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At a meeting of Bromley College of Further and Higher Education Corporation held on
Wednesday 3 July 2013 at 6.15 pm in the Conference Rooms at the Orpington Campus
there were present:
Angela Hands (Chair), Julian Benington, Roger Dawe, David Forty, Caroline Jolliff
(Vice Chair), Sam Parrett (Principal), Marek Michalski, Linda Simpson, Brenda
Thompson, Frank Toop, Victoria Whittle, Roger Bristow, Lisa Judd, Liz Watson
In attendance: Andrew Slade (Vice Principal, Curriculum and Quality), John Hunt (Vice
Principal, Finance and Resources), Robert Gee (Clerk)
The Vice Chair chaired the meeting for items 472 to 477 until the arrival of the Chair who
took items 478 onwards.
John Hunt, the new Vice Principal, Finance and Resources, was welcomed to his first
Bromley College Corporation meeting.
472.
Apologies for Absence
Apologies had been received from Anna Robey, Alison Cops and John Hunter.
473.
Declarations of Interest
No declarations of interest were received.
474.
Chairs Items
None
475.
Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 25 March 2013, which had been circulated
previously, were accepted and signed as a true record of the meeting. The
confidential minutes of the same date, that had had a restricted circulation, were also
accepted and signed
476.
Matters arising from the minutes
None, other than on the agenda.
477.
Governance Issues
477.1 Notes from the Governors Conference of 9 May
The notes from the conference, Corporation Document 99/13, which had been
circulated previously, were accepted as a true record.
The following proposals made at the conference, and appearing in the conference
notes, were ratified.
Roger Dawe was approved to serve as chair from 1st August 2013 until the end
of his current term of office as a governor (October 2016).
The existing vision and mission were agreed as appropriate for achieving the
current strategic aims of the College.
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It was agreed to support the development and submission of a UTC bid. The
further investigation of 14-16 direct recruitment, Studio Schools and Career
Colleges, with a report back to the governors in due course, was endorsed.
Moving to the proposed new model of governance from Autumn 2013 was
approved and the frequency of meetings favoured was the half termly model,
recognising that an additional meeting in the cycle in the Autumn term would
be desirable and that a Conference held in May 2014 would also comprise a
Corporation meeting.
477.2 Minutes of the Governance and Search Committee held on 24 June 2013
The minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2013, which had been circulated
previously, were received.
477.3 A New Model of Governance for Bromley College
A report, Corporation Document 100/13, had been circulated previously. In
discussion the following points were noted:
 A reduction in Corporation size to 15, and achieving an appropriate skill set,
would be important in ensuring effective operation of the Board under the new
arrangements.
 Impact should be continuously assessed via ‘review’ items on each agenda and a
more specific evaluation towards the end of the pilot year.
 The importance of effective ‘link’ arrangements being implemented.
 The use of ‘task and finish’ groups to advance specific issues.
 It was confirmed that the Equality and Diversity Steering Group was a
management committee with governor representation, and would continue.
 Pre-meetings of the Chair, the Principal and the Clerk, to discuss meeting
agendas, would be important as would the quality of the papers produced by
College management.
The proposed Scheme of Delegation was reviewed. There was a discussion around
point (d) under the Principal’s responsibilities, (the determination of the institution’s
activities), and it was clarified that this wording is consistent with the SFA
expectations in relation to the duties of the chief executive part of the role of Principal
and CEO. A discussion took place about the use of a governor’s appeal panel in
disciplinary cases and the Clerk was asked to check whether this related to student
discipinaries as well as staff.
Further development work consistent with this approach was approved.
The proposed meetings schedules for the Corporation (following confirmation
of Wednesday 14 May and Wednesday 9 July as intended meeting dates), and
for the Audit Committee, were approved.
The proposed Scheme of Delegation was approved.
The proposed reduction in the size of the Corporation from 20 to 15 with 12
being independent governors plus the Principal, one member of staff and one
student, to be achieved by September 2013, was approved, and the Clerk was
asked to implement this reduction using the approach outlined in the paper.
The proposal that the Remuneration and Search Committees would be
convened on an as/when required basis was approved.
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The proposal to adopt individual governor attendance targets at Corporation
and Committee meetings of 80% over the 2013/14 year was approved.
478.
Principal’s Report
A report, Corporation Document 101/13, had been circulated previously, which
included updates on 22 College and national areas of current interest.
It was reported that the FE sector had not faired too badly in the Comprehensive
Spending Review although the adult skills budget had been reduced by 40% over the
life of the current government. Despite the application of a national funding formula
there would still not be ‘a level playing field’ with schools who would continue to
benefit from, for example, the pupil premium and free school meal arrangements.
The Government had announced more money for apprenticeships but consulting on
funding going directly to employers was expected. Skills funding would not be
channelled through the Local Enterprise Partnerships, but capital funding will post
2015.
Traineeships would also help to raise participation levels by offering short term
vocational provision that could be offered by the College on a rolling basis with
completers being fed onto other College provision subsequently.
College recruitment remains buoyant with applications for FT courses being 20%
higher than the equivalent point last year and with 250 people having attended a
recent open event run on a Saturday. 40 people were booked onto 24+ loan advice
sessions and there was optimism that high volumes of Access applicants would
generate significant loan funding for the College despite the low take-up nationally to
date. However, this area of funding still remained a risk
HE partnership activity was going well and the new Vice-Chancellor appointed at
Canterbury Christ Church College was known to be committed to partnerships. A
strategic alliance document formalising relationships at a number of levels would be
brought to the Corporation in September.
