Following the publication of our position statement UVAC has contacted the National Audit Office (NAO) asking them to review Ofsted’s decision to inspect Apprenticeship provision at level 4 and 5 delivered by HEIs which is already subject to OfS regulation.  We have made the point that Ofsted has decided to inspect provision subject to regulation by another Government regulator and asked whether such duplication is appropriate and represents a good use of public resources.

We have also written to Sam Gyimah MP, joint Minister for Higher Education at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education, outlining our concerns and asking for the Ofsted decision to be reviewed. We have proposed:

“For level 4 and 5 Apprenticeship provision the solution to quality assurance appears simple – organisations that have met the demanding criteria of the OfS Register should be subject to OfS regulation only.  Organisations not on the OfS Register should be subject to Ofsted Inspection.”

For a discussion or further information please contact [email protected]