MoD confirms limited impact of Ofsted changes on training

The Ministry of Defence has assessed that upcoming changes to Ofsted’s grading scale are unlikely to have a significant impact on Armed Forces training establishments, according to a parliamentary response issued on 3 April 2025.

Responding to a written question from Ben Obese-Jecty MP, Minister for Veterans Al Carns outlined how Ofsted currently inspects Armed Forces training under two separate regimes: one for apprenticeship programmes, and another for the care and welfare of personnel undergoing initial training.

“Ofsted undertake two separate and distinct inspection regimes of Armed Forces’ training provision,” said Carns. “Any changes to Ofsted’s grading scale will have no significant impact” on inspections of the Armed Forces Apprenticeship Programmes, which fall under the national Education Inspection Framework.

However, the second regime – focused on Care and Welfare in Initial Training – is inspected under a unique Ministry of Defence framework.

Carns confirmed that “the MoD and colleagues from Ofsted are working together during a period of consultation to determine whether all, or elements of, the new grading scale will apply to these inspections.”

The consultation comes amid broader reforms to inspection processes and grading language across the UK education and training sector, with Ofsted expected to move away from current descriptors such as “Outstanding” and “Requires Improvement.”

The implications of such changes for military training institutions remain under consideration.