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Corporate report

Ofsted sets out its corporate strategy, with a summary of our core values, strategic approaches, areas of work and evaluation metrics.

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The main principle behind the 2017 strategy is that Ofsted exists to be "a force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection and regulation."

Our work should be:

intelligent - our work will be evidence-led, with valid and reliable evaluation tools and frameworks

responsible - we will try to reduce inspection burdens and make our expectations and findings clear

focused - we will target our time and resources where they can lead directly to improvement

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Corporate report Ofsted sets out its corporate strategy, with a summary of our core values, strategic approaches, areas of work and evaluation metrics. The main principle behind the 2017 strategy is that Ofsted exists to be "a force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection and regulation."

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Ofsted: a force for improvement - GOV.UK

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Ofsted: a force for improvement - GOV.UK

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Ofsted has today (29 September) published a new 5 year strategy.

The strategy, developed in conjunction with serving heads, teachers, and social workers from around the country, sets out how Ofsted will deliver its mission of improving the lives of children and young people.

The strategy centres on a fundamental guiding principle that the organisation will be:

"A force for improvement through intelligent, responsible and focused inspection and regulation".

The strategy describes how Ofsted will conduct inspection and regulation that is:

intelligent: our work will be evidence-led and our evaluation tools and frameworks will be valid and reliable.

responsible: our frameworks will be fair. We will seek to reduce inspection burdens and make our expectations and findings clear

focused: we will target our time and resources where they can lead directly to improvement

The principle will be underpinned by 3 core values:

The strategy commits to an ambitious programme of work, which will inform the 2019 inspection framework development. Ofsted is currently undertaking a series of parent focus groups to understand how our reports can provide more information and enable choice. Ofsted will undertake research and learn from others to ensure that Ofsted is reliably measuring the right things, and that these measures add up to a meaningful overall judgement. For example an international seminar on the validity of lesson observation in November which will inform future practice, and research is being undertaken on the impact of the current grading structure.

Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector of Ofsted, said:

I am pleased to announce our new corporate strategy, which will set Ofsted's direction during my tenure as Chief Inspector. I am determined that Ofsted will be a force for improvement.

By really drilling down on how, where and why we inspect and report, we can ensure that inspection and regulation are more than the sum of their parts. One of our greatest strengths is our bird's eye view of the education, training and care systems. Over my time in office, we will do more to aggregate the insights from individual inspections, so that we can better encourage and support improvement across all the areas we inspect and regulate.

This high-reaching strategy commits us to inspection that is intelligent, responsible and focused. It will allow us to tackle emerging challenges and take advantage of new opportunities, ensuring that we can have maximum impact in improving young people's lives.

Julius Weinberg, Chair of Ofsted, said:

With our new Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman well established in post, and Ofsted celebrating its 25th anniversary this is the ideal time to set out our new 5 year strategy. We have taken this opportunity to ensure that our strategy is evidence based and takes account of the wider environment; educational, political and economic.

The strategy is the product of significant engagement with both our inspection workforce and those we inspect. Through that engagement we have been able to build a clear picture of where Ofsted adds most value and what more we need to do to fulfil our mission of being a force for improvement.

The strategy also recognises the vital importance of Ofsted's independence and commits it to being transparent and accountable in all its work, just as others are held others to account by Ofsted.

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Ofsted has today (29 September) published a new 5 year strategy. The strategy, developed in conjunction with serving heads, teachers, and social workers from around the country, sets out how Ofsted will deliver its mission of improving the lives of children and young people.

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‘Inadequate’ colleges double-digit disaster as English and maths policy blamed | FE Week

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‘Inadequate’ colleges double-digit disaster as English and maths policy blamed | FE Week

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The number of general further education colleges to have been branded 'inadequate' by Ofsted since September has hit double figures, exclusive FE Week analysis has revealed.

College leaders have blamed the government's increased focus on English and maths, pinning what they call "unfair" expectations on colleges for the rise in grade fours.

Ten colleges have now been handed the lowest possible grade from the education watchdog since the introduction of the new common inspection framework in September, compared to five in the same period last year.

The most recent of these was Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT), which had its Ofsted report published on Tuesday (June 14).

All 10 colleges were slammed by inspectors for their English and maths provision, with criticism in these areas appearing in the key findings on all 10 reports.

When shown FE Week's figures, Gill Clipson (pictured), deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges said: "It is unfair to expect colleges to help young people achieve the necessary grade C in GCSE English and maths in one year, when they have not been successful after 11 years in school."

She added that "it is expected" Ofsted would focus on English and maths as improving standards in these areas "is a key government policy".

"The colleges that do well in inspections are those that can prove that their students, regardless of their starting point, have progressed during their studies," she continued.

David Russell, chief executive of the Education and Training Foundation, agreed that Ofsted was "placing more emphasis on maths and English in the 16-to-19 phase".

"It is a huge government priority, and an area where colleges have a massive challenge," he said.

"Ofsted has no alternative but to say what they see; and in our view many colleges are under-resourced in key ways to deliver the high expectations that government rightly has of them," he continued.

Mr Russell said that, while funding was an issue, "the bigger challenge is recruiting, training and retaining enough teachers with the right skills and experience to teach maths and English to young people who have not yet succeeded in them".

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, also criticised Ofsted's inspection methods of maths and English within traineeships.

He complained about providers "being given 'required to improve' gradings by Ofsted based solely on English and maths outcomes, as Ofsted is not willing to accept destination data as robust evidence".

Since 2013, colleges have been required to enrol all learners who don't already have at least a grade C in English and maths on courses in these subjects.

The requirement is part of the study programmes, which were introduced following a recommendation by Professor Alison Wolf in her 2011 review of vocational education, the Wolf Report.

FE Week's analysis also showed that four colleges had lost their top grade since September - including Accrington and Rossendale College, which dropped to grade three on Tuesday (June 14).

The quality of English and maths provision is an issue for three out of those four colleges.

This comes at a bad time for FE, after chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw caused uproar in the sector when he told MPs he believed 16 to 19-year-olds should be taught in schools, not colleges.

The unrepentant Ofsted boss is likely to feel that these grade fours vindicate his comments to the Commons education select committee in March, when he said the FE sector was "in a mess - that's why the government is reviewing it".

There have so far been 51 full inspections of general FE colleges since September, a rise of 13 on the same period last year.

Of these, 20 colleges have been rated 'good' - an increase of seven from this time last year.

TCAT's interim principal Jo Lomax said the college was "extremely disappointed" by its inadequate grading.

Accrington and Rossendale's principal Sue Taylor told FE Week: "We accept the outcome of Ofsted's visit".

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'Inadequate' colleges double-digit disaster as English and maths policy blamed

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The number of general further education colleges to have been branded 'inadequate' by Ofsted since September has hit double figures, exclusive FE Week analysis has revealed. College leaders have blamed the government's increased focus on English and maths, pinning what they call "unfair" expectations on colleges for the rise in grade fours.