The education landscape is changing fast. The new Ofsted inspection framework, in place from November 2025 requires a forensic approach to data to demonstrate quality, inclusion, and leadership across apprenticeships, adult education, and work-based learning. One of the key goals is to ensure that no learner is left behind. With this clear priority and the move from ‘best fit’ to ‘secure fit’, providers face more rigorous requirements for auditable evidence, learner support, and joined-up oversight than ever before.

Why providers need more than just compliance

Aptem is designed for providers who want to move beyond basic compliance and achieve true excellence. Our goal is to support providers to deliver at their best every day, not just inspection day, because facing an inspection shouldn’t mean a scramble for paperwork or sleepless nights stitching together data from multiple platforms. 

From the classroom to the boardroom: clarity and cohesion

Aptem Apprentice is an end-to-end solution that seamlessly connects teaching, learning, support, and reporting. Aligned with Ofsted’s evolving framework, the platform empowers providers to:

• Stay inspection-ready every day: evidence trails are built naturally as you work – so the story of quality, intent, and impact is always accessible.
• Spot and act on risks early: Aptem’s dashboards and real-time tracking ensure no learner – and no issue – slips through the cracks.
• Demonstrate a culture of inclusion: make individual needs, adjustments, and progress crystal clear, both in delivery and to external reviewers.

Enabling excellence: how your system should work for you

• Evidence without effort: records of support, curriculum planning, progression and achievement happen organically as teams do their jobs – not as an afterthought for inspection.
• Leadership at your fingertips: visual oversight tools give decision-makers instant access to the data that drives improvement and meets governance expectations.
• Learner journeys as unique as your learners: every plan, review, and intervention is flexible to the curriculum and to individual starting points, additional learning support requirements, and changing circumstances.
• Full visibility at every stage: track progress in real time across the entire programme – including functional skills, stretch and challenge activities, and enrichment, so nothing is overlooked.
• Demonstrable teaching quality: tools like skills radar, checkpoint objective progress monitoring and consistent feedback within marking aid all help to demonstrate learner progress and tutor impact, aligned to Ofsted’s key priorities.

Using Aptem to deliver on Ofsted priorities

Aptem helps to create a robust digital evidence chain, from intent to implementation and impact, that aligns with Ofsted’s focus on quality, inclusion and learner experience. The following examples share how Aptem features work together to help you deliver and document support for learners throughout their journey.

Safeguarding and inclusion

A provider identifies a learner with multiple inclusion needs. Aptem Assess, skills radar and inclusion markers build a detailed, trackable profile, while review actions track reasonable adjustments. Well-documented reviews and actions also allow ongoing evaluation of support. During inspection, leaders can demonstrate clear processes for early identification, targeted support and review.

Leadership and governance

Dashboards for tutors, administrators and leaders highlight caseloads, engagement issues and compliance risks. The data available surfaces workload pressures, progress risks and emerging trends. Leaders can use this information to demonstrate to inspectors how decisions are informed by robust data and how risks are monitored at every organisational level.

Curriculum, teaching and training

Tutors use the learning plan to outline sequencing and curriculum intent. As delivery progresses, they record reviews, adapt actions and use checkpoint to assess understanding. Marking aid helps ensure feedback is consistent, accessible and sensitive to individual needs. Throughout, the process is clearly documented and help to demonstrate how learning builds over time, something Ofsted inspectors increasingly scrutinise.

Achievement

By combining registration and certification information with skills radar data, providers can track both qualification outcomes and broader skills development. This accountability reporting demonstrates progress towards KSBs and enables rich conversation during inspection about cohort-level performance and continuous improvement.

Participation and personal development

Providers can track engagement in enrichment activities and monitor not just attendance, but the reasons behind absences and disengagement, building a richer view for inspection and internal improvement. Capturing development in wider learning areas can help teams demonstrate planned and tracked personal development, EDI engagement and enrichment activity.

One solution, lasting confidence

Aptem brings together structured workflows, integrated quality mechanisms and a clear, auditable evidence trail that align closely with Ofsted’s expectations for inclusion, curriculum quality, leadership oversight and learner progress. By drawing on the key features and data points within the solution, providers can confidently evidence intent, implementation and impact across all inspection judgement areas.

With inspection requirements intensifying, it’s more important than ever for providers to be in control, not on the back foot. Aptem gives your organisation the tools to showcase not just compliance, but true educational excellence – backed by robust evidence and real results for all learners.

• New to Aptem? Discover how our system can boost inspection confidence – book a demo today.
• Already using Aptem? Visit our Help Centre to learn how to make the most of Aptem for delivering and evidencing quality provision.