Official Statistics

Main findings: Further education and skills inspections and outcomes as at 31 August 2023

Published 17 November 2023

Applies to England

This is the main findings report for the further education and skills inspections and outcomes as at 31 August 2023 release. The following are also available:

• underlying data, tables and charts

• methodology

• pre-release access list

Summary

This release contains:

• provisional data for the most recent inspections and outcomes as at 31 August 2023

• provisional data for inspections and monitoring visits carried out between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023

Between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, we carried out 542 full or short inspections, of which 70% resulted in an overall effectiveness judgement of good or outstanding.

As at 31 August 2023, 79% of further education (FE) and skills providers were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection, a 2 percentage point decrease compared with 31 August 2022.

This year, of the 43 prisons or young offender institutions (YOIs) inspected, 39 were judged requires improvement or inadequate for overall effectiveness of education skills, and work provision.

Provider numbers

As at 31 August 2023, 92% of FE and skills providers had received a full inspection or new provider monitoring visit (NPMV).

As at 31 August 2023, there were 1,973 FE and skills providers publicly funded and delivering education, training and/or apprenticeships recorded on Ofsted’s systems.

This year, we started reporting on an additional 119 providers that had become publicly funded and had started delivering education, training and/or apprenticeships. Of the 119, 90% were independent learning providers (including employer providers). Over the same period, we stopped reporting on 194 providers because they either merged, ceased to be funded or stopped delivering. Of the 194, 14% stopped delivering before they were due any form of Ofsted inspection.

As at 31 August 2023, 78% of FE and skills providers had received a full inspection, and 15% had received a NPMV. The remaining 8% of providers had not yet had an inspection or NPMV. This is a smaller proportion of the provider base awaiting an inspection compared to 11% as at 31 August 2022. Providers not yet inspected will receive their NPMV within the time frames set out in our inspection handbook.

In-year inspection volumes and outcomes

Between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, we carried out 542 full or short inspections, of which 70% resulted in an overall effectiveness judgement of good or outstanding.

In-year inspection volumes

This year, we carried out 509 full inspections. Of these:

• 246 were of providers receiving their first full inspection
• 214 were of providers previously judged good or outstanding
• 49 were of providers previously judged requires improvement or inadequate

During the same period, we carried out 33 short inspections of providers that were previously judged good or outstanding.

Last year, 66% of full inspections were of providers being inspected for the first time. This decreased to 48% in 2022/23. We also carried out a larger proportion of inspections of providers previously judged good or outstanding this year. Therefore, comparisons of inspection outcomes between years should be made with caution.

We carried out 160 NPMVs between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. In addition, we carried out 15 follow-up safeguarding visits to providers that were judged to be making insufficient progress in safeguarding at their initial NPMV.

In-year inspection outcomes

This year, we carried out 542 full or short inspections, of which 70% resulted in a judgement of good or outstanding. Of the 509 full inspections carried out this year, 68% resulted in a judgement of good or outstanding for overall effectiveness.

All providers judged good or outstanding for overall effectiveness at a full inspection were also judged good or outstanding for quality of education. Of all the key judgements, behaviour and attitudes received the highest proportion of good or outstanding grades (89%), and leadership and management received the lowest (67%). This follows a similar pattern to that seen in previous years (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Full inspection outcomes, 2022/23 

^{Number of inspections in brackets.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

This year, 246 providers had their first full inspection, of which 64% were judged good or outstanding. We also carried out 37 full inspections of providers that were previously judged outstanding; of these, 15 remained outstanding, 18 were judged good and 4 declined to requires improvement (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 : Inspection outcomes of FE and skills providers, by previous overall effectiveness 

^{Includes providers that remained good or outstanding at short inspection.
View data in an accessible table format.}

In-year new provider monitoring visit outcomes

Of the 160 NPMVs carried out this year, 143 providers were judged to be making at least reasonable progress in all themes.

This year, 89% of providers were judged to be making at least reasonable progress across all themes. This is the highest proportion since the introduction of NPMVs.

