Monthly Insights

July Insights 2024

The EIF is an education framework Feedback during the Big Listen highlighted inspectors’ lack of curriculum knowledge. They often reported on common themes and missed high-level skills developed. The EIF is an education framework, and inspectors must evaluate broader education beyond skills. Fin promotes having a specific personal development curriculum covering broader skills all learners […]

June Insights 2024

Providers may be inconsistent, so are Ofsted but will they listen? Many providers rightly lament that inspectors often have little or no understanding of the subject matter they are evaluating. The impact is evident in reading some reports where the skills developed and complexities of training are ignored, but aspects such as healthy lifestyles, English […]

May Insights 2024

To be successful, providers must rely on management data to monitor performance trends. Most recent MI software systems are extremely good at producing consistent reports, mainly where reports were previously created on spreadsheets or less detailed software systems, resulting in versions telling a different story. As we have previously said, introducing new systems, strategies, or […]

April Insights 2024

As reported last month, the focus remains on staff teaching skills and CPD. Learning strategies such as Bloom’s taxonomy to scaffold learning may be fifty years old, but the principles and process of knowledge and understanding before being able to develop and create still apply. Is there a danger that we chase the latest sparkling […]

March Insights 2024

After twelve months of monitoring published inspection reports, CPD has now overtaken careers advice as the most frequent AFI. We’re requesting all members to complete our workforce development survey, follow this link to the survey and join our complimentary session on 27th March to discuss planning for CPD. FIN Members – To read the full […]

February Insights 2024

We’ve previously been critical of teacher education quality, and there’s little evidence it’s improving, as found in a large ITE provider report published just last week as inadequate. Teachers need our full support so the initial training needs to be at least good. “Leaders do not plan a curriculum that adequately informs trainees about the […]

January Insights 2024

Usually, with a ‘good’ Ofsted report, there is no expectation of a return for four to five years. Recently, a GFE college inspected in May 2022 as good saw inspectors return in September 2023, downgrading the outcome to requires improvement. The college was not expecting a return visit, so what triggered this? The FE press […]

December Insights 2023

As the year ends, we focus on significant events or personalities from the past 12 months. We could introduce a ‘Word of the Year’ award for inspection. Nominations include the word ‘Consistency’. While it’s good to have excellent individual curriculum programmes, if the quality is inconsistent across the range, the quality of education and overall […]

November Insights 2023

Why do many providers find inspection a challenge? Nationally, across the FE sector, the proportion of inspections RI or poor is slowly rising. Why? Is it that Ofsted is becoming more critical, provision is getting weaker or something completely different? Is there a pattern or a trend? The analysis is fascinating. When we ‘run the […]

October Insights 2023

An update on Ofsted inspection outcomes At the end of September, our six-month data analysis indicates providers graded inadequate and requiring improvement are increasing, with over 28% of inspections from April to September appearing in this category. There is a greater focus on retention data and outcomes in more recent inspections. We know there is […]

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