Carlisle college PROPOSAL FOR MERGER BETWEEN CARLISLE COLLEGE AND NCG INITIAL OUTLINE PROPOSAL GIVE US YOUR VIEWSPROPOSAL FOR MERGER BETWEEN e CARLISLE COLLEGE AND NCG INITIAL OUTLINE PROPOSAL Carlisle Carlisl college college 1 Proposal for merger between Carlisle College and NCG: Initial Outline Proposal Contents Page no 1. Executive Summary 2 2. Background 5 3. The Geographic Area Impacted by Merger 8 4. Carlisle College 14 5. NCG 17 6. Strategic Objectives for the Merged College 26 7. Brand and Quality Arrangements 33 8. Financial and Legal Update 35 9. Property and Estates Strategy 38 10. Governance Arrangements 41 11. People Arrangements 43 12. Consultation Process and Next Steps 45 Appendix 1 – NCG Structure Incorporating Carlisle College 46 Purpose Carlisle College and NCG propose to merge to form a single institution. This proposal document explains how the merger will take place, and how it will improve the future range and quality of training and education in Carlisle and Cumbria. Your views are sought on the merger as part of a transparent consultation process. 1 www.ncgrp.co.uk | www.carlisle.ac.uk 1. Executive Summary Carlisle College Carlisle College is a small general further Education College, serving the post 16 education and training needs of North Cumbria. The college campus, located in Carlisle, is the only GFE College within a 35 mile radius of Carlisle. It has cross- border arrangements with Scotland for learners living within the travel to learn area. To this end it provides a broad range of learning programmes delivered in a variety of ways. The college offers mainly vocational programmes on a full-time, part-time and evening basis. The college also offers apprenticeship programmes as well as subcontracted "off the job" training and provides higher education programmes. The quality of provision is good and the College is a key player in the local community. NCG NCG is one of the largest education and training groups in the UK, with an annual turnover over the last three years of just under £180m. NCG has expanded over several years into one of the largest providers of high quality education, training, employability and work-based learning solutions in the UK. There are currently six operating divisions of NCG: Newcastle College, West Lancashire College, Kidderminster College, Intraining, Rathbone Training and Newcastle Sixth Form College. NCG is recognised for its strong leadership and management, excellent governance, and is one of the most financially robust organisations in the sector. It has a good reputation regionally and nationally, and a commitment to the highest standards of delivery. Why Carlisle College should merge with NCG The strategic review conducted by Carlisle College concluded that joining a national college group was its preferred option for future development; it also identified that NCG was the only college group with a national reach. A merger with NCG will allow Carlisle College to fulfil the next stage of its strategic objectives, whilst retaining its own brand, identity and presence in the local area. The proposal is that Carlisle College will form a distinct operating unit of NCG, and will operate with a high degree of agreed autonomy within the NCG structure. Carlisle College will retain its full local identity, current sites and provision, with local leadership provided by the Principal and Senior Team. Local governance will be put in place with accountability through to the NCG Board. The merger has the potential to be extremely beneficial to both organisations. Carlisle College will be able to retain its successful local identity and realise its ambitions for future stability and growth through the support of NCG. NCG will be Page 2 2 www.ncgrp.co.uk | www.carlisle.ac.uk able to utilise the specific expertise and specialisms in Carlisle to benefit the wider group. Merger Method and Date It is proposed that Carlisle College1 will merge with NCG under a model B merger arrangement, i.e. with the corporation of Carlisle College being dissolved and its assets and liabilities being transferred to NCG. The date of the merger is planned to be 1 August 2016. Finance Carlisle College has experienced some challenges managing its finances in a difficult funding environment, but has shown a significant resilience in stabilising the situation. At 31 July 2015, Carlisle College had an income of £12.5m but generated an operating deficit in the year of £780,189. Of this deficit the majority (£585k) was related to exceptional restructuring costs for that year. The current SFA financial health rating is ‘Satisfactory’. The cash position has been weak recently, largely as a result of the significant investment made in the estate over the last few years and then by the one-off restructuring costs; these were exacerbated by low points in the funding payments for the year. The college has drawn down a short term loan from Cumbria County Council which will bridge the funding gap. Post-merger, Carlisle College will become a full partner in the NCG family with 100% commitment to securing its future and