Wakefield College Corporation
Board of Governors
Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 December 2016
1
Present:
Robert Allcock, Matthew Butler, Paul Campbell (Chair),
Emma Elvin, Andrew McConnell, Debbie Moss, Ian Parsons,
Andy Wallhead, Jane Walton, Andrew Watts, Sam Wright
Clerk to the Corporation
In attendance:
Deputy Principal, Executive Director Quality and Planning,
Executive Director HR and Organisational Development,
Assistant Principal Inclusion and Partnerships, Assistant
Principal Academic HE and International
Apologies:
David Caddies
2
Declarations of Interest
2.1
On agenda Item 11(iv) (Audit Findings Report), Andrew Watts was identified by job
title in a management response to one of the internal control recommendations.
2.2
Agenda Item 14(ii) (Election of the Chair and Vice Chair of Governors) – Paul
Campbell and Andrew McConnell in relation to their proposed re-appointment as
Governors and Chair and Vice Chair respectively; Ian Parsons in relation to his
appointment for a second term of office as Governor.
3
Minutes of the Meeting Held on 18 October 2016
Resolved
That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2016 be approved.
That the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2016 be approved.
4
Matters Arising
4.1
On minute 4.1 (Date of Next Scheduled Meeting), the Core Strategic Item on
English and Maths still need to be rescheduled. It was noted that this would be
scheduled once a Director of English and Maths was in post.
5
Minutes of the Committees of the Board:
5.1
Audit Committee – 22 November 2016
Resolved
That the minutes of the Audit Committee meeting held on 22 November 2016 be
noted.
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6
Update on Progress with the English and Maths Strategy
6.1
The Assistant Principal Inclusion and Partnerships reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
6.2
Issues considered by Governors included:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
6.3
that the English and Maths Strategy had been approved at the start of the
term, a summary version of which had been provided to Governors;
that the national policy mandated that students who had previously secured a
grade D in GCSE English or Maths had to resit this exam;
that there was no approach in the country that was known to be working well;
the College’s policy sought to create a virtuous cycle of success:
engagement, attendance and achievement. This would be achieved through
three central pillars:
 a proactive and positive narrative to reinforce the benefits that strong
English and Maths skills bring;
 improving the quality teaching;
 managing the foundations, such as timetabling, communication,
programme planning, self-assessment, and exams and assessments.
It would also be achieved by building on things that were already in place;
additional support was in place for students who already had a grade C or
better in English or Maths;
a comprehensive action plan with specific actions for all senior leaders, not
just those in the English and Maths Department, had been implemented;
early indications were that the strategy was having a positive impact on
student attendance;
pass rate predictions would be given in January. Attendance was currently
high, but this was expected early in the academic year;
next steps included ensuring a management structure was in place that was
fit for purpose and monitoring the action plan and reviewing arrangements
where actions do not bring about the required improvement.
whether students seeking an apprenticeship needed a grade C in GCSE
English and Maths. It was noted that this was the case for some
apprenticeships but not for others;
that feedback taken from staff during the Governors’ Learning Walk on
English and Maths indicated that English and Maths classes should be colocated, rather than spread across the College campus. The Principal
indicated that classrooms would be grouped for the start of 2017/18, with
some co-location being achieved in-year;
whether all teachers promoted English and Maths and attendance. The
Principal reported that this was the role for Student Group Leaders and
acknowledged that some were more rigorous than others in this respect.
The Chair advised Governors that the Assistant Principal Inclusion and Partnerships
would be leaving the College at the end of the week and thanked her for her
excellent work over the years.
The Assistant Principal Inclusion and Partnerships left the meeting at the end of this
item.