In 2022/23, 2% of NPMVs carried out resulted in insufficient progress judgements across all themes, 8 percentage points lower compared with 2021/22 (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: In-year new provider monitoring visit outcomes, over time

^{Number of NPMVs in brackets.
Excludes follow-up safeguarding visits.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Most recent inspection outcomes

As at 31 August 2023, 79% of providers were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection.

As at 31 August 2023, 1,535 FE and skills providers had received a full inspection. Of these, 79% were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection, a 2 percentage point decrease compared with 31 August 2022 (see Figure 4).

This year, 32 providers improved to good or outstanding from requires improvement or inadequate. Fifty-nine providers declined from good or outstanding to requires improvement or inadequate. This has contributed to the decrease in the overall proportion judged good or outstanding.

Figure 4: Most recent inspection outcomes, over time

^{Number of providers in brackets.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Outcomes by provider group

Independent learning providers (including employer providers)

This year, we inspected 362 independent learning providers (including employer providers), of which 63% were judged good or outstanding. Of the 362, 58% were independent learning providers or employer providers having their first full inspection.

There has been a decrease in the proportion of independent learning providers (including employer providers) judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. As at 31 August 2023, 71% were judged good or outstanding. This is 3 percentage points lower than as at 31 August 2022 and 8 percentage points lower than as at 31 August 2021.

Colleges

As at 31 August 2023, there were 214 colleges: 157 general FE colleges, 44 sixth-form colleges and 13 specialist FE colleges.

Since 2016, the number of colleges we inspect has reduced by just under a third. This is largely because 68 colleges merged into other institutions. Most colleges either maintained or improved on the grades of their constituent institutions at their first inspection after merging. Alongside this, more colleges have improved to good than declined to requires improvement or inadequate. This was covered in more detail in our statistical commentary earlier this year.

This year, we inspected 64 colleges, of which 78% were judged good or outstanding. Ten colleges improved from requires improvement to good, and 6 declined from good to requires improvement.

As at 31 August 2023, 92% of colleges were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. This includes general FE colleges, sixth-form colleges and specialist FE colleges, of which 91%, 100% and 85% respectively were judged good or outstanding.

Figure 5: Most recent inspection outcomes for colleges, over time

^{Number of inspections in brackets.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Table 1: Summary of main findings for other provider groups

Provider group	No. of providers as at 31 August 2023	No. of inspections between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023	Main findings
Adult   community education providers  (includes local authority providers and institutes for adult learning)	144	30 full inspections and 15 short inspections	39 providers were judged good, of which 33 were previously judged good; 1 provider improved from good to outstanding; 3 providers were judged requires improvement, all of which were previously judged good; 2 providers were judged inadequate. As at 31 August 2023, 97% were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection.
Independent specialist colleges (ISCs)	120	29 full inspections and 9 short inspections	10 providers were inspected for the first time this year, of which 5 were judged good or outstanding and 5 requires improvement. A further 22 providers were judged good or outstanding, of which 2 improved from requires improvement. As at 31 August 2023 the proportion of ISCs judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection was 77%, a 1 percentage point decrease compared with 31 August 2022.
Higher education institutions (HEIs)	107	14 full inspections and 2 short inspections	15 HEIs were judged good or outstanding, of which 8 were receiving their first full inspection. As at 31 August 2023, 88% of HEIs were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection.
16 to 19   academies	65	14  full inspections and 3 short inspections	16 16 to 19 academies were judged good or outstanding this year. This included, 5 previously outstanding 16 to 19 academies that remained outstanding, 1 improved from good to outstanding, and 4 were inspected for the first time and were all judged outstanding. As at 31 August 2023, 98% of 16 to 19 academies were good or outstanding.

Quality of apprenticeship provision

As at 31 August 2023, 1,385 FE and skills providers were recorded on Ofsted’s systems as funded and delivering apprenticeships. Of these, 91% had a judgement made on the quality of their apprenticeship provision at their most recent full inspection or NPMV. The remaining 9% of providers have yet to have their apprenticeship provision inspected.

Figure 6: Number of providers delivering apprenticeships as at 31 August 2023, by type of inspection

^{Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Of the 1,256 providers that have a judgement on their apprenticeship provision, 76% were judged good or outstanding at their most recent full inspection or were judged to be making at least reasonable progress at their NPMV.

