伊人直播

Support available to the further education sector

Government is committed to ensuring the further education (FE) 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聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤, 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聽DfE, or at any time through informal discussions with the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 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聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤

Active Support is available to all colleges and designated institutions not in intervention. All help and support is fully funded by DfE, although it is acknowledged that a college or designated institution would need to commit time and resources.

Informal, supportive conversation with the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 team

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

罢丑别听FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 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聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 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 fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Health checks

Available to 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聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤, 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聽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聽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 鈥榦ne-size-fits-all鈥�. The aim of聽CEFSS聽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.

Guidance on effective practice in curriculum planning 鈥� an exploration of the principal stages involved in effective curriculum planning 鈥� is available.

Further information on CEFSS.

CEFSS聽can be accessed throughout the year by a direct request from a college to a member of the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 or聽DfE聽territorial teams, or by contacting the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 team to request more information. Email fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Tailored Active Support from the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 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 鈥� for example, through the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 team, territorial teams, and annual strategic conversations.

Further information on tailored support.

Tailored support is available on request by contacting fec.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聽NLFEs.

Colleges seeking support from an聽NLFE聽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聽NLGs.

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

Active Support for recruitment to senior leadership and board appointments

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

Support is available to governing bodies in their recruitment and selection panels for CEOs and principals, other senior posts, or chair of board appointments.

Where it might be helpful, a request can be made for a member of the聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 team or聽NLG聽to join a selection panel to support decision making.

Support can be requested by emailing fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Just one thing

Available to newly appointed chairs, principals and governance professionals, by invitation from the FE Commissioner鈥檚 office.

Just one thing is a strand of Active Support for the sector led by NLFEs and NLGs that supports newly appointed chairs, principals and governance professionals. The aim is for seasoned postholders to share 鈥榡ust one thing鈥� they wished they had known when first in post.

Induction events are currently hosted at City Lit College, in London, for each year鈥檚 cohort of new principals, chairs and governance professionals, who are invited by the FE Commissioner鈥檚 office.

The events aim to:

• share learning
• encourage networking
• promote understanding of the importance of principals working closely and effectively with their chair and governance professional

View interviews of .

Just one more thing

Available to principals, chairs, governance professionals and other senior managers and key strategic leads, by invitation from the FE Commissioner鈥檚 office.

Just one more thing is a spin-off series of the Just one thing events held each year, focussing on the sharing of effective sector practices.

NLFE colleges host these events, which focus on themes identified by the sector. All colleges receive an invitation to apply for a place.

Email fe.commissioner@education.gov.uk to request more information about this year鈥檚 events.

FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤-led structure and prospects appraisals

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

Structure and prospects appraisals (SPAs) are a framework that enable colleges considering options to restructure. 罢丑别听FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 team can provide support to do this in a clear, objective and evidence-based way.

Further information on聽SPAs.

You can request a聽SPA聽or discuss whether it would be helpful by emailing fec.operations@education.gov.uk.

Local provision reviews

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 local provision reviews (LPRs) assess options for changing the provision or structure of multiple institutions in a local area.聽LPRs聽make recommendations on the best way of achieving long-term sustainable provision.

You can request further information on聽LPRs聽by emailing fec.operations@education.gov.uk or by visiting the college oversight: support and intervention page.

Support available from DfE

Independent business reviews

Suitable for聽FE聽colleges and lenders.

Independent business reviews (IBR) are intended to establish clarity on a college鈥檚 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聽can be commissioned by colleges, lenders or, in exceptional circumstances,聽DfE.

Further information on聽IBRs is available.

Support available from our delivery partners

Crown Commercial Service procurement support

Open to all colleges.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) can help colleges to procure common goods efficiently and economically. By leveraging CCS鈥檚 commercial agreements and the collective purchasing power of public sector organisations, colleges can benefit from competitive pricing for high-quality products. This can provide them with potentially significant savings against commercially available rates.

CCS also simplifies compliance with procurement regulations, offering a range of services, including energy and information technology, through easily accessible frameworks. This allows colleges to focus on educational excellence while CCS handles the complexities of procurement, delivering value for money and saving them time.

Further information about CCS鈥檚 听补苍诲 is available.

Leadership and Governance Programmes 鈥� 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 governors
• strengthen how leaders approach curriculum planning and quality assurance
• develop middle managers and prospective senior leaders, to create a diverse pipeline of future leaders
• support senior finance officers to ensure that providers are effective in managing financial risks and have a sustainable financial model
• support the development of governance professionals as strategic enablers

can be found on the聽ETF听飞别产蝉颈迟别.

Focusing on your mental wellbeing and help

Open to all colleges.

This service, funded by DfE, is for Principals, CEOs and senior leaders reporting directly to the Principal or CEO) in FE colleges. gives you a safe and confidential space to talk about, and process what is going on for you at work. You will work with qualified and experienced supervisors to focus on your mental wellbeing and help you develop new coping strategies to feel more fulfilled and in control. You will receive 6 free one-to-one sessions by Zoom or telephone, which are completely confidential. For those who need it, we can also offer access to counselling, delivered by qualified BACP accredited counsellors.

More information on聽wellbeing support can be found on the .

Other helpful resources

Compare your curriculum efficiency

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

Colleges can compare their own key financial data from latest financial returns to that of other colleges using a spreadsheet available on the聽聽(VYED) website. Comparisons can be made to diverse types of colleges using the in-built filters.

Effective practice guides

• (PDF, 737 KB, 67 pages)

Suitable for all college corporations.

This is a focused and in-depth exploration of teaching and learning which sets out pedagogical principles and practice from and for the FE sector. It is intended for use by senior leaders in further education with responsibility for the quality of teaching and learning and the continuing professional development of teaching staff.

• Further education estates planning guide

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

We have published information and advice to help聽FE听补苍诲 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聽FE聽or sixth-form college.

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

Suitable for all college corporations.

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

• College financial planning handbook and financial plan

Suitable for聽FE聽colleges and designated institutions.

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

• Adult education budget: effective practice guide

Suitable for聽FE聽colleges and designated institutions.

This effective practice guide document provides insights into the strategies employed by colleges and local authorities for the utilisation of the adult education budget. Its purpose is to share effective practice across the post 16 sector.

• College management accounts good practice guide

Suitable for all college corporations.

Sets out key principles of good practice to support the FE sector 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.

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

Sets out the methodology used to calculate the revised聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 financial benchmarks as per the FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤鈥檚 letter to the sector in February 2021.

• (PDF, 274 KB, 38 pages)

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

Learning from and for the sector about principles and practice.

• Effective senior post holder appraisal and chair performance review

Suitable for FE colleges, sixth-form colleges and designated institutions.

This effective practice guide supports FE governing bodies in undertaking appraisals of senior postholders and governance professionals. It is also designed to ensure that there is regular and constructive review of the performance of governing body chairs.

JISC Cyber Security

Suitable for all college corporations.

More information can be found on the website. is a useful document for governors to assess the college鈥檚 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聽FE听颁辞尘尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍别谤 support team at fec.operations@education.gov.uk.