North East Worcestershire College

Governance and Search Committee

Final Signed Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 12 April 2016 at 8.05 p.m. in Room M316, All Saints’ Building, Deansway, Worcester (following a Corporation Conference Call)

Present: Neill Bucktin (Chair) Non- executive member David Rood Non- executive member Lucy Hodgson Non- executive member Peter Heath Staff Governor Stuart Laverick Principal

In attendance: Jenny Morris Clerk to the Corporation

3.1 Apologies Apologies for absence were received from Sue Fowler and Paul McCunn.

3.2 Declaration of Interest There was none.

3.3 Minutes of the Meeting of 29 September 2015 The minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2015 were approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

3.4 Matters Arising The matters arising had all been completed or in the case of the Code of Good Governance were on the agenda apart from the requested updates to the ‘Acceptable Use’ policy which will be included as appropriate in the SLT review of the Policy currently underway and due for completion shortly.

3.5 Determination of any other urgent business There was none.

3.6 Corporation Membership and Recruitment for 2016/17 including:  Skills Audit  Recruitment Strategy  Equality & Diversity and Reflecting the Community

The Committee received the report and considered Corporation membership. It was noted that the current Corporation determination is a total membership of 18 governors comprising: 13 non-executive governors, 2 staff governors, 2 student governors and the Principal. It was further noted that the terms of office of three non-executive members will conclude at 31 July 2016. Consideration was given to whether the skills mix is right for the Corporation’s current and future needs; the optimal the size for the Corporation given the limited Committee/strategic model and also the question of equality and diversity and how well the current membership reflects the communities served.

On the question of Corporation size, it was considered that, as the College is still in the

1 second year post-merger, it is not yet the right time to reduce the membership of the Corporation. It was agreed that the position should be reviewed for the 2017/18 academic year, as three further terms of office will conclude at the end of the 2016/17.

Governors considered that the skills mix is a crucial factor and reviewed the position with reference to the recently undertaken skills audit. This included a review of the skills mix of continuing governors, as well as that of the retiring governors.

One of the governors, whose term of office is due to conclude on 31 July 2016, had requested that he be considered for re-appointment. The Clerk reminded members that under the procedures for the appointment of non-executive governors, re-appointments to the Corporation at the end of a term of office will not be automatic. Recommendations from the Governance and Search Committee regarding re-appointments will be considered by the Corporation based on the results of a skills audit, merit and the performance of the post holder including their attendance record. The Committee reviewed the contribution, skills and experience of Paul McCunn, who serves as Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of Governance and Search Committee. He had also served as a member of the Reporting Task and Finish Group and is the Governor Champion for Equality & Diversity. Paul also has a valuable skills set and experience relevant to the current needs of the Corporation. It was agreed therefore that his re-appointment as a governor should be recommended to Corporation with a view to be taken on the appropriate length of the term of office.

For the recruitment process in 2014/15 legal skills and experience had been identified as a gap in the Corporation skills mix, but on that occasion there had been no applicants with this particular experience.

The Committee also considered the recent review of strategic specialisms, which had been agreed by Corporation, and how the area of special and high educational needs had been identified for future development.

The Committee agreed that the Principal should test the market in relation to these particular skills sets, prior to embarking on the formal competitive recruitment process. It was agreed that it was not appropriate to delay the recruitment process until the Area Review process had concluded.

The Committee also considered the importance of reflecting the communities which the College serves and some reflections on this topic and how to balance this with the need for the right skills were made. It was noted that the current composition includes 7 women out of a membership of 17 (with one vacancy for a student governor). It was agreed that, as with the previous recruitment process, strong endeavours would be made to increase the diversity of the membership, and information on the current demographic breakdown of the county was provided for consideration.

The Clerk informed members that the process for the election of student governors for 2016/17 had begun and, as agreed by Corporation, has been aligned to the Student Union election timetable. In addition, a student had been identified to attend Corporation by invitation as a participating observer to strengthen learner input for the remainder of 2015/16.

The Committee agreed to recommend to the Corporation that: i. Paul McCunn is re-appointed as a non- executive governor with effect from 1 August 2016 for a term of office to be agreed; ii. a non-executive Governor recruitment process is commenced for two appointments to be made for 2016/17 focusing on the skills identified through

2 the skills audit. iii. the recruitment process is based upon the previous model to encourage a wide range of applicants.

