Ofsted has introduced a new questionnaire asking staff for feedback about their FE provider. The new questionnaire, published today and available from Monday, will be used in short and full inspections, but not monitoring visits.

Questions include whether staff are proud to be working at the FE and skills provider, if they think it is well led and managed, and whether managers are considerate to their staff’s well-being and workload.

According to the inspectorate, providers will be asked to inform their staff about the online questionnaire at the point of inspection. 

The Further Education and Skills Inspection Handbook has been updated to reflect the introduction of the new document.

‘Additional source of evidence’

A spokesman for Ofsted said: “From next Monday, staff will have the opportunity to answer this short questionnaire when Ofsted undertakes full and short inspections. This information will be an additional source of evidence and help us form a rounded judgement about the effectiveness of a college or a skills provider. This questionnaire complements those for learners, employers and parents/carers.”

From January, Ofsted will be consulting on a new inspection framework, which will apply to schools as well as further education colleges and other post-16 providers. Following that consultation, the changes are due to come into effect in September 2019