Minutes of the CORPORATION Meeting
held on
Tuesday 11 March 2014, at 4 .00pm
in Meeting Room 1 /
DOCUMENT 1
*PRESENT
Mrs J Baker (Chair)*Retired Consultant 14-19 Education
Mr C HindeRegional Liaison Officer Midlands, The Electoral Commission
Mr R Goy*Principal, Henley College Coventry
Mrs C Hackett*Relationship Director, Barclays Corporate
Ms M Hall*Business Support Staff Governor
Mrs L HammondAcademic Staff Governor
Mrs M Irwin*Local retail business owner and Marketing Specialist
Mr A Ishak*Student Governor
Mr A Jagatia*Head – Regional Growth Fund Team (East/West Midlands)
Mr P Matthews*Former Production Manager, Brett Martin Limited
Mr R Montgomery*Retired Vice Principal, Hereward College
Mr N ThakrarDirector, Research House UK Limited
Mr A WalmsleyRetired Assistant Director (Strategic Services), Coventry City Council
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr R BatemanVice Principal, Finance and Resources
Mrs D DonnarummaVice Principal, Standards and Learning
Mrs E ScotfordClerk to the Corporation
Mrs A WheatleyAssistant Principal, Information and Planning
Mrs D WrightAssistant Principal, Personnel and Equalities
4.00pm-4.30pmGovernors were taken on a tour of the new build by the Principal.
PM left the meeting
Governor reappointment: Peter Matthews, current term of office expiry date: end March 14
The Search Committee, at its meeting on 10 February 2014, had considered the work and commitment demonstrated by the Governor and the reappointment was therefore presented for Corporation approval.
The reappointment was approved.Proposed: CH, Seconded: RM, Agreed: unanimously
PM rejoined the meeting
PM was congratulated on his reappointment.
ACTION1/2/14 / Apologies
Apologies were received from Lynda Hammond (off sick), Chris Hinde (holiday) and Andy Walmsley (family commitment). Nitin Thakrar was absent.
2/2/14 / Declaration of Interests
There were no declarations of interest.
3/2/14 / Minutes of the previous meeting – 4 February 2014
The Minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record and signed by the Chair.
4/2/14 / Matters arising from the previous meeting – 4 February 2014
- / Page 3 – bid for capital - was successful, money received.
Governors had asked if the Capital Project Steering Group would continue to meet – the Chair recommended that as this level of budget (under £1 million) would normally fall within the remit of the College management, the management team should be responsible for this work as part of their normal responsibilities. Governors agreed. The Vice Principal, Finance & Resources, was asked to report to each Corporation meeting on progress made. / VP, Fin & Res
- / Page 5 – 16-18 free school meal entitlement – the College has not, as yet, received any further information.
- / Page 6 – funding software – the AP, Information & Planning advised that the software is still not 100% accurate and reliability is still rated red on the website. All colleges are in the same position.
5/2/14 / Chair’s Action
The Chair confirmed she had given permission for Governors’ dates of birth to be issued to the IT Department to enable governors’ security badges to be issued.
6/2/14 / Minutes and Reports of Corporation Committees
Search Committee – 10 February 2014 (DOCUMENT 2)
Governor’s expiry of term of office – Nitin Thakrar had indicated he would not stand for reappointment due to his business commitments. Letter of thanks for his work and commitment during his time as Governor to be sent. / Clerk
Governor applications
Governor information packs had been sent to everyone involved in last year’s Enterprise and Employability Week. This approach had proved successful and 4 applications had been received for membership of the Corporation. Search Committee had agreed for the Chair and the Principal to interview all 4 candidates. The Chair outlined the background to all of the candidates and confirmed that all 4 were suitable.
AJ arrived
The Corporation agreed that the following appointments would be made:
L Heald – full Governor and member of Audit Committee
M Shoffa – full Governor and member of Audit Committee
A Thorne – co-opted Governor to Search Committee
D Busst – to be co-opted Governor to Standards Committee – Chair and Clerk to amend Terms of Reference as appropriate following recommendation by the Corporation. / Chair/ Clerk
Governors asked if the applicants’ commitment to Corporation and Committee meetings had been tested. The Chair confirmed that it had and strong emphasis had been given to meeting attendance, Link Governor involvement and other college events.
A potential Co-opted Governor for Audit with a financial/accounts background had been identified by the Principal. Governors agreed for the Chair and Principal to communicate electronically with the Search Committee to gain their approval to interview the candidate and for the Chair to report back to the Corporation with their recommendation. / Chair
Standards Committee – 26 February 2014 – verbal update by Chair
Complaints report – Autumn term2013 - had been received: 6 complaints were course related and organisational, a couple were staff related. 3 more complaints had been received than the previous year. All complaints had been resolved or required no further action.