building on its existing financial health. NCG will assist Carlisle College to improve profitability through income growth and achievement of cost efficiencies. NCG will provide Carlisle College with back-office support through its Corporate Services model, realising cost efficiencies for Carlisle College and freeing up resource to focus on curriculum expansion and income growth. Post-Merger Arrangements NCG will ensure that there are robust local governance arrangements in place for Carlisle once the merger is completed. For West Lancashire and Kidderminster Colleges this is currently delivered through a local Advisory Committee. NCG 1 When the term “Carlisle College” is used in this document in relation to arrangements after 1 August 2016 it refers to a Division of NCG operating in Carlisle and Cumbria with a distinctive remit to serve the needs of Carlisle and Cumbria Page 3 3 www.ncgrp.co.uk | www.carlisle.ac.uk governors are currently reviewing these arrangements with a view to enhancing local governance and make sure they are fit for purpose for the larger group. The Principal of Carlisle College will continue to have the responsibilities of an Executive leader and be charged with developing and delivering effective relationships with learners, employers, partners and communities. Consultation The two parties to the merger fully intend to undertake an open and transparent approach to consultation. To this end: • The consultation will comply fully with statutory requirements for the proposed dissolution of FE college corporations • This Initial Outline Proposal (IOP) will be made available to all relevant stakeholders, and made available publicly via the websites of both Carlisle College and NCG • All stakeholders will be invited to respond to the consultation questions relating to the merger proposal • Carlisle College and NCG will publish a summary of consultation responses received and, where relevant, their shared intentions to address the nature of those responses • Carlisle College will consult with its recognised trade unions over the transfer of its employees to NCG, to meaningfully satisfy its obligations under TUPE. Delivering the Merger The experiences of NCG’s successful mergers with Kidderminster College and West Lancashire College will inform the process of merger between NCG and Carlisle College. A Merger Project Team has been established comprising key people from NCG to plan and deliver the merger; they will be joined by key counterparts from Carlisle. The process is being overseen by a Merger Project Board comprising empowered governors and leaders from both organisations. Page 4 4 www.ncgrp.co.uk | www.carlisle.ac.uk 2. Background Carlisle College is a small sized general further Education College, serving the post 16 education and training needs of North Cumbria. The college campus, located in Carlisle, is the only GFE College within a 35 mile radius of Carlisle. It has cross- border arrangements with Scotland for learners living within the travel to learn area. To this end it provides a broad range of learning programmes delivered in a variety of ways. The college offers mainly vocational programmes on a full-time, part-time and evening basis. The college also offers apprenticeship programmes as well as subcontracted "off the job" training and provides higher education programmes. The Further Education Sector has been subject to five successive years of funding cuts and fiscal restraints, which has weakened the financial stability of Colleges across the sector. No college has been immune to this impact and many smaller colleges have already sought to mitigate the impact by exploring different structural arrangements such as federation, merger or shared services. In Autumn 2015, the governors of Carlisle College identified that the future financial position of their own institution was looking increasingly difficult and decided to undertake a strategic assessment of their future options, formally known as a ‘Structure and Prospects Appraisal’ (SPA). Through the SPA a series of options were developed. The options for consideration included: • Continuing with status quo • Shared services with one or more other Colleges • Merger/ Federation with all four Cumbrian FE Colleges • Merger with other individual Cumbrian institutions • Merge/join with a national college group structure. An evaluation system was adopted with a set of criteria based on those used by other colleges undergoing a similar exercise and adapted to Carlisle’s situation. The proposed criteria were: • Financial strength and future sustainability • Strengthened quality of provision in FE, HE and Apprenticeships • Increase capacity/strength in corporate services (e.g. IT, MIS etc.) • Maintenance of Carlisle College identity • Ability to shape curriculum offer to meet local need Page 5 5 www.ncgrp.co.uk | www.carlisle.ac.uk • Ability to align the cultures of the merged organisations • Enhanced opportunities for staff • Enhanced opportunities for learners • Feasibility and Speed at which resolution can be reached • Acceptability to local stakeholders.