MEETING OF THE FULL CORPORATIONItem 4

Date / 3 July 2013 / Time / 14.00
Venue / StationPlaza Boardroom
Chair / Tony Campbell OBE KSG FRSA / Minutes taken by / Louise O’Byrne
Membership / Mrs W Bennett;Dr L Brissett; Mr T Campbell OBE KSG FRSA (Chair); Mr C Cooke; Mr R Dennard; Mr P Farmer (Vice Chair); Dr D Garnham; Mr S Hubbard; Mr V Kempner; Prof S Laing; Mr M Mears; Mr K Melsom MBE JP; Mr D Stevens; Mr G Vicarey; Mrs S Walton
Apologies / Mr G How
In attendance / Ms A Carrol; Mr B Desai; Mr S Hagues; Mr D Shelley; Ms J Stubbings; Mr R Tyson
Item no. / Item / Actions
Ahead of the meeting, from 13.30-14.00, Mr Shelley gave a presentation to Members on the College’s new marketing and communications approach, including the much increased and enhanced use of social media.
1. / Apologies
Apologies had been received from Mr How and Mrs Walton. These were accepted.
3. / Declarations of interest
Professor Laing declared his employment with the University of Brighton
Mrs Walton declared her employment with Pestalozzi
Mr Hubbard declared his employment with Hastings Borough Council.
Mr Stevens declared his employment with Rother District Council
2. / Membership Matters
Mr Campbell welcomed Mr Tyson, who would be taking on the role of Student President from 1 August 2013.
On behalf of the Search and Governance Development Committee, Mr Kempner proposed the appointment of Jessica Stubbings (East Sussex County Council) as a co-opted member of the Curriculum, Quality and Standards Committee. Refer to accompanying paper for more detail on the background and rationale for this recommendation.
RESOLVED: The appointment of Jessica Stubbings was approved. Proposed: Mr Kempner; Seconded: Mr Campbell; CARRIED.
Ms Stubbings joined the meeting.
Mr Campbell welcomed Ms Stubbings to her first meeting of the Corporation.
4. / Minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 May 2013
PROPOSED: The main minutes and confidential minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 May 2013were agreed to be a true record, and duly signed, subject to the fact that Mrs Walton had not sent apologies, having been in the meeting. Proposed: Mr Farmer; Seconded: Mr Hubbard; CARRIED
5. / Matters arising on the minutes
All actions had been completed or were in progress, as per the action log.
6. / Principal’s Report
  1. Principal’s Briefing for Governors
Mr Cooke gave a very detailed presentation on the following areas. Refer to accompanying report for more details:
  • Strategic Positioning of Colleges
  • Labour Government’s Spending Plans
  • GCSE Reforms
  • Traineeships.
  • Government Intervention (the BIS / DfE “Rigour andResponsiveness” strategy which sets out a new intervention procedure).
  • Sir Michael Wilshaw’s attack on the FE and skills sector,branding success rates among colleges as “palpable nonsense”.
  • A fall in Apprenticeship enrolments nationally
  • Budget 2013/14 for Sussex Colleges
  • College Budgets Nationally and Industrial Action
  • Enrolment and Funding Performance
  • Accountability Review – This was the new regime by which the Skills Funding Agency audited the College’s financial management and controls. The College had moved from Inadequate under the old Provider Financial Assurance framework (January 2011) to achieving an Unqualified outcome under the new system in May 2013.
  • Risk Management Audit - Good and significant progress has been made by the college in itsmanagement of risk.
  • Students’ Shows, Awards and Exhibitions
  • End of Year Barbecue for staff, scheduled for Friday 5th July.
  • Visit by Matthew Hancock MP, rearranged for 7th November
Mr Cooke also gave an update on the recent Principal’s Performance Reviews (this was not covered in his written report). Generally, departments had performed well financially and with regard to risk management. Managers were showing increased accountability and responsibility with regard to curriculum and quality matters. Franchised provision was being managed very rigorously. Mr Stevens and Mr Hubbard had observed some of the sessions, and noted that they had been excellent, with Heads of Faculty showing an impressive depth of knowledge about their areas.
  1. Vertical Education Partnership Update
Refer to accompanying paper for more details. The arrangements were working effectively, as evidenced by a recent increase in applications from pupils at the St Leonard’s Academy.
  1. Memorandum of Understanding for the Vertical Education Partnership
This was agreed, subject to determining outside the meeting whether Mr Cooke or Mr Campbell should sign on behalf of the College. It was confirmed that the partnership was open to considering the acceptance of new members.
RESOLVED: The Memorandum of Understanding between SCCH, the University of Brighton and the Hastings Academies Trust was approved. Proposed: Mr Farmer; Seconded: Mrs Garnham; CARRIED.
7. / Chairman’s Report
Mr Campbell praised the Principal and all the SLT for their achievements over the past year. He thanked Corporation members also for their invaluable commitment and contribution, and in particular Pat Farmer for his leadership as Chairman between April 2011 and March 2013.
Interviews for the new Clerk to the Corporation were being held the next day (Thursday 4 July).
Two other matters were discussed as confidential items (refer to Part Two minutes).
