Ofsted should judge every provider on local skills needs and rethink its expectations of apprentices
The government has instigated a welcomed, fresh approach on how Ofsted will make its judgements across the post-16 sector as part of Andy Burnham’s technical education and devolution reforms. With the final report of Alan Milburn’s NEET review also on the horizon, it is important to have the right enablers in place to maximise the impact of the proposed changes.
I have just written to the skills minister with FIN’s recommendations to support Burnham’s reforms.
Starting with Ofsted, the current requirement for inspectors to judge FE colleges on how well their provision is meeting local, regional and national skills needs, which was introduced in 2022, should be extended to all types of education and training providers to be more meaningful. It is particularly important that young people, employers and mayors as commissioners should know which local providers are delivering strongly or exceptionally in this respect.
Furthermore, now that the mayors have joint ownership over the local skills improvement plans (lsips), inspectors should seek evidence that a provider is being responsive to lsip objectives. Links with employers and the critical role training providers make in brokering opportunities for apprenticeships for 16 to 18 year olds should be highly valued and carry more weight. Overall, the balance in judgement should change when Ofsted reconsiders its expectations for this age group.
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