A training company offering pharmacy apprenticeships has ceased trading just months after an Ofsted inspection concluded that the provider “requires improvement”.
Woodspeen Training, which provides apprenticeship programmes for pharmacy technicians and pharmacy services assistants, said in a LinkedIn post that it had closed and is “currently working through the next steps with administrators”.
Read more: Pharmacy tech apprenticeship breaks into UK top 30
The training provider also said in an email to learners that it had closed following “recent discussions with the Department for Education (DfE)”.
“We were only very recently notified of the DfE’s decision and are advising you as soon as it became certain,” it added.
The DfE told C+D that it will be “communicating directly with those impacted” to let them know of the next steps “required to enable learning delivery to continue”.
“Requires improvement”
An Ofsted inspection of Woodspeen Training in March found that the training provider “requires improvement”, with quality of education, leadership and management, adult learning programmes and apprenticeships listed as areas of concern.
Ofsted said in its report that “too many learners and apprentices leave their programmes early and do not achieve”.
“Managers do not monitor apprentices’ progress in functional skills or attendance at sessions to identify those at risk of falling behind,” it added.
Read more: Trainees face false pay promises and ‘exploitative’ contracts
The report said there were “46 learners on skills bootcamps in pharmacy” at the time of the inspection.
According to DfE data, 17 apprentices have completed Woodspeen Training’s pharmacy technician course and taken their end-point assessment with the provider in 2025.
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The data also shows that 605 people have completed its pharmacy services assistant course since 2021, but around 56% of apprentices in the 2023/24 academic year either did not pass or left the course before the assessment.
The achievement rate for Woodspeen Training’s pharmacy services assistant course is over 16% lower than the national average of 59.9%, DfE figures show, while combined reviews of all the courses offered by the training provider show that the average rating by employers and apprentices is “poor”.
“Ready to assist”
Amy Laflin, acting president of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK), said the body is “here to support” pharmacy technician pre-registration trainees affected by Woodspeen Training’s closure.
“APTUK is actively engaging with stakeholders across the sector to understand the implications and explore solutions that will minimise disruption to training and qualification pathways,” she added.
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Meanwhile, training provider Skills4Pharmacy has said it is “ready to assist” all affected learners, staff and employers.
Owner Amerjit Singh said the Skills4Pharmacy team is “fully prepared to help learners transition into our apprenticeship programmes, ensuring their journey continues with as little disruption as possible”.
Read more: GPhC proposes ‘strengthening’ pharmacy tech qualifications
And new data has shown 2,320 starts in the Level 3 pharmacy technician apprenticeship in England, making it the 30th most popular apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship has moved up from number 33 in the rankings in 2023/24, and number 48 in 2022/23.
Read more: GPhC proposes ‘strengthening’ pharmacy tech qualifications
And the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in July discussed proposals to improve the education and training of pharmacy technicians by “strengthening areas including sustainability and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)”.
“Key changes proposed to the initial education and training of pharmacy technicians (IETPT) standards...include moving the level of study” from level 3 to level 4, council meeting papers revealed.
