Consultation Hub

We asked for views on amending regulations in relation to: 

• Ofsted’s minimum frequency of inspections of children’s homes; and
• The minimum frequency of inspections for children’s social care provision more generally from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022

The majority of respondents agreed with our proposal to amend the minimum frequency of Ofsted inspections for Children’s homes, so that minimum inspection frequencies are based on the judgement from the given current inspection year and not from the judgement from the previous inspection year. Most considered that the current safeguards in place were sufficient, specifically highlighting the importance of intelligence gathered through the monthly visits by an independent person.

Most respondents also agreed that we should amend the minimum frequency of Ofsted inspections for children’s social care more generally, so that Ofsted should comply with the minimum frequency of inspections ‘so far as reasonably practicable’ for the period 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The results of the consultation have been set out in a report on the gov.uk website. Based on these results, the department has decided to amend Ofsted inspection frequencies for children’s care homes and to enable Ofsted to comply with minimum inspection frequencies ‘so far as reasonably practicable’ for the period 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

We sought views on proposals to attach conditions to the payment of the Local Authority School Improvement Monitoring and Brokering grant in order to ensure that it is contributing, all across England, to the delivery of urgent school improvement priorities.

Broadly, respondents were supportive of our proposals, or indicated that the proposed conditions would not have a significant impact on local authorities, schools and pupils.

After careful consideration of the responses, we decided to proceed with our proposals to attach conditions to the grant. In light of queries raised by respondents, we have ensured that the grant terms and conditions allow local authorities flexibility in how they carry out their school improvement functions whilst prioritising educational recovery; we have provided an indication of the types of activity that a local authority should undertake in order to demonstrate compliance with the grant conditions; and we have clearly set out the process by which the department will work with local authorities to secure compliance where there are concerns.

We asked for views about introducing a new international teaching qualification called iQTS based on English standards and training methods, accessible in a range of international markets. The consultation set out a proposed blueprint for the qualification and asked for views on the proposed framework and market potential.

Responses to the consultation were very positive and respondents overwhelmingly agreed with the vast majority of proposals and the overarching approach to align iQTS closely with English ITT. Responses evidenced clear demand both in terms of ITT providers who expressed an interest in being involved in delivering iQTS, and the international sector in highlighting the demand for a UK Government-backed qualification.

On the basis of responses to the consultation, the Department for Education will create a new international teaching qualification called International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS), beginning with a small pilot before moving to full roll-out. The public response summarises our findings and outlines our next steps.