West Midlands CETT Board Meeting
held on 10 June 2009 at NEW College
Present:
1.
Neil Bromley (NEW College) Chair
Susan Martin (Project Manager WMCETT) Secretary
Fergus McKay (Director WMCETT)
David Lamburn (University of Warwick)
Vince Russel (University of Worcester) (representing Chris Robertson)
Jo Mortimer (PGL)
Geoff Bateson (Core Skills Partnership)
Jill Hayward (Stratford upon Avon College) (representing Martin Penny)
Paul Tolley (WCAVA)
Julie Chamberlain (Project Administrator WMCETT)
Apologies
Apologies were received from Michele Dunn, Martin Penny and Anne O Grady.
2.
Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.
3.
Matters arising
Item 3 – FM said that the search for a Shropshire Principal to sit on the Board was still ongoing.
4.
Director’s progress report
FM updated the committee on activities in the business plan which came into force on 1 April. Several
points were discussed by the Board:
1. A series of professional dialogue seminars are being put together in conjunction with other HEIs in
the West Midlands that deliver teacher training. They will take place in September, December and
March, the first near Wolverhampton, the second at the University of Worcester and third at the
University of Warwick.
2. WMCETT has a new IfL Regional Adviser, funded by the IfL for 70 days to 31 March 2010. Anne
Schofield has been appointed and she has set up an email response system, a set of webpages and
is planning to establish a FAQ section on the CETT website.
3. The CETT has been invited to appoint someone to train subject learning coaches as part of the
Regional Subject Learning Coach initiative run by Nord Anglia.
4. WMCETT has been informally notified that North Shropshire Voluntary Action is no longer in
existence. We are seeking formal clarification of the situation. An update will be given at the next
Board meeting.
5.
Annual report 2008/9
FM went through the annual report, highlighting the following points:
1. Cross-CETT conference
This was a good way to show the CETT’s presence, but it was subsequently felt that time
was more effectively spent on smaller workshops and seminars. The year 3 business plan
makes greater use of these smaller events.
2. Workforce Reform Roadshows
They had been more successful than had been anticipated. JM said that the one she
attended had been very valuable.
3. Statistics
SM highlighted the increase in partners and the number of newsletters sent out. She said
the website was getting more hits, and a large number of people had attended the 24
presentations the CETT had carried out. FM said impact evaluations would be carried out
on everything the CETT did during year 3, as requested by LSIS.
4. WMCOP bulletin
FM highlighted its success and said he was offering it to HEIs outside the CETT. PT asked if
there was a forum - FM reported a problem with setting up a forum via the Warwick
University website but said it was being looked into. People were welcome to put forward
information for the bulletin.
5. Mentoring ARP training days
These training days had proved an excellent mechanism to support the Mentoring ARP.
They had effectively focussed the projects.
6. Unexpected outcomes
The geography of the CETT had caused challenges in terms of accessing all partners. VR
suggested using video conferencing to spread the word of the CETT further.
The three teacher support networks had faced varying difficulties that posed challenges to
their sustainability. FM said he was delighted WCAVA was going to help reactivate the
Warwickshire teacher support network.
6.
Financial report 2008/9
SM tabled the financial report for 2008/9.
The only significant discrepancy between actual and budgeted spend was for the project grants, although
this was caused by three very specific factors, which were presented to the Board. All under-spend has
been re-designated to activity in year 3.
7.
Sustainability
FM confirmed that WMCETT did not see its future being secured by charging partners fees to be members.
This would not ensure sustainability, as fees would generate an expectation of service and would only
provide a small amount of funding in total. This view was supported by the Board.
FM said that CETTs hoped the future lay in working collaboratively under the ACETT banner. This included
putting in bids to secure significant national contracts. Additionally, there had been discussion on a national
level about the using the CETTs as a virtual network to bring together initiatives on a regional basis.
8.
AOB
Paul Tolley was asked to permanently join the board as a replacement for Loraine Hayley.
FM thanked VR, who is retiring at the end of August, for his contribution to WMCETT. The Board wished
him every luck in the future.
9.
Date and time of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 11 November 2009, 5pm - 7pm at NEW College.