Outcomes of PAIRs(the College’s mini inspections). Most concern centred around Science provision because of falling success rates, with too many learners not achieving the expected levels. A clear improvement plan has been put in place to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Clear targets to be set for learners to ensure they achieve above expectations. Ofsted had confirmed the self-assessment grades of some of the other areas involved in the PAIRs.
Disciplinaries report – Autumn term 2013 – 31 disciplinaries compared to the previous year’s 23. 3 were repeat (i.e. involving the same person), 10 suspensions had taken place. The main problem was that some young males have struggled in the College environment. More girls than boys have been through the disciplinary process this year. Tez Gibbons and his team have worked very well with 14-16 year olds from the LA, who were a particularly disruptive group, whose behaviour has been turned around.
Business Plan – revised – approval deferred to the next meeting.
Standards Committee – 5 March 2014 – meeting cancelled due to the number of apologies received.
7/2/14 / Ofsted Feedback and College Improvement Plan (DOCUMENT 4)
The VP, Standards & Learning, explained that the final Ofsted report had now been published and the Grade 2 result was confirmed for the overall grade and for every section. Underpinning areas were also graded Good.
The VP, Standards & Learning, outlined what the College had done so far since the inspection:
-The main outcomes and areas for development have been shared with all staff.
-Staff spent the whole college training day looking at what would make the most impact for the rest of this academic year.
-The VP, Standards & Learning, Heads of Department and Programme Managers Away Day planned to put together a short-term plan for Maths.
-A completely different Maths strategy will be in place from September.
-Progression – lots of work is underway and the College is confident it will reach the national target.
-Attendance – is 85%, almost on target.
-Lots of reward schemes in place, individual groups, etc.
-Personalisation, progress, English and Maths, attendance – plans in place.
-Engagement with employers and development of apprenticeships provision planned.
-New strategic framework meets those plans.
-Monitoring the impact of the huge changes that have been made is key: new JDs in place, new rules, different direction, different leadership, the size of the curriculum offer has been doubled, and apprenticeships.
-The College is aiming for Outstanding. Ofsted will monitor the College’s data remotely.
The overview of the College Improvement Plan was included for information. An update for Term 1 had been completed and was to be taken to SMT. The information is shared regularly with the management team so managers are aware what the College is looking for in terms of outcomes. The Improvement Plan is also presented to each Standards Committee meeting.
Governors expressed their thanks to the SMT, staff and students for their efforts in the Ofsted inspection.
8/2/14 / Financial Monitoring Report
The Vice Principal, Finance & Resources, presented the draft accountsto the end of February 2014. (A copy of the presentation is attached for reference).
Key issues highlighted were:
-Income £91k under budget the bulk of which relates to HE income.
-Payroll - £82k over budget – due to the deferred restructuring caused by the delayed Ofsted inspection.
-Non pay – rent/rates/insurance £22k over budget – some invoices have come through which should have gone into last year’s accounts. This figure should reduce given the closure of Riley’s. Organisational memberships – over budget by £16k – includes a number of bills from the AoC for the India initiative,some of which relate to previous years.
-Overall – deficit £360-£370k, which is £348k worse than forecasted for this stage.
-Sensitivity analysis – adjustments made around ART, extra income received, money put in for redundancy payments.
-Current ratio – 2:1 - £2.8 million in cash now.
Key risks:
- main risk is under achieving against the HEFCE contract and loss of student tuition fees.
Summary: operating loss of £373k, overall financial health category is Good, the College hassufficient cash to pay its bills.
Governors queried the sensitivity analysis and asked if the picture was significantly worse than Governors had seen before. The VP, Finance & Resources, said the figure was not much different to that previously advised to Corporation other than extra redundancy costs have been included now.
Governors asked if the recent amount received from the capital bid was included and, if so, did it distort the picture. The VP, Finance & Resources, said it did and the figure would reduce over the summer as the building work was carried out.
Governors asked if the membership of the India office had proven useful. The Principal said progress had been slow, a review on further involvement is due to take place.
Governors asked if the impact of the ART project was included in the figures. The VP, Finance & Resources, said it was and losses had been allowed for.
Governors asked if all the insurance money for the damage had been received now. The VP, Finance & Resources, said the work had not been completed yet so all the money had not been claimed.
Governors noted that a plan to address the current shortfall was due to be discussed but said that an ongoing current forecast for the next 2 years would be useful rather than one year in isolation. The VP, Finance & Resources, said the College was working on a model which shows what the budget will be for next year. The Principal said it would be useful to bring an idea of the SFA funding for next year to the next meeting if the College had received its allocation.
CH joined the meeting
The VP, Finance & Resources, said it would be possible to prepare an estimate which could be revised as time progresses.