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7
HEFCE HE Quality Assurance Report
7.1
The Assistant Principal Academic, HE and International reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
7.2
Governors considered the following issues:
(i)
(ii)
7.3
that the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) had
published a ‘Revised Operating Model for Quality Assessment’, which
included a role for college governing bodies in providing assurances about
the quality of their HE provision;
the new requirement would entail an annual report and action plan to the
Board, in the autumn term;
that for the required assurance by Governors in 2015/16, Governors could
rely on the findings of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
(QAA) HE Review conducted in June 2016, which concluded that the College
met UK expectations in all areas of judgement;
that in respect of their assurance requirements in future years, the College
should seek example frameworks from institutions that would develop these
for the current year’s reporting (for lack of a recent QAA HE Review);
whether there would be any impact on the College’s higher education
students by the change in validating universities. It was noted that the
changing arrangements should not pose any problems.
Governors were content with the proposal and, given their familiarity with the recent
outcome of the QAA HE Review, were content with the assurance that could be
provided to HEFCE.
The Assistant Principal Academic, HE and International left the meeting at the end
of this item.
Resolved
That the following statement be approved: “full assurance that the methodologies
used as a basis to improve the student academic experience and student outcomes
are, to the best of their [Board of Governors] knowledge, robust and appropriate,
and that the standards of awards for which the College is responsible have been
appropriately maintained.
8
Core Strategic Item – Draft Self-Assessment Report 2015/16
8.1
The Executive Director Quality and Planning outlined key findings of the SelfAssessment Report (SAR) including:
(i)
(ii)
key graded judgements, which were as follows:
 Overall Effectiveness
2
 Effectiveness of Leadership and Management
2
 Quality of Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA)
2
 Personal Development, Welfare and Behaviour
3
 Outcomes for Learners
3
the key strengths and areas for improvement in each of the Ofsted areas of
judgement.
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8.2
Three areas for discussion were posed:
1
Is this the Wakefield College you know and love?
Governors noted the reduction in self assessed grades for both Personal
Development, Welfare and Behaviour and Outcomes for Learners (both of
which were graded 3 and previously graded 2). Key reasons for the grade 3
for Personal Development, Welfare and Behaviour, was that improvement
was required in the areas of attendance, Fundamental British Values, and
Prevent. Key reasons for the grade 3 for Outcomes for Learners was that
improvement was required to the areas of value-added and high grades.
2
Were any of the findings unexpected? If so, which?
Governors asked whether the College was confident that its Overall
Effectiveness was grade 2. It was noted that the College should expect to be
challenged rigorously on this, but that Ofsted should take into account more
than just success rates. Management felt that the College was a good
college, but was clear that it had areas for improvement, just as it had areas
that were outstanding.
3
What, if anything, do Governors wish to monitor closely throughout 2016/17?
Governors made the following comments:
(i)
(ii)
8.3
that the Performance Dashboard needed to monitor those key areas
where improvements were required, for example the impact of the
Work Placement Team;
volunteer Governors were being sought to further develop the
Performance Dashboard.
Issues considered by Governors included:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Fundamental British Values (FBV) notably what success would look like
within a college setting and how FBV might be incorporated into some of the
vocational subjects (such as joinery);
the Work Placement Team. It was noted that this team would be in place
from January 2017 and was not one that had been redeployed from
elsewhere within College;
whether the student destination data for self employment (0.04% or 2
students) was positive. It was noted that the figure was low.
9
Student Update
9.1
Robert Allcock and Matthew Butler reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
a Students’ Union backed survey was expected to be held in mid January.
This would avoid duplication with the College’s own formal Student Survey;
they had attended the first Student Voice Forum (Wakefield Campus), to help
gain a better understanding of the issues impacting on students. The
Castleford Campus Student Voice Forum was being held the following day;
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(iii)
10
planning was underway for the Student Pride event on 23 February 2017
(celebrating “who we are”). Local Councillors and the Member of Parliament
had been invited to attend this event.
