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Qualityimprovement andself-assessment

May 2005Of interest to general further education colleges,sixth form colleges, colleges of art and design,agricultural colleges, higher education institutionswith further education provision, specialist colleges for learners with learning difficulties and/ordisabilities, independent training providers, formerexternal institutions, adult and community learning,Ufi/learndirect and those providers funded byJobcentre Plus.

PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES

This document sets out guidance for providers aboutself-assessment and quality improvement. It aims to support the Government’s vision of a learning and skills sector that is able, by 2008, to meet its own priorities and targets for improvement, drawingeffectively on the findings of inspection and annualself-assessment. It is published by the Learning and Skills Council in partnership with the followingorganisations:

Jobcentre PlusJobcentre Plus is an executive agency of theDepartment for Work and Pensions (DWP). Its aim isto help more people into work and more employersfill their vacancies. Jobcentre Plus funds a number of labour market related training and developmentprogrammes, including the New Deal.

Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI)The Adult Learning Inspectorate inspects educationand training for adults and work based learning for all over the age of 16.

Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)Office for Standards in Education is a non-ministerialgovernment department established under theEducation (Schools) Act 1992 to take responsibility for the inspection of all schools in England. Its rolealso includes the inspection of local educationauthorities, teacher training institutions, youth workand the regulation of early years childcare, includingchildminders. Ofsted is responsible for the inspectionof all 16–19 education and of most learners below the age of 19.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES)The Department for Education and Skills wasestablished with the purpose of creating opportunity,releasing potential and achieving excellence for all.

Of interest to general further education colleges,sixth form colleges, colleges of art and design,agricultural colleges, higher education institutionswith further education provision, specialist collegesfor learners with learning difficulties and/ordisabilities, independent training providers, formerexternal institutions, adult and community learning,Ufi/learndirect and those providers funded byJobcentre Plus.

01Quality improvement and self-assessment

Contentsparagraph

Executive summary –

Introduction 1

The Common Inspection Framework 7

Features of effective self-assessment 9

Responsiveness 15

Equal opportunities 17

Health and safety 18

Minimum requirements for self-assessment reports 19

The roles of the planning and funding bodies, the inspectorates and the Quality Improvement Agency in self-assessment 22

The planning and funding bodies

The LSC – three-year development plans, the Annual Planning Review and self-assessment 23

Jobcentre Plus 29

Joint LSC/Jobcentre Plus funded providers 31

The inspectorates 32

The Quality Improvement Agency 35

Quality improvement 37

Reinspection and post-inspection action planning 40

LSC funded providers 41

Jobcentre Plus funded providers 41

Annex ASummary self-assessment reports

Annex BProvider Financial Assurance service centre reviews of financial managementand governance

Annex CGlossary

Annex DSubject sector categories (previously areas of learning)

Annex EThe college self-assessment and quality improvement cycle

This document sets out guidance forproviders about self-assessment and qualityimprovement. Evaluating the success oflearners is at the heart of self-assessment,but it is also very much about assessing how well the needs of employers andcommunities are being met and the activepromotion of equal opportunities andhealth and safety. Self-assessment will also make clear providers’ capacity to bringabout improvement and their success indoing so.This guidance is strongly informedby the need to minimise bureaucracy, tobuild trust across the sector and to strike a balance between promoting consistencyand respecting the enterprise, diversity and autonomy of providers.

The ways in which the planning and fundingbodies and the inspectorates will use theself-assessment reports are explained. Inparticular self-assessment will inform thejudgements of the inspectorates and theplanning and funding bodies about how farproviders have been successful in securingimprovement. It will set out providers’success in achieving the targets in theirrespective Learning and Skills Council (LSC)development plans and Jobcentre Plusaction plans.The broad criteria againstwhich self-assessment will be carried out are indicated, including its relationship withthe LSC’s three-year development planningframework, the Jobcentre Plus contractaward and action planning process and theCommon Inspection Framework (CIF). Theprincipal features of a robust self-assessmentare also outlined.The significance of the new Ofsted Annual Assessment Visit (AAV)is explained. Reference is also made toreinspection and post inspection actionplanning.The importance of the promotionand sharing of good practice and the role of the new Quality Improvement Agency(QIA) are also noted.

Quality improvement and self-assessment

Executive summary

1This guidance covers general furthereducation (FE) colleges, sixth form colleges,colleges of art and design, agriculturalcolleges, higher education institutions with further education provision, specialistcolleges for learners with learning difficultiesand/or disabilities, independent trainingproviders, former external institutions, adultand community learning, Ufi/learndirectand those providers funded by JobcentrePlus. It sets out the main purposes and uses of self-assessment in the context of a government policy under which providersare held accountable for their own qualityand improvement. It has been produced bythe LSC in consultation with Jobcentre Plus,the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI), theOffice for Standards in Education (Ofsted)and the Department for Education and Skills(DfES), together with representatives ofproviders. It complements the LSC’s AnnualPlanning Review of providers’ three-yeardevelopment plans, the Jobcentre PlusQuality Framework and the revised CommonInspection Framework (CIF), implementedfrom April 2005 for some Adult LearningInspectorate single remit inspections andfrom September 2005 for colleges.Thisguidance does not cover self-assessment for school sixth forms but broadly parallelarrangements are in place. More detailedguidance on operational practice for carryingout self-assessment will be developed inseparate procedural documents, supportedby good practice guides.

