The proportion of general FE colleges graded “inadequate” by Ofsted has almost doubled, TES analysis reveals, with just one institution graded “outstanding” in 2015-16.

Of the 65 colleges subjected to full inspections, 12 were rated “inadequate” - 19 per cent of the total. The previous year, just 10 per cent received the lowest grade.

In contrast, the overall performance of the sixth-form colleges and independent learning providers inspected improved when compared with 2014-15.

An Ofsted spokeswoman said that the performance of FE providers “varies considerably”. She added: “While it is good to see that there have been some improvements for sixth-form colleges and independent learning providers, this cannot be said of general further education colleges. Good quality, effective leadership is crucial if we are to raise standards and bring about better outcomes for learners.”

The analysis of inspection data by TES comes ahead of the launch of Ofsted’s annual report on 1 December. This will be the final report delivered by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw before his retirement at the end of the year.

FE under fire

During his five years in office, Sir Michael has not shied away from criticising FE. In March, his comments that “16-19 [learning] should be done in a school-based environment, not in an FE institution” sparked outrage. And the increase in GFE colleges receiving the lowest grade raises the prospect of colleges facing a final parting shot.

While Truro and Penwith College was the only GFE college rated “outstanding”, 43 per cent of the colleges subjected to full inspections (not including short inspections for those previously rated “good”) were graded as “requires improvement”. At almost half the colleges inspected this year, the overall rating fell, with fewer than one in five receiving an increased grade.

Among the 92 independent learning providers inspected by Ofsted in the past year, almost two-thirds were rated “good” or “outstanding”.

‘Effective leadership is crucial to raise standards’

In contrast to the marked decline in performance reported last year, the overall performance of sixth-form colleges in 2015-16 improved significantly. No colleges were graded “inadequate”, while nine of the 16 inspected were rated “good” or better.

Experts stressed that the growth in maths and English GCSE resits among students who failed to gain a grade C at school could go some way towards explaining the disparity between the results of GFE and sixth-form colleges.

Jonathan Simons, head of education at the Policy Exchange thinktank, said: “It is quite possible that one of the factors dragging down colleges is the low level of GCSE resit passes. Ofsted should undertake some benchmarking to make sure that colleges performing relatively well with their resit candidates are given the credit for doing so.”

Last month, Paul Joyce, Ofsted’s deputy director for FE and skills, told the UKFEchat national conference that this year’s annual report would focus on the issue of GCSE resits. “I will certainly be providing some evidence in our annual report as to the effect of that GCSE English and maths policy, and whether it’s doing the job or not,” he said. “Because I think there are some serious questions to ask.”

College context ignored

David Corke, director of education and skills policy at the Association of Colleges, said that 78 per of colleges were “good “and “outstanding”, and the context within which colleges operated was rarely taken into account during inspections.

“This begs the question of whether the Ofsted common inspection framework is suitable, as it fails to recognise the distinctive role of colleges,” he added.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said that Ofsted’s focus on the Prevent duty, as well as English and maths, had been a “real challenge” for the sector. “We are working closely with Ofsted to support providers to help understand and implement the required changes,” he added.

A spokesman for the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association said the figures showed its members had “maintained…high-quality provision with 89 per cent of colleges judged as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ ”. However, he warned that there were concerns about the increase in short inspections for good colleges.

“We think that this process will lack credibility if no colleges are converted upwards and are denied the opportunity to be awarded an ‘outstanding’ grade,” the spokesman added.

@JBelgutay