There is an astonishing lack of research into what's working well and what needs to improve in the Ofsted inspection system of the Further Education and Skills (FES) sector. Edge has now published a new report, Ofsted Inspection in the general Further Education and Skills sector in England. The report explores the impact of Ofsted inspections judging colleges and other providers' performance. A team of researchers from Edge Foundation and the UCL Institute of Education, led by Dr Bernie Munoz-Chereau, conducted research on experiences in Further Education and Skills. A survey and interviews took place with staff and governors working in colleges across England. The research explores the strengths, limitations and improvements that could be made to the inspection system.
Ofsted has been under increased scrutiny over the last few years and has had increased pressure to review and change their practices due to criticism concerning their high stakes, high stress approach. They have recently undertaken the ‘Big Listen’ consultation to review their practices and act in the best interest of the sector. The new Government have also recently introduced changes to how Ofsted will operate in schools, including taking away the use of one-word judgments in inspections, which have such devastating effects. We are waiting to hear what changes will be made in the FES sector, so this research comes at a crucial time.
Edge collaborated with colleagues from IoE, UCL’s Faculty of Education on research looking at inspections across the four nations of the UK in schools in 2021. Indeed, much of the research and media attention in relation to inspections, and specifically Ofsted, focuses on schools, with not much on the FES sectors experiences of Ofsted. We thought it was important to do some research in this area so we could better understand the unique experiences of college stakeholders around the impacts, strengths and weakness of the current inspection process.
David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges"It's good to see this research into the impact of Ofsted inspections on the FE sector in England, and it is particularly timely given the work Ofsted is doing on the inspection framework…The suggestions for improvement align with our response to Ofsted’s Big Listen which concluded earlier this year. We are looking forward to the consultation on an evolved inspection framework tailored to FE and skills."