Three FE colleges have today been issued with financial notices to improve by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Moulton College, in Northamptonshire, received a financial notice to improve (NTI) following an ‘inadequate``’ rating at a recent Ofsted inspection, according to the ESFA’s letter, published today.

In its letter to the college’s chair of the board, the ESFA says the notice brings the college into scope for referral to the FE commissioner for an independent assessment of the college’s capability and capacity to make the required changes and improvements within a reasonable period of time.

“Once this assessment has been undertaken by the FE commissioner, we reserve the right to vary the terms of the NTI to reflect any recommendations made,” it adds.

Conditions of funding

Meanwhile, Cadbury College, in Birmingham, was today issued with a financial health notice to improve, and Epping Forest College, in Essex, received a financial control notice to improve from the ESFA. Both notices set out additional conditions of funding that the colleges are required to comply with in order that the ESFA can continue to fund them.

Cadbury College’s notice states that the NTI is being reissued “further to the publication of the [FE commissioner’s] intervention report on Cadbury College on Gov.uk and to reflect the additional recommendations made which you will already be aware of and are acting upon”. It goes on to explain that the original NTI had been issued because Cadbury College had been assessed as having “inadequate” financial health by the ESFA “as a result of having insufficient cash to enable it to operate independently”.

Epping Forest College has been rated “inadequate” for its financial management and control by the ESFA “in light of events that have led to its recent request for exceptional financial support from ESFA”, says today’s letter from the ESFA.