Ofsted’s refreshed approach to inspection and new focus on inclusion represents a “chance to shine” for the FE sector, chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has told college leaders.
New inspections under the reformed report cards system began last week.
Overall headline grades have been removed and the watchdog will now grade colleges in up to 16 individual areas – including inclusion for the first time – on a five-point scale from ‘exceptional’, ‘strong standard’ and ‘expected standard’ to ‘needs attention’ and ‘urgent improvement’.
Speaking to the Association of Colleges conference today, Oliver praised colleges as “among the most inclusive institutions in our entire education system”, highlighting their work with young carers, adults returning after long breaks from education, and learners with specialist needs.
Despite “no set definition of disadvantage at post-16”, he said, colleges “find ways to make education work for everyone who comes through your doors”.
“This, alongside recognising inclusion in our refreshed approach to inspection, is a chance for your sector to shine,” Oliver said. “It’s an opportunity to have your excellent work – work that’s been happening for some time, often without due recognition – properly acknowledged and celebrated.”
He added: “We want to support you to continue to be inclusive while driving achievement. These refreshed inspections should feel like recognition.”
From ‘best fit’ to ‘secure fit’
Oliver said the new inspection methodology responds directly to college sector feedback, particularly criticisms of inconsistent judgments under the previous “best fit” approach.
He acknowledged that “the definition of ‘best fit’ was creating confusion and, frankly, frustration” and that colleges felt “different inspectors were interpreting the framework differently”.
“‘Secure fit’ brings a more robust, consistent approach to making judgments,” he said. “It means clearer criteria that everyone can understand and work towards. It’s more rigorous – and I make no apologies for that. But, crucially, it’s also clearer, fairer and more human.”
‘No read across’ from old grading system
Oliver also addressed misunderstandings about Ofsted’s new grades, stressing that the system is not comparable to the old one.
“There is no read across from the old judgments to the new grades. We are starting over,” he said.
He described the new “expected standard” as “a high bar”, reflecting expectations set by government, and insisted that achieving it represents “a job well done”.
Ofsted is working to communicate the new grades to parents and learners, including green colour coding to indicate that “hitting ‘expected standard’ means you are good to go”.
Oliver said if providers achieve above expected standard, then “you really are flying”.
“Strong standard marks out excellent practice. Anything graded ‘exceptional’ is exactly that – truly among the very best nationally.”
He insisted the ‘needs attention’ is not the same as ‘requires improvement’ under the old system: “It is not a fail – that’s important – but it is an indication that there is work to be done.”
“This grade is about catching things before they become bigger problems,” he added, describing it as an “opportunity” and “a catalyst for improvement”. Oliver stressed that colleges should not be surprised by such findings: “We shouldn’t be shining a light on anything you haven’t already identified.”
Revised monitoring will allow quicker re-grading, he added: “If you address the areas that need attention, we can recognise that improvement promptly – and turn the amber to green.”
First report cards batch published
At an AoC breakout session this afternoon, Denise Olander, Ofsted’s acting deputy director of post-16 education and training, said the first report card reports will be published after Christmas and released in batches.
“We started inspections last week, and they went really well. We were pleased with them. But we will not be sharing our report cards until after Christmas,” Olander said.
“We will batch publish so those that go first don’t feel exposed. There’ll be a huge amount of reports that will be published from January onwards. So you won’t see anything in the public domain until then.”
Your thoughts