Article 5: Personal Development a new Key Judgement in the EIF

This short article on the new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) aims to provide a flavour of what the Further Education & Skills Inspection Handbook (July 2019) says about the new key Judgement on Personal Development. The personal development criteria seem to me to be wholly student centred.
The Key Judgement of Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare (PDBW) has gone. PDBW has been teased out into two new Key Judgements, one around Behaviour & Attitudes and one focused on Personal Development. These two new key judgements support the more student-centred approach of the new EIF and the inspection process itself. 
I have shown a comparison of the changes to all the key judgement from the CIF to the EIF in table 1 below which may help to show the shift in direction of the new FE inspection process.

Ofsted say that Personal development as a key judgement “focuses on the most significant dimensions of the personal development of learners” (p55). It appears to be about how ‘the college’ helps each learner develop their  character, defined as “a set of positive personal traits, dispositions and virtues which inform their motivation and guides their conduct so that they can reflect wisely, learn eagerly, behave with integrity and cooperate consistently well with others” (p55).

The provision of unbiased effective careers programmes and contact with employers along with support for transition to next steps is also included in the PD key judgement. 

The assessment guidance for Personal development also looks at how college staff, the resources available and the infrastructure supporting the curriculum help individuals to build their confidence and resilience, preparing them for many aspects of their life, helping learners understand how to engage with society (P55). This Key Judgement also covers aspects like; British Values, democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law, mutual respect, tolerance, equality opportunities, inclusivity, physical health and healthy relationships. 

The EIF acknowledges that the impact of this work may not be seen until many years later. The inspection handbook goes on to say that “in this judgement inspectors will seek to evaluate the quality and intent of what a provider offers and will look to see what learners know but will not attempt to measure the impact of providers work on individual learners”.   

As you can see from table 1 below data is taking more of a back seat in shaping judgements, although progress, achievement and outcome data is still an important part of assessing the success of provision.   
Table 1: The difference in the Key Judgements between the old CIF (2017) and the new EIF (2019)
Details of all the key judgements can be found in the ‘Further Education and Skills Inspection Handbook’ July 2019. 

Anything in italics in the article is my own view or interpretation otherwise I have taken the information directly from the new Ofsted Further Education and Skills Inspection Handbook, published in July 2019, reference 190021.
So, what does the Key Judgement descriptor for personal development look like?

 “The judgement criteria on personal development says “The curriculum should support learners to develop their knowledge and skills beyond the purely academic, tutorial or vocational. This judgement evaluates the providers intent to provide for the personal development of learners, and the quality of the way in which it does this” P54.

GRADE DESCRIPTORS P 56-57
The main detail of the grade descriptors can be found in the section on Good (grade 2) – it appears you must meet the Good criteria and then meet additional criteria to be graded as Outstanding

Outstanding (grade1)

• The provider meets all the criteria for good in personal development securely and consistently
• Personal development is exceptional

In addition, the following apply;

• The provider consistently and extensively promotes the personal development of learners. The provider goes beyond the expected, so that, learners have access to a wide, rich set of experiences that teach them why it is important to contribute actively to society. Opportunities for learners to develop their talents and interests are of exceptional quality
• The provider ensures that participation in these activities is very high, particularly among those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and all benefit from these opportunities and experiences.

Good (grade2) inspectors will use a ‘best fit’ approach, relying on the professional judgement of the inspection team

• The curriculum extends beyond the academic/technical/vocational and provides for learners’ broader development, enabling them to develop and discover interests and talents
• The curriculum and the provider’s wider work supports learners to develop their character – including their resilience, confidence and interdependence and where relevant, help them know how to keep physically and mentally healthy
• The provider prepares learners for future success in education, employment or training by providing; unbiased information to all about potential next steps; high quality, up to date and locally relevant careers guidance; and opportunities for encounters with the world of work.
• The provider prepares learners for life in modern Britain by: teaching them how to protect themselves from radicalisation and extremist views; helping to equip them to be responsible, respectful, active citizens who contribute positively to society; developing their understanding of fundamental British values; developing their understanding and appreciation of diversity; celebrating what we have in common; and promoting respect for the different protected characteristics as defined in law.

Requires Improvement (grade3)

• Personal development is not yet good

    Inadequate (grade 4) Personal Development is likely to be inadequate if any one of the following
     applies                                                                                                        

• A significant minority of learners do not understand how and why to live healthy, positive lives
• Leaders and those responsible for governance, through their words, actions or influence, directly and/or indirectly, undermine or fail to promote equality of opportunity
• Leaders and those responsible for governance do not protect learners from radicalisation and extremist views when learners are vulnerable to these. Policy and practice are poor, which means that learners are at risk

In summary Key words from the Personal development Key Judgement:
 
Thrive, flourish in society, equality, support beyond the academic, technical or vocational, protection from extremist views and radicalisation, British Values, character building, positive personal traits, mutual respect, tolerance, confidence, resilience,  mentally healthy, physically healthy, engaging positively in society, quality & intent of provision, responsible and respectful, democracy, individual liberty, British vales, rule of law, meeting needs, motivation, learn eagerly, reflect, careers advice, experience and contact with employers, healthy relationships, visits to learning sessions and training sessions, work and work placements, extracurricular activities, debate and discussion learners have, 
inclusive environment for all learners irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation relationship status or pregnancy.

---