Help and support for colleges

Support available to the further education sector

Government is committed to ensuring the further education sector is supported to achieve continuous improvement and improved outcomes for learners, and that should be available to all colleges and designated institutions, regardless of where they are on their improvement journey. It can mean helping good providers to become great providers, encouraging our strongest providers to share their expertise more with others through peer leadership, and sometimes offering more intensive and targeted support where that is needed.

This page brings together the existing support available from the the FE Commissioner, Commissioner, the Department for Education (DfE) and our delivery partners. The summary of support provided here includes support that is available to any college or designated institution that seeks it, support that is in its early development and will be made more widely available to all over time, and some support that is available through application on a competitive basis.

All types of support can be discussed and considered through Annual Strategic Conversations, an important and ongoing connection to your local further education team at at DfE, or at any time through informal discussions with the the FE Commissioner Commissioner and their team.

While this summary is focused on government-funded support, we do acknowledge the wide range of market-led support also available. The support here should be seen as complementary to that.

Active Support available from the the FE Commissioner Commissioner

Informal, supportive conversation with the the FE Commissioner Commissioner team

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

Support from the The FE Commissioner Commissioner and their team is not limited just to colleges or designated institutions in intervention. The FE Commissioner and their team of deputies and advisers have a wealth of further education practitioner experience and are available to support continuous improvement at all stages.

Any college that would like to request an informal discussion with the the FE Commissioner Commissioner or their team to explore what further Active Support might be available may do so at any time. These conversations will be advisory in nature and would form a good starting point for any reflection on further support a college or designated institution might find helpful.

Informal, supportive conversations can be requested by emailing fe.commissioner@education.gov.ukfec.operations@education.gov.uk.

TailoredHealth Activechecks

Available Supportto all colleges and designated institutions.

A health check provides the college with a free review of its operations. It usually consists of a 2-day visit to the college by a small team from the FE Commissioner, based on a mutually agreed plan. At the end of the visit the FEC team will feedback to the college about what they have discovered. The college can then decide what further action is needed, and whether to request further help and support from the FEC.

Further education leadership mentoring programme

Available to chief executives, principals, finance directors and senior leaders and managers in colleges and designated institutions.

The mentoring programme supports existing and aspiring leaders to develop and progress in their careers and helps create a more diverse talent pipeline for future principals, CEOs, and financial officers.

FE leadership mentoring programme has more information on how to apply and request a mentor.

Curriculum efficiency and financial sustainability support

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

Curriculum efficiency and financial sustainability support (CEFSS) is a tailored package designed to flexibly meet the requirements of all types of colleges, rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’. The aim of CEFSS is to make a positive difference to colleges that may require help with costed curriculum and financial planning, and to raise awareness of effective practice that they can use and could be shared within the sector. Any suggested actions given through the help and support are advisory and it is up to the individual college to decide whether to implement any of the advice through their senior leadership team and board of governors.

A guide to effective practice in curriculum planning - an exploration of the principal stages involved in effective curriculum planning - has been published on GOV.UK: Effective practice in curriculum planning - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Further information on CEFSS .

CEFSS can be accessed throughout the year by a direct request from a college to a member of the FE Commissioner or DfE territorial teams, or by contacting the FE Commissioner team to request more information. Email fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Compare your curriculum efficiency

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

The FE Commissioner and ESFA have developed a spreadsheet for comparing key financial data from college’s latest financial returns, allowing each college to compare their own data to that of other colleges. Comparisons can be made to diverse types of colleges using the in-built filters. This tool is available on View your education data (VYED) website.

Tailored Active Support from the FE Commissioner team

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

Tailored support can include help to understand and address specific issues or challenges and to improve what is already working well in a college.

A key element of tailored support will be to signpost, promote and share examples of effective practices from the further education (FE) sector that we may have identified - for example, through the FE Commissioner team, territorial teamsteams, and annual strategic conversations.

Included within tailored support is the option for a health check, which has replaced the diagnostic assessment and has been moved, based on feedback from the FE college sector, to lighter-touch support from the FE Commissioner.

Further information on tailored support is available..

Tailored Activesupport Support is available on request by contacting fe.commissioner@education.gov.ukfec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Active Support from National Leaders of Further Education

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

National Leaders of Further Education (NLFEs) are serving college senior leaders who have a strong track record of delivering improvement, both at their own colleges and in working with others. They provide peer-led mentoring and support to colleges.

