Minutes of a Corporation Meeting Held on Wednesday 24 May 2017 At
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
DOCUMENT 1 Minutes of a Corporation Meeting held on Wednesday 24th May 2017 at 5.00pm Held in the Boardroom, South Building Present: Ms Amanda Annan Mr Vic Bellanti Mr Stewart Fergusson Ms Maggie Galliers (Chair) Ms Kirsti Lord (Acting Principal) Dr Russell Moseley Mr Carl Pearson Ms Sandra Smith Mr Martin Sparrow Mr Steve Stewart In Attendance: Mr Jim Edwards, Clerk to the Corporation Ms Clare Hatton, Assistant Principal Business Transformation Ms Jo Lawrence, Assistant Principal Student and Staff Services Mr Mark Payne, Director of Finance and Resources Mr Mark Wright, Director of Faculty for Technology C55/17 Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were received from Stuart Brand, Mr Chris Cooper, Ms Di Crookes, and Stuart Rolt C56/17 Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest. C57/17 Minutes of the meeting held on 26th April 2017 The minutes of the meeting held on 26th April 2017 were approved as a true record. C58/17 Matters Arising from the Minutes i) Under C32/17, Key Performance Indicators, it was confirmed that Maggie Galliers, Russell Moseley and Chris Cooper had met with the Acting Principal on 3rd May 2017 to scrutinise in more detail the predicted achievement rates for 2016-17, and to review the implementation of the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). Although a few compliance issues had been raised by Governors, it was clear that systems were more robust, and were generally being adhered to. 1 DOCUMENT 1 Three themes had emerged during the discussions on the QIP; namely, predicted achievements; work-based learning and especially PSV provision; and compliance with MarkBook, which Governors recognise as a powerful tracking tool. Maggie Galliers and Russell Moseley will meet the Acting Principal again before the next Corporation meeting on 21st June 2017 to review progress. ii) Under C46/17, Report of the Principal and Senior Leadership Team, it was reported that the safeguarding referral reported at the last meeting had been resolved with no involvement from the Local Authority Designated Officer. iii) Under C50/17, Staff Survey, it was reported that an action plan was now in place to address staff responses, and regular communications were taking place through a staff newsletter. iv) Under C51/17, Apprenticeships, it was reported that the potential transfer of apprenticeships from Hereward College to the College had not materialised. Instead, the apprentices had been transferred to Chamber Training. This is very disappointing, and the reasons for this change of heart are being sought. v) Under C51/17, Apprenticeships, it was reported that both the College and Henley College Coventry had been successful in their re-applications to join the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP). C59/17 Report of the Principal and Senior Leadership Team 1. The Principal and Senior Leadership Team presented a report which updated Governors on elements of the merger with Henley College; the Joint Venture Company for Apprenticeships; overall performance in 2016-17; national policy changes ; staff and student activities; safeguarding; and student recruitment events. Merger 2. Merger arrangements continue to progress satisfactorily, and the implementation date of 1st August 2017 is still projected. A fuller update will be provided under the specific merger update item later in the meeting. Joint Venture Company 3. Since the last Corporation meeting on 26th April 2017, the Warwickshire College Group, North Warwickshire and South Leicester College, and City College Coventry had agreed that, if formed, the Joint Venture Company (JVC) would be not-for-profit company and limited by shares. Part of the transition funding that had been allocated to the establishment of a JVC was now being allocated to commissioning external expertise to draw up a business plan. 4. To confirm, the JVCs primary aims will be to develop business with levy paying employers, and to deliver standards and levels not offered by any of the partner colleges. 5. The Corporation will be asked to consider the college’s involvement in the JVC at its meeting on 12th July 2017. 2 DOCUMENT 1 Overall Performance in 2016-17 6. A more detailed KPI report will be considered later in the meeting, but, in summary, it was reported that student attendance, retention, and achievement in 2016-17 are projected to improve on 2015-16 figures. Positioning for Policy Change 7. Andy Street has been elected as West Midlands’ mayor, and has stated his commit to improving the skills’ infrastructure within the Combined Authority. The Coventry and Warwickshire Principals’ Group has been working on effective ways to engage with and lobby his office on the importance of the further education sector in delivering the government’s Skills’ Plan. 8. Coventry college principals recently met the Local Authority’s Director of Education, Libraries and Adult Learning to discuss information, advice and guidance (IAG) in schools, and also to consider the negative impact of changes to the funding formula on the breadth of curriculum offer. She is planning to facilitate a further meeting in September 2017 to develop stronger relations between schools and colleges in the city. Staff and Student Activities 9. Staff and student meetings have been held to allow concerns and queries to be raised about merger, and also to provide forums for discussion about improvements in the College. 