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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.

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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 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 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 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.

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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 ’ 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.

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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.

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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. In terms of the pension position, a charge over the HCC site is being given as security, and therefore the West Midlands Pension Fund has assessed the merged college as low risk. Significant reductions in costs are therefore estimated, and have been factored into the financial forecast.

9. The bank facility is nearing finalisation, and the likely rate is 2.15% above LIBOR. This is slightly higher than CCC’s current rate, and additional debt servicing costs of £50,000 p.a. will therefore be incurred.

10. Governors queried the level of arrangement fee, the revolving credit offer, and the terms of the bank covenants, and details were provided confidentially.

11. The TUPE process has now commenced with Henley College Coventry having issued the necessary notices to City College Coventry. Consultation with staff and unions is underway, and progress is positive. There are no issues of concern in terms of the proper legal process being followed.

12. To confirm, the legal due diligence reports have been considered by both City College Coventry (CCC) and Henley College Coventry (HCC), and represent no impediment towards merger. An outstanding issue, associated with a charge by the Homes and Communities Agency over part of CCC’s site, has now been resolved satisfactorily.

13. Governance arrangements for the new Corporation are being formulated at present, and final proposals will be presented to the Shadow Board for approval at its next meeting on 13th June 2017.

14. Operational work streams are generally working well, and it is projected that the appropriate systems and processes will be in place by 1st August 2017.

15. Governors resolved:-

i) to note the positive progress towards achieving merger by 1st August 2017.

C61/17 Quality Improvement Plan

1. The Acting Principal presented the updated Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) for consideration.

2. Governors noted that most learner performance and staff issues would be reported on under the Key Performance Indicators’ item later in the meeting.

3. A refinement to the QIP was requested; namely, that targets and distance travelled should be evident in the progress report. The Acting Principal responded that these are currently included, and it was suggested that a change of terminology was all that was required.

4. Governors resolved:-

i) to note the satisfactory progress in implementing the Quality Improvement Plan;

ii) to note that the QIP would be considered by Maggie Galliers and Russell Moseley at their next meeting with the Acting Principal. 5

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C62/17 Construction Action Plan

1. Mr Mark Wright, Director of Faculty for Technology, presented an update on the performance of the Construction curriculum area, which had been the subject of particular scrutiny by Governors since the poor Ofsted grading in November 2015.

2. Since then, an improvement action plan was approved by Governors, and College management implemented a number of strategies designed to address student and staff performance. These have resulted in significant and pleasing improvements.

4. Overall student attendance, including maths and English programmes is currently 78% against the 2015-16 out-turn of 71%. Excluding maths and English, student attendance is 81%. Although, below most other curriculum areas, Governors noted the significant improvement from last year.

5. Overall retention is currently 85% against the 2015-16 figure of 74.06%. Although slightly below the national average for this curriculum provision, again this represents significant progress.

6. The predicted achievement rate in 2016-17 is 76% against the out-turn in 2015-16 of 59%. A number of students had already achieved their qualifications compared with none in June 2016. Governors were assured that robust triangulation had taken place to ensure that this figure was accurate. The latest national average achievement rate is 80%.

7. Previous quality assurance shortcomings have been addressed such that examination boards have confidence in internal validation assessments. Consequently, external verification visits have been successful, and the curriculum area has been awarded Direct Claims status in electrical, brickwork, plumbing and carpentry.

8. There is now a stable staffing establishment in the area, with very few agency staff used, compared with the previous two years. Staff turnover has fallen significantly from 37% in 2015-16 to <5% in 2016-17. This has provided consistency and stability for students. A recent learner forum attended by the link governor had been very positive.

9. Performance management of staff has improved markedly, with a particular focus on support and collaboration in evidence. Staff are now sharing ideas and best practice across trade specialisms, and this has contributed to improved staff performance.

10. Lesson observations have been undertaken during the year, and 75% of formal observations were graded as Good. In 2015-16, 50% of lessons were graded as Inadequate.

11. The management of health and safety has been addressed, following concerns raised by Ofsted. Indeed, at the Ofsted inspection in January 2017, inspectors commented favourably on the health and safety arrangements in workshops.

