Key takeaways
- Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate are gone for new inspections. Five grades replace them, topped by a new exceptional.
- There is no single headline grade. A report card gives separate grades per evaluation area, and per provision type.
- Apprenticeships are graded collectively. Ofsted inspects and reports on the whole of a provider's apprenticeship provision as one thing, whatever the levels.
- The old and new scales do not translate. Ofsted has published no mapping, and the "secure fit" rule makes higher grades harder to reach.
- Old grades still stand until a provider is reinspected, which is why the badges have not changed yet. Ask when they were last inspected, and under which framework.
If you have shortlisted a training provider in the last five years, you almost certainly used the same shortcut everyone uses: find the Ofsted grade, filter out anything below Good, move on. That shortcut has quietly stopped working, and most buyers have not been told.
What changed, and when
Following its Big Listen consultation and more than 6,500 responses, Ofsted confirmed a new approach to inspection which took effect for further education and skills providers on 10 November 2025. Two things went at once: the single overall judgment, and the four-grade scale it was expressed in.
In their place sits a report card. It carries several grades rather than one, combining at-a-glance scores with written summaries of strengths and areas for improvement. Annual updates to the inspection materials then applied from September 2026.
A grade is no longer a verdict on a provider. It is a score on one specific thing that provider does.
The shift that changes how you should read themThe five grades
- 1Urgent improvementThe lowest grade. Serious problems requiring immediate action.
- 2Needs attentionBelow the expected standard in that area. Triggers a monitoring inspection, normally within about 13 months.
- 3Expected standardThe bar. Meets what Ofsted expects of any provider in that area.
- 4Strong standardAll expected standards met, plus all the strong standards.
- 5ExceptionalNew top grade. All strong standards plus the additional exceptional criteria. Intended to mark provision other providers could learn from.
Note what "expected standard" is doing. It is not a polite way of saying average, and it is not the old Requires Improvement. It is the level Ofsted considers proper practice. A provider sitting at expected standard across the board is doing the job properly.
What actually gets graded for an apprenticeship provider
This is the part worth understanding if you are buying apprenticeships, because it changes which numbers are relevant to you.
| Graded at whole-provider level | Graded separately for each provision type |
|---|---|
| Leadership and governance | Curriculum, teaching and training |
| Inclusion | Achievement |
| Safeguarding | Participation and development |
| Contribution to meeting skills needs (colleges, sixth form colleges and designated institutions only) |
Two consequences follow. First, inclusion is now graded in every inspection, with a specific focus on disadvantaged learners, those with SEND and those known to social care. That is new, and for an employer taking on apprentices from a mixed intake it is genuinely useful information.
Second, and more practically: Ofsted inspects, grades and reports on the whole of a provider's apprenticeship provision collectively, whatever levels it spans. A provider running Level 2 through Level 7 gets one apprenticeship verdict, not seven. So a strong apprenticeship grade tells you the provision as a whole is working. It does not tell you the specific standard you are buying is the strong bit.
That distinction matters more than it used to, because provider portfolios have widened fast. A firm with twenty long-established standards and one newly launched AI and automation programme will carry a single apprenticeship grade covering both, and the grade will be shaped overwhelmingly by the twenty. If the new one is what you are buying, the grade is telling you about somebody else's cohort.
Why the old and new grades do not translate
There is a temptation to build a mental conversion table. Resist it, for two reasons.
The first is that Ofsted has not published one, and the evaluation areas themselves changed, so there is nothing being measured identically on both sides.
The second is the "secure fit" model. Every standard within a grade must be met before that grade can be awarded. Inspectors cannot balance a weakness in one standard against a strength in another and land on a comfortable overall impression. That is a meaningfully harder test than a best-fit judgement, and it means a provider at expected standard under the new system has cleared a specific, itemised bar rather than an averaged one.
For a while, then, you will be comparing providers assessed under two different systems. A Good from 2023 and an expected standard from 2026 are not the same measurement, and neither one is automatically better than the other.
Our own position, since it would be odd not to say
Straight answer
TESS Group holds Ofsted Good. That grade was awarded under the previous framework, and like every provider in that position we keep it until we are reinspected. It is a real judgment and we are proud of it. It is also, increasingly, a legacy descriptor, and we would rather tell you that ourselves than have you work it out.
When we are next inspected it will be under the new system, and you will see a report card with separate grades rather than a badge. We will publish it whatever it says. In the meantime, if you are comparing us against anyone, we would encourage you to ask us all the questions below and to ask them of the other providers too.
How to judge a provider now
-
Ask when they were last inspected, and under which framework
Do: get the date, then check whether it predates 10 November 2025.
Why: it tells you immediately whether you are looking at a badge or a report card, and how old the evidence is. -
Read the report card, not the headline
Do: look at the grades for achievement and for participation and development on apprenticeship provision specifically.
Why: those are the two most closely tied to whether your people finish, and finish well. -
Check the reinspection clock
Do: note whether they are due a monitoring inspection within about 13 months, which follows a needs attention grade, or a full inspection within four years.
