Only just over half of new FE providers inspected for the first time were “good” or “outstanding”, compared with 80 per cent of providers overall, according to new figures from Ofsted.
According to the data published this morning, the proportion of newly inspected providers that were judged to be “good” or “outstanding” in their first inspection was 54 per cent. This, according to Ofsted, “brought down the average for the whole provider base, reducing the proportion judged ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by one percentage point” compared with 31 August 2019.
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The data shows that on 29 February 2020, 58 per cent of the 1,884 further education and skills providers had received a full inspection. Of these, 80 per cent were judged to be “good” or “outstanding” at their most recent inspection.
Ofsted: The number of FE providers has fallen
Ofsted said there were 19 fewer further education and skills providers recorded on the inspectorate’s system on 29 February 2020, compared with 31 August 2019.
The report says: “This marks a break in the trend seen over the past two years, when the number of providers had increased on 31 August 2017 and 31 August 2018 by 735 and 221 respectively. These large increases were mainly as a result of the apprenticeship funding reforms introduced in April 2017.”
The proportion of providers not yet inspected or visited as at 29 February 2020 was 13 per cent - similar to the proportion at 31 August 2017 “before the further education and skills provider base rapidly expanded”.
