Handbook for Ofsted inspectors of further education and skills providers.

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Further education and skills handbook

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Further education and skills handbook: April to 31 August 2021

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Summary of changes

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Details

This handbook is a guide for inspectors of further education and skills providers, under the education inspection framework (EIF).

This may also be useful to providers preparing for an inspection.

Please see guidance on further education and skills inspection activity that we carried out before 19 April 2021. Published 14 May 2019
Last updated 9 February 2022 – hide all updates

1. 9 February 2022 See ‘Summary of changes’.
2. 1 September 2021 Moved current handbook (which applies from 1 September 2021) to the top of the page. Clarified the period covered by the earlier handbook.
3. 12 August 2021 Changes to paragraphs 275 to 279 (see summary of changes).
4. 28 June 2021 See ‘Summary of changes’ for details.
5. 19 April 2021 Edits throughout: see ‘Summary of changes’ for details.
6. 14 May 2019 First published.

Further education and skills handbook changes: what you need to know

19th April 2021: Paul Joyce, @Ofstednews Deputy Director for Further Education and Skills (FES), on the April 2021 changes made to the FES handbook:

Today (19 Apr), we published our updated education inspection framework (EIF) handbooks. We wanted to give colleges and other providers time to absorb the changes as we start our gradual return to routine inspection.

New provider monitoring visits (NPMVs) will continue throughout the summer term. We’ll also continue to carry out emergency monitoring visits or full inspections of providers where we have serious concerns.

From 4 May, we’ll also be resuming our monitoring visits to requires improvement and inadequate providers. Full EIF inspections of new providers that have had an NPMV will also begin in the summer term.

We will mainly carry out inspections on site, but we may carry out some aspects through video or telephone calls where it is more practical to do so. At all times, we’ll make sure that inspections are carried out safely, taking into account the latest public health advice and provider-specific health advice.

A new section on COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Sean Harford has set out in his handbooks update that all of our handbooks now include a new section on ‘inspection during the COVID-19 pandemic’. This details how our inspections will take account of the COVID-19 context and the impact it has had on providers.

For FES, the main changes include:

• that, during the planning call, the lead inspector will ask about the specific impact of COVID-19 on the provider and learners, and how providers have responded
• how we’ll look at how providers have adapted and prioritised the curriculum – including identifying and responding to learning gaps. We’ll also explore how providers have implemented remote learning. We recognise that providers may not have been able to deliver the curriculum as they would usually
• how inspectors will consider available externally published data throughout the inspection, but will be mindful of the age of this data

Level 6/7 apprenticeship provision

Ofsted is now responsible for the inspection of apprenticeship training at levels 6 and 7 (both degree and non-degree). We have amended the handbook to reflect this.

In summary

I hope this post has been a helpful update. We know this has been a tough year, and that you have been doing your very best for learners in difficult circumstances. We want inspection to reflect this. It’s important that we all get back to a more normal way of working, for the benefit of all learners.

Paul Joyce is Ofsted’s Deputy Director for Further Education and Skills

Documents

Further education and skills handbook

Summary of changes

Details

Find out about our current activity in our coronavirus (COVID-19) rolling update.

This handbook is a guide for inspectors of further education and skills providers, under the education inspection framework (EIF).

This may also be useful to providers preparing for an inspection.

Please see guidance on further education and skills inspection activity that we carried out before 19 April 2021.

Published 14 May 2019
Last updated 19 April 2021 + show all updates

1. 19 April 2021 Edits throughout: see ‘Summary of changes’ for details.
2. 14 May 2019 First published.