Performance Dashboard
10.1 The Principal reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
the Performance Dashboard could not be fully populated at this early stage in
the year, notably data on achievement rates, student satisfaction, lesson
observations and destinations (although for the latter a complete data set for
2015/16 was presented);
two areas were RAG-rated ‘red’. In respect of HE student numbers,
recruitment had not been as buoyant as in recent years, and it was thought
that the change in validation arrangements may have had a negative impact
on enrolments. For Adult Learning Loans, the College continued to struggle
to achieve the facility;
there was currently a strong focus on attendance and retention. While
attendance was good in core provision, it was still too low in Study
Programme English and Maths;
that the College was developing an electronic corporate dashboard. The
Executive Director Quality and Planning gave a brief demonstration on the
type of Governor Performance Dashboard that could be developed.
10.2
Governors considered the significant increase in the number of complaints from
students compared with the same period last year. It was noted that of the 12
complaints received, eight had been found to be justified, three were connected to
the same issue – all of which had been dealt with successfully.
11
Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 July 2016
(i)
11.1
Internal Audit Annual Report
The Deputy Principal reported that the programme of internal audits had been
undertaken as planned and that the assurance opinion for 2015/16 included the
following statement: “… we can provide the Audit Committee and the Corporation
with reasonable assurance that Wakefield College’s governance, risk
management, and systems of internal control were operating adequately and there
were no instances where any breakdown of control resulted in a material
discrepancy.” Governors noted that ‘reasonable assurance’ was the highest level of
assurance that could be given.
Resolved
That the Internal Audit Annual Report be approved.
(iv)
11.2
Audit Committee Annual Report
The Deputy Principal indicated that the Audit Committee Annual Report was
essentially a compilation of assurances collected during the year. The only
additional issue for Governors to consider was that the Self-Assessment Report,
alluded to in the report, had not be seen by Governors at the present time, but that
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they had considered the relevant summary presentation from the Executive Director
Quality and Planning.
Resolved
That the Audit Committee Annual Report be approved.
(v)
Regularity Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Resolved
That the Chair and Principal be authorised to sign the Regularity Audit SelfAssessment Questionnaire.
(vi)
11.3
The Deputy Principal reported the following points:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
11.4
The Audit Findings for Wakefield College
the auditors anticipated giving a clean audit opinion, with the only
outstanding items being the usual confirmations from the Skills Funding
Agency;
the auditors were content with the College’s transition to FRS102 (the
Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland)
and no issues had been identified;
there were no significant audit findings;
other findings included one on going concern, where no issues were
identified that would threaten the College’s going concern position;
the regularity audit had concluded that there were no material findings and
that an unqualified regularity opinion would be issued within the financial
statements;
there were no adjusted misstatements or unadjusted misstatements;
three internal control deficiencies were identified:
 that journals should be authorised by a separate individual before being
posted;
 that a signed contract be maintained for all employees, with signatures
from both the individual and a member of the Corporation;
 that payees were notified of cash not yet banked that was due to them.
Governors noted that the report could not have been more positive.
Resolved
That the Audit Findings for Wakefield College be approved.
(vii)
Letter of Representation
Resolved
That the Chair of Governors be authorised to sign the Letter of Representation on
behalf of the Board of Governors
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(viii) Report and Financial Statements
11.5
The Chair gave thanks to the Deputy Principal and his team for ensuring yet
another clean audit.
Resolved
That the Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 July 2016 be
approved, including the accounting policies under which these had been prepared.
12
October Finance Report
12.1 The Deputy Principal reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
that the current forecast was for a surplus of £127k against a budgeted
surplus of £350k;
the College had under recruited by some 190 16-18 learners but, due to
lagged funding, this would not impact College funding until 2017/18;
the outlook for 2017/18 included:
 a reduction in allocation by close to £800k due to under recruitment in
2016/17;
 additional employer contributions in respect of the LGPS (£360k);
 incremental drift (£250k), although the new capped teaching scale would
start to impact in 2017/18;
 a proposed consolidated staff pay award of 1% (£90k);
 pension auto-enrolment, where provision of £140k would be made in
2017/18;
the College’s financial health, as scored under the new regime, was
outstanding and although the College was forecasting a shortfall against its
budget this should not impact on the overall scoring.
