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This document contains methodology and quality information relevant to Ofsted’s annual statistical first release of teacher development inspections and outcomes data.Ìý

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly on feandskillsdata@ofsted.gov.uk with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or through the .Ìý

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This statistical first release contains data sourced from all Ofsted inspections of initial teacher education (ITE) providers that are delivering the early career framework (ECF) and national professional qualifications (NPQ). It reports on the outcomes of ITE, ECF and NPQ inspections completed between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025. This release also includes the most recent inspection outcomes of all open age phases that have been inspected as at the end of that period.ÌýÌý

This report includes inspections and outcomes data for:Ìý

• all providers of programmes leading to qualified teacher status for maintained schools and academiesÌý

• all providers of programmes of further education teacher training validated by higher education institutionsÌý

• all providers of programmes leading to early years teacher statusÌý

• all providers delivering the ECFÌý

• all providers delivering NPQ coursesÌý

Official statistics only include information on published inspection reports. We specify the publication cut-off date in the official statistics publication.Ìý

Information on providers, including postcode, regional information and which age phases are active at each provider, is collected from providers annually.Ìý

ITEÌý

We inspect ITE providers according to section 18B of the Education Act 1994 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Several sections of the act relate to the inspection of ITE. The ITE inspection handbook contains more information.Ìý

The ITE inspection framework has been revised in 2025. The data in this publication refers to the previous inspection framework which was most recently revised on 1 September 2020. Each ITE provider can offer training for up to 4 different age ranges. These are called age phases. They cover:Ìý

• early yearsÌý

• primaryÌý

• secondaryÌý

• further educationÌý

Age phases are judged on a 4-point scale:Ìý

• outstandingÌý

• goodÌý

• requires improvementÌý

• inadequateÌý

If a provider has been inspected more than once, not all age phases may have been inspected each time. Statistics on most recent inspection judgements are based on the most recent judgement of each phase, not the most recent judgement of each provider.Ìý

From September 2020, we moved to a 1-stage inspection model, rather than the previous 2-stage model.Ìý

From June 2014 to September 2020, an age phase that had been judged as requires improvement or inadequate would have a 1-stage follow-up inspection in the summer term of the same academic year as its 2-stage inspection. If we did not see improvement at the second inspection of primary or secondary provision, the provider was usually subject to the withdrawal of its accreditation by the Department for Education (DfE).Ìý

ECF and NPQÌý

The ECF and NPQ inspection framework and handbook builds on the methodology used in the education inspection framework and the ITE framework.Ìý

This publication includes visits to providers of ECF and NPQ courses. These visits include lead provider monitoring visits and full inspections. Lead provider monitoring visits make a single judgement on whether the lead provider is taking effective action towards ensuring that the training is of a high standard. Full inspections have 3 separate judgements:Ìý

• overall effectivenessÌý

• the quality of professional development and trainingÌý

• leadership and managementÌý

These are judged on a 4-point scale:Ìý

• outstandingÌý

• goodÌý

• requires improvementÌý

• inadequateÌý

Applying the Code of Practice for StatisticsÌý

This section is broken down by the 3 core principles in the .Ìý

• trustworthinessÌý

• qualityÌý

• valueÌý

TrustworthinessÌý

This release does not include the inspection outcomes of maintained schools and academies, independent schools or early years providers. These are included in separate releases. See details of other releases. Ìý

Information on inspection outcomes is extracted from Ofsted’s administrative systems. While we aim to produce the highest-quality statistics, there are occasional differences between the data on the administrative system and the final inspection report. This is due, for example, to changes during the quality assurance process. We perform rigorous quality assurance checks, including checking a sample of entries, to ensure the inspection report matches the data on the administrative system. In the event that the data recorded on the system affects reporting, we will provide a note in the release. Ìý

See more information on the issues relating to the use of administrative data.Ìý

We publish revisions in line with Ofsted’s revisions policy for official statistics.  Ìý

We have reported on ITE inspections and inspection outcomes as official statistics since 2012 (covering the 2011/12 academic year).Ìý