2Full account is also taken of the Government’sobjectives to raise further the quality andstandards of provision and to ensure thatpoor quality provision is either improved orremoved.A major contribution to this will be achieved through improving the capacityof providers to implement effective qualityimprovement plans based upon evaluativeself-assessment reports.As an integralelement of their self-assessment providerswill develop a clear statement of the actionsto sustain the strengths and secureimprovement.This will ensure progress

towards an overall goal of consistently highquality, responsive and improving providers.Although the term quality improvementplan will be used throughout the rest of thisguidance, the intention is not to be highlyprescriptive about the structure and contentand the relationship with providers’ otherplans so long as the key aim of qualityimprovement is addressed.

3The requirement for providers to undertakeself-assessment began as a preparation forinspection, although it is an essential businessprocess in its own right. It soon developed to meet the dual purposes of serving theprovider’s needs as well as for inspection. Inaddition, for LSC and Jobcentre Plus fundedproviders, it now plays a key part in measuringthe effectiveness of their development/actionplans.This means that, while the focus onthe learner is retained, there will now be amuch greater emphasis than formerly onmeeting the needs of employers.

4Primary responsibility for improving thequality of provision rests with the provider.This was made clear in the White Paper,Learning to Succeed (June 1999).

The principal responsibility for qualityimprovement remains with providersthemselves. The Government looks to allproviders to adopt strategies for securingcontinuous improvement as many already do. These strategies should be based on self-assessment and action planning (includingtarget setting) and responding and actingupon learner feedback and complaints.

Providers are required to complete an annual self-assessment report thatevaluates all aspects of their provision,accredited and non-accredited.This willderive from their continuous process of self-assessment.

5The chief purpose of self-assessment is tosupport the provider’s own work on qualityimprovement and to measure progressagainst its own mission and goals. The useby other organisations, though important, issecondary.A single self-assessment servingseveral purposes will reduce bureaucracyand will enable providers to devote more of their resources and energies to meetingthe needs of learners, employers andcommunities, and to improving quality.

6The approach of the planning and fundingbodies and the inspectorates now placesmuch greater emphasis on a risk assessment,based on an evaluation of the capacity ofthe provider to maintain and improve quality.The approach of the planning and fundingbodies is explained in paragraphs 23–31.Anew feature, which will help the inspectoratesto reach judgements upon this specifically in relation to sixth form and general furthereducation colleges, will be the AnnualAssessment Visit (AAV) to each collegecarried out by Her Majesty’s Inspector(HMI). The ALI’s Quality Monitoring Visit(QMV) also addresses risk assessment.These are explained in more depth inparagraph 33.

03

Introduction

7Effective self-assessment, supported by an integral quality improvement plan that takes into account the outcomes ofinspection, is the key to improvement. Forboth the planning and funding bodies andthe inspectorates, it will be an importanttool in determining the extent of risks to the quality and delivery of provision and therefore the scale of their response.

8The basis of self-assessment will derive from the five key questions in the CommonInspection Framework.

• How well do learners achieve?

• How effective are teaching, training and learning?

• How well do programmes and activitiesmeet the needs and interests of learners?

• How well are learners guided andsupported?

• How effective are leadership andmanagement in raising achievement and supporting all learners?

Judgements will be graded as follows:

Grade 1 Outstanding

Grade 2 Good

Grade 3 Satisfactory

Grade 4 Inadequate

Although providers’ self-assessment reportsshould use the five questions as the basis of their approach, the questions should beflexibly interpreted in the light of eachprovider’s own mission, goals and context,particularly since the self-assessment reportwill meet the needs of both the planningand funding bodies and inspectorates. So, forexample, the greater emphasis on meetingemployers’ needs is a crucial issue to beaddressed.The reports should be gradedusing the above grades and descriptors for each key question and for separatecurriculum/subject sector areas.


The Common Inspection Framework

9The self-assessment process must beeffectively led and managed and shouldbe an integral part of the organisation’smanagement.This requires the creation of a climate of trust in which the membersof a provider’s staff are constructively self-critical about their performance. Governors,boards of directors, trustees, chief executivesand senior managers should be committedto the aims of self-assessment and activelyinvolved with it. Self-assessment of theirown performance will demonstrateleadership by example. Management at all levels will actively participate in the self-assessment process as part of theirresponsibilities for raising standards andimproving the overall effectiveness andefficiency of the provision.They will approvethe final self-assessment report and willcontinue to evaluate the effectiveness of theself-assessment in securing improvement.

10The nature of self-assessment will varyaccording to the scale and nature of the provision for which each provider is responsible. Providers will need todemonstrate understanding of what they do well, what needs improving and howimprovement can be monitored, achievedand evaluated.Whatever the preciseapproach, the key test of the resulting self-assessment report is its ability todemonstrate how high quality is sustainedand improvement is ensured.

11The report should directly relate to and drive the provider’s development/actionplan to demonstrate how strengths aresustained and improved and how key areasfor improvement are addressed.The outcomesof the self-assessment are a basis for action.Effectiveness will need to be measured by the regular monitoring and evaluation of progress against objectives. The self-assessment report should include anevaluation of the extent to which actionsidentified in the previous report havesecured improvement.

