Further Education Colleges

Covalent's Performance Management system is proven-in-action in FE Colleges across the UK as a tool to improve college-wide performance, governance, risk management and business planning, delivering a comprehensive solution that integrates all corporate performance elements with powerful reporting capabilities.

Further Education Colleges face significant challenges due to the introduction of the most complex funding methodology to date, which essentially means that they have to deliver 'more with less'. With the ever-changing and increasing number of funding targets set and a need to know that they will hit both their funding allocation and their tuition fees income, it is crucial for colleges to be alerted to problems of potential underperformance across the curriculum quickly and early enough to take remedial action to avoid massive penalties.

For all these reasons, embedding performance management within the organisation is fundamental to ensuring successful outcomes against these challenges.

Monitor curriculum funding against plan
Covalent is a simple web-based curriculum and funding planning tool that crucially monitors your actual performance against plan and alerts users across the college when shortfall thresholds are breached. Monitor key performance indicators across all areas including learner numbers; funding planned; teaching hours delivered to date.

Progress tracking SARs and other key action plans
Covalent makes it easy to manage Self-Assessment Reports (SARs), Quality Improvement Plans, curriculum development plans, annual quality plans, plus External Verifiers and course action plans, and progress tracks them against due date with colour coding and powerful milestone management.

Managing inspections and performing self-assessments
FE Colleges are subject to many different inspection regimes: Common Inspection Framework, Training Quality Standard, Framework for Excellence and Every Child Matters criteria. Score the college on each framework element, in line with ALI/Ofsted/LSC guidance. Take corrective action in time, with traffic-lighted status icons. Upload supporting evidence, and link all related elements of performance to meet inspectors' requirements .

Improve employee performance management methods
Manage competency frameworks, 360 degree feedback and goal alignment. Obtain a cross-organisational assessment of staff performance and skill gaps. Track personal development plans (PDPs) for every employee.

Minimise strategic and operational risks
Covalent consolidates all strategic and operational risk registers in a tree hierarchy, with traffic-lighting based on likelihood and impact, linked to mitigation plans. Ensure all parts of the organisation are 'risk aware' and alert them to changes in risk status.