Key takeaways
- The scale. Five grades in up to 16 areas: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement. "Expected standard" is the baseline, not a warning. Safeguarding is a separate met/not met.
- The pattern. In the first batch of 19 providers, all but one were mostly "expected standard". Nobody was "urgent improvement". Eight had at least one "strong standard". One "exceptional" (System People, for adult achievement).
- The headline case. BAE Systems: "exceptional" for inclusion and for leadership and governance, plus three "strong standard", 2,600 apprentices, 88% achievement against a 65% national average.
- Where the number hides. Every report card now has a facts-and-figures drop-down with learner numbers and achievement rate at inspection. That is the line to read first.
- What to ask. Which apprenticeship areas were graded, what the achievement rate is against the 65% national figure, and what the "needs attention" line, if any, actually says.
The old system gave you one word. Good, Outstanding, Requires Improvement, Inadequate. It was crude, but it was fast, and most employers used it as a filter without reading further. The new system gives you a grid, and the honest position after ten months is that most of the grid says the same thing for most providers. That makes the parts that differ more useful, if you know where to look.
What the first ten months actually produced
19
Providers in the first published batch, January 2026. All independent or adult providers; no colleges.
FE Week analysis
0
"Urgent improvement" grades in that batch. One provider, AKR Growth Ventures, was "needs attention" across the board.
FE Week analysis
1
"Exceptional" in the first batch (System People, adult achievement). BAE Systems followed in August, the first employer provider to get it.
Ofsted reports
Two things stand out. First, "expected standard" is doing most of the work. Ofsted's own baseline expectation is that providers meet it, and the first batch shows inspectors using it as exactly that: the normal grade for a provider that is doing the job. It is not the new "Requires Improvement". Second, the top of the scale is being used sparingly. Chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said "exceptional" should mean "truly among the very best nationally", and ten months in, the results suggest inspectors are taking him at his word.
A report card full of "expected standard" is a provider doing the job. What separates providers now is the achievement rate in the drop-down, the one or two areas graded above or below the line, and what the text says about those.
How to read one in five minutes
Every report card follows the same shape. Here is the order to read it in, and what each part tells an employer.
The facts and figures drop-down
Read: learner numbers by programme and the achievement rate at the time of inspection.
Why: this is the number that decides whether your apprentice finishes. The national apprenticeship average is 65%. Anything under that needs an explanation; anything well over it is the provider's best evidence. We wrote about what the 65% figure hides earlier this year.
The apprenticeship row, not the whole card
Read: the grades for the apprenticeship programme type specifically. Adult learning, skills bootcamps and 16-to-19 study programmes are graded separately.
Why: a provider can be strong in adult learning and only expected in apprenticeships, or the reverse. Bury Council in the first batch was "expected standard" for achievement but "needs attention" for participation and development in the same programme type. The row is what you are buying.
Leadership and governance, and inclusion
Read: the two provider-wide grades, and the paragraph under each.
Why: inclusion is graded for the first time, and it is where BAE earned its "exceptional": a pre-start conversation about each apprentice's barriers, then line managers briefed on what support that person needs. That is the thing your nervous starter benefits from, and the report tells you whether the provider does it.
Anything above or below the line
Read: the text under any "strong standard", "needs attention" or "exceptional".
Why: this is the only part of the card that is specific to the provider rather than the framework. AKR's "needs attention" came with "underdeveloped" leadership understanding and slow English and maths progress. That is a concrete thing to ask about, not a grade to be scared of.
The date
Read: when the inspection happened, and under which framework.
Why: a provider inspected before November 2025 still carries a single-word grade. BAE was "outstanding" in 2021 and "exceptional" in 2026; the two are not the same scale. A provider whose last grade is "Good" from 2025, ours included, has not been inspected under the new framework yet.
What BAE's report card teaches everyone else
It is worth reading Ofsted's BAE Systems report even if you will never send an apprentice there, because it shows what the top of the scale looks like in practice, and none of it is about size or money.
BAE Systems, employer provider, August 2026
What inspectors praised: a conversation before each apprentice starts about strengths, circumstances and barriers, with the output shared with the line manager; a "culture of psychological safety" for apprentices and staff; governors who work "in synergy" with leaders; rigorous monitoring of the nine subcontractors who deliver just under half the provision; and progression into "trusted and influential roles". Apprentices told inspectors the approach was "life-changing" for their confidence.
Every one of those is a question you can ask a provider of any size. What happens before my apprentice starts? Who briefs their line manager? Who do they go to when it goes wrong? What is your achievement rate, and what was it two years ago? The framework is new. The things that make apprentices finish are not.