12The provision and analysis of robust datawill be a vital foundation of self-assessment.Providers are expected to draw upon a widerange of performance data to inform theirself-assessment report and compare theirperformance with others through use ofnationally available benchmarking data.LSC providers are expected to use the NewMeasures of Success developed by the LSC,inspectorates and DfES as they becomeavailable. Jobcentre Plus providers will haveregard to their contractual targets and anynationally produced comparative data. Useof comparative data will inform the dialoguebetween the planning and funding bodiesand the provider. Of particular importanceare trends in providers’ performance overtime and how providers have influenced and responded to these trends.

13The development and dissemination of good practice can assist providers to carryout accurate and robust self-assessment,to write their self-assessment reports and,as appropriate, the summaries of self-assessment reports (see paragraph 19). Theability to self-assess effectively, to identifystrengths and weaknesses and to implementidentified improvements is critical to thedevelopment of a continuously improvingsector.Action to implement identifiedimprovements is a necessary preconditionfor change.

14The involvement of individuals ororganisations external to the provider can be helpful in assuring the rigour of a self-assessment and in strengthening objectivity.External involvement may also raisesignificant issues or questions, which hadnot previously been considered. It will alsotest the clarity and the effectiveness of the analysis in the self-assessment reportsand confirm whether it conveys clearly what the provider intends.

05

Features of effective self-assessment

15Responsiveness to clients’/customers’ needsis a key requirement in planning provisionand therefore will be a key feature of a self-assessment report.All providers shouldidentify and respond to the needs of learners,employers and the local community.Continuous improvement will ensurelearners have a higher chance of success on the provision of their choice and toprogress to higher education, furthereducation, training and/or employment.Responsiveness to the needs of thecommunity will enhance and supportpartnership between different agencies.

16Self-assessment should specifically addressthe effectiveness of providers in ensuringthat learners have the necessary workplaceskills for employment and indicate howproviders are responding to needs identifiedand agreed with their planning and fundingbodies. Providers will need to demonstratethat they clearly understand the skills needsof their local area and how they can makean effective contribution to local skillspriorities, including, where appropriate,wider regional, sectoral and nationaldemands.The self-assessment should alsorefer to the involvement of employers in

ensuring that the curriculum/subject sectorcategories available and its training, learningand assessment are well attuned both tolearners’ and to employers’ needs.


17Providers must promote equal opportunitiesthrough all aspects of their work.The planningand funding bodies, the inspectorates and others will work to ensure that providersare aware of their responsibilities, includingthe need to implement relevant legislative/statutory requirements, and that the ethosof advancing equal opportunities runsthrough all that they do.Their evaluation

18Health and safety are integral to qualityimprovement. Providers are expected to meet legislative/statutory and contractualrequirements for health and safety.The self-assessment report will include a statement

Responsiveness

Equal opportunities

Health and safety

will monitor the effectiveness of actionstaken to support and encourage equality of access and participation in learning.All partners should work to ensure that all learners achieve to the best of theirability, irrespective of ethnicity, gender,age, disability and/or learning difficulties,sexual orientation, religion and belief.

of the arrangements for learners’ health and safety and indicate how providers arepromoting the concept of the safe learner.The planning and funding bodies will seekassurance that providers have systems in

place to ensure that learning and trainingtakes place in a safe, healthy and supportingenvironment with satisfactory supervision.

07

19Providers will be asked each year to makeavailable to the planning and funding bodiesand the inspectorates the latest version of their self-assessment report or, whereappropriate, a high-level summary.The self-assessment report will normally besubmitted in an electronic format. JobcentrePlus providers will be able to submit theirreports electronically as detailed in theQuality Framework. Providers should beaware that the LSC’s Annual PlanningReview will need to consider the provider’slatest self-assessment report. In theinterests of minimising bureaucracy the LSC is creating a web portal, the ProviderQuality Gateway, in which providers’ self-assessment reports will be held.The LSCand the inspectorates will use this databaseas the source of each provider’s self-assessment. Each provider will only haveaccess to information held about their own organisation and this information willnot be available to other providers. For largeproviders it will often be appropriate toprovide a high-level summary self-assessmentreport for the use of the inspectorates and the planning and funding bodies.This relatively brief summary assessment will derive from a more extensive self-assessment.Annex A sets out the key criteriafor a summary. For smaller providers the full internal self-assessment report shouldbe sufficient.

20An annual self-assessment report gives the opportunity to evaluate what is welldone, what needs to improve and to ensurethat improvement is achieved. It will reporton the effectiveness of the improvementstrategies set out in each provider’sdevelopment/action plan, which will include evidence of how these are beingimplemented. For good providers this willalready be a well-established practice.

21The self-assessment will need to evaluate both the provider’s progress inimplementing its development/action planand its effectiveness in improving quality.

