Some sector leaders are sceptical about Labour’s plans for raising standards, arguing the FE Commissioner and existing support networks are sufficient.
FE leaders have warned that new “regional improvement teams” for colleges risk duplicating oversight already performed by the FE Commissioner (FEC).
Sir Keir Starmer pledged “higher standards in every college” in his Labour Party conference speech last week, promising to make further education “a defining mission”.
Downing Street has trailed policies expected in a white paper on post-16 education and skills, including “new regional improvement teams” (RITs) that will “support college improvement, including how they meet skills needs of their communities, and empower high-performing leaders to support others – driving attendance and standards”.
A new model of regional improvement teams, similar to the regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams launched for schools earlier this year, pairs experienced leaders with schools that have received consecutive poor Ofsted results.
College leaders have questioned whether the move is necessary, since similar support is already available from the FEC and national leaders of further education.
Darren Hankey, principal of Hartlepool College of Further Education, said the announcement has led some in the sector to “scratch their heads’.
He added: “I don’t know of a college principal who, regardless of their college’s Ofsted judgment, doesn’t want his or her college to improve and get better.
“I think there are fewer than 10 per cent of FE colleges with a less than ‘good’ Ofsted outcome, and those who do need a bit of support to improve do so via the FE Commissioner’s team, which has arguably been a force for good for the sector over the last decade.
“All in all, it begs the question, what is the problem this move is trying to solve?”
Practitioner expertise
FE Commissioner Shelagh Legrave told FE Week her team of deputies and advisers will continue to bring practitioner expertise to all colleges.
FE Week understands that the FE Commissioner and “place-based teams” of civil servants have been developing a system to understand the key risks for the sector and which colleges are most vulnerable, which will inform how RITs work.
A DfE spokesperson said they were unable to comment when asked for further details behind the prime minister’s announcement, such as when RITs will be launched, how colleges could be targeted, or how they would fit into existing support.
Further detail will be provided in the soon-to-be-published white paper, they confirmed.
All RISE
Funded by £20 million this year, RISE teams carry out “mandatory and targeted intervention” in schools that are defined as “stuck” after receiving a ‘requires improvement’ at their most recent inspection and graded below ‘good’ at their previous one.
Under Ofsted’s incoming five-point scale for grades, officials will class schools as stuck if they are graded ‘needs attention’ in leadership and governance and previously graded below ‘good’.
RISE teams – made up of civil servants, school leaders and experts who are paid up to £600 per day – agree an improvement plan based on the school’s performance and Ofsted’s concerns.
DfE recruited 65 RISE advisors earlier this year. Most have recent experience in academy trusts, while some are from councils or maintained schools.
RISE teams also offer a universal service available to all schools seeking help with driving up attainment and attendance.
The government has also confirmed that, following a consultation on school accountability reform, it will broaden the scope of RISE teams to engage with schools that have “low or concerning” attainment levels.
Apart from plans to commission support from other trusts, councils and federations, specific examples of improvement actions are yet to be shared publicly.
Jo Higgins, chief executive of Dudley Academies Trust, which is waiting to offer support to other schools through RISE, said actions included in an improvement plan could include training teachers, teaching assistants and leaders to deliver and monitor the quality of a new curriculum.
Other support could include implementing a new behaviour management system, she added.
Speaking to FE Week’s sister title Schools Week earlier this year, Sheffield headteacher and RISE team member Paul Haigh said devising action plans will be collaborative, rather than a “wham, bam, thank you ma’am”.
Schools Week has identified 639 schools that fall under the DfE’s ‘stuck’ definition and, according to figures published last month, 396 have entered the intervention programme.
Few colleges in scope
The 213 colleges in scope represent a tiny number against more than 22,000 state-funded schools that the DfE funds and oversees.
Only two of those colleges appear to trigger the same ‘stuck’ Ofsted grade as schools, although DfE is yet to confirm whether it will apply the same intervention trigger to the college sector.
Neither of the two colleges with consecutive ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted grades are in FE intervention.
One of the colleges that falls under the schools’ definition of ‘stuck’ due to two consecutive ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted grades, New College Swindon, said it already receives “incredibly helpful” peer support from other colleges.
Deputy principal for curriculum and quality, Lynne Plested said: “Through the FE Commissioner’s active support team, we are already proactively working with Exeter College as our allocated partner, and other colleges to help us refine where our focus is needed. For example, we have worked with Exeter to specifically improve our A-level and ESOL provision, as well as our personal development models and data reporting.”
Just 9 of England’s 213 colleges have a live notice to improve, triggering FE Commissioner intervention due to poor education quality and/or financial health.
Karen Redhead, who led Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College out of financial intervention in 2023, said: “Like the majority of new announcements, the devil is in the detail.
“The majority of colleges are already rated as ‘good’ under the old Ofsted framework, so we need to be sure that something actually needs fixing before committing scarce public funds to it.”
Support lines open
Currently, college oversight is carried out by DfE civil servants known as ‘place-based teams’, who also manage day-to-day relations with college leaders.
According to the DfE’s current ‘college oversight: support and intervention’ policy, these teams monitor performance areas such as education quality and finance, as well as estates strategy.
When colleges are placed under formal intervention, the place-based teams, which are grouped into three regions for the whole of England, initiate intervention actions and monitor recovery. Meanwhile, the FE Commissioner’s team is dispatched to assess the college’s problems, recommend and then monitor changes.
The FE Commissioner also offers colleges an ‘active support’ service, including informal conversations, “health checks”, leadership mentoring, curriculum efficiency and options appraisals for restructuring.
There is also a group of ten national leaders of further education who have a “strong track record” of improvement from ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ colleges that can be deployed to mentor or direct support struggling leaders.
Redhead added: “We need to be clear about how [regional improvement teams] would sit alongside existing forms of intervention.
“Having experienced intervention inside out, I believe that it is far more likely to be effective if it is supportive, motivational and energising for those on the receiving end.”
It all depends on who the people are who provide support as they need wide experience of the sector and what works. They need to have walked the walk before they can talk the talk well.