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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.

199 inspections in scope199 with a published gradeCoverage: Nov 2025 → 30 April 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
199
Since the Nov 2025 toolkit. 0 additional inspections published without grades.
% Expected and above
87%
Across all graded theme and provision cells - the sector-wide effectiveness picture.
% Safeguarding Met
100%
Of the 199 inspections where safeguarding was graded.
Combined effectiveness grade mix
All graded theme and provision cells, pooled across every inspection in scope.
Exceptional 0%Strong 19%Expected 68%Needs attention 13%Urgent improvement 0%
684 graded cells in scope87% at Expected+
Safeguarding standards
Whether safeguarding standards were Met or Not met at the inspection.
Met 100%
199 graded cells in scope100% 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.
  • Camphill Wakefield (Pennine Camphill Community Ltd)
    Independent specialist colleges - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong3 Apr 2026
  • GLP Training Ltd
    Independent learning providers - West Midlands
    Strong24 Mar 2026
  • Back 2 Work Complete Training Limited
    Independent learning providers - North West
    Strong17 Mar 2026
  • Inspiro Learning Limited
    Independent learning providers - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong17 Mar 2026
  • The Side By Side Partnership Limited
    Independent learning providers - South West
    Strong17 Mar 2026
  • Buttercups Training Limited
    Independent learning providers - East Midlands
    Strong16 Mar 2026
  • iungo Solutions Limited
    Independent learning providers - South West
    Strong10 Mar 2026
  • Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
    Local authority providers - North East
    Strong10 Mar 2026
  • CMS Vocational Training Ltd.
    Independent learning providers - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong10 Mar 2026
  • Heart of Worcestershire College
    General further education colleges - West Midlands
    Strong10 Mar 2026
  • Complete Skills Solutions Limited
    Independent learning providers - North West
    Strong10 Mar 2026
  • Plymouth City Council
    Local authority providers - South West
    Strong3 Mar 2026
  • NATS (En Route) PLC
    Employer providers - South East
    Strong3 Mar 2026
  • Derwen College
    Independent specialist colleges - West Midlands
    Strong3 Mar 2026
  • Sheffield Hallam University
    Higher education institutions - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong3 Mar 2026
  • Leslie Frances (Hair Fashions) Limited
    Independent learning providers - Yorkshire and The Humber
    Strong2 Mar 2026
  • Corndel Limited
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong2 Mar 2026
  • WYK Group Limited
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong24 Feb 2026
  • Blackburn with Darwen Council for Voluntary Service
    Independent learning providers - North West
    Strong24 Feb 2026
  • Banham Academy Limited
    Independent learning providers - London
    Strong24 Feb 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)
22 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training82% Expected+
Strong 18%Expected 64%Needs attention 18%
Achievement68% Expected+
Exceptional 5%Strong 9%Expected 55%Needs attention 32%
Participation & development73% Expected+
Strong 18%Expected 55%Needs attention 27%
Adult learning
83 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training95% Expected+
Strong 19%Expected 76%Needs attention 5%
Achievement93% Expected+
Exceptional 1%Strong 28%Expected 64%Needs attention 6%Urgent improvement 1%
Participation & development89% Expected+
Strong 13%Expected 76%Needs attention 11%
Apprenticeships
145 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training89% Expected+
Strong 23%Expected 66%Needs attention 11%
Achievement87% Expected+
Strong 26%Expected 61%Needs attention 10%Urgent improvement 3%
Participation & development90% Expected+
Strong 14%Expected 75%Needs attention 10%
High needs
25 inspections graded on this provision.
Curriculum, teaching & training84% Expected+
Strong 8%Expected 76%Needs attention 16%
Achievement88% Expected+
Strong 8%Expected 80%Needs attention 12%
Participation & development92% Expected+
Strong 28%Expected 64%Needs attention 8%
Leadership & governance
84%
at Expected or above
Strong 13%Expected 71%Needs attention 15%Urgent improvement 1%
Inclusion
85%
at Expected or above
Exceptional 1%Strong 23%Expected 61%Needs attention 15%
Contribution to meeting skills needs
91%
at Expected or above
Strong 36%Expected 55%Needs attention 9%
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 4 Jun 2026 covering inspections up to 30th April 2026. Data refreshes automatically the moment we ingest a new monthly release directly from Ofsted's dataset.