Within this broad context providers areasked to produce a self-assessment reportwhich:

• gives an introduction which includes thecontext of the provider and a descriptionof the main components of the self-assessment process

• indicates progress made in relation to its development or action plan with the planning and funding bodies

• makes judgements against the evaluativerequirements of the development/actionplan and the revised Common InspectionFramework

• is aligned, where practicable, to thesubject sector categories (previously areas of learning)

• includes judgements on all areas,accredited and non-accredited, inspectedby Ofsted and the Adult LearningInspectorate

• differentiates judgements into keystrengths, areas for improvement andimprovements since the last self-assessment

• is rigorous, analytical and based on validand reliable evidence

• has a quality improvement plan whichsustains the strengths and addresses thekey areas for improvement

• supports the agreement with the planningand funding bodies of challenging butachievable targets for learners’ successbased upon national benchmarking data,where available and, for Jobcentre Plus,job entries

• evaluates the quality of teaching andlearning

• evaluates all learners’ achievements

• indicates how the views of learners,employers, parents and other stakeholdershave been obtained and taken intoaccount

• monitors and reviews the extent to which planned actions are leading toimprovement

• is graded using the descriptors in the CIFfor each key question and subject sectorcategory

• is submitted to the relevant funding bodyeach year

• demonstrates evidence of promotingequality of opportunity and meetingother legislation, including the RaceRelations (Amendment) Act and theDisability Discrimination Act

• demonstrates evidence of promoting the concept of the safe learner and thatsufficient and suitable arrangements forlearner health and safety are in place.

Minimum requirements for self-assessment reports

22The planning and funding bodies and the inspectorates will use providers’self-assessment reports to inform theirjudgements about the effectiveness of the provider in improving the quality and the responsiveness of its provision in meeting local needs. Should a self-assessment not be effective in securingquality improvement, the planning andfunding bodies will work with the provider,using the services, where appropriate of the Quality Improvement Agency, to enablethe provider to improve the effectiveness of its self-assessment as an integral part of its overall improvement strategy.Subsequent inspection and funding bodies’analysis will test how far this strategy has succeeded.

The planning and funding bodies

The LSC – three-year development plans, the Annual Planning Review and self-assessment

23In 2003, through Success for All, the LSCintroduced a new framework for quality and success which focuses on ensuring thatindividual providers are able to meet thedemands of learners, employers and localcommunities for learning and skills, throughthe provision of high quality learning andtraining programmes that maximise learners’success.The Annual Planning Review andagreement of three-year development planswith the providers are at the heart of thisnew framework.This informs the LSC’sapproach to quality improvement, whichwill centre upon constructive and searchingdialogue with providers, informed by theirself-assessment and other evidence, duringthe Annual Planning Review.

24All providers agree a three-year developmentplan with their local LSC that sets out howthey will contribute to meeting the localneeds of employers, widening participation,and their commitment to improve learners’success. For those areas of provision wherelearners’ achievements are less clearlydefined, the LSC has developed theRecognising and Recording Progress andAchievement in non-accredited learning(RARPA) approach. Local LSCs will reviewannually with providers the implementationof their three-year development plans andprogress towards achieving the headlineperformance measures.The starting pointfor the review will be the provider’s ownassessment of its progress and the extent towhich it has successfully managed the risksto delivery identified in the plan.The reviewwill draw on the self-assessment report andits quality improvement plan in addition toother evidence, such as the individualisedlearner record (ILR) data that the providerreturns to the LSC, performance againstnational, regional and local benchmarks for learner success rates, and the findings of inspection.The LSC will only agree adevelopment plan that clearly identifiesfactors that will lead to improvement inquality or sustain high quality.


The roles of the planning and fundingbodies, the inspectorates and theQuality Improvement Agency in self-assessment

25Where providers are able to demonstratethrough self-assessment effectivemanagement of the risks to outstanding or good quality, the LSC will adopt a lessintensive approach to the Annual PlanningReview. If the review identifies poor qualityprovision or lack of progress towards theachievement of headline performancemeasures, the LSC will discuss with providersoptions for support and intervention. If theLSC considers the self-assessment lacks rigourit will work with the QIA to support theprovider in the revision of its self-assessment.The LSC will no longer fund persistentlypoor quality provision that does not meetits needs and priorities and which deliverspoor outcomes for learners.

26A significant feature of inspections,which will continue, is the parallel workingbetween the LSC’s Provider FinancialAssurance (PFA) service centre and theinspectorates. The concurrent inspectorateand PFA reviews are undertaken inaccordance with the Memorandum ofUnderstanding between the LSC and theinspectorates. Under this, the LSC providesthe inspectorates with financial informationand advice to inform inspections on thebasis of risk to the provision. PFA reviewswill coincide with inspection whereverpossible and evidence will be shared andoutcomes discussed as appropriate. Forproviders not subject to PFA reviews,the LSC will provide appropriate financialbriefings to the inspectorates. The parallelworking and the sharing of evidencebetween the PFA service centre and theinspectorates have been extremelysuccessful in ensuring consistent messagesto providers and in reducing theadministrative burden which wouldotherwise result from separate visits.

27The preparation of the self-assessmentreport by providers funded by the LSCshould therefore take account of the scopeof the PFA service centre’s reviews, inrelation to the governance of colleges andfinancial management for all providers.Judgements in relation to those areasreviewed by the PFA service centre shouldalso contribute to overall judgements about and the grading of leadership andmanagement in the self-assessment report.More information on PFA service centrereviews of financial management andgovernance can be found in Annex B.

