Memorandum submitted by Sixth Form Colleges'
Forum
1. Thank you for this opportunity to contribute
to the select committee's review of Ofsted. The Sixth Form Colleges'
Forum is the representative body for the 93 designated Sixth Form
Colleges in England. Collectively, Sixth Form Colleges educate
around 160,000 young people aged 16-18, the large majority of
which are following 'A' level and other level three courses in
preparation for entry to University or employment. In 2008-09,
45% of Sixth Form Colleges inspected were judged by Ofsted to
be outstanding, with 85% judged to be at least good.
2. In broad terms Sixth Form Colleges value the
work of Ofsted. We believe it is important, if not essential,
to have an independent inspectorate, able to make informed, professional
judgements about the relative quality of institutions which can
then, in turn, be used to make informed choices and decisions
about those institutions. In this way Ofsted provides an accountability
mechanism for Government, acting on behalf of taxpayers, to ensure
Schools and Colleges are delivering effective education for the
public investment they receive. Ofsted judgements are also powerful
and respected indicators for parents and students in making decisions
and choices about the education institutions available to them.
Ofsted judgements and reports also provide useful and valuable
feedback for school and college improvement strategies.
3. However, we have some issues with the operation
of all these accountabilities and the uses to which Ofsted judgements
are put.
4. Firstly, we have repeatedly expressed our
concern and consternation with the differentiated standards which
Ofsted use. The public perception, often shared by professionals
who should know better, is that Ofsted judgements are transferable
across sectors. That is not the case. Ofsted use differentiated
judgements which set different standards for schools, FE Colleges,
other providers and Sixth Form Colleges. If a sector, like Sixth
Form Colleges, is high performing, then the standards are high
and vice-versa. This means that a school or FE College, judged
outstanding, often has a lower performance than a Sixth Form College
judged good or even satisfactory. This can happen where institutions
are in close geographical proximity and compete for students with
each other.
5. Ofsted's defence is to argue for the value
of their judgements in driving sector improvement and to point
out that Sixth Form Colleges do well in inspections despite their
challenging benchmarks. We argue that sector improvement is important
but is not the main purpose of inspection and in an increasingly
competitive environment it is vital that judgements are transparent,
well understood and comparable across sectors.
6. We are also concerned about the basis on which
judgements are now made. Historically, we believe that the real
value of the inspection process was in the thorough analysis of
teaching and learning through classroom observation and the gathering
of the implicit values that the institution espoused through conversations
with Governors, senior management, staff, students and parents.
A holistic view was taken which complemented and sometimes challenged
a simplistic analysis of raw results, value-added and success
rate data. With the current inspection regime it is now extremely
rare if an inspection grade and report deviates from the achievement
and retention profile revealed by the data. That profile, in
turn, is strongly influenced by the innate ability profile of
the students. Our analysis of recent College inspection grades
is striking in the correlation it has with overall ability levels
of the cohort. In simple layman's terms, the better the intake,
the better the success rates, and this leads to better inspection
grades.
7. We welcome the recent statement, by the Secretary
of State, to re-focus inspection on the teaching and learning
process and to remove bureaucratic compliance issues. However
we would like to see a sharper focus on value-for-money and a
proper recognition for the context in which an institution is
working. Schools and Colleges should not be penalised, through
the inspection regime, for taking on challenging and difficult
students.
8. We would argue that the accountability framework
for Sixth Form Colleges is currently amongst the most burdensome
of all publically funded sectors. As well as the full Ofsted
Inspection framework, Sixth Form Colleges are also scrutinised
under Framework for Excellence. Following the ASCL Act, plans
are also being developed for the performance and financial management
of Sixth Form Colleges by their local authority under the statutory
guidance of the YPLA. As incorporated Colleges, Sixth Form Colleges
are also required to undergo external financial audit prior to
publishing their accounts and have extensive statutory internal
audit regimes. We would wish to see, therefore, a thorough rationalising
of this accountability framework, the avoidance of duplication
and significant moves towards self-regulation. Sixth Form Colleges
have a proven track record of high achievement, have good governance
and deliver exceptional value-for-money. This sector could, safely,
be left to manage its own affairs.
9. In a simplified and less bureaucratic environment,
a reformed, refocused Ofsted, would have an important role in
providing periodic external validation of the quality and value
of the Sixth Form College sector. However the inspection process
should not be duplicated by any other quality assessment process
other than an institution's own self assessment and internal quality
assurance systems. Grades and reports should be consistent and
be comparable across sectors. Due weight should be given to value-for-money
alongside value-added and success rates.
October 2010
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