Management

Our business structure and controls are essential to ensure we operate efficiently and focus on the priorities of our key stakeholders.

A group of people sat in an office and talking

Executive structure

Our business structure within Kaplan UK is supported by both our parent company, Kaplan Inc. and its owner, Graham Holdings, as well as external expertise from our advisory boards. Graham Holdings is a listed company in the US. Kaplan Inc. is its largest subsidiary, which includes Kaplan UK. Kaplan Inc. provides support and governance over significant decisions such as major investments.

Our Executive Leadership Team is responsible for:

Establishing our vision and purpose.
Designing and driving our strategy.
Governing the commercial education business.
Delegating responsibility and governance of the apprenticeship function to the Apprenticeship Leadership Team (ALT). The ALT is overseen and guided by the External Assurance Board (EAB) and receives learner voice input from the Kaplan Apprenticeship Advisory Panel.

External Assurance Board (EAB)

For apprenticeships, we have an independent EAB to provide oversight, knowledge, and strategic challenge to our programmes.

The EAB comprises leading experts from the Further Education and Careers Sector, including:

Chris Lang (Chair)

A highly experienced CFO, including of the St John’s Innovation Group and Further Education provider, and Corporate Governance author, trainer and examiner.

Christine Doubleday

Expert Careers Coach, member of the International Coaching Federation and former CEO of a College Network.

Stewart Segal

The Chair of Youth Employment UK and former CEO of the Association of Employers and Learning Providers, and former CEO of an independent training provider.

Anna Morrison CBE

Founder and Director of Amazing Apprenticeships and awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Hertfordshire in recognition of her outstanding work within education.

The EAB meets at least four times a year and receives detailed reports from Kaplan’s Apprenticeship Leadership Team.

In addition, there is an Apprenticeship Funding Audit and Risk Committee (AFARC), which oversees the audit and risk of the apprenticeship function. This is attended by Chris Lang, Kaplan Finance Director and other representatives. The AFARC meets three times a year.

Kaplan Apprenticeship Advisory Panel

Our Kaplan Apprenticeship Advisory Panel (KAAP), represented by current and former Kaplan apprentices, meets quarterly to continually evaluate and help improve our Apprenticeship programmes. The KAAP members are from a range of apprenticeship standards and employers.

Steering groups

We have a number of steering groups focussing on key areas that make decisions and, where appropriate, escalate to the executive team and/or advisory boards.

Curriculum Board
This board meets three times a year to ensure that Kaplan’s curriculum is continually fit for purpose and meets the needs of the learners and employers that train and work with Kaplan.
IT steering group
This group meets quarterly to ensure we are investing and working on the business priorities and adjusting for these priorities as they change.
Quality improvement committee
This committee meets monthly to review our overall learner delivery, with particular focus on apprenticeship programmes. It aims to ensure we are continually improving the experience for our learners. The regular agenda includes items such as safeguarding and Prevent, curriculum, programme delivery, and compliance.
GDPR steering group
This group, chaired by Stacey Fitzsimmons (Managing Director of Kaplan Financial) and Zoe Robinson (Managing Director of Kaplan Assessments), is supported by Kaplan’s IT security and compliance team, ensuring that we’re compliant with the latest data protection regulations.
EOI steering groups
We have EOI steering groups and EOI (Equal Opportunities and Inclusion) steering groups and an EOI learner working group in place for our learners and our employees, ensuring we are listening to and representing the needs of everyone we work with.
Health and Safety steering group
This group oversees H&S matters, responds to H&S legislative changes and identifies and champions actions.

Risk-based approach

We operate risk logs, which are reviewed monthly, at both strategic and operational levels, with oversight and support from Kaplan Inc. This ensures a consistently high standard of delivery at all times.