Common Inspection Framework

The Learner Voice

The learner voice is an important part of the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework.

The Ofsted survey report, Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Further Education and Skills – What Works and Why, September 2014, recommends that for providers to improve their teaching, learning and assessment, leaders should ‘draw fully on learners’ views about the teaching, learning and assessment that they receive to inform self-assessment and improvement actions’.

We need to listen to our learners in order to improve the quality of our services, and in the same way that feedback we give to them must be impactful, resulting in positive change, we must reciprocate with the feedback given to us.

A teaching observation is a 45 to 60-minute snapshot of delivery on an entire programme and can be affected by nerves, a bad day, sickness etc. However, an effective learner voice provides more of an overview into the entire programme and so is highly significant.

Using both strategies in conjunction enables us to compare our view of our services with that of those that use them.

Other benefits of the learner voice:

  • We can get instant feedback from the group of people who are most important;
  • We demonstrate our priorities to Ofsted; and
  • It provides an evidence base for the SAR.

One of the ways we collect feedback from associates is via our monthly online survey known as The Associate Barometer. The purpose of this survey is to collate regular feedback on associates’ motivation and identify those in danger of leaving prematurely.

There are a number of questions about training, mentoring and work placements, and the three key questions are:

1) Please rate your last month on the programme (0-10)

2) How challenging are you finding the programme? (Too challenging / Appropriately challenging / Not challenging enough)

3) Do you feel that you are receiving enough support on the programme? (Yes/No)

Another vehicle for obtaining feedback from learners is a recently-elected Associate Board, made up of one representative from each of our nine step teams. The Board will meet once a month for approximately two hours. Each meeting will include updates from the Step Forward Delivery Leadership Team as well as requests for feedback from each Step team.

There may also be times when Associate Board members choose to share ideas or are asked to present work they have done outside the meeting.

The aim is that this will be a forum in which everyone is able to speak openly about the successes and problems the associates and programme as a whole face, with the aim of improving the programme for everyone involved.

Associates are the only people present at all pathway training sessions, PD sessions, ILP meetings, assessment visits, and mentoring meetings, and are therefore best placed to provide the most comprehensive feedback about the programme.

Ofsted Common Inspection Framework – Further Education and Skills

Ofsted have updated all of their inspection handbooks for September 2015. The one that is most applicable to us is the Further Education and Skills Handbook, which covers the provision of apprenticeships.

Two important points to note from the outset:

  • The content of the handbook must not be viewed as only applicable in the lead up to an inspection, and the way we work should never be for the purpose of impressing Ofsted. If we plan our sessions effectively and continually strive for outstanding, then whenever Ofsted, funding providers, employers, parents and other interested stakeholders visit, we won’t feel the need to put on a performance for them – it will be a case of ‘business as usual’; and
  • The outstanding criteria are not restricted to classroom teaching. The apprentices’ attitudes, behaviours and employability skills are also under scrutiny, which means that professional development training, ILP meetings, SMART target-setting, social mixing, and the extent of social action are just as important.

Ultimately, Ofsted inspectors judge the quality of teaching (however it is delivered), and assessing by the impact on learning, and not by the impressiveness of available resources, nor how many activities a tutor can cram into a single session.

Providers must carefully consider how to measure and record the impact on learning, which will have implications from a compliance perspective.

The outstanding grade descriptors for the quality of teaching, learning and assessment include the following, which are worthy of note:

  • Staff plan learning sessions and assessments very effectively so that all learners undertake demanding work that helps them to realise their potential;
  • Staff have consistently high expectations of all learners’ attitudes to learning and learners are set challenging targets to achieve;
  • Learners use their experiences in the workplace to further develop their knowledge, skills and understanding;
  • Staff give learners incisive feedback about what they can do to improve their knowledge, understanding and skills;
  • Learners capitalise on opportunities to use feedback to improve;
  • Where appropriate, parents and/or employers are provided with clear and timely information that details the extent of learners’ progress in relation to the standards expected and what they need to do to improve;
  • Staff promote, where appropriate, English, mathematics, ICT and employability skills exceptionally well and ensure that learners are well-equipped with the necessary skills to progress to their next steps.

In relation to personal development, behaviour and welfare, the following characteristics are included as outstanding:

  • Learners are confident and self-assured. Their excellent attitudes to learning have a strong, positive impact on their progress. They take pride in the work they complete with the provider and in the workplace;
  • Learners understand how their education and training equip them with the behaviours and attitudes necessary for success in the future, as reflected by the excellent employability skills they acquire and the achievement of relevant additional qualifications;
  • Learners often quickly become an asset to the business and make a highly valued contribution;
  • Attendance and punctuality at learning sessions and/or work are consistently excellent. They meet challenging deadlines well;
  • The personal and social development of learners equips them to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens.

This should manifest itself in the form of apprentices who are aware and able to articulate their knowledge and understanding clearly, and convincingly demonstrate the skills they have acquired.

In other words, they should be able to distinguish between what they have done and what they have learned.

 

The unabridged version of The Further Education and Skills Inspection Handbook is available here.