Minutes of the East Durham College Full Board Meeting held on 14th December 2023

D Butler (Chair), S Duncan, M Young, A Brennan, J Bromiley, M Curry, K Tate, G Edmunds, S Robson, S Laverick and G Edmunds

C Tomlinson – Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance

D Everitt – Interim Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning

H McCoy – Assistant Principal Performance

J Lanagan - Assistant Principal Curriculum Planning and Partnerships

A Wilkinson - Campus Director Peterlee & Technical Academy

L Haggis – Campus Director Houghall

S Pritchard – Clerk to the Corporation

C Leece – External Auditor, RSM

D Hartis – Independent member of Audit and Risk Committee

G Flanagan – proposed Student Governor

D Alderson – proposed Student Governor

H Clarke – Student Engagement Officer

V Charlton – minute taker

Apologies were received from J Smith, R Harrison, A Chandra and G Dullage.

Members were invited to declare any conflicts of interest in relation to the items of the agenda for the meeting.  There were no conflicts of interest declared.

AGREED

The minutes of the meeting held on 12th October 2023 were accepted as a correct record.

There were no matters arising that would not be discussed under items on the meeting’s agenda.

The Chair welcomed new Governors G Edmunds and K Tate (Staff governor) and the independent member for Audit & Risk Committee D Hartis (attending as an observer) as well as the new Student Union president and vice president (student governors). The Chair welcomed J Mitchelson, new Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning who starts on 15th January 2024 and C Leece (RSM).

The report was presented by the Student Liaison Officer and the Student Governors.

The Student survey had been circulated to all students and key outcomes were highlighted.  93% of students agreed that the enrolment process was well organised, although there were some issues for 2nd year students and those on extended courses.  Issues have been discussed with senior management and addressed. 

Class representatives were recruited and meetings have been well attended from a cross-representation of areas.

Student feedback from the Freshers’ fayre was very positive.  A new idea and business plan for student union hoodies was outlined, starting with an in-house competition for students to produce a design.

Governors were informed of the peer mentor system and it was noted that five Houghall students are being trained to be peer mentors and will receive an accredited certificate and that the system would be extended to Willerby Grove after Christmas.

It was confirmed that the next Student Governor Conferences were scheduled for February and May 2024.

The Board noted the report.

The Principal presented the update to the Board.  The report was considered confidential owing to commercial sensitivity.

The Board noted that the growth target that had been set had been achieved and noted the College’s position in relation to its competitors in the region through the Vector report.  Updates were provided on future meetings for LSIF, a visit from the FE Commissioner, and curriculum reform.

The Board noted that students had reached the final of World Skills and that creative media students have achieved 2nd out of 200 competitors.

In response to a query the Principal explained the impact of the Advanced British Standard on current provision, students and progression pathways and her view of the impact of a change in government following the election next year.  The work of the AoC to lobby and influence was noted.

In response to a query the Principal explained about the College’s involvement in LSIF and the college’s role in addressing the skills shortage. 

The Board noted the report.

The Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance presented the report.  The report is confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity as the documents contains data tables.

It was noted that the validation outcomes are subject to validation by a panel consisting of college staff, an external panel member and governors where significant challenge was made by the panel in a number of areas to challenge the college’s perspective on the judgements it had made.

It was noted that an external consultant had been engaged to undertake a review of Young People and that following a two day review the external consultant had agreed with the uplifted judgement recommended by the panel.

The judgements of the panel, in particular in the areas where an uplift was recommended, were noted and that the College would submit the SAR to the Ofsted portal.

In response to a question the Principal clarified that the external reviewer was a part time Ofsted Inspector who works in the sector but predominantly works for Ofsted in the Northwest.   The possibility that the Education Inspection Framework may further change with the appointment of a new Ofsted Chief Inspector was noted. 

The Board approved the Self-Assessment Report and the Quality Improvement Plan and noted the Self Evaluation Document.

The Chair brought forward this agenda item to the beginning of the meeting and noted that it had been discussed at the Audit & Risk committee, immediately before the Board meeting.  

The report and minutes were deemed confidential owing to commercial sensitivity.

The update from external audit was noted.

Upon the recommendation of the Audit & Risk Committee:

(1) the Board approved the draft statutory accounts subject to the final changes discussed at the meeting being agreed and recirculated to the Board to raise any final issues prior to the 21st December 2024 and that the Board delegate authority to the Chair and Principal to execute the statutory accounts on or after that date provided that any outstanding issues have been resolved. 

(2) the Board approved the Regulatory self-assessment questionnaire and letter of representation and delegated authority to the Principal and Chair to sign

RSM withdrew from the meeting.

Risk Management

The Principal presented the report which was confidential owing to commercial sensitivities and it was noted that the report was previously presented to Audit committee on 16th December 2023.

The Board noted that updates had been made to the risk register as aa result of scrutiny and discussion at the Audit & Risk Committee and that these were highlighted in the paper.

It was noted that risk scoring has not changed.  A governor asked for further information around the risks relating to the capital programme and it was confirmed that there are no significant  financial risks to the capital programme as it was 100% grant funded for Wave 4 and 89% funded for Wave 5.  It was noted that the main risk was to maintaining the quality of the student experience while the capital works are being undertaken. 

