoy-Robinson said: “We are tremendously proud of what we have built together with the support of both the management and all of the staff that are currently employed in the business. We are grateful to the staff who have worked with us over the last ten years.
“We feel it is now time for us to stand down together, ten years after jointly founding the business. Moving forward, we will now take the opportunity to focus on our health and families.”
Derek Mapp, 3aaa chairman, said: “I have rarely experienced the total dedication and exceptional effort that both Peter and Di have applied to this business. They will be missed, but it is to their great credit that they have successfully put in place strong management succession for the company going forward. The board wishes them every success.”
Richard Irons, the current chief operating officer at the company, will become the new managing director, reporting to Mr Mapp.
