Review - Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

In England, Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education) inspections of training organisations are
undertaken using the Common Inspection Framework, which focuses on the experience of the
individual learner, applies to all types of provider and can be used to compare different providers’
services. The framework requires an overall judgement on how effectively and efficiently the
provision meets learners’ needs, and how can it be improved further.
The Ofsted Handbook for inspecting colleges (2008) 51 provides significant detail regarding the
inspection process. The handbook notes that training organisations will be audited approximately once
in four years and that organisations will be given a ranking on a five point scale (outstanding, very
good, good, satisfactory and inadequate). This rating, inspection history and other data (such as
learners’ achievements, and information from annual monitoring activities and any Ofsted survey
visits) will inform the level of scrutiny in terms of frequency and duration of audit and size of audit
teams. The rating also affects the number of subject areas to be audited. The process includes:
• Lead auditor preparing a briefing document on the organisation (sourced from college
performance report, the previous inspection report, reports from annual assessment or
monitoring activities, local Learning and Skills Councils reports and the college’s selfassessment
report). It also includes a brief commentary on the college’s characteristics and
the context in which it works, an evaluative commentary on the pre-inspection evidence, and
preliminary hypotheses about the college, which are to be tested during the inspection. The
report is also provided to the organisation.
• Planning meeting with the organisation.
• Provision of information prior to site visit.
• Provision of information at site visit (organised against the key questions in the Common
Inspection Framework).
• Provision of a self- assessment report undertaken by the organisation to be tested at the site
visit. The onus is placed on the college to demonstrate the validity of the judgements in this
report.
• Inspection visit encompasses a review of the key questions:
o college effectiveness
o capacity to improve
o achievements and standards
o the quality of provision
o leadership and management with a contributory grade for equality of opportunity.
• Grades are allocated to the key questions and a report provided within about seven working
days.
• Action plan is developed by the organisation.
Monitoring activities are also conducted annually and could include desk audits and monitoring visits
depending on the risk rating applied. Monitoring visit reports include progress judgements made
against each theme that is inspected (grading according to no discernible progress, insufficient
progress, reasonable progress, significant progress).
In England, Ofqual (the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator) undertakes
monitoring of awarding organisations bodies:
• focusing on systems and procedures against the regulatory criteria
• carrying out a risk-based program to monitor qualifications across organisations/awarding
bodies (to ensure that standards are maintained and qualifications are fit for purpose).
The website includes qualification reports, and awarding body reports, as well as awarding body
responses.
51 Ofsted, 2008 at www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms-and-guidance/Browse-all-by/Other/General/Handbook-forinspecting-colleges
Comparisons of international quality assurance in vocational education and training Page 42 of 115