Scrapping Ofsted’s Single Inspection Grades: Implications for Student Sponsors

The Government’s decision on 2 September 2024 to scrap single headline Ofsted judgments with immediate effect has been warmly welcomed by schools. However, independent schools who are licensed by the Home Office to sponsor international students should be aware that adverse findings by Ofsted could still result in Home Office enforcement action against a school’s sponsor licence. Such enforcement action can include restrictions on a school sponsoring new international students, removal from the register of student sponsors and even licence revocation.

Education providers wishing to obtain a student sponsor licence to sponsor and enrol non-UK national students must demonstrate that it meets acceptable educational quality standards. Additionally, student sponsors are also required to maintain their educational oversight to retain their student sponsor licence, once granted. Ofsted (along with the Independent Schools Inspectorate) is one of the Home Office approved educational oversight bodies for independent schools.

Ofsted as an Educational Oversight Body

The Home Office Sponsor Guidance sets out the rating that a student sponsor must achieve - and maintain - when inspected or reviewed by its educational oversight body. Current Home Office guidance reflects Ofsted’s single word ratings. This means that where Ofsted is the educational oversight body for an independent school, the Ofsted rating that must be achieved (and maintained) for student sponsor licence purposes is currently 'Good' or 'Outstanding'. For independent schools inspected and reviewed by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the rating that must be achieved and maintained is ‘Met’.

Effects of Ofsted ratings on a sponsor licence

Under current sponsor guidance, a licensed student sponsor must notify the Home Office within 20 working days if the required rating for meeting the Educational Oversight requirement has not been maintained in an inspection. Failure to do so is considered a breach of a sponsor’s reporting duties. Significantly too, educational oversight bodies also directly notify the Home Office of the outcome of an inspection so the Home Office can take the necessary enforcement action.

The consequences of a downgraded Ofsted rating below ‘Good’ are serious for a student sponsor and its’ current and prospective international students. As an initial response, the Home Office will set the education provider’s Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) allocation to zero. This means that, whilst a licensed sponsor can continue to sponsor current international sponsored students, a school cannot sponsor any new students. These CAS restrictions remain in place until the independent school receives a satisfactory report following a further visit, or until such time as the educational oversight body or the Department for Education confirms in writing that any issues identified have been addressed and that the school has been returned to the normal inspection cycle. This is likely to take a number of months.

Serious breaches of Student sponsor duties

Where the Home Office deems a more serious breach of sponsor duties has taken place, Home Office enforcement action can go beyond CAS restrictions. The Home Office could decide to remove the school from the register of student sponsors and in a worst case scenario, revoke its licence – meaning that all sponsored students would need to leave the UK within 60 days or find a new student sponsor. Tougher Home Office compliance action is more likely where, for instance, an educational oversight body (such as Ofsted) makes serious adverse findings in relation to child safeguarding – which is a key area of concern for the Home Office as it relates to child trafficking and international abduction.

It remains to be seen how the Home Office will amend the student sponsor guidance to reflect the recent scrapping of the single headline Ofsted grades following a school inspection or review. The introduction of new ‘School Report Cards’ is not expected until September 2025 so interim guidance will be needed. However, the need for education providers to maintain acceptable educational standards is a cornerstone of the student sponsorship system. Given the Home Office’s reliance on educational oversight bodies to make this assessment, removing the reductive single grade Ofsted judgments will not also remove the likelihood of Home Office enforcement action against a licensed student sponsor where adverse findings are made.

For further information on how we can support you with to the changes in the UK Immigration Rules and how they may impact your international students and student sponsorship processes, please contact a member of the Immigration team or complete an enquiry form, below.