Initial teacher education (ITE) providers will be judged across five evaluation areas using a five-grade system once Ofsted inspections resume in January under its new framework. Ofsted’s toolkit says they will be graded “urgent improvement” – the lowest grade – under the “curriculum, teaching and training” evaluation area if a “lack of critical engagement with high-quality, relevant research means trainees’ use of discredited research is not tackled effectively”. But providers wonder how Ofsted will decide what is “discredited” or “high-quality”. “What no provider wants to see are arbitrary or subjective judgments influencing an inspection process.”But Ofsted would not provide Schools Week any examples of ‘discredited’ research. “At Ofsted, we do not define what discredited research is or could include,” said a spokesperson.