28The LSC and the inspectorates will shareinformation from the Annual PlanningReview and the AAV (see paragraph 34) in coming to decisions about actions to be taken with providers.

Jobcentre Plus

29The Jobcentre Plus Quality Frameworkprovides the basis for maintaining andimproving quality in its provision. Continuousself-assessment and action planning are keyfactors in effective quality assurance. Eachprovider funded by Jobcentre Plus has anaction plan which feeds into an annual self-assessment report. This in turn feeds backinto the action plan, which is intended to bea living document. Jobcentre Plus will assessthe rigour and effectiveness of the provider’sself-assessment process and agree theaction plan.

30Jobcentre Plus will agree with providers the date they are required to submit theirself-assessment report. This will be withinthe first twelve months of the contractaward and annually thereafter. Targets andactions are agreed as part of the award ofcontract and are recorded in the provider’saction plan.This process of continuous self-assessment, linked to contractualrequirements, will ensure that providerscritically appraise and grade their provisionto assess its impact upon their customers’experience.The rigour of the self-assessmentreport and the action plan will be used toinform the frequency of the monitoring and review process undertaken by Jobcentre Plus.

Joint LSC/Jobcentre Plus fundedproviders

31A significant number of providers are inreceipt of funding from Jobcentre Plus andthe LSC and may have both a developmentplan with the LSC and an action plan with Jobcentre Plus.These providers shouldsubmit one single self-assessment report at the same time to both planning andfunding bodies.

09

The inspectorates

32The Common Inspection Framework iscentral to raising standards.The cycle of inspections for various categories ofproviders is not identical. (The second cyclefor work based learning and Ufi/learndirectinspections will run from April 2005 toMarch 2009; for colleges from September2005 to summer 2009; for Jobcentre Plussole providers, from April 2006 to April 2010;and for adult and community learning,from September 2006 to June 2010).Thecontinuing pursuit of quality improvementover time, as evidenced in self-assessmentreports, will be one of the foundations of the inspection.The focus of inspection will continue to be the quality of teachingand learning. Inspection reports will note the provider’s own judgements of its effectiveness and set this against theinspection team’s judgements of theaccuracy of the self-assessment.The abilityof the provider to demonstrate improvementwill be an important contribution to theinspectorates’ judgements of the quality of leadership and management. Inspectionwill concentrate upon the provider’simprovement priorities as set out in theirLSC three-year development or JobcentrePlus action plan and, in particular, theirsuccess in achieving these.

33A new feature in the inspectionarrangements for specialist independent,sixth form and general further educationcolleges will be the AAV carried out througha visit to each college by an HMI, andwhere appropriate a full-time ALI inspector,working on the basis of the college’s latestself-assessment report and other evidencefor performance.The visit will consider anychanges in the college’s performance, assesswhether such changes have been recognisedin the college’s self-assessment and theimplications for its capacity to offer highquality provision.The Adult LearningInspectorate’s Quality Monitoring Visit(QMV), which takes place about a year after inspection or reinspection, checks on a provider’s progress. Providers thatperform well at inspection are exempt from the visit.

34The inspectorates will test the quality of the evidence that underpins self-assessmentreports. This will enable them to decidewhether these provide adequatejustification for the strengths and areas for improvement identified. Judgements will always reflect the volume and range of provision under review.The inspectorateswill share their judgements with theplanning and funding bodies on both thequality of provision and the effectiveness of self-assessment to support them inmanaging the risks associated with thedelivery and funding of provision.

The Quality ImprovementAgency

35The Department for Education and Skillsannounced (in February 2005) the decisionto establish a new national QualityImprovement Agency (QIA) for the learningand skills sector by April 2006.The agencywill provide a national focus to enableproviders to learn from others in the sectorand to disseminate good practice andinnovation. It will take forward work initiatedby the DfES Standards Unit, to build capacityfor self-improvement in the sector throughcommissioning support materials (toolkits)and offering expert advice services tosupport self-assessment.The QIA will workto secure better outcomes for learners,employers, communities and the economyby providing a national focus for qualityimprovement in the sector.

36The Quality Improvement Agency will work closely with the planning and fundingbodies, inspectorates and other key partnersto offer support to providers to improvequality and to respond better to employers’and learners’ needs.This is likely to includeworking with those providers whoseprovision has been judged inadequate by the inspectorates and which will be subjectto reinspection. It may also offer support to providers where significant issues areidentified by the funding bodies followingthe annual review.


37Following the annual self-assessment, allproviders will consider what actions will betaken to rectify any weaknesses identifiedand plans for enhancing the overall qualityof their provision.The areas identified forquality improvement will need to takeaccount of inspection outcomes, comparingthe findings against their own self-assessmentto determine what is being well done andwhat needs improvement. Since the inspectionwill judge the quality of the provider’s ownself-assessment, the opportunity should also be taken to improve self-assessmentprocesses in the light of this.

38The provider is responsible for deciding what improvements are needed and howthese will be implemented. It will need todemonstrate to the planning and fundingbodies that its plans are robust and areachievable. In particular, the provider willneed to demonstrate that:

• weaknesses identified in any inspectionreport are being comprehensivelyaddressed

• a clear and urgent timescale for action is in place

• responsibility for addressing areas for improvement is clearly assigned

• funding to support improvement is in place

• weaknesses in the self-assessment process are addressed

• strengths identified in the inspection are sustained.

