Listen to this story Members can listen to an AI-generated audio version of this article. 1.0x Audio narration uses an AI-generated voice. 0:00 0:00 Become a member to listen to this article Subscribe More than £5 million could be clawed back from a Yorkshire college following an investigation into alleged maladministration and fraud, accounts have revealed. A probe was launched into The Sheffield College’s English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision last year by its adult skills funder, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. It is understood to have found dubious achievement rates, which were among the highest in the country. The college conducted its own internal audit and uncovered “unsatisfactory practice”, identified as “maladministration”. Two senior staff reportedly lost their jobs as a result and achievement rates have plummeted. The college expects a full external audit of its adult skills fund (ASF) to complete by the end of the 2026-27 financial year but is bracing itself for a significant clawback. Operating surplus figures in its accounts for 2023-24 have had to be restated due to the issue, according to the college’s 2024-25 financial statements, which have been published in recent days, seven months after the government’s annual publication deadline of January 31. Around £5.18 million of ASF “provision” has been included “based on a risk assessment of areas included in an external funding audit”. The accounts state that the figure is currently an estimate and the college has made “no commitment to repay any amounts whilst audit continues”. They added that there is potential for “phased payment of any liabilities arising”. A £5.18 million clawback would be nearly half of the college’s annual £11.58 million ASF contract it receives from SYMCA. A spokesperson for the college said: “Money has been put aside as a contingency measure should the college be required to repay any adult skills funding on conclusion of an ongoing external audit. “As the audit is ongoing, it would be premature to conclude whether any funding will need to be repaid and we will not be making any further comment at this stage.” The college refused to confirm the full scope of the external audit, including whether it extends beyond the ESOL concerns. Achievement rates plummet The Sheffield College is South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s largest grant provider – receiving around a quarter of the authority’s overall ASF budget in 2026-27. It is also the third largest ESOL provider outside of London, recording over 5,350 leavers from the language courses last year. A SYMCA report from November stated its investigation was into “claims of maladministration and fraud in relation to The Sheffield College’s adult ESOL delivery”, adding that the “actions being taken were in accordance with the MCA’s fraud response plan”. The nature of the alleged maladministration and fraud has not been revealed. But awarding organisation City & Guilds reportedly revoked the college’s “direct claims status”, which allows the college to mark exams and verify results without confirmation from the exam body. This was according to local news outlet The Tribune, which also reported two senior staff members at the college had left as a result of the ESOL investigations. The Sheffield College has refused to confirm what disciplinary or other action has been taken against staff members and the college as a result of the investigations. In a media statement released in February in anticipation of the government’s latest ESOL achievement statistics, chief executive Angela Foulkes said “maladministration” had been identified, adding that this was now addressed through “rigorous quality processes” which have resulted in a drop in achievement results in that area of the college. A month later, the data was published and showed the college’s level 1 regulated ESOL achievement rate had crashed 52.9 percentage points, from 81.3 per cent in 2023-24 to 28.4 per cent in 2024-25. Meanwhile, the college’s entry-level regulated ESOL achievement rate fell 34.6 percentage points, from 92.4 per cent to 57.8 per cent. The college’s non-regulated English language courses still achieved strong results of around 90 per cent, but the number of leavers fell by around two-thirds from 3,840 in 2023-24 to 1,350 in 2024-25. A South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority spokesperson said: “As investigations are ongoing we are unable to comment further at this time.” A City & Guilds spokesperson added: “While we cannot comment on internal investigations related to third parties, we can confirm we continue to work with The Sheffield College to ensure our robust assessment and quality assurance processes are followed in the delivery of our qualifications.”
Anon 4 September 2026 Looks like two (probably interlinked) things going on here. The falling volumes of entry level non-regulated, plus the decrease in achievement on regulated. Firstly – why has cohort size on non-regulated dropped so much. Was it being overused or misused? That swing in cohort volume must have been visible to decision makers (if not, then there are different problems relating to oversight). Secondly, if abuse of direct claims is a culprit on the regulated provision, then putting aside the funding and oversight issues, what happens with the learners having ‘unearned’ certificates. At the very least, they will struggle at their next level of study… Presumably auditors will be also checking in-year ILR submissions to test for aim changes or delayed initial submission. (an easily automatable function to prevent this type of thing coming up again and again and again)