Instead of focusing on outcomes, Inspectors now focus on the provider’s quality of offering. They specify ‘providers cannot do more than their remit’. When making judgements they will consider the following areas:
- Quality of Education – Including the intent, implementation, and impact of curriculums.
- Behaviour and Attitudes – Including attitudes to learning, behaviour, employability, attendance and punctuality, and respect.
- Personal Development – Including enrichment, British Values, careers guidance, health and well-being, Citizenship, Equality and Diversity, and preparations for next steps.
- Leadership and Management – Including vision and ethos, staff development, staff workload and well-being, student experience, governance/ oversight, and safeguarding.
To reflect this holistic approach Inspectors may now go into classrooms to observe and speak to learners. As a result it is vital that all learners are engaged in all aspects of the curriculum and FE life, have opportunities to improve their level of skill in core subjects, build friendships, and prepare for the next stage of education, training or employment.
To meet the new standards providers need to reflect on the range, quality and take-up of extra-curricular activities offered to ensure they are fit for purpose and successful in allowing learners to develop their character. A key part of this is providing career programmes that offer advice, training or employment opportunities.
At Ascentis we have a range of different qualifications to support your extra-curricular activities and help satisfy the requirements of the quality of education, personal development, and behaviour and attitudes criteria, including our Short Online Qualifications (SOQs). These can easily be embedded into the curriculum at a time suitable for you and your learners, and are available in a range of subjects including: British Values; Citizenship; Equality and Diversity; Healthy Living; Internet Safety; Managing Personal Finance; Mental Health and Well-being; Safeguarding; Social Media; and Understanding Employment, Business and Enterprise. In our Qualification Mapping Document we have explained the new criteria in more detail and mapped our Short Online Qualifications, Progression to Further Learning and Work qualifications (PFLW) and Vocational qualifications (VOC) to the Education Inspection Framework to show you how they can contribute towards each key area.
