Aptem Apprentice includes a fully configurable review tool that lets training providers build, manage, and report on any structured review document – from tripartite progress reviews to eligibility checks and compliance records. Each review can be customised with question sets, section-level permissions, and multi-party signing, and response data is available via OData for external reporting. This article explains how to configure reviews effectively, set the right permissions, and get the most from pre-population and reporting.
What reviews can be used for
Providers use Aptem reviews for a wide range of purposes beyond the standard tripartite progress review. Common examples include gateway reviews, eligibility reviews, additional learning support interview records, welfare check records, health and safety induction checks, and compliance documents that fall outside the standard template set. Because the review tool is fully configurable, any document that needs to produce an auditable PDF with a structured set of responses can be built as a review.
Reviews can be made visible to and signable by any combination of administrator, employer, learner, and referral organisation. This makes them suitable for multi-party documents where different people need to contribute different sections, and where a signed PDF is the required output.
Building and customising a review
Reviews are created and edited within the reviews token in programme builder. Adding a new review requires entering a name, selecting who the review is visible to, and setting which roles are required to sign. If a review has already been built on another programme, it can be cloned directly from the review menu using the copy from another programme option, which saves significant setup time across a large programme estate.
Once the review exists, its content is configured through the type tab. This is where the predefined sections built into Aptem can be enabled or disabled, and where custom sections and text steps are added.
Custom sections allow providers to add question sets that go beyond the predefined fields. After creating a custom section and enabling it, questions are added individually. Available question formats include single-line text, multi-line text, numeric, date, boolean (yes or no), boolean with branching logic (where different follow-up questions appear depending on the answer given), and list items presented as a dropdown. Separate list item entries with a semicolon when configuring the field. Questions can be set as required or optional.
Text steps are a separate type of content block that can be added to a review to display instructional or contextual information. Text steps support formatting options including bold, italics, bullet points, numbered lists, and hyperlinks, making them useful for embedding guidance or links to further information directly within the review. Images can be added either via a web address or by pasting directly into the editing area.
Configuring visibility and editing permissions
One of the most important aspects of review configuration is setting the correct permissions at section level. Each section within a review has its own visibility and editing settings, accessible via the settings icon on the section. These control which roles can see each section and which roles can edit it.
For example, in a progress review, a workplace progress section might be editable by both the employer and the learner so both can contribute their own perspective before the meeting. A RAG rating section might be visible to all parties but editable only by the administrator completing the review. A learner questions and comments section would typically be editable by the learner only. The skills radar section, where both the learner and employer complete their own assessments, needs to be editable by both roles independently.
Getting these permissions right is what makes pre-population effective. If sections are not set to editable for the relevant roles, those parties will not be able to contribute before the meeting.
How pre-population works
Pre-population allows learners and employers to complete their sections of a review in advance of the scheduled meeting. This is configured at the review level, where a number of days before the review date can be set as the window during which pre-population is available. Notifications can be enabled so that learners and employers receive an alert when the review is ready for them to pre-populate.
From the learner’s perspective, they access the review from their reviews tab in the learning plan, complete the sections that are editable for them, and save each section as they go. The skills radar allows learners to record their self-assessment level against each criterion, and the history of previous skills radar assessments can be toggled on to show progression over time. A learning progress section automatically pulls current dashboard progress data into the review without the learner or administrator needing to enter it manually.
From the administrator’s perspective, completed learner responses are visible in each section when they open the review. The administrator can add their own input to any section they have editing rights for, alongside or in addition to what the learner or employer has submitted. Pre-population makes review meetings more efficient because everyone arrives having already contributed their sections, and the meeting itself can focus on discussion rather than data entry.
For providers looking to reduce the administrative burden of reviews further, Aptem Enhance includes enhanced reviews – a suite of AI-powered features that automates notetaking, review summaries and trackable actions during the review meeting itself. Customers using enhanced reviews save on average 50% of the time previously spent writing up reviews, freeing tutors to focus on coaching rather than administration.
Eligibility reviews and funding rule compliance
Aptem provides a recommended eligibility review template that covers the sections required to meet current apprenticeship funding rules. This includes learner confirmation of eligibility, provider confirmation of eligibility, employer confirmation of eligibility, and recognition of prior learning considerations. The template is available as a starting point, and providers are encouraged to customise the sections that are specific to their organisation and processes.
Review response data and OData
Review response data, including responses to both predefined and custom sections, is available in Aptem’s OData feed. OData is Aptem’s read-only data extract, accessible via a URL with an API key, which allows providers to pull data from the platform into external reporting tools or data warehouses.
Review response data appears in a dedicated review responses table within the OData feed, linked to the review table via the review ID. The data becomes available within 15 minutes of a section being saved. The OData feed has a paging limit of 5,000 rows; a looped query approach is recommended for larger datasets and is documented in the OData dictionary.
Review response data in OData needs to be enabled on each Aptem tenant before it becomes available. This is a configuration step that providers should confirm is in place before relying on the feed for reporting purposes.
Frequently asked questions
Can the same review be used across multiple programmes?
Yes. If a review has been built on one programme, it can be cloned into other programmes using the copy from another programme option in the review menu. This avoids rebuilding common reviews from scratch and helps maintain consistency across a provider’s programme estate.
Can different sections of a review be completed by different people?
Yes, and this is one of the most useful aspects of the review tool. Each section has its own visibility and editing permissions, so it is straightforward to have a learner complete their own questions, an employer complete theirs, and an administrator complete the rest, all within the same review document. The signed PDF that is produced reflects all contributions.
Does the learner see all sections of a review?
Only sections that have been set as visible to the learner role will appear when the learner accesses the review. Sections that are for administrator or employer use only can be hidden from the learner entirely. This is configured at section level via the settings icon within the review type tab.
What question types are available in custom sections?
Custom sections support single-line text, multi-line text, numeric, date, boolean (yes or no), boolean with branching logic, and list items presented as a dropdown. Questions can be set as required or optional. The boolean with branching type is particularly useful for eligibility or compliance checks where the answer to one question determines which follow-up question is shown.
Are review responses available in OData?
Yes. Both predefined section responses and custom section responses are available in Aptem’s OData feed, in a review responses table linked to the review table via the review ID. The data is available within 15 minutes of being saved. The OData feed needs to be enabled on the tenant before this data becomes accessible, so providers should confirm this is configured before building reporting off the feed.
Can images and instructions be embedded directly in a review?
Yes. Text steps within a review can include formatted text, hyperlinks, and images. Images can be added via a web address or pasted directly into the editing area. This is useful for embedding guidance notes, branded content, or links to further information within the review itself, making it more informative and user-friendly for learners and employers completing it.
To see how Aptem Apprentice reviews work in practice, book a demo with the team.
