MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CORPORATION
OF SIR JOHN DEANE’S COLLEGE,
HELD AT THE COLLEGE ON WEDNESDAY1st OCTOBER, 2014 AT 2.30 PM
PresentMr T RawlingMr I Oulton
Mr P AllanachMrs S Powell
Miss J BrandrethMr A Redley
Mrs T DoverMr D Sandbach
Mrs J HoughMrs J Thomas
Miss K KirkwoodMrs J Tickridge
Miss R Lloyd
Also in AttendanceMr A Boden – Deputy Principal - Curriculum
Mr A Sumner – Deputy Principal - Finance Resources
Mrs S Armstrong – Clerk
Prior to the meeting Mr Colin Lupton presented the annual update on Health and Safety to Governors.
1.Apologies
Apologies had been received from Mrs L Allen, Mr J Fifield, Mrs D Grayson, Mr A Lowe and Mr J Train.
2.Declarations of Interest
None.
9 bTo receive an update on Project Proposals
Mr F Aftab and Mr B Bourne from AA Projects joined the meeting for this item.
Mr Sumner said that, at a previous meeting, the Board had agreed to fund AA Projects to carry out a feasibility study of what might be possible at the Leisure Centre. He had asked Mr Ahab and Mr Bourne to give an update on the work that AA Projects had done so far.
Mr Ahab gave an overview of the project. He said that they had been looking at various options for the current Leisure Centre. Access was difficult due to the road that passed by the main entrance and the brick walkway through the centre meant that a lot of space was wasted. The building, which is over 30 years old, was generally tired looking. AA Projects had explored ideas in terms of how the space would work. He said that, at this meeting with Governors, he wanted to introduce basic concepts and to show them some provisional plans.
The plans included the provision of teaching rooms, gym facilities and improved viewing for the pool. The entrance would be changed and the building would be seen much more as part of the campus rather than a stand-alone building.
Funding from outside agencies would be required if the plans for the Leisure Centre were to go ahead. Mr Ahab said that there was likely to be some funding available from the DfE for capital projects in the near future. Bids for that would probably be submitted in January. Funding from Sport England would also be bid for. Following the feasibility studyGovernors would be able to decide whether or not they wanted to proceed. AA Projects would have discussions with the various funding agencies in order to have a good understanding of what might be available and they would then look to Governors for approval to proceed. Planning permission for any proposed plans would also be required.
Mr Ahab said that AA Projects were looking at an option that would be feasible if only one bid for funding was successful and an alternative option that would be possible if both bids were successful.
A governor questioned the timing of applying for planning permission in December and submitting a bid for funding in January. Mr Ahab said that a requirement of the bids was that the project was sufficiently well advanced to allow it to be finished before the end of the funding year. AA Projects had already approached the Planning Department to have a pre-planning meeting. Mr Sumner said that there would come a point where the College would need to take a decision to spend a certain amount of money that was at risk if the project did not go ahead. The Board would need to understand the level of risk involved.
Mr Ahab said that the Property Data Survey (PDS) which had been carried out should be challenged as that had not indicated problems with the roof but their survey had shown that it was saturated. A Governor asked how common it was that they found reason to challenge the findings of a PDS and Mr Ahab said that there had been some doubt as to the accuracy of every one they had seen. The process of the survey was that there is a series of questions to answer and if they cannot get access to a certain area they have to deem it as being Category A. He said that they do realise that there are anomalies and they are willing to hear challenges to the results of surveys. The Chair said that he thought it was important to challenge the survey and let them know that the statement about the roof is incorrect.
A Governor asked if, when looking at the criteria for funding, the new Lifestyle Centre in Northwich would affect the bid. Mr Ahab said that it would but the extra facilities that the College could offer with having the all weather pitch would also be taken into consideration.
Mr F Ahab and Mr B Bourne left the meeting at this point.
9 aTo approve the Property Strategy
Mr Sumner said that the Property Strategy briefly outlined the ideas that had come from the strategic planning days and as part of the approval of the financial forecast. Priorities identified over the next three years largely focused on maintaining the new building to the highest possible standard. Small scale remodelling works would also be needed to improve the facilities and respond to changing requirements e.g. the work that had been carried out in the library to make different areas more useable. There are aspects of the estate that were “tired” as they had not been involved in the recent new build.