In 2024, we incorporated ECF/NPQ inspections and inspection outcomes into these official statistics and changed the title from ‘ITE official statistics’ to ‘Teacher development official statistics’ to reflect this.Ìý

For ITE inspections, there have been a number of framework changes since the first release of statistics, and we have reflected these in the publications.ÌýÌý

For ITE inspections after September 2020, but prior to the 2025 revised framework, there were 2 key judgement areas: ‘The quality of education and training’ and ‘Leadership and management’.Ìý

When we have implemented ITE changes, such as releasing a new framework, we have alerted users through updates in the main findings document. When framework changes have made direct comparisons impossible, breaks in time series have been clearly added to tables and charts and explained in the text. When we have implemented methodological changes to improve the output, we have added guidance to footnotes and the main findings document for easy access.ÌýÌý

Where inspection outcomes of this release are concerned, and when statements are made about whether inspection outcomes have declined or improved, we are referring to the most recent relevant outcome.Ìý

When an ITE provider offering only primary and secondary training has a small number of trainees, we may inspect both phases simultaneously and produce a combined judgement on the primary and secondary training. This is different from what happens in larger providers, where we make judgements separately for primary and for secondary training. These inspections are marked as ‘primary and secondary’.Ìý

When we hold sensitive or personal data, the disclosure control processes we have in place ensure that this data is not published.ÌýÌý

All data releases follow Ofsted’s confidentiality and revisions policies.Ìý

QualityÌý

Information in this release has 5 distinct purposes:ÌýÌý

• to give trainees and prospective trainees an expert and independent assessment of how well an age phase is performing, and of the quality of teacher training offeredÌý

• to allow users to track movement in the sector and monitor the quality of provision available at a national and local levelÌýÌý

• to give an accurate picture of the provision, which influences policy decisions and helps to ensure that provision is available where it is most neededÌý

• to help identify good practice and target areas of weak performance; this informs the development of policy in the DfE to address issues and the implementation of strategies to mitigate themÌý

• within Ofsted, to contribute to inspection profiles, which inform inspection framework development and underpin policies to improve standardsÌý

Inspection acts in several ways to drive and support improvement in the sector. It:ÌýÌý

• raises expectations by setting the standards of performance and effectiveness expected of providersÌý

• provides challenge and the impetus to act where improvement is neededÌý

• clearly identifies strengths and weaknessesÌý

• recommends specific priorities for improvement for providers and, where appropriate, checks on and promotes subsequent progressÌý

• promotes rigour in the way that providers evaluate their own performance, thereby enhancing their capacity to improveÌý

• monitors the progress and performance of providers that are not yet good, providing challenge and support to the senior leaders and managers who are responsibleÌý

We publish in an accessible format on °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï. The information is publicly available and there are no restrictions on access to the published data. Each release includes outcomes from Ofsted inspections that we have subsequently published, as well as accurate numbers of age phases known to Ofsted. The data keeps users informed of the progress of the inspection framework and of changes in the sector.Ìý

Underlying data in an accessible format accompanies each release to allow users to perform their own analysis. Users may use and re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the .ÌýÌý

We currently publish data once a year and include details of inspections that have taken place and been published in the relevant period.ÌýÌý

We publish data at 9:30am on the date pre-announced in the publication schedule.ÌýÌý

You can also find information on any delay in publication on the publication schedule.ÌýÌý

The cut-off date for the inspection reports we include is 1 calendar month after the end of the reporting period. This allows time for the majority of inspections that have taken place within the reporting period to be published. The production stage for this release includes extracting and cleaning the data, drafting findings, quality assuring all outputs, and uploading the information onto °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï.Ìý

We announce publications on Ofsted’s social media channels. We give pre-release access in accordance with the .Ìý

We welcome feedback about this statistical release. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please contact us.Ìý

ValueÌý

There is no burden on respondents in relation to these statistics. This is because the data is a by-product of Ofsted’s inspection process. The only cost involved is for the internal resource needed to collate the release.Ìý

GlossaryÌý

Definitions of terms are within the statistical glossary.Ìý