Guidance

College oversight, improvement and intervention

How the government helps colleges improve financial resilience, quality and performance.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 10 November 2025

Applies to England

Documents

College oversight: how the government supports the improvement of further education colleges, sixth-form colleges, and designated institutions

PDF, 595 KB, 39 pages

Details

This guidance is for:

• college governors
• accounting officers (CEOs and principals)
• chief financial officers
• governance professionals

It applies to:

• further education (FE) colleges
• sixth-form colleges
• designated institutions

The guidance sets out:

• how the Department for Education (DfE) works with colleges to:

  • identify any financial or quality issues
  • provide tiered support
  • take targeted action
  • intervene where necessary

• updates to our improvement and intervention policy, following:

  • the Post-16 education and skills white paper
  • introduction of Regional Improvement Teams (RITs)
  • changes to the Ofsted inspection framework

This guidance supports the information provided on help and support for colleges.

Published 10 November 2025