Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what allowance his Department makes for the proportion of mature, disadvantage and harder to reach students any college has on its student rolls when assessing the adequacy of the college's student attendance rates.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has no role in assessing the adequacy of student attendance rates in further education (FE) colleges.

The Government’s school and college inspection body, Ofsted, in their judgement on a college’s outcome from learners may comment on low attendance and punctuality as an area for improvement and will look at how a college’s achievement gaps are narrowing between different groups of learners.

Where Ofsted rate a college inadequate, BIS will take intervention action.