Why: the cycle itself is a signal, and it is public. -
Ask for the number that Ofsted does not give you
Do: ask for the achievement rate on the specific standard you are buying, and how many learners they currently have on it.
Why: apprenticeship provision is graded collectively, so a good overall grade can sit on top of a thin or brand-new offer in your area. -
Then stop looking at Ofsted
Do: ask to speak to an employer already on programme with them, and ask what happens when a learner falls behind.
Why: no inspection grade of any vintage tells you how a provider behaves in month seven when someone is struggling.
Five questions worth asking every provider on your shortlist
- When were you last inspected, and was it under the new framework?
- What did you score for achievement on apprenticeships, and what is the story behind it?
- What is your achievement rate on the specific standard I am buying?
- How many learners do you currently have on that standard?
- Can I speak to an employer who is on programme with you right now?
Any provider worth buying from will answer all five without flinching. We have written a longer version of this for AI specifically, in our guide to choosing an AI apprenticeship provider, and there is a side-by-side provider comparison plus a market overview if you are at that stage.
One last thing worth checking while you are doing the due diligence: the money. The rules changed on 1 August, and under-25s are now exempt from the 25% co-investment while your over-25s are not. Any provider you are talking to should be able to explain what that does to your levy across a two-year plan without reaching for a calculator.
What this means if you are buying this year
Nothing about the change should make you nervous. It is a better system: more information, less reliance on one word, and a specific grade for inclusion that was long overdue. The problem is purely transitional. For the next few years the market will be full of badges that mean different things, and the shortcut that used to work will quietly mislead you.
The practical answer is to spend twenty minutes rather than two. Read the report card if there is one, ask about the standard you are actually buying, and treat any grade of any vintage as one input rather than the decision.
Ask us those five questions. We will give you our inspection history, achievement rates on the AI & Automation Practitioner Level 4 and current learner numbers on it, and put you in touch with an employer already running it. 25 minutes, no obligation, and if another provider is a better fit for what you need we will say so.
Book a provider conversation →The honest summary
Ofsted has made its reporting more useful and, in the process, made every training provider's marketing slightly out of date. Ours included. The badge in the corner of this website is a real grade honestly held, and it was awarded under a framework that no longer exists.
Employers who understand that will ask better questions and buy better training. Providers who quietly hope you do not notice are telling you something too.
Frequently asked questions.
Does Ofsted still give a Good or Outstanding grade?
No. For inspections from 10 November 2025, Ofsted replaced the single overall grade with a report card and a five-point scale: urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard, and exceptional. Providers inspected before that date keep their previously published grade until they are reinspected, which is why so many provider websites still say Good or Outstanding. Those grades are real, but they were awarded under the previous framework.
What are the new Ofsted grades?
There are five, from lowest to highest: urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard, and exceptional. Exceptional is a new top grade intended to identify provision other providers could learn from. Grades are awarded per evaluation area rather than as one overall verdict, so a provider can be strong in one area and need attention in another.
What does Ofsted grade for an apprenticeship provider?
Some areas are graded at whole-provider level, including leadership and governance, inclusion and safeguarding. Others are graded separately for each provision type the provider offers, covering curriculum, teaching and training, achievement, and participation and development. Importantly for employers, Ofsted inspects, grades and reports on the whole of a provider's apprenticeship provision collectively, irrespective of the levels involved.
What is the secure fit model?
Secure fit means every standard within a grade must be met before that grade can be awarded. Inspectors cannot average out a strong performance in one standard against a weak one in another. In practice it makes the higher grades harder to reach than a best-fit judgement would, and it is one reason employers should not assume the new scale maps neatly onto the old one.
How often will a provider be reinspected?
Providers graded at expected standard or higher across a full inspection will normally have their next full inspection within four years. A provider with one or more needs attention grades will normally receive a monitoring inspection within about 13 months, so that improvements can be recognised more quickly. That means the reinspection cycle itself now tells you something about a provider.
Can I still compare providers by their Ofsted grade?
Only with care, because for a period you will be comparing providers judged under two different systems. A provider showing Good from a 2023 inspection and a provider showing expected standard from a 2026 report card have not been measured the same way, and Ofsted has not published a direct translation between the old and new scales. Read the report card areas that matter to you rather than the headline.
What should employers ask a training provider now?
Ask when they were last inspected and under which framework, and ask to see the report card rather than a badge. For apprenticeships specifically, ask about achievement and about participation and development, since those are graded per provision type. Then go beyond Ofsted entirely: ask for achievement rates on the standard you are buying, current learner numbers on it, and to speak to an employer already on programme.
Sources: Ofsted's press release confirming changes to education inspection and the new-look report cards; the further education and skills inspection toolkit, operating guides and information; and the education inspection framework for use from November 2025. Grade descriptions are summarised for employers and are not a substitute for the published toolkit. TESS Group's own Ofsted Good judgment was awarded under the previous framework.