9/2/14 / Update on Funding and Learner numbers
The Assistant Principal, Information and Planning, gave a presentation on Funding and Learner Numbers. (A copy of the presentation is attached to the Minutes for reference).
Key points were:
-101% of target achieved, which is below last year but more is expected: i.e. extra ESOL students, Maths and English.
-Adult funding – 77% achieved, not expected to be higher at this stage as we are still delivering. It was noted that the funding system is still not reliable.
-Application numbers – looking very good, 14 above the same time last year. Health and Social Care - expect an influx in the next couple of weeks. Sports – not as bad as it looks. The impact of the new build, the Grade 2 result and Open Evenings were yet to take effect.
Governors asked how the College judged the capacity in the departments, i.e. which ones were full. The College said for next year the College is looking at capacity plans for the separate departments which would enable better planning, target vs actual would also be analysed. A continuous review process was in place. The College would be looking at how to grow class sizes, Make the classes more efficient and maximise funding.
Governors asked what the capacity of the department was to deliver based on the target numbers produced. The AP, Information & Planning, said retention rates were analysed. There was a need to bear in mind the 42-day funding rule.
Governors asked how staff felt about the numbers, did they feel the capacity was represented by these figures. The AP, Information & Planning, said the figures are based on staff’s plans. The curriculum plan was based on what has happened this year, e.g new courses have been put on in Tourism and Hair & Beauty. The College said there was a need to estimate from previous trends.
Governors asked if the College had ever asked whether the classes were under-utilised. The AP, Information & Planning, said that would become clear through the curriculum planning for the next year.
Governors asked if there were any areas where more applications were being received than expected, e.g. Foundation Skills. The AP, Information & Planning, said the College was looking to expand those groups.
Governors asked to be kept updated on the software situation. The AP, Information & Planning, agreed. / AP, Info & Planning
10/2/14 / Revised Mission Statement and Draft Strategic Framework (DOCUMENT 5)
Mission statement
The Principal presented the revised Mission Statement. The new version was agreed to be more purposeful, more direct and was aimed at the benefits that the College can bring to people’s economic and social lives through education.
Governors agreed the revised Mission Statement.
Draft Strategic Framework
The Strategic Themes had been reworked and reduced from 6 to 4. Some of the targets need to be reviewed and RAG rated. Measures have been set for all the targets.
Governors asked if sickness absence needed to be reviewed further to get nearer to the national averages. The Principal said he would look at the figures again.
Governors queried why the College was graded Outstanding. The College said it was aiming for an Outstanding grade next time and Ofsted had agreed that was realistic.
Governors agreed with how the College intended to measure achievement of the targets.
The Principal will circulate the Draft Strategic Framework to other appropriate people and bring the final copy to the Governors’ Away Day in June. / Principal
11/2/14 / Annual Sickness Absence Report (DOCUMENT 6)
The AP, Personnel & Equalities, presented the 2012/13 Annual Sickness Absence Report.
The statistics show a very disappointing picture. Last year the main cause of the increase was long-term sickness absence but this year the increase is mainly due to short-term absence.
The AP, Personnel & Equalities, said plans were in place to address the situation as current levels are not acceptable.
Key issues were:
-3 departments have been identified which show an ongoing trend of particularly high sickness levels compared to other departments year on year. Steps have been put in place: targeted interventions; analysing reasons for absence; working with managers; looking at the working environment; involving Occupational Health.
-The main reasons for short-term sickness absence in 2011/12 were: colds, viruses, stomach bugs, however in 2012/13 there had been an increase in staff presenting with musculoskeletal-related problems, e.g. back pain.
-The main cause of long-term sickness absence was previously stress, but was now being replaced by musculoskeletal problems with stress the next common reason. The College has circulated details of healthy living activities, one of which was Beat Back Pain but sessions were poorly attended by staff.
-When compared against the sector as a whole the College’s figures are higher and this has been discussed with the trade unions. The Trade Unions acknowledged the need to reduce sickness levels as the situation was not sustainable given the current financial climate.
The College plans to:
-Look at existing triggers: number of days, number of occasions which trigger formal process and reduce these so more absentees come into the absence management framework earlier.
-Assess the impact of the newly introduced return to work interviews (245 held between September and December 2013).
-Continue with work/life balance and health and well-being initiatives.
-Review entitlement to sick pay.
Governors asked if staff were aware of how much sickness absence cost the College and could the College make staff aware that more emphasis and firm action was needed now. The AP, Personnel & Equalities, said the policy and trigger points were being reviewed. A key issue was whether managers deal with absence management issues in an appropriate and timely manner. The AP, Personnel & Equalities, was presenting the absence report at CMF on Friday and would reiterate the importance of effective absence management by line managers and the cost implications of rising absence levels.