GovernorspresentKen ClarkeChair of the Board
Brian PageActing Principal
Mark WebsterGovernor
Diana MurrayGovernor
Chris SewardGovernor
Brian SpinksGovernor
Tommy PaxeusGovernor
Anita GarrardGovernor
Joanne NathanSupport Staff Governor
Brad ForsythStudent Governor
In attendanceLeslyn Linton-ProctorVice Principal
Phil HallVice Principal
Yaseen AkhtarDirector of Business Support, Customer Service and Recruitment
Ian RuleInterim Director of Finance and Resources
Andrew ThomsonChief Executive, ACER
Genevieve CattClerk to the Corporation
CB/15/168Presentation from Andrew Thomson, Chief Executive, ACER
Andrew Thomson gave the Board an outline of who ACER is and the service they provide. He went on to give an informative presentation on Area Based Reviews highlighting the following areas to consider:
- Importance of the College communicating with the local community e.g. local authority, police etc.
- Being aware of who the College’s stakeholders are i.e. students, staff, parents, community
- Ensuring all options are looked at and to ensure the overall decision is ‘reasonable’
- To have knowledge on success rates and funding
Governors noted the College will fall in the last wave of reviews to be carried out, which could be viewed positively as lessons will have been learnt from previous waves.
Andrew Thomson recommended the College speaks with ACER before any discussions regarding mergers takes place, as support and advice can be given as required.
Governors were invited to ask questions:
Q. How long does the whole process take? I understand the Chair of Governors and Principal will be very much involved, but how would the Governing Body be kept appraised?
A. The process takes roughly five months starting from November 2016. It is worth looking at when key milestone meetings are and to think about how the Board can be kept informed along the way. It is important to keep the entire Board informed throughout the process.
Q. At what point does the College become ‘public’ in terms of the outcome etc.
A. Roughly a couple of months after the final review.
Q. Following the outcome of the Area Based Review, will there be a number of options from it and for Governors to make a decision based on that?
A. Not normally. The College will take ‘lines’ from the outcome that it wants to get.
Q. There is a potential geographical / location issue in that the College sits right on the edge of Essex. The majority of students come from London. Have you any experience of this situation i.e. Colleges sitting on the edge of a county? What issues could there be?
A. It may be that London approaches the College during its review or that the College needs to look at London and what’s best.
Q. Is there much involvement with councils as part of the process?
A. It is important to have a relationship with local authority to be aware of local democracy matters.
Q. To what extent have they been able to get school sixth form representations?
A. They haven’t and it is complicated. Sixth forms do not have to turn up to Area Based Reviews. This is a discussion to have with the DfE to see if there is a way for colleges to run like sixth form schools.
The Chair thanked Andrew Thomson for his presentation and Andrew Thomson left the meeting at this point.
CB/15/169Apologies for Absence, Welcomes and Quoracy
Apologies were received from Mike Gammack, Vice Chair of Governors, Katie Mustard, Governor, Shaun Clifford, Academic Staff Governor, and Caroline Hands, Governor.
Tommy Paxeus had sent prior apologies that he would arrive to the meeting late.
The Chair welcomed Ian Rule to the meeting and introductions were given by everyone present.
The Clerk confirmed that the meeting was quorate.
CB/15/170Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
CB/15/171Minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2016
The minutes were agreed and the Chair signed them as a true record.
CB/15/172Matters arising from the above minutes
With reference to minute CB/15/148, the Interim Director of Finance and Resources informed the Board that the College had now appointed a full complement of Fire Marshalls and training would commence in September 2016.
CB/15/173Annual Election of Chair and Vice Chair to the Corporation
It was RESOLVED to appoint Ken Clarke to the position of Chair to the Corporation for the period 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017.
It was RESOLVED to appoint Caroline Hands to the position of Vice Chair to the Corporation for the period 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017.
The Chair wanted to thank all Governors for their support and work over the year. The Chair also informed Governors that he saw this as his last year as Chair and Governor, and that it was time to move on. There would be a focus on succession planning over the next year. The Chair felt that the College needed stability with an imminent Ofsted inspection, Area Based Review starting in November 2016 and the new Principal starting on 1 September 2016 and for this reason was happy to chair for a final year.
Tommy Paxeus arrive at the meeting at this point.
CB/15/174To receive the Acting Principal’s Report
The report from the Acting Principal was received. The report provided Members with updates on the following:
- Student activities
- Learner Numbers 2015-16
- Accommodation Strategy
- Finance and Governance
- Apprenticeship
The Acting Principal highlighted within the report that the College was invited to the University of Lincoln on 2 June 2016 to showcase, as part of JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) Change Agents Network, its Student Digital Voice Xpert (DVX) scheme. Representing the College were four students and the Head of Digital Literacy, Voice and Innovation. The key role of the College’s student DVXs is no longer to only mentor and support peers and staff, but to drive digital literacy by innovating, inspiring, and disseminating good practices.
Governors noted a number of capital projects were due to take place over the summer and detail of this had been reported at the Finance Committee meeting on 22 June 2016.
The Board was informed that the Director of Business Support, Customer Service and Recruitment was leaving the College on 8 July 2016 and the new Principal would start employment on 1 September 2016.
The Acting Principal thanked the Board of Governors, staff and the SMT for their contribution throughout the year. The Governors in turn expressed their gratitude to the Acting Principal for stepping in to the role and keeping the “show on the road”. The Vice Principals and Clerk were also thanked for their additional work this year.
It was RESOLVED to note the Acting Principal’s Report.
CB/15/175To approve the Self Assessment Review (SAR) 2015/16
Mark Webster, Governor, left the meeting during this item.