12. Governors considered each element of the student and staff performance, and recognised the excellent progress overall. However, it was also acknowledged that were still further improvements to made if national averages for attendance, retention and achievement were to be exceeded, and for the Curriculum provision to be recognised as Good and Outstanding. In response, it was suggested that this would take some time to achieve, but that stable staffing, high-quality teaching, and strong management would be key.

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13. The curriculum offer in future was discussed and governors stressed the importance of growing provision, and meeting the needs of employers, who now have a far more positive view of the College. It was therefore suggested that the College should seek to develop the technological aspect of construction, given the trends and direction of travel in the industry. In response, it was reported that the College was already considering higher levels of apprenticeships for this particular provision.

14. Governors resolved:-

i) to commend the excellent progress made in improving student and staff performance in 2016-17;

ii) to agree that the College should formulate a strategic plan for the next steps in improving the Construction curriculum area still further.

C63/17 Apprenticeships

1. The Assistant Principal Business Transformation presented an update on apprenticeships in terms of recruitment, funding and quality.

2. Although there were 12 new starts in April 2017, recruitment in 2016-17 is below 2015-16 levels. The funding implications of this are shortfalls in income of £223k and £15k for 16-18 and 19+ respectively. Compared with the position reported at the meeting on 26th April 2017, this is an improvement of £20k for 16-18 and £10k for 19+ provision. Whilst the 16-18 target cannot now be reached, the College is hopeful that the 19+ target will be achieved.

3. There are currently 31 vacancies that the College is recruiting to on behalf of employers, and a further 29 that are in the pipeline. It was noted that some classroom-based students, who are progressing into 2017-18, might take up apprenticeships.

4. Following the College’s successful re-application to the RoATP, the funding applications for 2017-18 have been received, and these were shared with Governors. These allocations have now been factored into the budget for 2017-18, although they are much smaller than originally estimated.

5. Governors resolved:-

i) to note the slight improvement in the apprenticeship funding shortfall position;

ii) to note the reduced allocations for 16-18 and 19+ apprenticeship funding in 2017-18;

iii) to endorse the College’s approach in engaging with employers to address recruitment shortfalls.

C64/17 Key Performance Indicators

1. The Acting Principal presented Governors with the latest key performance indicator (KPI) data for 2016-17.

2. 16-18 numbers are still projected to out-turn at 1,671 against the funding target of 1,888, as reported at the last Corporation meeting on 26th April 2017. 7

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3. The lagged funding position in 2017-18 has improved slightly to £697,000 as a result of more learners being enrolled onto programmes in a higher funding band. The College is still awaiting the outcome of a business case submitted to ESFA, seeking to reduce this amount.

4. Adult classroom-based income is showing a projected shortfall of £77k at year-end, which is an improvement against the estimated shortfall of £107k reported at the last Corporation meeting on 26th April 2017. The College continues to address this under-achievement through additional classroom-based and commercial delivery, and is hopeful that this funding gap will be closed.

5. Student attendance in April 2017 was 84%, which is 2% higher than the figure in April 2016.

6. Retention for 16-18 and adult provision is 3.4% and 2.6% respectively higher than in April 2016. It is still projected that the 16-18 target of 92% will be met. However, the adult retention out-turn is now predicted to be 90% against the target of 91%; a slightly worse position that the estimate of 91% reported at the last meeting on 26th April 2017.

7. The predicted achievements by Faculty and curriculum areas show that the majority of areas are predicted to exceed their out-turns for 2015-16. In most cases, these figures continue to be at or ahead of the latest national averages. Overall achievement is predicted to be 80.5%.

8. Maths and English gives some cause for concern in terms of its impact on overall achievement rate, and the College is encouraging high student attendance at the forthcoming exams.

9. Timely apprenticeship achievement for 16-18 provision is projected to be 54.7% against the target of 63%. This slippage against target was noted by Governors, but it was nonetheless recognised that the performance in 2016-17 was significantly better than in 2015-16 (47.8%). Governors were assured that remaining apprentices were being tracked individually to ensure the best possible achievement rates.

