Colleges inspected by ISI for Educational Oversight go through a four-year cycle.
In the first year, colleges have a full Educational Oversight inspection, followed in years two, three and four by shorter monitoring visits.
A college may skip a monitoring visit if it achieves a grade of ‘Exceeds Expectations’. At the end of the four-year cycle, all colleges must confirm that they want to continue in Educational Oversight.
Our inspection schedule for the year is divided into four phases. All applicants will be informed of their inspection phase (the period during which they may expect to be inspected).
Colleges may request an inspection in an earlier or later phase, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate the request.
Inspection must occur within ten to 14 months of the previous inspection.
A full Educational Oversight inspection takes place over three days.
These inspections focus primarily on the quality of student outcomes, teaching and learning, and whether the published standards are being met.
Inspections include observation of classes, scrutiny of students’ work, interviews with students and staff, and scrutiny of college documentation.
Monitoring visits are for colleges that have successfully passed an Educational Oversight inspection.
These are short inspections lasting one or two days.
They are designed to report on whether colleges are making progress against recommendations from the previous inspection and to ensure that standards are being maintained.
A college that receives a ‘Needs Improvement’ judgement must submit an action plan within thirty days detailing how issues identified in the report will be resolved.
It is then required to have a one-day follow-up visit within six months.
Follow-up visits are arranged to check on the progress of the planned improvements.
The lead inspector produces a report based on the evidence gathered by the team during the inspection. The report is submitted for quality assurance checks. The college then receives a draft of the report for factual accuracy checking, usually three weeks after the inspection.
If you are required to submit an action plan, it should include details of how the college will respond to the actions and recommendations within the inspection report.
You should clearly state:
- the action to be taken
- who is responsible
- key deadlines
- the intended outcomes for each of the recommendations.
The action plan should also indicate when the college feels it will be ready for the follow-up visit, which must take place within six months of the last inspection.
The action plan will then be reviewed by ISI to ensure that it meets the Educational Oversight requirements.
The annual data return is information supplied by the college about estimated student numbers and material changes in circumstances.
ISI uses this information to work out the type and tariff of the next inspection.
All colleges must complete an annual data return even when:
- there has been no material change in circumstances
- your institution is due to skip a monitoring visit
- you have already reported any material change in circumstances.
You must supply the following information:
- your student numbers
- the courses you offer
- whether you accept under 18s
- any material change in circumstances
- completed financial status declaration.
You will be asked to complete an annual data return online once a year.
Guidance for completion can be found here.
A material change is a significant change in a college’s circumstances.
Material changes may result in – at any point during the four-year inspection cycle – either a monitoring visit or an Educational Oversight inspection.
It is the college’s responsibility to inform ISI within 28 days of any material change in circumstances.
A college failing to notify ISI within 28 days may be withdrawn from Educational Oversight.
The following material changes can trigger a monitoring visit:
- Change of address
- Acquisition of a new building
- Extension of premises with an increase in capacity by 25% or more
- Change of legal or trading name
- Change of principal and/or proprietor or equivalent
- Change of 20 per cent or more of permanent teaching staff
- Change of 30 per cent or more of the type of provision or courses offered, including changes to awarding bodies or organisations
- Change in the age range of students (from 18+ to under 18s) for the first time
- Change in accommodation arrangements for students (from not directly owning and managing to directly owning and managing accommodation) or a change in accommodation provider.
The following are changes in circumstances that will trigger a full Educational Oversight inspection:
- If further education colleges or colleges offering mixed provision with less than 50 students have an increase in total student numbers (international and/or domestic) by at least 50 places
- If a predominantly English as a Foreign Language centre with less than 4,000 student weeks of teaching has an increase in total student weeks by 2,000 or more
- If further education colleges and colleges of mixed provision with more than 50 students has an increase in total student numbers (international and/or domestic) by either 100 places or 20 per cent or more (whichever is greater)
- If a predominantly English as a Foreign Language centre with more than 4,000 student weeks of teaching has an increase in total student numbers by 20 per cent or more.
The following changes, irrespective of provider size, will result in a full Educational Oversight inspection:
- Merger with another college or acquisition of a new branch that is planned to be included in the existing sponsorship arrangement.
- Change of 50 per cent or more in the type of provision or courses offered, including changes of awarding bodies or organisations.