Quality Improvement Planning in Work-based Learning: Insights Report

2024-2026

Introduction

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) is committed to being the voice for equity and excellence for all learners by identifying and reporting on impactful practice and empowering improvement through enhanced professional dialogue with leaders and staff.

During 2024/25 and 2025/26, ETI was commissioned by the Department for the Economy (DfE) to pilot revised scrutiny arrangements for evaluating training provider organisations’ quality improvement planning (QIP) processes. The revised arrangements aim to provide organisations with greater flexibility in implementing their annual quality improvement processes, building on existing strengths while ensuring that the key principles of effective practice are applied consistently across all training provider organisations.

This insights report draws together key findings, examples of effective practice and next steps arising from ETI's scrutiny visits to a sample of ten training provider organisations participating in the pilot arrangements from 2024 to 2026.

Background information

Pilot arrangements and guidance

Quality improvement planning processes aim to ensure that organisations systematically use evidence to identify strengths and areas for development, implement targeted areas for action and sustain measurable improvements in learner outcomes and the overall quality of provision.

ETI’s Pilot arrangements and guidance for the Quality Improvement Planning Scrutiny Visits for training provider organisations sets out ten guiding principles that underpin an effective quality improvement planning process. These guiding principles aim to provide organisations with clear, shared and practical guidance to underpin the purpose and key objectives of the quality improvement planning process. The principles are designed to empower a culture of critical reflection, well-targeted professional staff development, continuous improvement in the quality of provision and improved outcomes within individual organisations and across the wider network of training provider organisations. The principles, as set out in Appendix 1, are central to ETI’s evaluation of the effectiveness of an organisation’s quality improvement planning process.

Evidence base

The findings in this report are informed by:

discussions with senior leaders, managers and staff;
discussions with learners, employers and other stakeholders;
observations of learning and teaching;
reviews of self-evaluation reports;
reviews of quality improvement plans and associated documentation;
reviews of governance and quality assurance arrangements; and
analysis of quantitative performance information and other supporting evidence.

Key findings

Quality improvement planning is mostly well aligned to setting and reviewing strategic priorities, providing a strong foundation for continuous improvement

Across all of the organisations visited, quality improvement planning procedures and systems are in place. These are mostly well established and are contributing positively to improvements in the quality of provision and learner outcomes.

In the most effective practice, quality improvement planning informs the setting and review of organisational priorities, with a strong focus on learner success, employability and inclusion, aligned to the Department’s economic priorities and sectoral needs. Strategic priorities, informed by self-evaluation and quality improvement planning processes, guide curriculum development, investment decisions and the strengthening of learner pathways and progression opportunities.

Quality improvement planning builds effectively on previous improvement activity and remains responsive to emerging needs

Quality improvement planning builds systematically on the outcomes of previous planning cycles and is aligned closely to longer-term organisational priorities. This supports leaders and staff in maintaining a sustained focus on improvement while responding appropriately to emerging needs and challenges.

Across most organisations, course teams’ self-evaluation informs whole-organisation priorities effectively and reflects a culture of shared ownership and collective responsibility for improvement.

In the most effective practice, learning from previous planning cycles informs future priorities and improvement actions, both at organisational and programme level.

Self-evaluation processes are mostly effective, although evaluative rigour remains variable at programme level

Self-evaluation is mostly successful; it is informed by a broad range of evidence, including quantitative performance data, learner and stakeholder feedback, observations of learning and teaching, learner focus groups and reviews of learners’ work. This enables organisations to identify strengths and areas for development and supports a well-informed and evaluative understanding of performance.

Where self-evaluation is most impactful, evidence from a range of sources is considered and used to inform priorities for improvement. The most effective practice draws on first-hand evidence to support well-informed judgements about the quality of provision and learners’ outcomes.

In a significant minority of organisations, further development is required to strengthen the evaluative rigour and precision of self-evaluation, particularly at programme level. While a range of evidence is considered, evaluation does not always provide sufficiently precise insight into areas requiring improvement.

The use of stakeholder feedback is mostly effective, although practice varies across organisations

Across all of the organisations, systems are in place to capture the views of learners, staff and stakeholders as part of the quality improvement planning process.

Most organisations use a range of learner surveys and focus groups conducted at key points, including induction, mid-programme and completion, enabling organisations to gain insight into learners' experiences, support and wellbeing. In most organisations, these arrangements are complemented effectively by structured learner forums, councils or digital feedback mechanisms which support learner participation and inform improvement planning.