It was noted that curriculum qualification reform and education policy remains the biggest strategic risk and that the pay award appears to have assisted with retention and recruitment.

The Principal clarified that there is an internal risk management group, which includes managers from every key area where risks are discussed and collectively scored. There are also delivery plans for the strategic plan and risk is embedded in those and they are reviewed every month. 

The Board noted the report.

Annual Health and Safety Report

The Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance presented the annual update for 2022/23 to the Board.  The board noted that the RAG rated table had now been implemented following a recommendation from the health and safety audit.  It was confirmed that all fire risk assessments were now complete and that the plans for 2023/24 would be focussed on reviewing policies to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

The Board noted that there were very few RIDDOR.  The 2 reported incidents did not have to be reported, as not actual RIDDOR, but were reported regardless. Attention was drawn to falls from height in terms of student accidents, which related to students who have fallen off horses.

A Governor asked if there was any near misses which led to modifications to prevent an incident happening again. The Houghall Campus Director responded that accidents and near misses are discussed at Health and Safety meetings. Risk assessments are discussed and processes are reviewed to ensure it is the right process for the activity. 

Governor asked about compliance levels for training, particularly in relation to cyber/data security.  The Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance advised that weekly reminders have been sent out and there has been a significant increase in completion of training and it will also be picked up on January CPD day. Completion of training is being tracked. A member of the JISC cyber security team recently met with college staff and CPD was discussed.  The current online training package is being reviewed with a view to making it more interactive and college specific.  Mental Health and wellbeing has been challenging and a lot of work has been undertaken this year including training mental health first aiders.

The report was noted.

The Chair advised that the report had been reviewed at Audit and Risk Committee.  Overall there is a good level of assurance across the colleges systems.

The Board noted the report.

Chair’s Annual Report of the Audit Committee 2022-23

The Chair noted some further amendments that were required to the report and it was agreed that these would be actioned and the report recirculated to governors after the meeting.

Internal Audit Tender

An update was provided to the Board on the internal audit tender process and the methodology used to assess submissions.  It was noted that the former internal auditors had withdrawn from the FE sector.

Upon the verbal recommendation of the Audit & Risk Committee the Board approved the appointment of Wylie and Bisset as internal auditors to the corporation.

Sub-contracting

The Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance presented the report. The report is confidential.  The Vice Principal Curriculum & Quality highlighted that this report was presented to the Audit & Risk Committee in November and that it provided an update on subcontracting arrangements for this academic year, which remained low.  Current subcontracting arrangements were discussed and the Board noted that regular review meetings were scheduled with subcontractors to discuss quality assurance and improvement.

The changes to the subcontracting standard were noted and that the last review had been successful and that the report had been submitted to the ESFA and an outcome is expected in January 2024.  If the outcome is accepted, then the college will not be audited again for 3 years. 

The Board noted the report.

The Clerk presented the Governance reports.

It was noted that following a successful election it was proposed that the President and Vice President of the Students’ Union be appointed as student governors and as committee members for CQ&S and that eligibility checks had been completed.

The vacancies amongst the link governor roles had previously been brought to the attention of the Board and it was noted that following discussions with new governors and number had agreed to put themselves forward for the roles.

The role of an independent member of the Audit & Risk committee was explained and a new role description was proposed for adoption and inclusion in the next update to the Governance Handbook.  It was noted that the independent member was in attendance at the Board meeting as an observer to start to understand the wider operations of the Board but that he would attend Audit & Risk Committee meetings only going forward.

The draft EDI & Skills Audit was proposed in draft form for comment and it was agreed that it would be circulated for completion after the meeting.  It was highlighted that the purpose of the audit was to understand in particular how well the board’s expertise matched with the College’s skills priorities and how well the backgrounds of the governors reflected the College’s students.

The Board:

(1) approved the appointment of Gemini Flanagan Dylan Jackson Alderson as student governors and members of the CQ&S Committee for a term of one year to 13 December 2024 (or them leaving the College, whichever the earlier);

(2) appoint Guy Dullage as Link Governor (Employer Provision), Alex Brennan as Link Governor (Equality and Diversity) and Stuart Laverick as Link Governor (Teaching and Learning).

(3) adopted the role description for an independent committee member at appendix 1 to the report and noted that it would be added to the Governance Handbook at the next update

(4) approved the EDI & Skills Audit at appendix 2 to the report for circulation to the Board for completion following the meeting.

The Board agreed the appointment of the student governors.

A Cummins has resigned as staff governor.

Clerk’s Annual Report

The Clerk presented the report to the Board for adoption summarising the governance activity of the Board and the main actions of the Clerk during 2022/23.

The Chair outlined the purpose of one to one meeting with Governors and it was noted that these would be arranged in 2024.

The Board noted the report.

Minutes of Audit & Risk November 2023

Minutes were discussed at Audit and Risk Committee prior to the start of Board meeting. All actions had been addressed.

The Board approved the minutes of Audit and Risk Committee November 2023.

Governors were informed that the Strategic Planning Day scheduled for 25th January 2024 would be re-scheduled for April 2024.  Date to be confirmed.

The Chair requested governors to attend a special Board meeting for Thursday 11th January.  Details would be forwarded in the new year.