8. / Student Governors’ Report – Review of 2012/13
Miss Hancock presented this item. Refer to accompanying PowerPoint presentation for more details. She highlighted the key successes and developments of the Student Council during 2012/13, as well as recommendations to improve it during 2013/14.
Ms Carrol observed that Miss Hancock had made an outstanding contribution during her year in office, and said that she looked forward to an equally positive working relationship with Mr Tyson during 2013/14.
9. / Performance Update
  1. Key Performance Indicators Dashboard
Refer to accompanying papers for more details. No questions were asked.
  1. Management Accounts – May 2013
Mr Desai presented this item. Refer to accompanying papers for more details. Mr Desai reminded Members that total income was close to the year-to-date target, and that the operating surplus was on target. Staff costs were slightly adverse, and as Members knew, there had been three clawbacks. The College continued to manage cashflow carefully. The disposals of college buildings and Pyke House were not currently provided for, but would be positive additions.
  1. Risk Register
Each member of SLT highlighted key points relating to the risks they were responsible for. Refer to accompanying paperwork for more details.
Mr Hagues reported that sickness absence had improved to 8.2 days per person per year. He was confident that the new absence management policy would reduce this figure further.
Mr Desai reported that International Full Cost provision was a concern, as was the 16-18 Apprenticeship allocation.
Mr Farmer advised that the risk on failure to forge partnerships should be amended to capture mitigating measures such as the VEP. Mr Cooke added that the college’s work on curriculum design and social media usage should also be included. Mr Hagues advised that overall, the risk was likely to be reassessed as Amber now.
Ms Carrol reported that learner retention rates remained extremely positive. She was now seeking to improve Foundation Level retention. 157 of 166 teaching staff had undergone lesson observations, which meant that the programme was now back on track after having been delayed by disputes over the observation policy during the previous term. The grade profile for lesson observations currently stood at 84% Good or Outstanding – 10% above target. Satisfaction was high at 90%. She would report on the End of Year Survey in the autumn.
Attendance continued to be disappointing at 84%, and this would be a key focus for improvement in 2013/14. It was agreed that Ms Carrol should give a more detailed report on attendance to Members during the Autumn term, including a description of expectations for the attendance of different groups of students.
Mr Campbell asked whether Ms Carrol had any updates on the issue of ensuring consistency of internal lesson observations, which she had raised at the recent CQS Committee meeting. Ms Carrol advised that internal moderation was now in place half termly, with external moderation annually. A mock inspection was planned for the Autumn term, and the Lead Ofsted Inspector would be conducting unannounced observations on 23 and 24 September. Mr Campbell asked Ms Carrol to keep members informed on these matters.
Mr Shelley advised Members that the apprenticeship success rate of 84% would be negatively affected by a recent SFA decision to count some partner provision ending on 31 July as taking place within the 2013/14 academic year, rather than within 2012/13 as it had previously advised. SCCH was not likely to achieve its overall success rates targets for apprenticeships, but timely success was expected to be good, and the overall rates would be on a par with the previous year. / CC
AC
10 / Report from CQS Committee (22 May) and Subcommittee (27 June)
Mr Farmer presented this item. Refer to accompanying reports for more details. Many of the items raised had already been covered during today’s meeting. Mr Farmer drew Members’ attention to several points in his reports, relating to changes in the way apprenticeship data was presented; updates to the predicted success rates (which did not affect the overall predicted rate); plans to organise lesson visits for governors (preceded by training); and an increasing focus on Value Added measures.
Ms Carrol added that implementation of the Post Inspection Action Plan (PIAP) continued to be on track, with sustained high momentum. Key areas of focus from September 2013 would be Equality and Diversity; embedding of Information and Learning Technologies; and Maths and English.
11. / Report from Audit Committee
Mr Dennard presented this item. Refer to accompanying report for more details. He advised Members that progress on clearing audit recommendations was on track, including some high level recommendations made on Key Financial Controls. Mr Farmer reminded Members that they had previously agreed that relevant committees would be informed of any high level recommendations, and asked the Clerk to ensure that this happened as agreed.[1]
Mr Dennard then asked the Corporation to approve the following recommendations:
  • To approve the Internal Audit Strategy for 2013/14
  • To endorse the proposed approach to external audit for 2013/14
  • To note the provisional outcomes of the SFA Accountability Audit conducted in May 2013
  • To approve the suggested arrangements for monitoring financial management and control following the demise of the FMCE self-assessment.
  • To endorse the recommendation to continue using Internal Audit Services, although this was now no longer statutory.
  • To adopt the Audit and Accountability Annexe to the English Colleges’ Foundation Code of Governance
RESOLVED: All of the recommendations listed above were approved by the Full Corporation. Proposed: Mr Dennard; Seconded: Mr Melsom; CARRIED. / Clerk (but see footnote)
12. / Report from Search and Governance Development Committee
Mr Kempner presented this item. Refer to accompanying paper for more details. He asked all colleagues to share ideas to develop the Link Governor Scheme, and Corporation visibility around the college in general.
