Closed trial with Swift Childcare Apprenticeships, summer 2026
What changed for Swift's apprentices after eight weeks on Fledglings
Between 29 May and 20 July 2026, apprentices worked through eight Fledglings modules alongside their apprenticeship, rating themselves out of 10 before and after each one.
of paired before-and-after ratings went up
Watch the trial in 1 minute 45 seconds.All learner data is anonymised.
Four curricula, and every one moved
Each module puts the learner in a realistic situation, asks them to make decisions, and finishes with a written reflection. Apprentices did them in their own time, as enrichment on top of their programme.
Online Safety
+2.4
average rise in self-rating
81% of content completed
- What is Online Safety?
- Toxic Online Culture
Confidence & Resilience
+2.1
average rise in self-rating
60% of content completed
- Building Real Confidence
- Handling Change & Uncertainty
Employability
+1.7
average rise in self-rating
44% of content completed
- Professionalism & Time Management
- Teamwork & Collaboration
- Problem Solving & Decisions
Financial Literacy
+1.5
average rise in self-rating
25% of content completed
- Budgeting That Works
Completion ranged from 81% for Online Safety to 25% for Financial Literacy, so the Financial Literacy figure is based on fewer reflections than the others.
8.4+
The lowest average after any module was 8.4
Each line shows the group's average self-rating out of 10 before a module and after it.
Professionalism & Time Management finished highest, at 9.2. Toxic Online Culture moved furthest, up 3 full points.
The biggest gains came from the lowest starting points
Learner A on Toxic Online Culture, the largest individual rise in the trial.
These are the six largest individual rises. All six learners started below the group average for that module.
A confidence rating that went from 3.0 to 8.0
She rated her confidence at 3.0 before Building Real Confidence and 8.0 after it. Across the five modules she reflected on, her ratings rose by 3.5 points on average, and her mean module score was 89.
No modules finished at week 4, all eight by week 8
This learner had logged under two hours by week 4, so they were flagged for a check-in. By the end of the trial they had completed every module, and their rating went up on every reflection.
What learners wrote, in their own words
From 'I need to feel confident before I start' to 'I build confidence by starting, even when I don't feel ready.'
Three-word summaries of the trial
01Stop, think, act
02Aware, confident, responsible
03Motivating, encouraging, empowering
04Relief, understanding, self-esteem
Safe, knowledgeable and vigilant.
I know now that I can do it, it's all about the mindset.
Better to under-promise and over-deliver.
Once you get pen to paper it's less overwhelming.
Every quote on this page is taken from a written reflection inside the modules, unprompted and in the learner's own words.
Where this fits in an Ofsted inspection
Under the renewed further education and skills inspection toolkit, apprenticeship provision is graded on curriculum, teaching and training, on achievement, and on participation and development. Inclusion, leadership and governance, and safeguarding are judged across the whole provider. This is the trial evidence we would put against each area.
Participation and development
Apprentices' ratings for confidence, resilience, professionalism and teamwork rose on every module. Their reflections describe changes in how they approach work, such as starting a task before they feel ready.
Inclusion
The six largest gains all came from learners who started below the group average. A learner who had stalled by week 4 was flagged for a check-in and went on to finish every module.
Achievement
Progress is measured from each learner's own starting point, module by module, and checked against scored assessments. The median module score was 84, with none below 70.
Curriculum, teaching and training
Each module gives apprentices a realistic situation in which to practise behaviours that appear in many apprenticeship standards, such as time management, teamwork and problem solving, and then asks them to reflect in writing.
Safeguarding
Toxic Online Culture had the biggest average rise of any module, from 5.7 to 8.7. Providers can use the Online Safety modules as part of how they teach apprentices to keep themselves safe online.
Leadership and governance
Leaders can see engagement, module scores and rating changes for each learner from week one, and receive an impact report for each cohort to use in the self-assessment report and quality improvement plan.
Four kinds of evidence, read together
No single measure carries the result. We put what learners said about themselves next to how they scored, what they wrote and what they actually did on the platform.
What they said
95%
of paired before-and-after ratings rose
Learners rated themselves from 0 to 10 at the start and end of every module. We only counted a reflection when both ratings existed, so each comparison is the same learner on the same module.
What they scored
84
median module score, none below 70
Each module ends with a scored assessment, so how confident learners feel is checked against what they can actually do.
What they wrote
4of 4
curricula with written learner reflections
Reflections are written inside the modules, unprompted and in learners' own words. They show how their thinking changed in their own language.
What they did
212hrs
logged on the platform, a median of 4.6 hours per active learner
We tracked learning time, completion and patterns of use across the eight weeks. A learner with under two hours by week 4 was flagged for a check-in and went on to finish every module.
One impact report for the provider
Matched growth data, module scores, learner voice and engagement patterns, available from week one.
This was one cohort at one provider over eight weeks, and completion varied between curricula, so treat these figures as a first result. All figures come from Fledglings platform data for 29 May to 20 July 2026.
Questions providers ask us
Something we haven't covered? Email contact@fledglings.co.
01Does Fledglings replace our curriculum or our tutors?
No. It sits alongside your apprenticeship programme as enrichment. Your tutors and coaches stay in charge, and the dashboard shows them which learners need a conversation.
02Will it improve our Ofsted grade?
Nobody can promise that. What it gives you is learner-level evidence for participation and development, inclusion and achievement that you can show inspectors, and that apprentices can talk about in their own words.
03Can it count towards off-the-job training?
That is your decision as the provider. It depends on whether the content is directly relevant to the apprenticeship standard and the apprentice's training plan. Modules such as Professionalism & Time Management and Teamwork & Collaboration map closely to common knowledge, skills and behaviours, and we will help you document that mapping.
04Is a self-rating reliable enough to count as evidence?
Not on its own, which is why we pair it with scored module assessments and the learner's written reflection. When all three agree, you have something an inspector can test.
05What data do we get as a provider?
A dashboard with engagement, module scores and before-and-after ratings from week one, and an impact report for each cohort. Both are designed to feed your self-assessment report, quality improvement plan and governance reporting.
06How do apprentices log in?
Through single sign-on from your systems. Fledglings works on a phone, tablet or laptop, and the modules are built to WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.
07How is learner data handled?
Fledglings is registered with the ICO, works under UK GDPR and signs a data processing agreement with every partner. Anything we publish, including this page, is anonymised.
08How do we start a pilot?
Email contact@fledglings.co. We will agree which curricula suit your cohort, set up access, and send you an impact report at the end.