Further information and a list of current current NLFEs are available.

Colleges seeking support from an an NLFE should should email fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Active Support from National Leaders of Governance for further education

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

National Leaders of Governance (NLGs) are experienced college governors and governance professionals with a strong record of supporting college improvement. They provide peer-led mentoring and improvement support to governing boards.

Further information and a list of current current NLGs are available..

Governing bodies seeking support from an an NLG should should email fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

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Support available from from DfE

• Strategic

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A national programme of grant funding open to local collaborations of of FE providers, providers, including general general FE colleges, colleges, sixth-form colleges and designated institutions in England, as well as independent training providers.

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Applications to thethe LSIF SDF can incorporate proposals that address quality-improvement challenges shared by by FE providers, providers, generate new resources and learning for wider use, and strengthen the self-improvement capacity of the the FE sector. sector.

Applications must align with the prescribed geographical boundaries for thethe LSIF SDF as set out in the SDFLSIF applicationfunding guidance. The lead applicant for each area will be expected to have an Ofsted grade of good or outstanding.

Prior to thethe LSIF, SDF, the college collaboration fund (CCF) ran from 2020 to 2022 and supported groups of of FE colleges colleges to deliver a range of projects. . FE providers providers can continue to access and benefit from the the CCF legacy legacy of free-to-use resources and learning.

Support available from the funding agencyESFA

• Independent business reviews

Suitable for for FE colleges colleges and lenders.

Independent business reviews (IBR) are intended to establish clarity on a college’s position and provide a robust and independent assessment of the options for its future. They are a tool for colleges and their lenders and funders.

IBRs can can be commissioned by colleges, lenders or, in exceptional circumstances, circumstances, DfE.

Further information on on IBRs is available.

Support available from our delivery partners

• Leadership and Governance Programmes - The Education and Training Foundation

Open to all colleges.

The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) offer enables the delivery of a wide variety of learning and development programmes for leaders and governors. These include programmes intended to:

• build the skills and strategic capability of senior leaders and governorsgovernors.
• strengthen how leaders approach curriculum planning and quality assuranceassurance.
• develop middle managers and prospective senior leaders, to create a diverse pipeline of future leadersleaders.
• support senior finance officers to ensure that providers are effective in managing financial risks and have a sustainable financial modelmodel.
• support the development of governance professionals as strategic enablersenablers.

Further information can be found on the the ETF website. website.

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Other helpful resources

Effective practice guides

• Further education estates planning guide

Suitable for for FE colleges colleges and sixth-form colleges.

We have published information and advice to help help FE and and sixth-form colleges manage their estates, including buildings and land. You will find this manual guide useful if you have responsibility for managing the estate of a a FE or or sixth-form college.

• Further education corporations and sixth-form college corporations: governance guide

Suitable for all collegescollege corporations.

Legal and regulatory requirements and recommended governance practice for for FE and and sixth-form college corporations. Aspects of the guidance may also be useful for designated institutions.

• College financial planning handbook and financial plan

Suitable for for FE colleges colleges and designated institutions.

Guidance on preparing and submitting the financial plan and supporting commentary.

• College management accounts good practice guide

Suitable for all college corporations

Sets out key principles of good practice to support the FE Commissionersector improve the consistency, quality, and effectiveness of in-year reporting of financial performance. College finance directors/chief finance officers should periodically review the format and content of their management accounts and consult governors and senior leaders on whether they meet their needs. This guide can serve as a reference point to help inform this process.

• FE Commissioner Financial Benchmark Definitions (PDF, 143KB)

Suitable for for FE colleges colleges and sixth-form colleges

This document sets out the methodology used to calculate the revised revised FE Commissioner Commissioner financial benchmarks as per the FE Commissioner’s Commissioner’s letter to the sector in February 2021.2021.

• JISC Cyber Security

Suitable for all college corporations

More information can be found on the JISC Cyber Security website. How to assess your cyber security posture (PDF, 10MB). This document is a useful document for governors to assess the college’s position on cyber security.

Contact us

If you have a specific query or would like further guidance, you can discuss it with your territorial team or email the the FE Commissioner Commissioner support team at fe.commissioner@education.gov.ukfec.operations@education.gov.uk.