Inspection experience you can rely on
This is FES was founded by Maria Navarro, who has worked in the Further Education and Skills sector for almost 30 years and spent over 20 years at Ofsted as one of His Majesty’s Inspectors.
During her time at Ofsted, Maria accumulated extensive experience across inspection delivery, operations and policy. She developed a comprehensive understanding of all provision types within Further Education and Skills, including general further education colleges, specialist independent colleges, independent learning providers, employer provision, adult provision, prisons, Young Offender Institutions and the secure estate.
In her later role as one of Ofsted’s policy specialist advisers within Further Education and Skills, Maria became heavily involved in policy development and supported the design of the renewed inspection framework for Further Education and Skills. This included the addition of the inclusion evaluation area, the incorporation of provision-type standards into the renewed toolkit, and the development of the new inspection methodology.
Maria is well known in the Further Education and Skills sector for being a passionate defender of education for all. She is a strong communicator and a truly inspirational speaker. Audiences become easily engaged during her presentations making events informative and enjoyable.
Who we support across the Further Education and Skills sector
We support a wide range of organisations and roles across the Further Education and Skills sector, including:
- Governors and those exercising the role of governance
- Senior leaders and managers
- Quality, curriculum and inclusion leads
- Nominees, shadow nominees and developing nominees
Our work reflects the diversity of the sector and recognises that different contexts bring different challenges and opportunities.
Turning inspection insight into meaningful improvement
Our aim is to help leaders to understand clearly the expectations of what constitutes high quality education and training. We are here to support providers to focus on what matters most: their learners.
Our work helps providers:
- Make sense of inspection changes in plain English
- Strengthen their self-assessment and evaluation
- Build meaningful quality improvement plans
- Develop inclusion strategies that reflect their learners and context
- Support governance to provide effective oversight and challenge
- Develop and enhance their teaching and training strategies
- Improve and sustain positive learner outcomes
We focus on practical outcomes and realistic next steps, supporting leaders to move forward with confidence.