Ofsted and the inspection of further education and skills

Sheila Willis Senior HMI Further Education and Skills

East Midlands Region

The Derbyshire Network 27 June 2014

Session outline

Ofsted - focus for the next 12 months

East Midlands performance

Ofsted’s reach

6

Raising standards, improving lives

Regional working

The regional focus gives us a good understanding of the quality of provision in each local area.

This allows us to focus our inspection and improvement activity in the places which need it most.

Working regionally also gives us closer links to local stakeholders, so we can get an understanding of current local issues and work with others to find solutions.

Key messages from the 2012/13Annual Report

The proportion of young people under 19 starting an apprenticeship is lower than last year. 

Too much provision is not responsive to local employment needs.  

Training providers need to ensure that vocational provision is better matched to the needs of local businesses and communities.  

Providers must improve the quality of apprenticeships. Too many providers do not work closely enough with employers and, consequently, apprentices fail to get the right training.  

Far too many young people from poorer backgrounds fail to achieve in their post-16 destination and drop out of education, employment or training.

2013 Annual Report – FE and skills section | 6

Many young people want an apprenticeship, but are not sufficiently employable.

For young people under 19, there were seven applicants for every apprenticeship vacancy in 2012/13, but people over the age of 25 are much more likely to be given an apprenticeship place.

Schools and FE and skills providers must do more to ensure that young people are employable and well prepared for an apprenticeship.

Providers must improve the quality of apprenticeships. In 2012/13, we judged 9% of apprenticeship provision to be inadequate – this is far too high.

Apprenticeships are still failing to meet their full potential

Good practice in the delivery ofapprenticeships

Initial assessment of learning needs and job roles to ensure that an individual learning plan agreed between provider, learner and employer is in place from the beginning.

A three way relationship between provider, learner and employer updated through reviews of progress, often on a monthly basis.

Vocationally experienced and up-to-date staff who are respected for their knowledge by learners and employers.

Programmes are delivered in such a way that learners benefit from interacting with other apprentices and assessment uses a wide variety of evidence.

The use of information technology to enhance the learning and assessment experience of apprentices (through electronic portfolios, resources and methods of recording performance such as digital video and voice recording).

Inspection focus on the development of English and mathematics

Four key messages

Approximately 279,000 young people complete KS4 without achieving a grade C or above in English and maths.

In 2012/13, only 17,600 and 21,000 achieved a grade C or above in English and maths (respectively) through the FE and skills sector.

FE and skills providers do not have the capacity for improving learners’ skills in English and maths and this is not improving quickly enough.

Ofsted is giving a priority to the inspection and reporting of this provision.

Alison Wolf’s recommendations Programmes for students under 19 without GCSE A*-C

in English and/or maths should include a course which either leads directly to these qualifications, or which provide significant progress towards future GCSE entry and success.

DfE and BIS should consider how best to introduce a comparable requirement into apprenticeship frameworks.

Government policy:

Apprentices who have not yet achieved GCSE A*-C in English and maths should have the opportunity to do so. This is likely to be compulsory from 2016.

16-19 study programmes will include English and maths for learners without a grade C. This will be a condition of funding from September 2014. There must be evidence of significant progress.

East Midland Performance

Quality of FE & Skills

Derbyshire and Derby performance

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4

3 11 7 0

LA Overall success rates (%)

Timely Success rates (%)

Derbyshire 79 62

Derby 76 57

East Midlands 71 55

England 74 60

Change in previously grade 3 providers

Looking forward key/regional priorities

Targeted support and challenge:

Provision in Nottingham and Derby

Independent Learning Provider sector to improve apprenticeship performance regionally

Employer-led apprenticeships

NEETs

Future Changes

Inspection of good and outstanding providers

A review of the common inspection framework

Better engagement with learners using the learner voice on inspection

Funding for apprenticeship training

Thank you

www.ofsted.gov.uk