The Chair of the Quality Monitoring Committee informed Governors that it had been a challenging year for the Leadership Team. Committee Members had asked challenging questions and had asked for the comprehensive document to be reviewed and redrafted on a number of occasions. The work will be sent to Shane Langthorne, OfstedImprovement Inspector, following the Board meeting.
Although the College is in a more confident place and looking forward to improved success rates, there remains the challenge of high staff turnover. There had also been a considerable amount of student disciplinaries this year. Additionally, there had been 70 more Safeguarding cases referred this year from last year. This reflects the resource the College has been putting in as well as the vulnerability of the students. The Committee Chair reported that attendance has improved but that it is still slightly under target. More observations have taken place on lower grade teaching staff. There is a strong CPD approach which is reflected within the SAR.
Governors were informed there would be validation meetings taking place in September and Link Governors would be required to sit in the subjects they are linked with.
The Vice Principals informed Members that the SAR had been strengthened in terms of data and impact and the document “tells the story” of where the College currently is. It will be updated with the final success rates as the information becomes available. There has also been the introduction of a Homework Policy.
A Governor stated she is pleased with the presented statistics in the updated SAR and congratulated the SMT on “pulling the whole document together”.
The Chair of Governors thanked everyone for the hard work involved.
Following minor updates, it was RESOLVED to approve the SAR 2015/16.
CB/15/176Audit Focus
Following review by the Audit Committee on 15 June 2016, it was RESOLVED to approve the Financial Audit Strategy Plan for the year end accounts July 2016.
Following review by the Audit Committee on 15 June 2016, it was RESOLVED to approve the Internal Audit Plan 2016/17.
Following review by the Audit Committee on 15 June 2016, it was RESOLVED to approve the Regularity Self-Assessment checklist 2016.
CB/15/177To approve College revenue and capital budget 2016/17
This was covered within the next item.
CB/15/178To approve the Financial Plan and strategy
Brad Forsyth, Student Governor, left the meeting during this item.
The Interim Director of Finance and Resources updated Governors that following a request to consider other cost saving options, the draft budget had been presented at the Finance Committee meeting on 22 June 2016 and now included these revisions.
Governors were informed that the College had a projected deficit of £98,000 for 2015/16. The Board noted the key points, risks and core assumptions within the presented report.
The main risks associated with the budget:
- Funding targets are not achieved
- Removal of Apprenticeship funding to colleges by the SFA from April 2017 thus employers will use the levy system to purchase provision from a choice of providers
- Non-achievement of the increased full-cost provision
- Pay savings will not be realised in full
- Staffing reductions indicated will impact adversely on levels of support available to staff and students
It was RESOLVED to approve the College Revenue and Capital Budget 2016/17.
The Board noted the targets included in the Financial Strategy 2016/18. Consideration was also given to the update of performance measured against the College financial strategy.
Based on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, it was RESOLVED to approve the 2 Year Financial Forecasts and Financial Strategy 2016 to 2018.
CB/15/179To approve decision on a pay award 2015/16
Following further discussion and Governor agreement at the Finance Committee meeting on 22 June 2016, approval was recommended to the Board for a nil pay award for 2015/16.
It was agreed to ask the new Principal to present proposals on the introduction of new pay strategies and ways of pay increase at the College.
It was RESOLVED to approve the decision for no pay award for 2015/16.
CB/15/180To receive and discuss the Risk Register 2015/16
The report was circulated prior to the meeting.
Governors noted the curriculum plan and financial budget for 2016-17 takes account of reduced funding allocations for 2016-17 and has a target of 14 students per group together with business support efficiencies. It was felt by Governors that 14 students per group (average group size) was quite modest particularly in the current climate and this should be revisited.
It was RESOLVED to note the Risk Register 2015/16.
CB/15/181To review discussed meeting matters as part of the Risk Analysis
Members were in agreement that all matters had been discussed in detail and that areas of risk were identified and will be included in the Risk Register.
CB/15/182To receive the Committee meeting minutes
It was RESOLVED to receive the minutes of the Quality Monitoring Committee meeting held on 18 May 2016.
It was RESOLVED to receive the minutes of the Quality Monitoring Committee meeting held on 13 June 2016.
It was RESOLVED to receive the minutes of the Audit Committee meeting held on 15 June 2016.
It was RESOLVED to receive the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 22 June 2016.
CB/15/183To update on Governor Link visits
Following circulation of the Governor Link forms completed by Chris Seward, Governor, the Chair highlighted these were good examples of Governor visits to the College and asked that Governors ensure as much detail of the visit is captured.
Chris Seward informed the Board that since his visits to the College, the staff and students from the maths and English departments had visited Davenant (the school at which he is Head Teacher) and it had proved a positive and insightful visit.
CB/15/184To approve policies and procedures
To approve the following revised policy recommended to the Board by the Audit Committee:
- Anti-Bribery Policy
- Anti-Fraud Policy
- Whistleblowing Policy
- Sub-Contracting Policy
To approve the following revised policies recommended to the Board by the Finance Committee:
- Financial Regulations
To approve the following revised policy:
- Safeguarding
It was RESOLVED to approve the revised policies.
CB/15/185Deferred Matters (standing item)
There were no deferred matters to report.
CB/15/186Chair’s Actions (standing item)
Therewas one Chair’s action to reportthat had been discussed and approved at the Finance Committee on 22 June 2016.
CB/15/187To agree Corporation Board and Committee meeting dates for 2016/17
The dates had been circulated to Board Members with the agenda and the proposed dates were agreed.
CB/15/188Any Other Items of Urgent Business
There was no other business for discussion.
CB/15/189Date and Time of Next Meeting
Corporation Board MeetingThursday 29 September 2016 at 6pm
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(Chair)
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