Staff views are captured consistently through team meetings, supervision and appraisal processes. In the most impactful practice, staff feedback informs professional learning priorities, organisational structures and approaches to learner support.

Stakeholder and employer views are gathered through placement reviews, employer meetings, partnership forums and sector-based engagement activities. Where used most effectively, stakeholder feedback contributes to programme review and informs improvements to programme delivery and communication.

In a minority of organisations, feedback systems require further development to ensure that stakeholder views are gathered more consistently, including through anonymous mechanisms where appropriate, and are used more effectively to inform programme level planning and evaluation.

Quantitative data is used routinely at organisational level to inform improvement planning, although at programme level this remains too variable

Across all the organisations, quantitative data relating to recruitment, retention, achievement and progression is used routinely to inform priorities for improvement.

In the most effective practice, data analysis extends beyond monitoring requirements and informs strategic investment and resource allocation, including decisions related to curriculum development, learning environments and targeted learner support. The use of multi-year trend analysis to identify underperformance in specific programmes and the setting of clearly measurable improvement targets linked to retention or progression is another example of further impactful practice.

Quantitative data, when used well, is triangulated with qualitative evidence, including learner and stakeholder feedback, to strengthen evaluative insight. In the most effective practice, this analysis is strengthened further through consideration of other sources of evidence including observations of learning and teaching, learner focus groups and reviews of learners' work, providing a more comprehensive understanding of performance.

In a significant minority of organisations, further development is required to strengthen the evaluative use of data at programme level. Although performance data is reviewed regularly, its use in informing programme level evaluation and improvement planning remains too variable.

Improvement action planning is established across most organisations, although the evaluation of impact remains underdeveloped

Most of the organisations have established quality improvement planning processes which translate identified priorities into improvement actions at organisational and programme level.

In the most effective practice, improvement actions are informed by self-evaluation findings and aligned clearly to organisational priorities. Leaders and staff use improvement planning processes to focus activity on identified areas for development and to support improvements in the quality of provision and learners’ outcomes.

Where quality improvement planning is strongest, improvement actions are supported by clearly defined targets and success criteria which enable progress to be monitored and reviewed over time.

In a significant minority of organisations, targets and success criteria are not always sufficiently measurable or well aligned to programme level priorities. As a result, organisations are not always able to demonstrate clearly the impact of improvement actions over time and evaluate fully their effect on teaching, learning and learner outcomes.

Monitoring and evaluation activities contribute positively to quality improvement planning and reporting

Across most of the organisations, monitoring activities are used to support quality improvement planning and target improvements in teaching, learning and assessment.

Monitoring activities, including lesson observations, reviews of assessment practice and the tracking of learner progress, inform self-evaluation and targeted improvement actions. In the more effective practice, evidence is used purposefully to identify barriers to learning and implement interventions, particularly for learners with additional support needs. This contributes to improvements in participation, skill development and progression.

Improvement actions are monitored regularly and reviewed through established governance and quality assurance arrangements, supporting sustained and evidence-based improvement over time. Where monitoring processes are most effective, leaders and staff draw on evidence from a range of sources to review progress holistically, evaluate the impact of actions taken and identify further priorities for improvement.

In a small number of organisations, monitoring activities are not yet used, or used well enough, to improve teaching quality, learner engagement and learner outcomes. Evidence is not always used consistently at programme level to evaluate the impact of targeted improvement actions.

Staff professional learning is increasingly informed by self‑evaluation findings

Staff professional learning is prioritised across all organisations as a core component of the quality improvement planning process and demonstrates a commitment to building staff capacity and sustaining improvement.

In most of the organisations, staff professional learning is planned purposefully and focuses on key areas arising from self-evaluation, including learning and teaching strategies, learner support, assessment practice, digital skills and wellbeing. In effective practice, leaders use structured professional learning plans, skills audits and engagement with external professional bodies to ensure that staff development remains current, relevant and responsive to identified needs.

Opportunities for collaboration, peer learning and professional reflection are well embedded and contribute positively to shared ownership of improvement and the development of a positive professional learning culture. In the most effective practice, professional learning priorities are informed by self-evaluation findings and aligned closely to organisational improvement priorities.

Although staff professional learning is planned well and widely accessed, organisations do not always evaluate clearly which approaches are having the greatest impact on teaching, learning and learner outcomes. Evaluating this aspect of professional learning more systematically will help organisations understand the nature of what they are doing, why they are doing it and whether it is improving the quality of provision and/or outcomes for learners.

