The work of Ofsted is important. It gives learners confidence they are receiving high-quality education, reassures employers their workforce is being trained well, and highlights for providers what is working and what needs to improve.
This week we launched a consultation on a new way of inspecting and reporting on all types of education provider, including FE providers.
Last year during Ofsted’s largest ever consultation, the Big Listen, we heard from thousands of parents, school and college leaders, providers, teachers and trainers, nursery staff and of course, learners, including apprentices. In response, we made changes to how we inspect to reduce the burden of inspection on providers.
There were positives that emerged. You told us the nominee on FE and skills inspections has brought significant improvements to the process and feel of inspection, so we are extending that to schools and early years settings too.
This new consultation aims to take the reforms enacted after the Big Listen even further. After spending months talking to government, sector organisations and representatives, learners, employers and providers, I’m confident this new way balances the interests of learners and apprentices, and education and training professionals.
Inspection will continue to be built upon dialogue
You told us you want a more nuanced view of a provider’s strengths and areas of improvement. So, instead of an overall effectiveness grade we’re proposing a five-point grading scale, allowing inspectors to celebrate successes and pinpoint necessary action to avoid standards declining. Our new report cards will display each grade accompanied by a narrative to describe what we saw on inspection.
You will also see how we have proposed some new evaluation areas. All providers will be judged on leadership, inclusion and safeguarding. Then each type of provision offered – such as education programmes for young people, apprenticeships, high needs and adult learning programmes – will receive judgements for curriculum, developing teaching and training, achievement, and participation and development. Finally, colleges and other specialist designated institutions will be evaluated on how they are contributing to meeting the skills need.
By separating out these different areas of provision, rather than aggregating them under a few headline grades, we can reduce the inspection pressure on providers. Removing the overall effectiveness grade – and the spotlight it shone on the provider as a whole – allows inspectors to tell a more detailed story about what it’s like to be learner or apprentice in that provision.
Our chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has said several times that if providers get it right for the most disadvantaged learners, they will get it right for all of them. So one area we want inspection to focus on is inclusion. This means looking at how well providers are supporting their most vulnerable learners and those with SEND. We already know that FE providers are generally very inclusive, so we hope this new focus will allow you to showcase that great work.
During the Big Listen, FE providers were also very clear they wanted inspection to recognise the varied contexts they operate in. They wanted a tailored inspection approach that differentiated between large FE colleges and small apprenticeship providers. We are confident our proposals allow for such differentiation – while still maintaining a common framework that enables comparisons between providers.
There was concern that school sixth forms and 16-19 provision in FE and skills settings will be treated differently. This is absolutely not our intention. We’ve crafted the schools and FE and skills toolkits to ensure parity wherever possible.
Obviously, there will be overlap between how we evaluate school sixth forms and sixth form colleges. Where appropriate, we will use the same standards to inspect both. But there are differences, for example where 16-19 provision is only one part of a provider’s offer (typically a school sixth form) versus whether it accounts for the work of the entire institution. Separate toolkits allow us to account for such differences.
The toolkits set out the standards inspectors will be looking at and how grades are determined. The FE and skills toolkit will not only act as an obvious focal point for inspectors and leaders during an inspection, it can also be used as a useful tool by leaders between inspections, to track their own improvement journey.
Inspection will continue to be built upon professional dialogue. Inspectors always seek out what is typical so they can reach a consensus with leaders about where things are working well, what is on track but remains a work in progress, and what still needs attention.
In the Big Listen you told us we need to also consider notice periods and the composition of inspection teams. Please be assured that we are looking into these and will engage with relevant membership bodies and providers over the coming months.
I would really encourage you to read our proposals and give us your honest thoughts. Over the coming weeks we will be testing them across a broad range of providers to understand how they work in practice. We will listen to everyone’s view and consider all feedback we receive before finalising the reforms for the autumn term.
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