10. The Marketing teams from both colleges have also worked together to produce internal communications on the merger. A Merger Communications’ Plan has been produced, and Governors requested that this be forwarded via the Merger Project Manager. 11. 8th-12th May 2017 saw the first ‘Have Your Say Week’ for students, which provided them with a number of opportunities to provide feedback on their learning experience and associated support services. This has proved to be a very useful exercise, and the outcomes of student comments and views will be collated and reported back to students. Applications 12. The latest applications’ numbers for the 2017-18 academic year were tabled for Governors’ consideration. 13. New applicant numbers are currently 342 (c13%) behind the May 2016 figures. However, the figure for all applications, including projected progression from current students onto higher level programmes, is ahead by 452 (c17%). Whilst this latter figure is encouraging, it was noted that this projection relied on current students achieving their qualifications in 2016-17 and enrolling in 2017-18. 14. The latest apprenticeship information events at the College have been very well-attended indeed, and it is hoped that recruitment will follow accordingly. Currently, there are 31 live vacancies, with 29 applicants in the pipeline. 15. Governors queried the process for matching apprenticeship applicants with employers, and were reassured that the College was rigorous in undertaking 1:1 interviews. Currently, it is estimated that all Engineering and PSV applicants will be placed with employers, but difficulties are being experienced with the areas of Customer Service and Business Administration. 3 DOCUMENT 1 Safeguarding 16. The Assistant Principal Student and Staff Services presented a safeguarding update, and informed Governors of a number of developments since the last Corporation meeting. 17. Over 400 additional students had received Prevent training recently, and the events in Manchester had provided a focus for discussions. 18. The College continues to work closely with the police, who are continuing to support the college in dealing with anti-social behaviour off-site. Governors were provided with a confidential briefing on one particular issue. Conclusions 15. Governors resolved:- i) to note the positive report of the Principal and Senior Leadership Team; ii) to request that the Merger Communications’ Plan be forwarded via the Merger Project Manager; iii) to note the applications’ position for 2017-18, and to agree that no student should be turned away, and instead should be referred to Henley College Coventry as required. iv) to note safeguarding update, and to endorse the College’s approach in increasing security in response to external anti-social behaviour; v) to note the safeguarding update, but to request that the report be redacted where relevant to maintain confidentiality. C60/17 Merger 1. The Clerk and Chair of Shadow Board provided a summary of progress being made in implementing the merger with Henley College Coventry (HCC). 2. The Shadow Board met on 16th May 2017, and reviewed progress towards the implementation of merger by 1st August 2017. 3. The public consultation process has been completed, and the majority of responses have been positive. External stakeholders in particular had responded favourably. 4. Phase 2 of the Financial Due Diligence undertaken by RSM has been completed. Generally, their ‘Review of the Strategic Business Plan’ is positive and supportive, and the Shadow Board agreed to endorse their report, and to implement their recommendations. The Director of Finance and Resources summarised the report for Governors’ information, and drew their attention to the key aspects as discussed by the Shadow Board. 5. RSM’s review of the strategic business plan takes into account an analysis of various sensitivities based on a number of key risks; namely, failure to be admitted onto the RoATP (although this risk has now be addressed as per Minute C58/17 (v) above); delays in implementing the merger; the impact of Brexit; and additional costs in achieving merger. RSM stress-tested each scenario to arrive at their assessment of the strategic business plan. 4 DOCUMENT 1 6. RSM’s overall opinion of the strategic business plan is that it is prudent, given that it projects little growth and has only a few curriculum changes. Therefore, there is only a low risk in achieving the financial forecast. 7. The six-year financial forecast shows a deficit in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Thereafter, operating surpluses are projected in the remaining four years. 8.