Figure 7: Quality of apprenticeship provision, over time

^{Number of providers in brackets.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Quality of adult education provision

As at 31 August 2023, 741 FE and skills providers were recorded as funded and delivering adult education provision on Ofsted’s systems. Of these, 75% had a judgement made on the quality of their adult education provision at their most recent full inspection or NPMV. The remaining 25% have not yet had their adult education provision inspected. For some, this is because they are entirely new providers; some are existing providers that have started to deliver adult education since their last full inspection; and others were last inspected prior to the introduction of the adult learning programmes judgement. All will receive the relevant judgement at their next inspection, which will take place within the time frames set out in our inspection handbook.

Figure 8: Number of providers delivering adult education as at 31 August 2023, by type of inspection

^{Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Of the 553 providers that have a judgement on their adult education provision, 88% were judged good or outstanding at their most recent full inspection or were judged to be making at least reasonable progress at their NPMV.

Figure 9: Quality of adult education provision

^{Number of providers in brackets.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Prisons and young offender institutions

This year, 12 prisons or YOIs declined from requires improvement to inadequate, 3 declined from good to inadequate and 4 that were previously inadequate were judged inadequate again.

Ofsted contributed to 43 inspections of prisons or YOIs for which a report was published between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. Of these, 91% of prisons or YOIs were judged requires improvement or inadequate for overall effectiveness of education, skills and work provision. Twelve prisons or YOIs declined from requires improvement to inadequate, and 3 declined from good to inadequate (see Figure 10).

Figure 10: Inspection outcomes of prisons and YOIs this year, by previous overall effectiveness

^{Number of inspections published between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.
View data in an accessible table format.}

As at 31 August 2023, there were 118 prisons and YOIs, of which 115 had been inspected. Overall, 27% were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection, a 10 percentage point decrease since 31 August 2022 and an 18 percentage point decrease since 31 August 2020. The proportion of prisons and YOIs judged inadequate at their most recent inspection was 31% (see Figure 11).

Figure 11: Overall effectiveness  of education, skills and work provision in prisons and YOIs at their most recent inspection, over time

^{Number of prisons in brackets.
Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.
View data in an accessible table format.}

Revisions to previous release

In-year statistics

Alongside these official statistics, we have published a revised provider-level dataset, which includes inspections carried out between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022. This is to include the outcomes of those inspections that were carried out during the period, but the inspection report had not been published at the time of compiling the statistics.

There were 6 full inspections not published at the time of compiling our previous statistical release. All 6 were of independent learning providers that had not previously been inspected. There were also 5 NPMVs, all independent learning providers (including employer providers), that were not published at the time of compiling our previous statistical release.

This means that some percentages we previously reported on for 2021/22 have changed by more than 1 percentage point. This has an impact on the overall total and independent learning providers figures. All updated information for 2021/22 can be found within the data, tables and charts file that is published as part of this statistical first release. These changes do not affect the overall messages previously reported.

We publish revisions to data in this publication in line with Ofsted’s revisions policy for official statistics.

Notes

The quality report for these official statistics explains our methodology and the relevant inspection frameworks, along with other useful information.

Glossary

Definitions of terms are in the statistical glossary.

Further information

Contact for comments or feedback

If you have any comments or feedback on this publication, contact Stuart Lloyd on 03000 131 169 or Stuart.Lloyd@ofsted.gov.uk.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the following for their contribution to this statistical release: Emily Green, Joanna Attwell and Sophia Spring.

Annex: data tables for figures

Data for figure 1: Full inspection outcomes, 2022/23

Inspection judgement:	Total number of providers with an inspection judgement	% Outstanding	% Good	% Requires improvement	% Inadequate
Overall effectiveness	509	7	60	26	6
Quality of education	509	8	62	25	5
Behaviour and attitudes	509	17	72	10	1
Personal development	509	11	63	24	2
Leadership and management	509	8	59	27	6
Education programmes for young people	142	15	64	19	1
Adult learning programmes	170	10	68	19	3
Apprenticeships	405	5	63	27	5
Provision for learners with high needs	126	17	60	21	2

See Figure 1

Data for figure 2: Inspection outcomes of FE and skills providers, by previous overall effectiveness

