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14 April 2026

Tag: Ofsted

Ofstedwatch: Contrasting fortunes for colleges

This week saw a reverse of fortunes for two colleges – with Ofsted dragging one down from ‘outstanding’ but boosting another two grades from ‘inadequate’. Meanwhile, a good week for the independent sector saw Northern Care Training Limited made the leap from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’. Blackburn College lost its ‘outstanding’ rating following an inspection in mid-March […]

Lowest percentage of colleges rated ‘outstanding’

The number of colleges with top marks from Ofsted has fallen to its lowest ever level this week, after Blackburn College slumped to a shock grade three. New analysis by FE Week has uncovered a downward grading spiral for general FE colleges over the last 10 years. Just one college has received an ‘outstanding’ grade, […]

Large London college leaps two grades from inadequate

A large London College that was rated inadequate less than two years ago, has pulled back from the brink to register a ‘good’ overall Ofsted rating in a report out today. The report out today was full of praise for the leadership team at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College. The good-overall verdict, with only […]

Why the delay for Learndirect inspection report?

Ofsted’s eagerly awaited inspection report on the nation’s largest FE provider has been delayed by six weeks, with the “silence period” before the election given as the reason. Learndirect was visited by the education watchdog a month ago, and speculation has been mounting over the grade it will receive. However, in an unusual move Ofsted […]

Ofsted watch: Concern over weak governance at Manchester provider

Concerns over governance were raised in the first ever Ofsted report on Manchester-based Impact College, an independent training provider given a ‘requires improvement’ rating. That report, published April 26 and based on an inspection in mid-March, found that governance was “weak” and the “self-assessment process is not rigorous enough”. It noted that learners’ starting points were […]

Ofsted watch: A bumper crop of ‘good’ grades

It’s a bumper Ofsted watch this week, with a total of 15 full FE and skills inspection reports published since our last round-up. What’s more, over half of these inspections resulted in a grade two rating or higher. These included HIT Training, which was rated ‘good’ across the board – holding onto the same overall […]

New Ofsted chair unveiled

A former university vice-chancellor has been appointed as the new chair of education watchdog Ofsted. Professor Julius Weinberg will replace the current interim chair James Kempton, education secretary Justine Greening announced today. She said Professor Weinberg, who will now step down from his current role as Ofqual’s deputy chair, brings a “wide range of experience […]

Outstanding Ofsted verdict for private apprenticeships provider

An outstanding across the board rating has been handed out by Ofsted to a West Midlands independent training provider that specialises in engineering apprenticeships. The glowing report on In-Comm Training and Business Services Limited was published today. Its grade one verdict was up from a good rating following the company’s last inspection in 2015. The report […]

Breaking: Ofsted launches official ‘good’ logo in policy U-turn

A new logo is being launched by Ofsted for providers rated ‘good’ – seven months after FE Week exclusively reported how the inspectorate threatened legal action over “unauthorised” use of its logo promoting grade two ratings. The apparent U-turn follows shocked and angry sector reaction to our original story last September. We revealed that Ofsted […]