“Teaching pupils and making sure they learn the right things” will be at the centre of the proposed new inspection framework, according to Ofsted’s annual report.

In the report’s opening statement, the Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman concludes that: “The substance of education is the curriculum. It makes no sense to think about education without it. Yet in recent years that substance has lost out to performance tables and data in the priorities of many in the sector.”  Ms Spielman proposes that Ofsted will use the new inspection framework - to be consulted on early in 2019 - to take more account of what is taught, allowing teachers to get on with their “core role” of designing and delivering the curriculum.

The annual report also acknowledges the rapidly changing FE and skills sector due to apprenticeships, college mergers and from 2020, T Levels, and highlights concerns about the financial sustainability of the college sector, and the impacts on provision.

Ofsted continues to question the effectiveness of the government’s policy to require learners who have not achieved a grade 4 GCSE in English and/or mathematics at 16 to continue studying for a qualification in these subjects.  The annual report says that English and maths should be pitched as a core part of vocational training in FE rather than as a punishment for not achieving the required grade previously.