Previous overall effectiveness:	Total number of inspections	Number outstanding	Number good	Number requires improvement	Number inadequate
Outstanding	40	18	18	4	0
Good	207	7	145	47	8
Requires improvement	44	0	31	10	3
Inadequate	5	0	1	3	1
No previous overall effectiveness judgement	246	15	142	70	19
Total	542	40	337	134	31

See Figure 2

Data for figure 3: In-year new provider monitoring visit outcomes, over time

Reporting year	Total number of new provider monitoring visits	% Judged at least reasonable in all themes	% Judged insufficient in at least one theme	% Judged insufficient in all themes
2022/23	160	89	9	2
2021/22	168	79	12	10
2020/21	234	76	18	6
2019/20	167	76	16	8
2018/19	387	80	16	5

See Figure 3

Date for figure 4: Most recent inspection outcomes, over time

Date as at:	Total number of providers with an inspection judgement	% Outstanding	% Good	% Requires improvement	% Inadequate
31 August 2023	1,535	9	70	17	4
31 August 2022	1,364	10	71	15	4
31 August 2021	1,076	13	69	16	2
31 August 2020	1,083	13	68	15	4
31 August 2019	1,050	14	67	14	4

See Figure 4

Data for figure 5: Most recent inspection outcomes for colleges, over time

Date as at:	Total number of providers with an inspection judgement	% Outstanding	% Good	% Requires improvement	% Inadequate
31 August 2023	206	13	79	7	0
31 August 2022	202	14	77	9	0
31 August 2021	200	18	63	19	1
31 August 2020	210	18	61	20	1
31 August 2019	197	19	62	18	1

See Figure 5

Data for figure 6: Number of providers delivering apprenticeships as at 31 August 2023, by type of inspection

Total number of providers delivering apprenticeships as at 31 August 2023:	% Full inspection	% New provider monitoring visit	% Awaiting inspection grade for apprenticeship provision or first new provider monitoring visit
1385	75	15	9

See Figure 6

Data for figure 7: Quality of apprenticeship provision, over time

Date as at:	Total number of providers with an apprenticeship judgement	Full inspection % outstanding	Full inspection % good	Full inspection % requires improvement	Full inspection % inadequate	New provider monitoring visit % at least reasonable in all apprenticeship themes	New provider monitoring visit % insufficient in one or more apprenticeship themes
31 August 2023	1,256	5	56	19	3	15	2
31 August 2022	1,284	5	46	15	4	26	5
31 August 2021	1,179	4	34	11	1	43	7

See Figure 7

Data for figure 8: Number of providers delivering adult education as at 31 August 2023, by type of inspection

Total number of providers delivering adult education as at 31 August 2023:	% Full inspection	% New provider monitoring visit	% Awaiting inspection grade for adult education provision or first new provider monitoring visit
741	68	6	25

See Figure 8

Data for figure 9: Quality of adult education provision

Date as at:	Total number of providers with an adult education judgement	Full inspection % outstanding	Full inspection % good	Full inspection % requires improvement	Full inspection % inadequate	New provider monitoring visit % at least reasonable in all adult education themes	New provider monitoring visit % insufficient in one or more adult education themes
31 August 2023	553	8	72	10	1	8	1

See Figure 9

Data for figure 10: Inspection outcomes of prisons and YOIs this year, by previous overall effectiveness

Previous overall effectiveness:	Total number of inspections	Number outstanding	Number good	Number requires improvement	Number inadequate
Outstanding	1	0	0	1	0
Good	14	0	4	7	3
Requires improvement	23	0	0	11	12
Inadequate	5	0	0	1	4
Total	43	0	4	20	19

See Figure 10

Data for figure 11: Overall effectiveness of education, skills and work provision in prisons and YOIs at their most recent inspection, over time 

Date as at:	Total number of providers with an inspection judgement	% Outstanding	% Good	% Requires improvement	% Inadequate
31 August 2023	115	1	26	42	31
31 August 2022	115	2	35	44	19
31 August 2021	115	2	43	41	14
31 August 2020	115	2	43	41	14
31 August 2019	114	3	47	37	13

See Figure 11