A 130-year-old adult education centre has been handed a financial notice to improve after needing emergency funding from the government.
London’s Mary Ward Settlement, also known as the Mary Ward Centre, is now in intervention and must now work with the FE Commissioner to improve its finances.
The notice, dated April 4 and published today, said Mary Ward Settlement faced “serious cashflow pressures” and was provided with an unspecified cash bailout by the Department for Education.
It must now comply with a list of conditions set out by the FE Commissioner, including an independent review of its “capability and capacity” to strengthen its finances.
Mary Ward’s leaders must also produce a single improvement plan (SIP) which must include “exploration” of staff savings, a “thorough” review of curriculum and a “detailed” analysis of future student numbers.
Improvement progress is then closely monitored by the Department for Education, who will later decide whether to lift the notice to improve, or take further action.
Mary Ward has not published its 2023-24 accounts. Its 2022-23 accounts show it made a surplus of £1,000, up from a deficit of £128,000 the year before, on a total income of just over £5 million.
Most income comes from its adult education centre, which offers Greater London Authority-funded and full-cost courses to adults in subjects including English for Speakers of Other Languages, art and design, English and maths and employability skills. Mary Ward had around 2,000 students at the time of its January 2025 Ofsted inspection where it achieved ‘good’ grades across the board.
Alongside its adult education centre, based in Stratford, the settlement also operated the Mary Ward Legal Centre, which provides free advice on debt, housing and welfare for Londoners, and the Blackfriars Settlement.
Founded in the late 1800s, it is one of the so-called specialist designated institutions (SDI); a status for adult education organisations that share the same public sector status as further education colleges.
A relocation from its central London site to its new Stratford centre was delayed multiple times, according to accounts, which came as the organisation was dealing with the impacts of the pandemic and reduced grant funding.
Chief Executive and Warden of the Mary Ward Settlement Therese Reinheimer-Jones said rising costs and a “challenging political backdrop” have contributed to “significant strain” on the organisation.
Reinheimer-Jones added: “To address this, Mary Ward Settlement is implementing a strategic recovery plan. This plan includes securing financial support from the Department of Education, working closely with the FE Commissioner and her team.
“We are carefully reviewing our financial management through monitoring expenditures and renegotiating contracts whilst diversifying income sources by exploring new funding opportunities and partnerships. The organisation is also focused on maximising its impact by enhancing service delivery efficiency with new systems and engaging staff and volunteers to support new ways of working.”
Mary Ward is not the first London-based SDI to hit the intervention buffers.
Earlier this year, City Lit was released after a three-year stint in intervention following a pandemic-induced hit to its income.
Very sad for London adult education to see this happen. Mary Ward was once featured in the ALI good practice database as a source of ideas for others to adopt. Hopefully it can remain open for Londoners to use.