3.7 Governance Improvement Action Plan Update The Clerk presented the report and outlined progress with the Governance Improvement Action Plan (GIAP) for 2015/16. The Committee reviewed the progress and also noted that governors’ attendance at Corporation meetings and workshops for 2015/16 to date stands at 81%.

The Committee reviewed the position and focused particularly on how to develop a systematic approach to governor appraisal. For the 2014/15 year the Chair had met individually with each non-executive and staff governor to consider and evaluate the first year of the merger and discuss any issues which individual governors wished to raise. The Chair invested a considerable amount of time in undertaking this process and actions were implemented in response to feedback. It was proposed that for 2015/16, governors be included within the 360 Degree Appraisal process currently being reviewed by the Director of HR, in order to develop one consistent process for the whole College.

The Committee also considered the Internal Audit Service (IAS) report, which set out the outcomes of the governance review for 2015/16. It was agreed that it was particularly useful to feedback on the observation of the February Corporation meeting which been undertaken as part of this review. The report also information on sector good practice. It was noted that the IAS report will be submitted to the Audit Committee and that the recommendations on developing the Governor Insight Scheme will be added to the GIAP. It was further agreed that any actions for governance development arising from the recent Ofsted inspection will also be included within the GIAP.

The Committee: i) reviewed progress to date with the Governance Improvement Action Plan for 2015/16; ii) requested that the Plan be updated to include additional recommendations concerning developments to the Insight Scheme; and iii) recommended to Corporation the implementation of an appraisal system for governors based on the College model.

3.8 English Colleges’ Code of Good Governance Review The Clerk presented a review setting out the current position on how the College applies the standards set in the Code of Good Governance. This provided an update on the position presented to the September meeting of the Committee. At the October 2015 Corporation meeting it was agreed, on the Committee’s recommendation, to use the Code of Good Governance as a source of assurance and a means of evaluation and a self- assessment tool for 2015/16 and then to review adoption for 2016/17. The Committee requested that the Clerk liaise with the Principal in gaining input from the Senior Leadership Team in relevant areas so that a complete picture can be ascertained.

The Committee considered that good progress had been made with this exercise. The Committee then went on to discuss how sector benchmarking, which is referred to in the Code, might be achieved. It was noted that in some sectors ‘benchmarking clubs’ have been developed. An example might be that data sets are agreed and then performance against the identified areas compared on a quarterly basis between the member organisations. There was a further discussion of this and it was proposed that, in the first instance, the College auditors be approached to see whether they are aware of any such initiatives within the sector.

3 The Committee: i. considered that good progress had been made in applying the standards set out in the Code of Good Governance; ii. requested that the Senior Leadership Team contribute further information in relevant areas of activity; and iii. requested that the Clerk researches the possibility of working with a ‘benchmarking club’ to compare performance.

3.9 Governor Development i) Governor Insight Scheme and Champion Role The Clerk presented the report, which set out a review of progress with the Governor Insight Scheme and Governor Champion scheme for 2015/16. In a development for 2015/16, requested by governors, ‘learning walks’ had been introduced for the Spring term.

The Internal Audit Service Governance Review had included a review of the scheme and, as a result, developments are to be made to the Scheme and governor feedback forms. There was a discussion of how to demonstrate the impact of the scheme, particularly responding to governor feedback, following involvement in activities in College.

The Governor Champion roles for Safeguarding, Equality & Diversity and Business Development were reviewed and it was proposed that these are reviewed annually and that there is a formal opportunity to consider rotation of holders of the roles. The role description for the Business Development champion was supported.

The Committee: a. reviewed progress with the Governor Insight Scheme and supported proposed developments; and b. recommended to Corporation that the Champion Roles are reviewed annually and that the role description for the Business Development champion is approved.

ii) Governor Training, Development and Induction The Committee reviewed the report on training, development and induction activities for 2015/16 to date. There have been presentations prior to Corporation meetings on the key topics of Safeguarding and Prevent; Equality & Diversity and British Values and Apprenticeships. A Risk Management Workshop in September 2015 was arranged to support Corporation members in deciding on the College’s strategic approach to risk management and this was subsequently agreed and implemented. A Corporation Away Event was successfully introduced for 2015/16, which included elements of training, as well as reviewing strategic options. Governors had also participated in a variety of external training events.

The Committee reviewed and noted the position.

3.10 Any Other Urgent Business There was none.

3.11 Schedule of Meetings Meetings are to be held as required.

The meeting closed at 8.55 p.m.

Signed: Date