12.2
Governors were content with the report as presented.
13
Annual Reports
(i)
Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Report and Policy
13.1 The Principal reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
13.2
that it was a Department for Education requirement for college boards to
review a report on safeguarding and to approve a safeguarding policy on an
annual basis;
that staff training on ‘awareness of child abuse and neglect’ had been
delivered to 550 staff and that training on ‘understanding pathways to
extremism and the prevent programme’ had been delivered to 398 staff;
more specialised safeguarding training was also available through the
College’s online training platform.
The Clerk reported that at a recent development session on safeguarding / prevent,
Governors had indicated that they wanted to receive robust assurance that
safeguarding practices at the College were effective. To this end the Clerk tabled a
report that he had prepared following consultation with relevant College leaders,
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clerks at other colleges and an inspection consultant. It was also based on a
Governor safeguarding training session he had attended for the school sector. The
report outlined options by which such assurance could be secured. These included:
receiving more regular reports, appointing a designated safeguarding Governor,
completing the local authority safeguarding self-audit and action plan on an annual
basis, procuring independent assurance. Other means to triangulate safeguarding
information provided by management included seeking assurance from the Staff
and Student Governors and asking student and staff about their understanding of
safeguarding during learning walks and relevant development sessions.
13.3
Governors considered the following issues:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
the options for securing the necessary assurance on the effectiveness of the
College’s safeguarding arrangements. It was noted that the statutory
guidance was that colleges should appoint a lead Governor for safeguarding.
However, there was a strong view from Governors and management that this
would likely detract from the principle of collective responsibility.
Furthermore they were not convinced that such a role would add value to the
Board’s collective understanding of the effectiveness of safeguarding.
Instead Governors indicated a preference for the College to complete the
local authority self-audit and action plan on an annual basis, as this was
designed to ensure compliance with statutory requirements;
whether those staff that had not yet undertaken their safeguarding training
were chased up. It was noted that this was the case and the College was
highly aware of the focus given to safeguarding by Ofsted;
that the Students’ Union Welfare Officer would benefit from safeguarding
training.
Resolved
That the Safeguarding Policy be approved.
(ii)
13.4
Issues reported by the Executive Director HR and Organisational Development
included:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
13.5
Human Resources and Organisational Development Annual Report
staff demographics had changed little since the previous year;
sickness absence had declined slightly;
staff engaged well in the staff survey; outcomes benchmarked in the middle
range for general further education colleges;
an online learning platform had been introduced;
the staff survey results were disappointing for management style, good for
communications on strategic issues, but less so for routine communications.
Staff meetings would run into January 2017, with the final report not being
ready by the time of the Board meeting in February, although an interim
position could be presented at this time.
Governors considered the following issues:
(i)
the appropriateness of the ‘green’ RAG rating in relation to the staff absence
rate in the Performance Dashboard as, although on a downward trend, the
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(ii)
(iii)
13.6
(iv)
(ii)
how near misses were managed. It was noted that the Health and Safety
Committee looked at near misses to learn lessons and reduce the likelihood
and impact of accidents in the future. This was assisted through a member
of the Principalship being on the Health and Safety Committee;
that reported statistics might be more meaningful if they were also presented
as percentages / proportions (as opposed to just staff and student numbers).
Governance Matters
(i)
14.1
the number of reported accidents had increased slightly in 2016/17;
the College had been without a Health and Safety Officer for half of 2016/17;
the key health and safety issue was related to the construction of the
Advanced Skills and Innovation Centre;
very high agreement by students to the statement ‘I feel safe in College’ in
the student survey.
Governors considered the following issues:
(i)
14
Health and Safety Annual Report
Issues reported by the Principal included:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
13.7
rate was still higher than the latest AoC benchmark. It was noted that this
had been given on the basis of the downward trajectory and there was also a
feeling that the benchmark had probably moved upwards in recent years;
that stress / welfare related casework had increased significantly in 2015/16,
where it was noted that the HR team were taking a more proactive approach
with respect to staff stress and welfare to avoid absence. Disciplinary related
casework had also increased, but was mainly related to low level behaviour
issues and was being handled by management as an informal intervention.
