GovWire

Guidance: Help and support for colleges

Department For Education

October 11
12:46 2023

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 theFECommissioner, 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 atDfE, or at any time through informal discussions with theFECommissioner 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 theFECommissioner

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 theFECommissioner team

Available to all colleges and designated institutions.

TheFECommissioner 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 theFECommissioner 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 theFECommissioner, 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 tochief 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.

FEleadership 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 ofCEFSSis 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 .

CEFSScan be accessed throughout the year by a direct request from a college to a member of theFECommissioner orDfEterritorial teams, or by contacting theFECommissioner 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 colleges 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 theFECommissioner 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 theFECommissioner 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 currentNLFEs

Colleges seeking support from anNLFEshould 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 go

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