Quality improvement planning supports the ongoing review of safeguarding and wellbeing arrangements

Across all organisations, health, wellbeing and keeping safe are considered routinely within quality improvement planning processes.

Self-evaluation and improvement planning processes include consideration of safeguarding and wellbeing arrangements, with responsibilities clearly defined and understood across organisations. In the most effective practice, safeguarding and wellbeing are integrated appropriately within quality improvement planning and are reviewed regularly as part of wider self-evaluation activities.

Across organisations, improvement planning includes actions related to learner wellbeing, mental health awareness, learner support services and targeted interventions for vulnerable learners. Wellbeing initiatives also extend to staff, including access to training, awareness programmes and structured support arrangements.

The strongest examples demonstrate how self-evaluation findings are used to inform improvement planning and support the ongoing review and refinement of safeguarding and wellbeing arrangements over time.

Quality improvement planning is mostly contributing positively to learners' experiences and outcomes

Across most of the organisations, the quality improvement process is contributing positively to improvements in the quality of provision and outcomes for learners.

Examples identified during the scrutiny visits demonstrate improvements to programme delivery, learner support arrangements, progression opportunities and enrichment activities. Learner feedback has also contributed to enhancements in learning environments and wider support provision.

In the most effective practice, quality improvement planning supports improvement at organisational and programme level, resulting in a more responsive provision and progression opportunities for learners.

Next steps

The scrutiny visits indicate that quality improvement planning processes are established across participating organisations and are contributing positively to improvements in the quality of provision and learners’ outcomes. Strengths were evident in the alignment of quality improvement planning with organisational priorities, the use of evidence to inform decision-making and the commitment to continuous improvement demonstrated across participating organisations.

The key actions to support further development include:

strengthening evaluative practice at programme level to ensure that self‑evaluation moves beyond describing performance to informing precise improvement priorities and actions;
developing more systematic approaches to gathering and using stakeholder feedback in a minority of organisations to inform programme level self‑evaluation, improvement planning and review;
improving the use of measurable targets, success criteria and performance data to support evaluation of progress and impact of action plans; and
strengthening the evaluation of impact, including the impact of professional learning and improvement actions on teaching, learning, learner engagement and learner outcomes.

Overall, the two-year pilot demonstrates that the revised scrutiny arrangements are supporting organisations to maintain a focus on continuous improvement. Further strengthening of evaluative practice at programme level; assessment of impact; and the use of first-hand evidence will help to enhance the consistency and effectiveness of quality improvement planning processes across the sector.

Appendix 1: Guiding principles

The guiding principles include:

the quality improvement planning process fosters an enabling culture of critical self-reflection and impactful professional learning and development;
the quality improvement planning process is integral to informing, setting and achieving an organisation’s vision, in line with the DfE’s economic vision and associated strategic priorities;
well-defined quality monitoring, evaluation and reporting structures, including lines of responsibility at all levels, are in place to support effective quality improvement planning processes;
the quality improvement planning process is responsive and progressive, builds on existing key strengths and prioritises and effects improvement, where required;
the self-evaluation processes are robust, reliable and evidence-based, and used judiciously to affirm key strengths in an organisation’s education and training provision and identify areas where action is necessary to effect improvement;
the views of learners, staff and other key stakeholders are taken account of within the quality improvement planning process;
reliable quantitative data is used robustly to report on key performance measures, and inform improvement action planning and evaluation of its impact on the quality of the organisation’s education and training provision;
robust, well-targeted improvement action planning, with measurable targets which are monitored and evaluated systematically, underpin the quality improvement process;
the quality improvement process empowers improvement at and across all levels within the organisation, and beyond, to ensure that all learners are provided with: a well-designed, fit-for-purpose curriculum; high-quality learning experiences; and, are well-supported to thrive, achieve and progress; and
learner and staff health, wellbeing and safety, including the arrangements for child protection and/or adult safeguarding, and wider safeguarding, are central to and explicit within an organisation’s quality improvement process.

Appendix 2: Quantitative Terms

In this report, proportions may be described as percentages, common fractions and in more general quantitative terms. Where more general terms are used, they should be interpreted as follows:

Almost/nearly all - more than 90%

Most - 75% - 90%

A majority - 50% - 74%

A significant minority - 30% - 49%

A minority - 10% - 29%

Very few/a small number - less than 10%