39All providers will be expected to review and update their plans to take account ofinspection findings. Providers are required to set out clearly what actions are neededand to link this explicitly to the inspectionfindings within two months of thepublication of the inspection report.

11

Quality improvement


development plan in the light of inspectionfindings and changes in the qualityimprovement plan.The LSC will take accountof the quality improvement plan as part ofits process for reviewing the provider’sprogress against its development plan.Theprovider is responsible for ensuring that theplan is implemented and for bringing aboutthe required improvements.The timescalefor reinspection after the publication of the inspection report is one year for thoseproviders inspected by the ALI and withintwo years for those inspected by Ofsted.Detailed arrangements for reinspection are the responsibility of the inspectorates.

Jobcentre Plus funded providers

They are required to amend the action planwhich is integral to their self-assessmentwithin two months of the publication of the inspection report. If a provider has beenjudged inadequate overall it is required to produce a new action plan whichcomprehensively addresses the issuesidentified by the inspection, within the same timescale. The actions which addressinspection findings and the timescales bywhich they will be achieved must be clearlyidentifiable. (This will meet the statutoryrequirement of the Learning and Skills Act2000 to produce a post-inspection actionplan). Providers will also need to considerhow far it may be appropriate to changetheir self-assessment.The timescale forreinspection after the publication of theinspection report is one year by the ALI.Detailed arrangements for reinspection are the responsibility of the inspectorate.

42After reinspection, providers that areawarded satisfactory grades or better willreturn to the normal cycle of inspections.The decision on whether a provider movesout of the inadequate category rests solelywith the inspectorates. If a provider does notobtain satisfactory grades at a reinspection,the planning and funding bodies will considerwhat further action should be taken to improvethe quality of the learner’s experience,involving the QIA where appropriate.Theymay discontinue the funding but they willalso ensure that satisfactory arrangementsare put in place to protect the interests ofthe learners. These arrangements will includedecisions to close or transfer the provisionto other providers or actions to secure theimprovement of the provision found to beinadequate. Separate and more detailedguidance on the choice of actions and theroutes to be followed will be publishedshortly.

Reinspection and post-inspectionaction planning

40Providers that have any aspect of theirprovision judged as inadequate (Grade 4)will be reinspected.There are four kinds of reinspection:

• full reinspection of inadequate providers

• partial reinspection of unsatisfactory or inadequate sector subject categories(previously ‘areas of learning’) in collegesduring AAVs

• partial reinspection of an inadequate area of learning by the ALI

• reinspection in colleges when an aspect of the Common Inspection Frameworkrelating to an age group or an aspect of provision, for example work basedlearning, is judged to be inadequate.

41Reinspection will apply as follows:

LSC funded providers

They are required to amend the qualityimprovement plan which is integral to theirself-assessment within two months of thepublication of the inspection report. If aprovider has been judged inadequate overallit is required to produce a new qualityimprovement plan which comprehensivelyaddresses the issues identified by theinspection, within the same timescale.Theactions which address inspection findingsand the timescales by which they will beachieved must be clearly identifiable. (Thiswill meet the statutory requirement of theLearning and Skills Act 2000 to produce apost-inspection action plan).The LSC mayengage the QIA to support the developmentof the quality improvement plan. Providerswill also need to consider how far it may beappropriate to change their LSC three-year

PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES


The guidance suggests that for larger providers,by which is meant further education and sixthform colleges and large training providers,a summary self-assessment derived from thelarger self-assessment will be appropriate.Since the self-assessment is the provider’sown document they must determine thenature of the summary.

It is suggested, however, that the summaryshould contain the following:

• a brief introduction, including keyimprovements made since the last reviewof the development or action plan

• information/data on progress onperformance measures in the developmentor action plan

• key strengths and areas for improvementfor the institution as a whole, organised byCIF key questions and for each curriculumarea where practicable according to thenew subject sector categories

• a table of grades awarded to CIF keyquestions and curriculum areas

• a summary of the grades awarded for the observation of teaching/learning and assessment.

Annex A

Summary self-assessment reports

15

Annex B

Provider Financial Assurance service centre reviews of financial management and governance

Introduction

The LSC’s Provider Financial Assurance(PFA) service centre undertakes thefollowing periodic reviews of financialmanagement and governance in parallelwith Ofsted and the Adult LearningInspectorate:

• reviews of financial management andgovernance at colleges

• reviews of financial management atspecial education institutions and workbased learning providers.

Financial management and governancereviews at colleges

The purpose of PFA service centre reviews at colleges is to provide assurance to theLSC that the financial management andgovernance arrangements at the college are operated in accordance with relevantstatutory responsibilities and LSCrequirements, and are effective.

The scope of reviews at colleges isdetermined by a combination of factors,in particular:

• outcomes of reviews undertaken under the LSC business cycle

• discussions with relevant regional and local LSC colleagues

• recent evidence of colleges’ financialhealth and the outcomes of colleges’audit reports.

