AoC reacts to Ofsted's Big Listen response

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges said: “I am pleased to see that Ofsted plans to remove single-word judgments for overall effectiveness for FE and skills inspections and replace them with a report card in the future. This will be welcomed by staff, students and parents across the FE sector but there remains a question as to why this could only be implemented immediately for schools.

"The wider reform of the FE and skills inspection framework is an important and lengthy task and isn’t one that should be rushed through so I welcome the consultation that will be launched on this, and we will be working with our members to submit a response.

“The other changes announced today – recruitment and training of FE inspectors and removing barriers of opportunity – are also positive steps forward to ensuring inspection truly supports colleges. Colleges want an inspection regime and inspectors who understand colleges, the contexts they operate in, the different types of learning they offer and the diversity of learners they support. They also want a culture in Ofsted of improvement, engagement and respect which supports colleges to be the best they can be, rather than simply offering a snapshot judgement. It is these cultural issues which I hope Ofsted embraces throughout its changes.

“The role of Ofsted to inspect higher technical qualifications needs some work with the Office for Students to ensure that this is not burdensome on colleges by creating overlapping and confusing inspection and oversight arrangements. The number of 14 to 16-year-olds studying in colleges is rising, and it’s right that this provision should be inspected. However, all inspectors should have training in the different types of 14 to 16 provision and be clear on the context and expectations for this often-vulnerable group of learners, as it will be different to mainstream provision in schools.

“We look forward to working with Ofsted on these developments, and to receiving further information on the Ofsted Academy, the updated Ofsted Code of Conduct, the national hubs, insights library and external reference groups.”

Read our briefing here.