Five questions for any provider, updated
Ask these, in this order
- Have you been inspected under the new framework? If not, when do you expect to be, and what was your last grade under the old one?
- What is your apprenticeship achievement rate at the last inspection, and now? Compare with 65%.
- Which areas, if any, were graded above or below "expected standard", and what did the report say?
- What happens between signing and day one for my apprentice? The BAE question.
- Can I speak to a current apprentice about their coach? Same question as in our coaching piece, and still the one that tells you most.
Our own position
Ofsted Good, June 2025, under the previous framework. Not yet inspected under the new one.
That is what our badge means and we would rather say it plainly than let "Good" imply a grade on a scale it was not given on. When we are inspected under the report card framework we will publish the card here with commentary, whatever it says. Until then, the numbers we can show you are on our trust page: achievement rate, distinction rate, learner reviews and who our end-point assessment organisation is. Our provider guide sets out the rest of the questions we think you should ask.
Send us the report card of any provider you are considering, including ours. We will tell you what the grades mean for your specific programme, what the achievement rate is hiding, and what to ask them next. 30 minutes, no obligation, and we will say if they look better than us on the thing that matters to you.
Book a conversation →The honest summary
- What ten months show: "expected standard" is the normal grade; the top of the scale is rare; nobody in the first batch was "urgent improvement".
- Where the signal is: the achievement rate drop-down, the apprenticeship row specifically, and the text under any grade that is not "expected".
- What BAE proves: the "exceptional" grades came from pre-start conversations, line-manager briefings and psychological safety. All of it is askable of any provider.
- What our badge means: Good in June 2025 on the old scale. We will publish the new card when we get it.
Frequently asked questions.
What do the five Ofsted grades mean?
From the top: "exceptional" means truly among the very best nationally and is rare; "strong standard" marks out excellent practice; "expected standard" is Ofsted's baseline and the grade most providers receive in most areas; "needs attention" means the provider falls short in that area; "urgent improvement" means serious concerns. Safeguarding is separate, either met or not met. Grades are given per area and per programme type, so one provider can hold several different grades on one card.
Is "expected standard" a bad result?
No. It is the baseline Ofsted expects every provider to meet, and in the first published batch almost every provider received it in most areas. Treat it as "doing the job". The useful information on a card that is mostly expected standard is the achievement rate in the facts-and-figures section and any area graded above or below the line.
Where do I find a provider's achievement rate on the new report card?
In the facts and figures drop-down on the report card, which shows learner numbers and achievement rates accurate to the time of inspection. Compare the apprenticeship figure with the national average of around 65%. The provider should also be able to give you the current figure, which may be more recent than the inspection.
What did BAE Systems do to get "exceptional"?
Ofsted rated BAE exceptional for inclusion and for leadership and governance in August 2026. Inspectors praised a pre-start conversation with every apprentice about their strengths, circumstances and barriers, with the output shared with line managers; a culture of psychological safety; governors working closely with leaders; rigorous monitoring of subcontractors; and progression into senior roles. BAE recorded an 88% achievement rate in 2024-25 against a 65% national average, and just over half its 2,600 apprentices are aged 16 to 18.
My provider still shows "Good". Does that count?
It counts as what it is: a grade under the previous framework, given before November 2025. Providers keep their last grade until they are inspected again, and the new framework runs on a reduced timetable, so many will carry an old-style grade for some time. Ask when the provider expects inspection under the new framework and what its achievement rate is now. TESS Group is in this position: Good at its June 2025 inspection, not yet inspected under report cards.
Does a "needs attention" grade mean I should avoid the provider?
Not automatically. Read what the text under the grade says. A "needs attention" for participation and development with an "expected standard" for achievement tells you apprentices finish but the enrichment is thin. A "needs attention" for leadership with slow English and maths progress, as at AKR Growth Ventures in the first batch, is more serious for a young apprentice who needs those qualifications. The grade tells you where to look; the paragraph tells you whether it matters for your person.
Sources: FE Week, First batch of new-style Ofsted report cards released, 12 January 2026; FE Week, 'Exceptional' Ofsted result for BAE Systems, 5 August 2026; Ofsted, BAE Systems inspection report. Grade descriptions are Ofsted's; the reading order and interpretation are ours. TESS Group is an apprenticeship provider rated Good at its June 2025 inspection under the previous framework, has not yet been inspected under the report card framework, and has a commercial interest in employers choosing it.