Appraisal of Governors and the Chair of Governors
The Clerk to the Corporation reported the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
that the Chair and or Vice Chair had met all Governors who were in post for
the substantive part of 2015/16;
the final Governor’s appraisal form, with Chair’s comment, had been shared
with the relevant Governor with hardcopies available for signing;
key findings in respect of Governor appraisals included:
 reviewing Governor development for effectiveness;
 Chair and Vice Chair succession planning remained a priority;
 recruiting high calibre Governors remained a priority;
key findings in respect of the Chair of Governors appraisal included the
above three points and additionally:
 ongoing encouragement to quieter members to give their views and
challenge management at Board meetings;
 confirming relevance and priority of Core Strategic Items;
 considering how to communicate the effectiveness of the relationship
between the Chair and the Principal and Clerk;
 improving performance monitoring.
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(ii)
14.2
Governance Appointments
The Clerk to the Corporation tabled a paper proposing various Governor and role
appointments which had been considered and endorsed by members of the Search
Committee. The proposals in relation to the Chair and Vice Chair roles were
proposed by Jane Walton and seconded by David Caddies.
Resolved
That Paul Campbell be elected Chair of Governors for a period of two years
commencing 1 January 2017.
That Paul Campbell be appointed as an External Governor for a third term of office
of 17 months commencing 1 August 2017.
That Andrew McConnell be appointed Vice Chair of Governors for a period of two
years commencing 1 January 2017.
That Andrew McConnell be appointed as an External Governor for a third term of
office of two years commencing 1 January 2017.
That Ian Parsons be appointed as an External Governor for a period of three years
commencing 1 January 2017.
That Emma Elvin be appointed a member of the Audit Committee.
15
Briefing Papers:
15.1
Property Development Update
Resolved
That the Property Development Update be noted.
15.2
Governor Attendance 2016/17
The Chair reported that Governor attendance to date in 2016/17 was 88%.
Resolved
That the Governor Attendance 2016/17 report be noted.
15.3
Use of the Seal of the Corporation
Resolved
That the use of the Seal of the Corporation between 12 October 2016 and 6
December 2016 be noted.
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15.4
Summary of Corporation Members’ Register of Interests 2016/17
Resolved
That the Summary of Corporation Members’ Register of Interests 2016/17be noted.
16
Feedback from Governors on Development Sessions Undertaken
16.1 Since the previous meeting, Governors had attended the following development
sessions:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Learning Walk on A Levels (1 November 2016)
Governor Development Session (Safeguarding / Prevent) and Ofsted
Inspection (1 November 2016);
AoC Conference (15-17 November 2016);
Management Strategic Planning Event (5 December 2016);
Learning Walk on English and Maths (13 December 2016).
Also attended during this period were the Graduation Ceremony (12 November
2016) and Awards Evening (12 December 2016).
16.2
Feedback from the Learning Walk on English and Maths had highlighted to
Governors the difficulties faced by the College of teaching English and Maths to
students who had previously failed these subjects, had no desire to be there and for
whom their course was probably not in their best interests (i.e. being forced to study
a course which they were very likely to fail).
17
Review of Effectiveness of Meeting and Identification of Emerging Risk
17.1 No new risks were identified during the meeting.
18
Date of Next Scheduled Meeting – Tuesday 7 February 2017
Signed …………………...........................……….… Date……………........……
Proposed Future Core Strategic Items
Item
7 February 2017
28 March 2017
23 May 2017
11 July 2017
Date
Pay and Benefits Strategy
Employer Engagement Strategy
tbc
Budget / Financial Plan / Strategic Plan / Risk
Management
Also:
 1 February 2017 (Governors’ Workshop) – Apprenticeships
 tbc – English and Maths Strategy (incl. Improving Attendance)
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