How to ensure your online learning is Ofsted ready

With more and more colleges and training providers turning to online learning as a way of delivering their training, what are the key points to think about from an Ofsted perspective.

This article looks only at online learning as defined as the learning that learners do themselves in their own time, or in time allocated at work, through self-study of online modules or units.

Obviously, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the amount of online training delivered has increased dramatically. In addition to the above, it has also included online lessons delivered to individuals or small groups of learners by tutors, tutorials carried out online and work assessed remotely, to name just a few examples. Of course, the truth is that a lot of providers have already been using online learning successfully for a long time to deliver distance learning provision to part-time students, or as part of a blended model approach to the delivery of off-the-job training for apprentices.

With the likelihood of many providers continuing with their increased use of online learning from September 2020 as some form of normality hopefully returns, they will need to think about what implications that decision will have for their learners, staff and any possible Ofsted inspection. I think it would be fair to say that Ofsted inspectors have not always paid a great deal of attention to online learning on inspections, particularly of colleges. It has been somewhat hidden under the surface and something of a 'poor relation' when competing for inspectors' attention against the opportunity to observe learning in more traditional classroom settings. However, I think we can safely assume they will now be much more tuned into it as a vehicle for learning than perhaps was the case in the past. Especially as Ofsted has already signalled its intentions to the sector by carrying out a recent review of online learning, yet to be published and well worth looking out for.

So, what do you need to bear in mind from an Ofsted perspective when developing your online learning? What sorts of questions will inspectors ask you and what lines of enquiry will they follow?

First of all, and it goes without saying really, they may not be able to gather what I would call 'primary evidence' of your online learning in terms of learners' self-study. In other words, they are unlikely to be able to observe it taking place directly during an inspection. This means they have to rely on 'secondary evidence' to make their judgements, such as talking to learners and employers about its effectiveness and impact, and evaluating the online learning modules themselves. You therefore need to think about being able to answer the following:

• What has led you to deliver your learning, or some of it, online? And how does it blend with the other teaching and assessment methods you use?

This is where questions about the intent of you using online learning will belong. And is definitely not where you say it's because it is more cost effective to do so, even if everyone knows that might be the case! You might like to talk about the advantages of self-study, such as the increased flexibility it gives learners to learn at a pace that suits them and at a time which fits around their work patterns. Or the choices they can make about the depth and complexity of their learning vis a vis what they already know about a particular topic in a module. And if you also deliver the learning using other methods, such as face-to-face workshops once a month, what is the rationale for doing so and how does it all tie in together to form a seamless learning experience for your learners?

• How have you decided on the content of your online learning and the sequencing of the delivery?

The content of the modules will, of course, be dictated to some extent by the stipulations of the qualification the learner is studying for. For example, the knowledge, skills and behaviours criteria within an apprenticeship standard. However, Ofsted inspectors are looking for more than just this in order for you to be able to justify the decisions you have made about the content and sequencing of the curriculum the desired outcomes. How have the desired outcomes for your learners such as their potential career routes influenced the content? Do you offer different pathways or specialisms? How does your provision reflect local, sector or specific employer needs? Have you involved employers at all in your curriculum design, or ever consulted them? How do the units or modules link together and build learning? And why do you deliver them in a particular sequence?

• Does it enthuse, motivate and excite the learners?

Inspectors will ask learners questions about all of the above, and more. And whether they are they enjoying their learning online? It will be crucial at any inspection that the learners can talk positively about their online learning experience. Do they find it enthuses and motivates them? How can learners find out more about a particular topic if they want to? Do learners know where to access the sum total of all the resources you have made available to them? What do they think of the quality and consistency of the learning modules? What advantages does online learning bring for them vis a vis their job role? Is it their preferred style of learning, and what if it isn't?

• What new knowledge, and perhaps skills, do the learners gain?

This is, of course, key and brings into focus the need to only recruit learners who are going to make substantial gains in their knowledge through online learning, as well as any other types of off-the-job training. Can your learners elicit exactly what they have learned through studying online, are they able to retain that knowledge, and do they understand the relevance of their learning to the industry they are employed in and to their current or future job roles? How has their online learning helped them in their job role, have they gained generic or new sector-specific English and mathematics skills that are useful in the workplace and how have they changed as people, and as employees? Do they have more self-confidence, has their teamworking and people management improved, have they developed more participative or consultative management styles? And so on...

• How do the learners and you check learning has taken place?

?You need to ensure your online learning contains mechanisms whereby both the learners and you can check that learners have understood key theories, facts and concepts. And that both parties know what they can do if a learner is struggling with a particular topic or module. It is important to talk to learners honestly about their experiences of learning for each module they study in order to adapt and improve them further for future learners.

• What support mechanisms are there for your learners?

Linked to the above point, what support can learners access if they are struggling with any aspect of their online learning? They may need some study skills support to help them acclimatise to online learning and to understand how best to use it as a learning tool. Or help through activities with their social skills in the absence of any face-to-face interactions. You might provide them with digital handouts that they can print out to support their learning. Learners for whom English is not their main language might need assistance in understanding some of the instructions, technical language and terms. And what about any technical IT-related issues they are having? You might like to create online buddies for learners - those of their peers who are particularly proficient at accessing and using online learning who can, for example, form buddy groups for those who are less confident. Weekly check ins can be useful with, and valuable for, vulnerable and high needs learners. Finally, are you sure there is equality of access for learners to your online learning both when they are at work, if that is when they are allocated their off-the-job learning time, and at home?

• How do you stretch and challenge more able/highly motivated learners?

One of the key considerations is how you use the outcomes of your initial assessment of learners' prior knowledge and skills to determine your training plan for their online learning. One of the biggest complaints I receive from learners when interviewing them is having to undertake theory learning on topics they already know and understand; and/or that the learning in the online modules is too simplistic. So you need to decide your strategy here. Can they skip those units and advance their progress more quickly as a result, or can they study more challenging topics within each of the modules by you including different levels of learning?

• How do you monitor learners' progress with their online learning?

Finally, how are you tracking your learners' progress with their online learning? And this shouldn't be just about monitoring whether they have completed certain modules or not, and who might be falling behind, but also about checking the development of their knowledge and skills through discussions with the learners at progress reviews. It is therefore important that those members of staff carrying out reviews are fully conversant with the progress learners are making in their off-the-job training, including any online learning.