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Overview of the revised inspection
processes
The changes aim to encourage a shift away from the considerable amount
of time organisations have historically spent preparing for inspection,
to a focus on improving quality.
The revised procedures include
For more detailed information relating to the inspection process refer
to the Ofsted 'Handbook for inspecting colleges April 2007'.
Reduced period of notice
Colleges will receive:
- 3 weeks notice for Ofsted led inspections
- 6 weeks notice for ALI sole remit
Inspections will last one week and colleges will be inspected on average
once every four years. It is intended that almost all colleges of further
education and sixth form colleges will be inspected at least once between
September 2005 and the summer of 2009.
The aim is for inspectors to see organisations as they actually are.
The reduced notice will prevent organisations from producing a flurry
of policies and procedures just before inspection, as there will be no
time to put them into action. This means that key skills managers will
need to ensure that they have an established policy on key skills that
is supported by the senior management team and that is implemented across
the curriculum. Equally, processes for initial and diagnostic assessment,
for inducting learners into key skills and for monitoring and reviewing
their progress will all need to be clearly documented and in place.
For more related information click on the section: Key
skills: what will inspectors be looking for?
The introduction of
HMI Annual Assessment Visits
Each college will be allocated a local managing inspector who is a member
of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (HMI). The HMI will make an annual
visit to the college to monitor any changes in the college’s performance
and to see whether such changes have been included in the college’s
self-assessment report. He/she will also assess the impact the college’s
quality improvement plan is having and gather together any significant
changes in provision or performance.
If the college has received an inadequate judgement for any aspect of
its provision the local managing inspector will co-ordinate re-inspection
activity.
The annual assessment visit is another aspect of the drive to accelerate
quality improvement and to monitor performance between inspections. Prior
to the visit the inspector will evaluate:
- the college self assessment report (SAR)
- the college action plan
- up-to-date performance data
- the college’s last inspection report
- the most recent LSC provider review.
For the key skills manager this emphasises the need to have in place
rigorous quality assurance procedures together with mechanisms to capture
accurate and robust key skills data. It will be important to be able to
demonstrate how interrogation of the data has influenced the nature of
your key skills provision, which in turn has led to improvement in retention
and achievement over time.
Links to ‘Every
Child Matters’ and the Children Act 2004
Inspection will also focus on the well-being of young people in the
light of the Green Paper ‘Every Child Matters’ and the Children
Act 2004. The Children Act 2004 established a framework for ensuring a
more cohesive approach to the way that children’s services and authorities
co-operate to improve the well-being of local children.
Joint area reviews will be carried out in England. These reviews will
evaluate the extent to which the five outcomes identified in ’Every
Child Matters’ are being met. The five outcomes are:
- Enjoy and achieve
- Be safe
- Stay safe
- Make a positive contribution
- Achieve economic well-being.
Inspection of individual organisations will feed into this process.
Within the Common
Inspection Framework each of the key questions has been linked to
the five outcomes (see pages 3 and 4 of the Common Inspection Framework).
In judging the overall effectiveness of the college all five outcomes
are considered and in particular the extent to which learners
enjoy and achieve. Grades are awarded for each of the five outcomes
and are recorded on the inspection database, as they will be used to inform
joint area reviews. The grades are shared with the college but they are
not published in the final report.
Key skills teachers may need to note the emphasis on enjoyment as well
as achievement in relation to key skills! It does highlight the need to
incorporate innovative learning and teaching strategies within sessions
and to integrate key skills within purposeful contexts in order to motivate
learners to succeed.
Different categories
of inspection
The scope and intensity of an inspection will vary according to the
previous record of the college and recent information relating to its
performance. The following will be taken into consideration:
- previous inspection judgements
- performance data captured via the self-assessment report, college
performance data and LSC data
- information recorded from HMI annual assessment visits.
The table below outlines the different levels of inspection:
Table 1: Levels of inspection
Type of colleges
|
Number of inspectors |
Focus of inspection |
| Good or better
college |
Four |
Capacity
for self-assessment and for improvement. Areas of learning will not
be inspected. |
| Satisfactory
colleges |
Approximately
ten |
Capacity
for self-assessment and for improvement. Sampling of evidence from
four to six areas of learning. |
| Unsatisfactory
colleges |
Approximately
twelve |
Capacity
for self-assessment and for improvement. Significant sampling of evidence
from eight to ten areas of learning. |
It is important for key skills managers and teachers to note that in
good colleges, although areas of learning will not usually be inspected
and graded, lessons will still be observed. Inspectors will observe lessons
that may allow them to focus on a specific theme. An example of such a
theme, given in the ‘Handbook for Inspecting Colleges, is key skills
teaching and learning.
Equally, where individual areas of learning are inspected the inspection
of key skills will normally be included (see paragraph 186 of the ‘Handbook
for Inspecting Colleges.’)
Refocusing of key
questions within the Common Inspection Framework
The Common Inspection Framework (CIF) lists the questions all inspectors
must ask every provider of education and training. The new framework has
five, rather than seven, key questions - with an additional requirement
to assess the overall effectiveness of the college.
Achievement and standards
- How well do learners achieve?
The quality of provision
- How effective are teaching, training and learning?
- How well do programmes and activities meet the needs and interests
of learners?
- How well are learners guided and supported?
Leadership and management
- How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement
and supporting all learners?
Overall effectiveness
- How effective and efficient is the provision of education and training
in meeting the needs of learners, and why?
- What steps need to be taken to improve the provision further?
When undertaking self-assessment, key skills managers will need to ensure
that they use the five questions as a basis for their approach to any
documentation they use.
For further information relating to what inspectors may be looking for
with reference to key skills under each of these questions click on:
Key skills: what will inspectors be
looking for?
Harmonisation
of inspection grades
A four point grading scale will be used when any judgement is made -
for lesson observations, for instance, and for summary judgements relating
to areas of learning and organisational effectiveness.
Table 2: The grades
| Level |
Description |
| Grade 1 |
Outstanding |
| Grade 2 |
Good |
| Grade 3 |
Satisfactory |
| Grade 4 |
Inadequate |
Key skills managers will need to ensure that documents such as lesson
observation proformas reflect this new grading scale and that staff are
conversant with the criteria that underpin each category.
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