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The FE & Skills sector under Ofsted's new toolkit (from Nov 2025)

A plain-English view of every graded inspection published since the Nov 2025 FE & Skills Inspection Toolkit went live. Updates the moment we ingest the latest monthly release from Ofsted - no sign-in needed.

343 inspections in scope343 with a published gradeCoverage: Nov 2025 → 31 July 2026
Section 01

How is the FE & Skills sector doing right now?

Every graded inspection published under the Nov 2025 toolkit, pooled together so you can see what 'normal' looks like across the sector.

Graded inspections
343
Since the Nov 2025 toolkit. 0 additional inspections published without grades.
% Expected and above
88%
Across all graded theme and provision cells - the sector-wide effectiveness picture.
% Safeguarding Met
99%
Of the 343 inspections where safeguarding was graded.
Combined effectiveness grade mix
All graded theme and provision cells, pooled across every inspection in scope.
Exceptional 1%Strong 20%Expected 68%Needs attention 11%Urgent improvement 0%
1,180 graded cells in scope88% at Expected+
Safeguarding standards
Whether safeguarding standards were Met or Not met at the inspection.
Met 99%Not met 1%
343 graded cells in scope99% at Expected+
Section 02

Who's leading, who's lagging

Ranked by share of theme grades at Expected or above. Bracketed numbers show how many graded cells back each row - small samples are honest, not hidden.

By provider type
% of graded theme cells at Expected, Strong or Exceptional. (count of graded cells in brackets)
By Ofsted region
% of graded theme cells at Expected, Strong or Exceptional. (count of graded cells in brackets)
Recent Exceptional & Strong inspections
Last 20 providers to land an Exceptional or Strong grade on any cross-cutting theme.
  • AWE PLC
    Employer providers - South East
    Strong7 Jul 2026
  • Talented Training Limited
    Independent learning providers - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong7 Jul 2026
  • Transworld Publication Services Limited T/A Protocol Consultancy Services
    Independent learning providers - West Midlands
    Strong7 Jul 2026
  • Norton Webb Limited
    Independent learning providers - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong7 Jul 2026
  • Goddard Veterinary Group Limited
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong1 Jul 2026
  • MetaGedu Apprenticeships Ltd
    Independent learning providers - West Midlands
    Strong30 Jun 2026
  • The Institute Of Revenues, Rating And Valuation
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong30 Jun 2026
  • Bespoke Professional Development and Training Limited (t/a BePro)
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong30 Jun 2026
  • Release Potential Ltd
    Independent learning providers - North East
    Strong30 Jun 2026
  • BAE Systems PLC
    Employer providers - North West
    Exceptional23 Jun 2026
  • TQ Education And Training Limited
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong23 Jun 2026
  • University of Wolverhampton
    Higher education institutions - West Midlands
    Strong23 Jun 2026
  • Nine Dots Development Limited
    Independent learning providers - East Midlands
    Strong23 Jun 2026
  • McArthur Dean Training Limited
    Independent learning providers - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong16 Jun 2026
  • Lorraine Michaels
    Independent learning providers - North West
    Strong16 Jun 2026
  • Cadent Gas Limited
    Employer providers - West Midlands
    Strong9 Jun 2026
  • Dave Shurmer
    Independent learning providers - South West
    Strong2 Jun 2026
  • Change Please CIC
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong27 May 2026
  • South West Association of Training Providers Limited
    Independent learning providers - South West
    Strong26 May 2026
  • Sutton and District Training Limited
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong19 May 2026
Section 03

By provision and theme

The same dataset cut by what providers actually deliver - each card aggregates only inspections that carried a grade for that provision.

Young people (16-19)
46 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training80% Expected+
Exceptional 4%Strong 15%Expected 61%Needs attention 20%
Achievement65% Expected+
Exceptional 7%Strong 15%Expected 43%Needs attention 35%
Participation & development74% Expected+
Exceptional 7%Strong 15%Expected 52%Needs attention 26%
Adult learning
132 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training95% Expected+
Strong 16%Expected 79%Needs attention 5%
Achievement89% Expected+
Exceptional 1%Strong 23%Expected 65%Needs attention 11%Urgent improvement 1%
Participation & development88% Expected+
Strong 17%Expected 71%Needs attention 12%
Apprenticeships
245 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training92% Expected+
Strong 22%Expected 70%Needs attention 8%
Achievement89% Expected+
Exceptional 0%Strong 26%Expected 63%Needs attention 9%Urgent improvement 2%
Participation & development90% Expected+
Exceptional 0%Strong 16%Expected 73%Needs attention 10%
High needs
51 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training84% Expected+
Strong 16%Expected 69%Needs attention 16%
Achievement84% Expected+
Strong 14%Expected 71%Needs attention 16%
Participation & development90% Expected+
Strong 33%Expected 57%Needs attention 10%
Leadership & governance
85%
at Expected or above
Exceptional 1%Strong 14%Expected 70%Needs attention 14%Urgent improvement 1%
Inclusion
88%
at Expected or above
Exceptional 1%Strong 25%Expected 61%Needs attention 12%
Contribution to meeting skills needs
95%
at Expected or above
Strong 35%Expected 60%Needs attention 5%
Section 04

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About this data

Source: Ofsted's monthly Management Information release for further education and skills inspections, ingested and aggregated by QualityHero. We include every graded full or short inspection published from Nov 2025 onwards (the start of the new FE & Skills Inspection Toolkit). Monitoring visits (MV) and new-provider monitoring visits (NPMV) are excluded because they don't issue grades.

Latest publication date in this view: Ingested 27 Aug 2026 covering inspections up to 31st July 2026. Data refreshes automatically the moment we ingest a new monthly release directly from Ofsted's dataset.