Why Potential Realised chose Bud to deliver a first-class learner experience

Potential Realised founders Lynn and Ryan share how Bud has helped them to deliver a first-class learner experience and achieve an Ofsted Good rating.

Why Potential Realised chose Bud to deliver a first-class learner experience

Potential Realised is an independent provider of leadership and HR management training. Lynn Manir-Jolley and Ryan Crawford set it up with the aim of making a difference to learners’ lives and always going the extra mile to help.

Potential Realised started offering apprenticeships in early 2021, and chose to implement Bud right from the beginning. 

“We felt that we were backing ourselves for growth. We knew that we’d have to move over to the best system at some point, and genuinely believe that Bud is the best system. Right from the outset, we wanted to make sure that the systems we were using were in line with the quality that we want to provide to our learners,” Ryan said.

This commitment to quality has paid off. Potential Realised has an average achievement score of almost 84% and they were recently rated Good in their first Ofsted inspection.  

We spoke to Ryan and Lynn about the Ofsted inspection, their experiences with Bud so far and how they’re building for the future.

The right values, team and platform

The first Ofsted inspection is always nerve-wracking, but the Potential Realised team felt confident about a successful outcome. 

“We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time reviewing and fine-tuning our curriculum, and we have a wide range of backgrounds and expertise. We were confident that we not only have an excellent learning programme, but that it’s supported by the right platform and the right values and focus from the team,” Lynn said.

The two-day inspection covered the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and apprenticeship provision. The Ofsted inspectors were particularly impressed with the team’s programmes and support offered.

“We were applauded during the final feedback session for our programmes and level of support. We were told that it was extremely rare for a new provider to receive such positive feedback overall, but we felt it reflected our quality of education, culture of teamwork and collaboration, and the professional skills and competence of all our team members,” she said.

Learner insights and compliant workflows

The programmes that Potential Realised have built on Bud act as a library of information to support their broader curriculum. Lynn explains that being able to provide robust feedback to learners on Bud made it easy for inspectors to assess both the quality of learning material and depth of feedback.

“It was super helpful to be able to provide insight into our learner numbers and how we manage things like feedback, progress reviews and bespoke learner plans. That was achieved because we’d made the decision early on to invest in Bud,” she said.

Using reporting tools to challenge behaviours

This access to insights has been invaluable for Potential Realised in their day-to-day operations too. The team sits down every month to go through Bud’s reports and see which areas they need to focus on.

“What I like about Bud is that there’s a really strong roadmap of additional functionality planned. I’ve seen a lot of those things become reality, like the reporting system which is an excellent piece of equipment. From an auditing perspective, that reporting helps you stay on track and challenge behaviours if things aren’t being done,” Ryan said.

“In the Level 7 reviews for example, the updates on progress are quite in depth so they’re often added afterwards. Bud showed us that when we were sending these reports out to the delegates and line manager, they weren’t getting signed. That’s just one instance where Bud has really helped us identify challenges and deal with things that might otherwise cause a problem in the future.”

Building for the future

After a positive Ofsted experience, the team are excited to build on their progress. Growth is on the agenda, but their priority is still to deliver first-rate learner support.

“We had a learner recently who was working as a warehouse supervisor for a FTSE 100 company. He’d left school with no qualifications – no English, no maths, nothing. He wanted to give up because he didn’t feel worthy enough or clever enough, but we invested in him and must have spent days supporting him,” Ryan said.

“He ended up being recognised by his company for his personal success, and was one of three people picked globally to receive an award. For us, that was recognition that we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing because it truly matters to people.”

Want to explore how Bud could support your training business? Read more case studies to find out how other providers are using Bud, or a book a discovery call with the team now.