When considering a property strategy, Mr Sumner said that thought needed to be given to what to do if the College grows beyond 1,650 students. When the project was originally approved, the target was for modest growth to 1,360 with the primary focus being on improving the facilities rather than significant growth. However, the development had enabled the College to grow in size to 1,550 students for 2014/15.
Mr Oulton said that consideration could be given to gaining extra space by using the space in the Chapel. He said that that could prove a quick and cost-effective way of expanding. Mr Sumner said that that could be added as an extra item to be looked at in the property strategy.
The Chair said that the College should have a 25 year site development plan which could be re-visited every few years. This should identify where, if needed, another teaching block could be built. Having the plan would help when looking at short-term solutions to space problems so that it could be ensured that any smaller building project did not prevent possible larger projects in the future. The Principal said that curriculum developments would underpin all strategies. There were compelling curriculum areas which the College would need to look at and future development could be to provide more lab space.
Resolved that the Property Strategy by approved with the addition of an outline 25 year property vision/plan and reference to potentially developing the Chapel at some stage.
9 bTo receive an update on Project Proposals
Additional Catering Outlet
The new Starbucks outlet had been completed and was operational. It had originally been hoped that Caterlink would provide some investment towards the cost. They had said that they would invest but it was on the condition that the College extended their existing contract by 3 years which the College had not been prepared to do at this stage of their contract. £58,400 had been budgeted for the project and the actual cost, including VAT, had been £53,520.
Governors asked if consideration had been given to opening Starbucks on weekday evenings for people using the sports facilities and Adult Education. Mr Sumner said that that would be a commercial decision for the caterers to make but that, so far, that had not been considered.
Renewal of the artificial pitch
Following the submission of an expression of interest form to England Hockey, the College had been invited to make a full bid. Confirmation that the bid was successful had since been received but they had only offered £20,300 of the £49,000 that was bid for. Having been awarded that finance, this gave the College an improved chance of a bid to Sport England being successful.
Plan4Sport had advised the College in early September that Sport England was about to announce the opening of a very short bid window for funds from the Improvement Fund specifically targeted at new and replacement artificial pitches. The key advantage of that fund was that the minimum level of partnership funding was lower. The College submitted the required checklist and had been invited to submit a more detailed express of interest form by 8th October. Final notification on whether a bid has been successful or not would be received by the end of February 2015 and the College was hoping to carry out the work between May and July.
Leisure Centre Development
The Board had approved the appointment of AA Projects to carry out a feasibility study of the options available for the re-development of the Leisure Centre. The feasibility study will provide outline plans, indicative costs, likely timescales and potential sources of funding. The decision as to whether to use the additional space for classrooms or leisure centre and gym space had not yet been made.
Mr Sumner said that the next stage of the project would be an exploratory survey and consultancy work which would cost £5,000. A governor suggested that the figure approved should include a contingency fund for the work to be carried out.
Resolved that the expenditure on survey and consultancy work be approved with a target of £5,000 and with a maximum of £7,500 for the work.
Governors questioned whether AA Projects had spoken to the students and other end users of potential leisure facilities. Mr Sumner said that the plans were not at that stage yet and the Principal said that a final decision on what the additional space would be used for would be based on the 16-18 curriculum, as that was a main priority. A governor said that she had concerns that a lack of consultancy with users of the facilities might have an impact on the success of any funding bid.
3.Minutes of meeting held on 9th July, 2014
Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 9th July, 2014 be approved.
4.Matters Arising
None
5.Governance Items
a.To receive a report from the Chair to include any training issues
The Chair reported that Performance Management reviews had been carried out with the Principal, Deputy Principals and the Clerk.
The Chair had also met with the Remuneration Committee and they would be reporting to the December meeting of the Board..
b.To receive a report from any governor having attended a meeting of a College Committee
There had not been any meetings of College Committees this term so far.
c.To receive an update on the Operating Statement for Governance and Performance Targets for 2013/14
Governors reviewed the four targets on the governance quality improvement plan for 2013/14 as follows:
Target 1 – Work with HEIs had continued and 31 universities had attended the student HE information day held at the College. The Principal said that the relationship with HEIs was still relatively superficial. Local universities had been contacted and both Liverpool and Manchester universities had been offered a link with the College. This would give them the opportunity to recruit some of the best qualified students in the North West. A series of events was planned with Liverpool University.
