2 Memorandum Submitted By The
Association Of Colleges
1. The basis of Ofsted's inspection is the
quality of teaching and learning provided to students. AoC has
warmly welcomed that change of direction, although it must be
acknowledged that less than two years ago colleges were incentivised
under a different funding regime to a different set of inspection
criteria.
2. Despite that change, Ofsted finds in
its Annual Report for 2001-02 that only one year on, at least
90% of lesson grades in further education are satisfactory or
better. In addition, last year's independently conducted LSC Learner
Survey showed that some 93% of students—young people and
adult learners—said they were satisfied or better with their
teaching and learning. This score is understood to be amongst
the very highest satisfaction levels in public service provision.
Despite these remarkable results, Ofsted states that one in five
GFE colleges inspected in 2001-02 was inadequate and that this
finding is "unambiguous". The question must therefore
be asked whether Ofsted is measuring the right things, or measuring—or
representing them—them accurately.
3. In colleges judged to be inadequate,
four out of 14 curriculum areas inspected will have been identified
as unsatisfactory, while the remaining 10 areas could be satisfactory,
good or excellent. It would therefore be more accurate to say
that under one third of provision in less than 20% of colleges
is unsatisfactory, and needs to be improved. That one third of
provision will not necessarily cover one third of students. These
two factors together may account for some of the discrepancies
outlined in 2. above.
4. Schools seem to receive kindly treatment
in comparison with colleges. By the age of 16, when they reach
the end of 11 years of statutory schooling, fewer than 50% of
all learners in maintained schools have achieved five GCSE passes
grade C and above, the minimum required standard to progress to
level 3 study. Yet in the recently published Ofsted report, Standards
and Quality in Education, 2000-01, only 5% of schools have
been identified as unsatisfactory at Key Stage 4 in the category
"How well the pupils achieve and only 2% of schools were
judged to be delivering poor teaching at Key Stage 4.
5. Government's recent Youth Cohort Study
shows that 27% of 16 year olds are in state schools, 5% in independent
schools and 35% in FE colleges. (The remaining 33% leave education
at 16). Of their share, colleges have 40% of the student cohort
with one to four GCSEs (compared to 16% in schools) 35% of the
cohort with five GCSEs D to G (compared to 10% in schools) 25%
of students with one to four GCSEs grades D to G, (compared to
3% in schools) and 18% of students (compared to 9% in schools)
where no qualifications are recorded. Colleges therefore make
provision for many students from a much lower starting point who
have previously failed or been failed in the school system.
6. AoC believes Ofsted needs to look to
its own processes to see if they do result in a picture of an
institution which that institution recognises. Recent inspection
reports do pay greater tribute to the large contribution made
by many colleges to widening participation and combating social
exclusion. However, colleges with a large proportion of disadvantaged
students or students whose history of prior achievement when they
arrive at the college is poor, almost always receive poorer grades
at inspection. We believe there is inadequate recognition of the
quality of the work of colleges with students who find it more
difficult to remain at college and achieve a qualification. Retention
and achievement of a qualification are sometimes dependent on
factors outside a college's control. Many adults, for example,
are not interested in a qualification and may leave when they
have acquired the knowledge or skill that they need. Many leave
because they have obtained employment. Some leave because their
employer withdraws sponsorship and others experience financial
or personal pressures which make it impossible for them to continue
at college.
7. Colleges providing for these categories
of students need to have their work acknowledged by Ofsted inspectors
if they are not to be feel pressurised into discontinuing this
type of work and restricting their recruitment to those students
who are most likely to succeed. At present value-added measures
only exist to measure the distance travelled by learners on a
narrow range of courses. Developing a wider range of value-added
measures will be of particular importance in ensuring, amongst
others, the success of 14-16 initiatives where colleges will be
required to work with many disaffected young people who are at
risk of dropping out of education or training.
8. Ofsted refers in its latest Annual Report
to its lack of access to "adequate measures of the value
added by colleges to the education of students who on entry may
have few, if any, qualifications." It acknowledges that the
success of general further education colleges "cannot wholly
be measured by indicators of achievement and retention".
These comments are made in reference to its judgements on college
leadership and management, but of course they must equally apply
to any judgements on curriculum quality. We also appreciate the
fact that Ofsted made clear in its report that its conclusions
about the levels of satisfactory leadership and management in
the sector could not be safely extrapolated because of a bias
towards selection for inspection of previously under-performing
colleges.
9. However, AoC regrets that Ofsted found
it necessary to make widespread public references to poor quality
and leadership and management, which judgements it acknowledges
could be unsoundly based and which are in direct contradiction
with the views of learners. We hope that HMCI will look to a fairer
approach in future, with judgements based on a comprehensive and
reliable set of measures. Ofsted is not the only public body concerned
to raise quality in colleges; so are all colleges. It is directly
in their interests to offer the best possible service to their
learners and they look to the Inspectorate, amongst others, to
work with them to achieve that in a fair and positive way. For
that reason, we have urged for some time that Ofsted should review
and evaluate its current processes.
March 2003
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