Minutes of the Corporation Meeting Held at the Watford Campus at 1700Hrs on 8 February 2017

Minutes of the Corporation meeting held at the Watford Campus at 1700hrs on 8 February 2017

PART ONE

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting, in particular as guests, the Principal and Finance Director from Stanmore College, which had recently been inspected by Ofsted with a successful outcome.

39/16ELIGIBILITY, QUORUM, DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

1. The apologies were accepted.

1. No notice had been received of any Member becoming ineligible to hold office, the meeting was quorate and there had been no interests declared.

1. There were no requests for urgent business.

40/16STANDING ITEMS

1. The Search Committee had met immediately before the meeting and a verbal report was given by the Chair. The Committee had recommended the appointment of Julia Meighan, who was a successful business entrepreneur, as a General Member for 2 years wef today; the recommendation was unanimously accepted. Julia joined the meeting and introduced herself. (Action 1)

1. The Minutes from the meeting held on 14 December 2016 were confirmed and signed.

1. Outstanding Actions. All actions from the last meeting had been implemented or were in progress.

1. Matters arising. There were no matters arising from the minutes.

The information was received and noted.

41/16PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

The Principal’s report covered detail outside the scope of the agenda.

1. The KPIs were noted as all Green, with the exception of Apprenticeship enrolment and success which remained Amber Green (AG). In response to a challenge it was explained that the prudent assessment for this area was still influenced by legacy issues from 2 years previously. Despite the AG assessment the 73% prediction was above the national average (72%). English and Maths (EAM) performance was showing positive indicators of a steady improvement.

1. Institutes of Technology (IoT). The national Industrial Strategy had now been launched, the initiative was designed to directly tackle the skill challenge and included funding of £174m for new Institutes and that these would be more effectively achieved through use of existing colleges. Locally, the LEP had indicated an appetite for a digital specialist Hertfordshire IoT, possibly with Warner Bros joining the current working party of the University of Hertfordshire, Oaklands and WHC,which presented a good opportunity for WHC as a leader in this area. The University had previously resisted widening the delivery of Degree Apprenticeships in Colleges but that stance now appeared to be easing. A close eye would be kept on developments and members would be kept informed.

1. Watford Palace Theatre. The Palace was working in partnership with WHC on the widening of necessary skills for theatre production and set design and build; members welcomed this innovative development.

1. Tom Klymkiw. Congratulations were recorded on the award, at the recent Hertfordshire Sport Partnership Annual Awards, of the recognition of Tom’s “services to further and higher education sport”.

The information was received.

42/16STANMORE MERGER UPDATE

The proposal to merge (Type B) with Stanmore College had now been accepted by the appropriate agencies and both partners remained totally committed to the vision of a merger. The Merger Steering Committee (MSC) (formerly the MAG) had met for the first time during the last few days and several issues had emerged,which were fully detailed in the accompanying paper.Of particular note were;

1. agreement on confidentiality, communications and Committee Terms of Reference(ToR);

1. work streams and provisional timelines; and

1. drafting of the Heads of Terms(Heads) for consideration by the Corporations, members were reminded that this document was a statement of intent and not legally binding.

The Heads were then considered:

1. Para 3 would be amended to read….”The Parties aim to effect the merger if possible on
   1 September 2017 but in any event not later than 1 February 2018.”;

1. Post MSC meeting events had indicated that the possibility of Stanmore becoming a subsidiary of WHC should not feature at present and accordingly Recitals (B) and Para 4 would be amended to read…. “The merger will be effected by way of dissolution of Stanmore College and transfer of all its assets and liabilities into West Herts College.”

1. Para 6.3 would be amended to reflecta balanced membership of 5 from each college; and

1. Para 8.1. The clarification on cost sharing was noted.

With theseamendments incorporated, the Chair of the Corporation and the Principal were delegated to sign the Heads.(Action2)

1. The information was noted and received.
2. The Chair and Principal were (conditionally) authorised to sign the Heads.

43/16TOGETHER TRAINING (TT)

A full progress report on the establishment of the Joint Venture(JV) with Oaklands College was discussed; all legal matters had now been concluded with appropriate legal advice and within the delegated authority. The necessary documents (Listed in the accompanying papers) had been prepared and had been approved at the first meeting of the TT Board on 6 February. The Managing Director would take up post on 20 February 2017 and a full induction had been prepared, the independent Chair had not yet been appointed. Immediate priorities had been identified, were individually noted and student enrolment would begin in the next few weeks.