The Principal said that the College now had more effective relationships with parents. The Parent Portal had been very successful. Most of the parents of Lower Sixth students had already been into College this year and they had met with the Progress Mentors. There had, however, been 11 complaints following the examination results and the College would be modelling areas where they have more effective dialogue with parents.
The Principal said that she was considering that one of the focus groups that governors meet with for their strategic planning day should be made up of parents. Governors agreed that this would be a good idea.
The College’s relationship with employers had broadly improved and it had connected more with apprenticeships. However, only 36% of the current Upper Sixth students had been on a work placement last year and so there would be a strategic push to work more closely with employers this year. The notion of work readiness will become more important in any successful Sixth Form.
It was agreed that the work with employers would remain on the Governance Quality Improvement Plan for 2014/15.
Target 2 – Mr Oulton said that it had rapidly become clear that the aspirations for e-governance had cost implications that were not feasible at this stage. It was agreed that the governance section of the website would be enhanced and would include photos/profiles of Governors. Miss Brandreth, Mrs Hough and Mr Redley offered to make up a working group to look at the website.
Target 3 – The Chair said that he felt the target to embed QA processes was complete. He said that the governors were now a lot better informed and were, therefore, in a better position to challenge and the hold the SLT to account. He thanked everyone for the work that had been done in this area.
Target 4 –The mission, vision, strategic direction and brand of the College had all been amended. The working party which was set up to review the mission of the College had met in July 2013and the results of that meeting had fed into the amendments which had been made.
d.To receive a summary of the responses received to the Governance Assessment Questionnaires
The Corporation had introduced a new Self Assessment process which had been used for the first time. Individual self-assessment forms had been completed for each committee as well as the form for the review of the Corporation as a whole.
The self assessment had not highlighted any issues. Governors were satisfied with the level of information they received in papers for the meeting and said that anything that was unclear was well explained at meetings. All relevant information was shared with Governors and time is given to ensure that informed decisions can occur. A few Governors commented on the length of the agendas but all Governors felt that they did receive the papers for the meeting in sufficient time to prepare for the meetings. Occasionally a paper had to be tabled at the meeting but there was always good cause for that and Governors were advised when that would be happening.
New Governors all said that they had received a good induction to their role. Several topics had been suggested for Governor training sessions throughout the year and these would be reviewed by the Principal and Clerk and appropriate training organised.
Several Governors had commented on start times for meetings and it was agreed that each committee would ensure that it was meeting at the time that was most suitable for its members.
Resolved that the summary of responses received to the Governance Assessment Questionnaire be received.
e.To receive the Clerk’s Report to the Corporation for 2013/14, to support formal assessment of the performance of the Corporation, identifying strengths and weaknesses
The report identified that performance indicators for the Board had been met and that attendance at meetings had exceeded targets. Training events which had been held for Governors, including the full day Strategic Planning and Training Day had all been well attended. There had been a high level of governor representation at all College events held during the year.
The Chair thanked all Governors for everything they had done during the year.
Resolved that the Clerk’s Report to the Corporation 2013/14 be received.
f.To develop an action plan to address weaknesses (Quality Improvement Plan for Governance and Performance Targets for 2014/15)
The Clerk confirmed that this would be prepared to reflect the discussions at the meeting and would be submitted to the December meeting of the Board for approval.
g. To approve a recommendation for any change in status of confidential papers for the last year
The Chair reported that he and the Clerk had reviewed the confidential papers from the previous year. These comprised of Part 2 minutes relating to issues involving named personnel which should always be regarded as confidential. No change in status of confidential papers was therefore recommended.
Resolved that all confidential papers for the last year should currently remain confidential.
h.To confirm receipt of completed register of interests, certificate of eligibility and skills matrix
The Clerk said that many of these had already been received back from Governors and she requested that any outstanding ones be sent to her as soon as possible.