10. Timely apprenticeship achievement for 19+ provision is projected to be 59.5% against the target of 66%. The predicted out-turn is slightly worse by 0.3% than 2015-16.

11. Sickness absence continues to be robustly managed, and, although it has slightly worsened over the past month by 0.2%, it is still represents a significant improvement on the April 2016 figure.

12. Staff utilisation has improved to 96% and is a 4% improvement on April 2016. The target figure of 97% is now unlikely to be achieved despite planned additional delivery of adult provision.

13. Work experience participation currently sits at 73%, and Governors queried whether the annual target of 95% would be met. In response, it was reported that the remaining students in scope would be undertaking work experience activities during the summer term, and that it was hoped that the target would be achieved.

14. Governors resolved:-

i) to note the current KPI data for 2016-17;

ii) to note the positive predictions for classroom- based achievement rates, and to reiterate the importance of prioritising the best possible student performance at year-end;

iii) to note the slippage against target in respect of timely apprenticeship achievements, and to send a strong message to the work-based learning team, requesting every effort in meeting the respective targets.

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C64/17 Management Accounts

1. The Director of Finance and Resources presented the latest management accounts as at 30th April 2017, which, as reported at the Corporation meeting on 22nd March 2017, continue to project a year-end operating surplus of £250k against the budgeted £235k operating surplus.

2. Income is projected to under-achieve by £241k against budget. An additional High Needs contract from the Local Authority of £300k has partly offset shortfalls against other delivery areas; particularly, 16-18 apprenticeships; adult apprenticeships; HE; 24+ Loans; and cost recovery provision. There are risks to achieving the revised income projections for the year, but these are now considered to be low risk.

3. In order to offset these income shortfalls, pay and non-pay expenditure has been reduced accordingly. There will be pay savings of £66k against the original budget, thus resulting in the projected operating surplus position. Non-pay expenditure is projected to be £219k below the original budget.

4. As a result of the High Needs contract, and the pay and non-pay savings, the operating surplus of £250k is therefore achievable.

5. Consideration was given to the projected key financial indicators at year-end as follows:-

- current ratio of 0.50:1 (budgeted 0.49:1)

- 41 cash days in hand (budgeted 36)

- Pay expenditure as a proportion of income 63% (budgeted 62%)

6. On this basis, the College has therefore assessed its financial health as Satisfactory, and predicts that the bank covenants will be met.

7. Governors resolved:-

i) to note the projected operating surplus of £250k against the budget of £235k;

ii) to commend the College’s robust financial management.

C65/17 Financial Plan

1. The Director of Finance and Resources presented an updated indicative financial plan for 2017-18 for Governors’ consideration. The plan had originally been presented at the Corporation meeting on 22nd March 2017, and is based on the assumption that the College will remain an independent institution in 2017-18 if the merger with Henley College does not proceed as planned.

2. As good progress is being made towards merger, the risk that it will not proceed is now very low. Apart from that, very little has changed since the March Corporation meeting.

3. As previously reported, if the College remains independent in 2017-18, significant cost savings in the region of £600k will have to be made in order to maintain the College’s Satisfactory financial health rating. The cashflow forecast in the plan was considered by Governors, and cash balances of £785k in March 2018 represents the lowest level during the year.

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4. The College’s ability to comply with its bank covenants in 2017-18 should it remain independent was queried, and, in response, it was stated that further actions would have to be undertaken in-year to ensure that the requirements were met.

5. Governors resolved:-

i) to note and endorse the updated financial plan for 2017-18, should the merger with Henley College not proceed as planned.

C66/17 Date of the next meeting

The date of the next meeting was confirmed for Wednesday 21st June 2017, 5pm.

C67/17 Publication of Documents

The publication of papers was approved with the exception of Document 10 (Financial Plan) because of commercial sensitivity. In addition, elements of Document 3 (Report of the Principal and Senior Leadership Team) relating to the safeguarding update will be reacted.

[The Students Governors and College managers left the meeting at this point]

C68/17 Confidential item

1. The Chair led discussion on confidential merger issues, and a separate minute was taken for this part of the meeting.

Meeting opened 5.00pm

Meeting closed 7.10pm

JE

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