In preparation for reviews, colleges are askedto complete a self-assessment, prior to thestart of the review.This allows colleges to evaluate their own frameworks for financialmanagement and governance. Detailedguidance for the self-assessments is providedon the LSC website and updated annually.

As part of the annual regularity audit,conducted by their financial statementsauditors, colleges are invited to undertakean annual self-assessment to evaluate theirregularity and propriety in the use of LSCand other sources of funding.The PFAservice centre will look to make use of thisdocument and the work of the colleges’auditors to avoid duplication during theirfinancial management and governancereviews.The regularity audit self-assessmentquestionnaire is provided on the LSCwebsite (www.lsc.gov.uk) and updatedannually.

Financial management reviews at specialeducation institutions and work basedlearning providers

The purpose of the LSC’s PFA service centrereviews of financial management at specialeducation institutions and work basedlearning providers is to:

• provide assurance to the LSC that thefunds paid for learning are subject toeffective financial managementarrangements

• ensure funds are used for the appropriatepurpose and represent value for moneyfrom the perspective of the LSC.

The selection of special educationinstitutions and work based learning providers for review is determined by the level of LSC funding received anddiscussions with relevant regional and local LSC colleagues.

Sharing of evidence between the PFAservice centre and the inspectorates

The PFA service centre takes account of the inspectors’ judgements in forming itsopinions on the soundness, operation andeffectiveness of the financial managementand, where relevant, governance frameworksat providers. In reaching their own judgementsabout the effectiveness of leadership andmanagement, the inspectorates will alsotake account of the outcomes of PFAjudgements including, for colleges, governors’compliance with relevant statutoryrequirements and advice on good practiceand, for all providers, the effectiveness offinancial management and the appropriateand effective use of public funds.

Providers’ self-assessment reports

The preparation of providers’ self-assessmentreports will therefore need to take accountof the scope of the PFA service centre’sreviews, in relation to governance forcolleges and financial management for allproviders. Judgements in relation to thoseareas reviewed by the PFA service centreshould also contribute to overall judgementsabout and the grading of leadership andmanagement in the self-assessment report.

Further information on PFA service centrereviews of financial management andgovernance will be available on the LSC’swebsite under: Documents/Subject Listing/Funding Learning/Provider Finance/ProviderFinancial Assurance (Related Guidance –Governance and Financial Management).


Action Plans

A Jobcentre Plus provider’s own plan toaddress the areas for improvement, whichhave been identified through self-assessment,and the means by which improvement willbe achieved.

Adult Learning Inspectorate

The Adult Learning Inspectorate inspectseducation and training for adults and workbased learning for all over the age of 16.

Annual Assessment Visit

An annual visit will be carried out by an HMIfrom Ofsted by arrangement with the sixthform or further education college.This visitwill evaluate the quality improvement plan,the self-assessment reports and otherindicators, for example learners’ successrates.The visit will be an important factor in determining the scope of inspection.

Common Inspection Framework

Originally issued in 2001, the CommonInspection Framework sets out the broadframework against which providers will be inspected.A revised framework wasissued in April 2005.

Headline Performance Measures

Measures agreed between LSC fundedproviders and their local LSC and whichform part of the three-year developmentplan. Measures cover learner numbers,qualification success rates, responsiveness to employer needs and workforce capability.Providers’ progress in achieving the agreedmeasures is assessed through the AnnualPlanning Review.

Individualised Learner Record (ILR)

This tracks the progress of the learners,recording their retention, achievements and success. It is therefore a crucial buildingblock of overall retention and achievementevidence for providers.

Jobcentre Plus

Jobcentre Plus is an executive agency of theDepartment for Work and Pensions.The aimof the department is to promote opportunityand independence for all. The purpose ofJobcentre Plus is to provide work for thosewho can and support for those who cannot.It is a major government funding body, whichsupports unemployed and economicallyinactive people of working age move closerto the labour market and compete effectivelyfor work, providing financial support whilethey are out of work. Jobcentre Plus worksclosely with employers, encouraging themto open up more opportunities to joblesspeople, helping them fill their vacanciesquickly, addressing the key skill needs indifferent parts of the country and sectors of the economy.

Learning and Skills Council

The principal funding and planning body forpost-16 education and training, includingschool sixth forms but not applying tohigher education though it does fund somefurther education provision within highereducation institutions.

New Measures of Success

The New Measures of Success are beingdeveloped by the DfES, LSC and theinspectorates as part of Success for All. Themeasures will be implemented over severalyears. From September 2005, providers and the inspectorates will be able to pilotreformed Qualification Success Rate,ValueAdded and Distance Travelled, and Recognisingand Recording Progress and Achievement in non-accredited learning (RARPA)measures.

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education)

Ofsted is a non-ministerial governmentdepartment established under the Education(Schools) Act 1992 to take responsibility for the inspection of all schools in England.Its role also includes the inspection of localeducation authorities, teacher traininginstitutions, youth work and the regulationof early years childcare, including child-minders. In the context of this guide Ofstedis responsible for the inspection of all 16–19education and of most learners below theage of 19.

Provider

A generic term to embrace all those fully orpartly funded by the LSC. It includes schoolsixth forms, specialist independent, sixthform and general further education colleges,training providers, Ufi/learndirect, adult andcommunity learning institutions, and thosehigher education institutions which providefurther education. Jobcentre Plus providersare organisations in the public, private andvoluntary sector, which complement theJobcentre Plus service to its customers bydelivering labour market programmes, forexample, the New Deal.