Mr Kempner then asked the Corporation to approve the amended Standing Orders, and an amendment to the Instrument and Articles as follows, in relation to Clause 8(3), which states that, “A person who is a member of staff at the institution may not be, or continue as, a member, except as a staff member or in the capacity of Principal:
NEW CLAUSES:
"Paragraph (3) does not apply to a student whose employment with the Corporation takes the form of an apprenticeship, for which they are enrolled as a student at the College. Such a student would cease to hold office as soon as their student status ceased, even where their employment with the College continued”.
“Paragraph (3) does not apply to a student who also works part-time for the College for fewer than 10 hours a week.”
RESOLVED: The Corporation approved the amended Standing Orders; and Instrument and Articles. For clarity, it should be noted here that the College’s Instrument and Articles now comprise the Eversheds Baseline Version, with this single amendment. Proposed: Mr Kempner; Seconded: Mr Stevens. RESOLVED. Mr Hubbard abstained from the vote.
Mr Kempner also asked the Corporation to approve the College’s Public Value Statement. However, hard copies of the statement had inadvertently been omitted from the meeting paper packs. After some discussion, it was agreed thatfor matter of this weight, it would be insufficient merely to rely on the Search and Governance Development Committee’s recommendation, without having seen the statement itself. This item was therefore deferred to the September 2013 meeting of the Full Corporation, where it could be given the full and careful consideration it deserved.
Finally, Mr Kempner advised the Committee that Dr Tim Strickland had now resigned his co-option onto the CQS Committee, by mutual agreement with Mr Campbell and Mr Cooke. This had been a short-term, helpful arrangement to support the College during its initial recovery period. / Clerk
13. / Report from Finance and Human Resources Committee (8 May and 19 June)
Mr Melsom presented this item. Refer to accompanying report for more details. Mr Melsom asked the Corporation to approve the following recommendations:
  • To approve the Marketing and Communications Strategy
  • To approve the Fully Costed Income Strategy
  • To approve changes to the 2012/13 subcontractor list
  • To approve the provisional 2013/14 subcontractor list
  • To approve the Subcontracting Fees and Charging Policy
  • To approve the final budget 2013/14 and three-year financial plan
  • To endorse the FHR Committee’s recommendation to select the second of three options given by Barclays with regard to renegotiating the banking covenants.
  • To approve the Student Council budget for 2013/14
  • To approve the refreshed Financial Regulations 2013/14. (The proposed amendments had been clearly listed in Mr Melsom’s report from the June FHR meeting).
  • To agree that the Corporation risk tolerance threshold should remain at 16.
It was noted that Mr Shelley’s presentation before the meeting had provided a good opportunity for Members to understand the marketing strategy and ask questions.
Mr Melsom informed the Corporation that the FHR Committee had scrutinised the proposed budget and fully costed income strategy in very great detail at both its May and June 2013 meetings (refer to Mr Melsom’s reports from these committees for more details). The budget setting had been far more straightforward this year, and a growing surplus was predicted. Mr Cooke added that the key risks to delivery would be non-achievement of state funding targets, and lingering reputational damage from the adverse Ofsted inspection of 2011. Mr Kempner commended the very clear presentation of the budget and three-year plan. Mr Farmer observed that an 0% increase in apprenticeship income over three years was not acceptable.
Mr Farmer offered to join the Innovation Team (referring to a proposal within the Fully Costed Income Strategy).
RESOLVED: All of the recommendations listed above were approved by the Full Corporation. Proposed: Mr Melsom; Seconded: Mrs Walton; CARRIED.
Mr Shelley left the meeting at 5.10pm
14. / Corporation Calendar 2013/14
The calendar of Corporation and Committee meetings to July 2013 was noted.
Mr Campbell advised Members that a residential Strategy Day was now planned for 25-6 October 2013.
15. / Update from Organisational Development Working Group – Meeting held on 20 June 2013
Mr Hagues reported that the meeting had been very successful. A subgroup was being established to look at employee voice and internal communications, as suggested by the FHR Committee.
16. / Renewal of Corporation Declaration of Interests
17. / Renewal of Corporation Declaration of Eligibility
Items 16 and 17 were taken together. Members were asked to complete their annual declarations, and return them to the Clerk. / All
18. / AOB
It was noted that Mr Vicarey had a place at the University of Brighton University for October 2013 to study computer gaming.
At the same time, Miss Hancock would be taking up her place at BournemouthUniversity to study Midwifery.
Mr Campbell warmly thanked both student governors for their contribution during the year.
12. / Date of next meeting.
The meeting closed at 7.05pm

1

[1] Post-meeting note: The final Accountability Audit report from the SFA(dated 10 July 2013) notes that the Corporation has agreed this approach, but recommends that: “An alternative strategy to pursue would be for the managers responsible for the non-financial area which had just been subject to audit, to attend the meeting of the Audit Committee which discussed the internal audit report and explain what action was being taken to address weaknesses raisedby the internal auditors. Accordingly, we recommend that the Clerk to the Corporation should discuss with the Chair of the Audit Committee the matter of inviting relevant managers to attend Audit Committee meetings when internal audit reports on the areas they are responsible for are considered and discussed”. The College’s management response to the Accountability Audit has accepted this recommendation.