The information was received and noted.

BUSINESS ITEMS

44/16PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT

The report, detailing students’ progress towards completion of programmes and qualifications was discussed. Explanations of Study Programmes and Minimum Target Grades led into consideration of how teachers and course tutors collaborate with students to continuously assess and appraise on progress. An essential element of this process was the quarterly DataCollection Points, which detailed expectations and predicted outcomes, this data was then tabulated using an adaptation from Pro-Monitor. Minimum target grades were tabulated by individual schools and were individually considered. Students who failed to achieve (for whatever reason), particularly in (often unpopular)EAM were transferred from GCSE classes and continued studies of these subjects as part of avocational course, this process was cost-neutral but of benefit to students. Details of EAM intervention measures were tabulated and informed further consideration of some positive signs in this area, for example a creditable110 students achieved A*-C last November.

The information was received.

45/16HEALTH AND SAFETY (HAS)

1. Annual Report. Members were reminded that, in line with and included in, the insurance arrangements(By UMAL) a full biennial review of management and HAS risks had been completed during January. The consequent comprehensive report was then discussed, members took comfort from the positive tone throughout, in particular the general awareness of related issues amongst staff, welcomed the assurance on full compliance in all key risk categories and noted the high average grading; the report was noted with no amendments.

1. Policy. The HAS Policy, which was the foundation of the excellent report considered above, had been issued and approved by the Corporation in October 2015. The Policy was considered and approved as presented. (Action 3)

1. The information was noted and received.
2. The HAS Policy was approved wie.

46/16AREA REVIEW (AR) UPDATE

The AR process, commenced in last November had held 3 from 6 planned meetings and was planned to end in March; at the last meeting colleges had presented views on their individual futures and aspirations. (WHC Position Paper attached to the report). The now established plans for merger with Stanmore College had been discussed and, after completion of the necessary options template, hopefully would be included in the final report. There was nothing else of note and the report was received.

The report was received.

47/16CAPITAL PROJECT

The increased focus on employer engagement, through development of the “Skillmakers” initiative and the establishment of TT (43/16 refers), had prompted close scrutiny of an appropriate operational facility, both to deliver the training and to provide for effective engagement with employers. After close consideration of the options it had been concluded that the underutilisedhairdressing and beauty therapy salons should be converted into an “Employer Zone”, a suggestion supported by the LEP with probable 45% matched grant funding. The full business case was attached and was discussed in depth, the cost of the project would be £159k, of which £72k should be the LEP contribution. It was agreed that the scheme would:

1. facilitate development of employer engagement;

1. promote Value for Money (VFM)by efficient use of resources; and

1. was financially sound.

Accordingly, the development of an Employer Zone, at a cost of £159k including a 45%(£72k) contribution from the Hertfordshire LEP, was unanimously approved. (Action 4)

1. The information was noted and received.
2. The scheme was approved.

48/16MEMBERS

Visits.

1. Steven Herman had been well involved since the last meeting in informal conversations with teaching staff and reported obvious high commitment and loyalty, he would complete a similar exercise in the near future with support staff focusing on the “Front of house” element. He had also visited the Kings Langley campus and had been impressed with the apparent vibrancy, an impression strongly supported by Graham Wood from his separate visit.

1. Christina Lloyd and Jo Weil had also had informal exchanges with students and quoted an instance of one studying English, who had expressed regret at her former rather dilatory approach but explained that she had now developed positive commitment and was determined to achieve “as highly as possible”. Would it be possible to spread that attitude change to wider EAM provision?

1. Frank Neale had also been involved informally with students in the vicinity of the college and had been impressed with the prevalent positive ambitions for progression after College.

The information was received and noted.

49/16URGENT BUSINESS.

There had been no urgent business requested.

50/16DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting would be held at 1700 on 8March 2017.

51/16ACTION TABLE