Provider Financial Assurance

This is the name for that part of the LSCwhich is responsible for evaluating theeffectiveness of providers’ financialmanagement, and in the case of sixth formcolleges and further education, governors’compliance with statutory requirements and advice on good practice.

Annex C

Glossary

17

Quality Improvement Agency

A new government body, being establishedfrom April 2006, which will work with theinspectorates, the LSC and other keypartners and providers to develop andimplement a national quality improvementstrategy across the sector.

Quality Improvement Plan

The provider’s own plan to address the areasfor improvement, which is integral to theself-assessment, and the means by whichimprovement will be achieved. JobcentrePlus uses a slightly different terminology,in particular ‘action plan’ in place of ‘qualityimprovement plan’.

Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement in non-accreditedlearning (RARPA)

The LSC has developed the RARPA approachto assist providers to do this more effectivelyfor non-accredited learning where learnerachievements and outcomes are less clearlydefined or comparable. Further informationcan be found at: www.lsc.gov.uk/National/Partners/PolicyandDevelopment/AdultandCommunity/welcome_rarpa.htm

Risk Assessment

The process by which the planning andfunding bodies and inspectorates willevaluate the capacity of a provider to secure improvement.This will determine the assessment of the level of risk, whichwill then inform the intensity of inspectionand of the planning and funding bodies’review of the provider’s capacity to deliverits three-year development plan.

Self-assessment

The process by which a provider reviews the effectiveness of all its activities, butparticularly teaching and learning, thesuccess of learners and leadership andmanagement.The outcome of the self-assessment will be a self-assessment reportwith an integral quality improvement planto carry forward the areas for improvementit has identified.

Success for All

Success for All is a long-term, comprehensivestrategy of investment and reform of furthereducation and training for people aged 16 andabove. Operated by the DfES and the LSC,Success for All sets out to raise standards,improve the responsiveness of provision to meet needs and priorities including thoseof employers and build the capacity of thefurther education and training workforce.

Qualification success rates

The measure of the success of a cohort oflearners between original enrolment andcompletion with an award. Both retentionon a programme of learning or training andfinal achievement of a qualification willcontribute to success.

Three-year development plan

A three-year development plan is agreedbetween LSC funded providers and the localLSC.This will set out how the provider willcontribute to meeting local, regional andsector needs and priorities, and how it willimprove learners’ outcomes.


Area First Tier Area Second Tier

1 Health, Public Services and Care 1.1 Medicine and Dentistry

1.2 Nursing and Subjects and Vocations Allied to Medicine

1.3 Health and Social Care

1.4 Public Services

1.5 Child Development and Well Being

2 Science and Mathematics 2.1 Science

2.2 Mathematics and Statistics

3 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 3.1 Agriculture

3.2 Horticulture and Forestry

3.3 Animal Care and Veterinary Science

3.4 Environmental Conservation

4 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 4.1 Engineering

4.2 Manufacturing Technologies

4.3 Transportation Operations and Maintenance

5 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 5.1 Architecture

5.2 Building and Construction

5.3 Urban, Rural and Regional Planning

6 Information and Communication Technology 6.1 ICT Practitioners

6.2 ICT for Users

7 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 7.1 Retailing and Wholesaling

7.2 Warehousing and Distribution

7.3 Service Enterprises

7.4 Hospitality and Catering

8 Leisure,Travel and Tourism 8.1 Sport, Leisure and Recreation

8.2 Travel and Tourism

Annex D

Subject sector categories (previously areas of learning)

19

Area First Tier Area Second Tier

9 Arts, Media and Publishing 9.1 Performing Arts

9.2 Crafts, Creative Arts and Design

9.3 Media and Communication

9.4 Publishing and Information Services

10 History, Philosophy and Theology 10.1 History

10.2 Archaeology and Archaeological Sciences

10.3 Philosophy

10.4 Theology and Religious Studies

11 Social Sciences 11.1 Geography

11.2 Sociology and Social Policy

11.3 Politics

11.4 Economics

11.5 Anthropology

12 Languages, Literature and Culture 12.1 Languages, Literature and Culture of the British Isles

12.2 Other Languages, Literature and Culture

12.3 Linguistics

13 Education and Training 13.1 Teaching and Lecturing

13.2 Direct Learning Support

14 Preparation for Life and Work 14.1 Foundations for Learning and Life

14.2 Preparation for Work

15 Business,Administration and Law 15.1 Accounting and Finance

15.2 Administration

15.3 Business Management

15.4 Marketing and Sales

15.5 Law and Legal Services


Annex E

The college self-assessment and quality improvement cycle

1 2 3

6 5 4

New self-assessment report and quality improvement plan

Self-assessment report and integral quality improvement plan submitted to LSC

HMI Annual Assessment Visit evaluates self-assessment report

Annual Review and inspection outcomes feed into new self-assessment report

Inspection between September 2005 and July 2009

LSC Annual Planning Review

21

Further Information Visit the LSC online at www.lsc.gov.ukfor up-to-date news on the LSC and educationand training in England.

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