Ofsted’s initial teacher education inspection framework provides “greater clarity and consistency” than the original proposals, providers have said.

The National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT) has welcomed Ofsted’s inspection plans, which have been published today alongside revised school report card proposals.

NASBTT previously warned that Ofsted’s proposed toolkits, which would be used by inspectors to assess teacher training, were “underdeveloped” and “imprecise”.

However, Ofsted has now updated the inspection toolkits for all settings it inspects, with inspectors gathering evidence to check if schools are meeting the “expected standard” grade before considering higher judgements.

In the latest ITE framework, Ofsted has reduced the number of evaluation areas from six to five, which the watchdog said was a main concern for providers.

Evaluation areas for teacher training providers will now be: inclusion; curriculum, teaching and training; achievement; professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing; and leadership.

Ofsted will also provide recommendations when a provider receives a “needs attention” grade. However, it will only say what needs to improve, not how to do it.

Less ‘muddle and ambiguity’

Emma Hollis, NASBTT chief executive, said that its members will be pleased that most revisions recommended by the organisation have been adopted.

“Ofsted has worked hard to secure much greater clarity and consistency, addressing our key concerns about muddle and ambiguity,” she added.

Ms Hollis “warmly welcomed” the expectation that providers identified as demonstrating “exceptional” practice will share and collaborate with others. Ofsted has also clarified the definition of an “inclusive provider”, which distinguished between a provider’s responsibility to create an inclusive environment for trainees and the expectation that trainees are prepared to foster inclusive classrooms.

“This distinction, previously unclear in the draft toolkit, is now much improved,” Ms Hollis said.

The inspectorate has said that it has focused its reforms on addressing barriers to learning, such as disadvantage and special educational needs and disabilities, through a strengthened approach to inclusion.

Ms Hollis also welcomed the recognition that a trainee may not always disclose additional needs.

‘Risk of inconsistency’

The NASBTT CEO said that the revised toolkit reinforced the expectation that most providers will sit within the categories “needs attention”, “expected standard” or “strong standard”, with “urgent improvement” and “exceptional” as outliers.

“This subtle but important change clarifies how grades will be framed,” she added.

However, Ms Hollis remained cautious about the use of qualifiers such as “typically” in descriptor statements, which she warned could “risk inconsistent interpretation”.

“While this language is not new in ITT documentation, robust inspection training and quality assurance processes will be critical to ensuring consistency in feedback and outcomes,” she said.

Teacher training provider inspections will begin from January 2026.

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