Ofsted publishes annual report on Armed Forces initial training

Ofsted has today published its 18th annual report on the effectiveness of care, welfare and training arrangements for recruits, trainees and officer cadets in the Armed Forces.

Inspectors visited 10 regular training establishments at the request of the Ministry of Defence. They also reviewed training in the University Royal Naval Units (URNUs), visiting 6 university units and headquarters staff at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth as part of a single, graded inspection.

Read the full report: Welfare and duty of care in Armed Forces initial training 2025 to 2026

This year's report finds 4 establishments were judged as outstanding, 6 were graded as good and 1 was judged overall as requires improvement. No establishments were judged inadequate.

Overall training continues to be good and, across all the establishments visited, there is a clear commitment from commanding officers and teams to provide high-quality care and welfare support. However, as reported previously, poor infrastructure and unsuitable kit remain a problem across too many of the establishments inspected.

The inspections took place from October 2025 to April 2026.