A voluntary severance scheme had attracted 17 applicants of which 8 had been
approved. The main consideration was not to incur replacement costs and generate
space in the staffing budget to allow investment in new posts in areas such as
attendance and quality improvement and other College priorities.
The biggest single quality improvement issue currently faced was attendance. A
consultant had been appointed who was asking challenging questions about College
targets and was suggesting fresh strategies. There would be a campaign around
making every lesson count with the possibility of financial and other incentives for
high/100% attendance as students did not always respond to work-readiness
messages. The new funding formula focussed on retention and it had been
calculated that every 1.5% drop in retention would cost the College £100,000 in lost
income.
It was acknowledged that the messages around attendance would need to be
sensitive to not frustrating those with high attendance, but student feedback had
demonstrated that good attenders wanted high absence and late arrival to be tackled
because these both disrupt the learning process. 2 attendance officers were to be
appointed to support this work.
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The official opening of the Nido Volans Centre had gone very well with excellent
involvement from the Local Authority. Governors were thanked for their support and
congratulated the College on a very successful event and on the extremely positive
working relationship with the Local Authority.
479.
Progress Against the Strategic Plan 2012-15
A report, Corporation Document 102/13, had been circulated previously and
contained 2 attachments; the operating plan and the risk framework. It was confirmed
that the focus was on high risk areas, and in response to various presentational
points, the approach currently used was to be reviewed with a clearer visual
emphasis on net risk and the production of a brief executive summary bringing key
points to the attention of governors in an accessible way. An equivalent point was
made regarding KPIs which would appear in a corporate report moving forward.
The College was positioning itself to benefit from provision for ‘international’ students
before progressing them to HE partner institutions, and a walk-in facility in Orpington
would be designed to develop apprenticeship take-up in the town using the shop that
the College owns in the Walnuts Shopping Centre.
480.
Public Value Statement
A report, Corporation Document 103/13, had been circulated previously. There had
been a considerable amount of community involvement work recently and the
proposed statement, required under the Sharp Report into colleges being the nucleus
of their communities, reflected where the College was currently whilst it was also
acknowledged that there was more that could be done. Discussion resulted in the
following observations:
 Reference to the school sector in section 1 should be moved to elsewhere in the
document, for instance, the bullet points in section 2
 The first sentence in section 2 was very ‘formal’ and should be moved to a new
section at the end of the statement. It was thought to be important that the ‘notfor-profit’ message should be retained.
 In section 5 the wording should be ‘it is creating’ rather than ‘it will create’.
 On the website the statement should be preceded by an introduction that outlines
some of the main engagement activities the College is involved in.
Subject to the agreed amendments, the publication of the proposed Public
Value Statement was approved.
481.
Equality and Diversity Action Plan
A report, Corporation Document 104/13, had been circulated previously. Steady
progress was being made but there was more to be done, especially around the early
identification of, and robust support for, those in under-performing groups. The scope
of the work was being extended by the embedding of Social, Moral, Spiritual and
Cultural (SMSC) content into the tutorial programme. The governor representative on
the group requested that a meetings schedule for 2013/14 year should be prioritised
in diaries to enable further progress to be made.
482.
Minutes and recommendations from Committees
482.1 Staffing and Students Committee
a. The minutes of the meeting held 5 June 2013, which had been circulated previously,
were received. A lot of policies had been approved, the most important amongst
which were the pension scheme auto-enrolment arrangements and safeguarding.
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b. Safeguarding Policy
A report, Corporation Document 105/13, had been circulated previously. The policy
contained only modest amendments from the version approved by the Corporation in
2012. These were mostly administrative in that they reflected changes to the
safeguarding officer team and the replacement of the CRB process with DBS
(Disclosure and Barring Service). A report would follow in the autumn and was
expected to show a significant increase in the number of cases. The transition to
DBS was going well, and the introduction of portable certification would convey
significant advantages.
The Safeguarding Policy, as recommended by the Staffing and Students
Committee, was approved
482.2 Curriculum, Standards and Performance Committee
a. The minutes of the meeting held 12 June 2013, which had been circulated
previously, were received. The focus of the meeting had been on in-year
performance, the Post Inspection Action Plan (PIAP) and a presentation on
curriculum change which highlighted the potential impact of 24+ loans and the
transfer of Animal Care provision to Capel Manor College. A new style of paper had
been produced to cut down on the volume of information included and provide a
clearer focus.
b. In-Year Progress and Performance Report 2012/13
A report, Corporation Document 106/13, had been circulated previously. The College
continued to do well, with long qualification success rates forecasted to improve by
1% and overall success predicted to improve by a further 3.2% to 85.4%, placing the
College at 1.2% above the current national rate. Further improvements would be
increasingly difficult to attain and would require new strategies focussing on underperforming groups.
Attendance, retention and value-added would be particularly important moving
forward. The targets set had proved to be challenging and in response to this it was
intended to operate both base and stretch targets for the 2013/14 year. The need to
develop staff capacity to deliver new strategies and continuing improvement was
acknowledged.
c. Post Inspection Action Plan
A report, Corporation Document107/13, had been circulated previously and was now
RAG-rated so that progress was easier to monitor. The document was monitored by
the SLT but was also incorporated into operational plans across the College. As
many completion dates were imminent it should have changed significantly by the
next time it would be viewed by the Corporation, however, it was requested that
completed items should not be ‘lost’. The plan would be viewed alongside
accompanying performance data so that its on-going impact could be assessed.
482.3 Finance, Property and General Purposes Committee
a. The minutes of the last meeting held 18 June 2013, which had been circulated
previously, were received.
b. Funding Applications – Capital and Revenue Grants
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A report, Corporation Document 108/13, had been circulated previously. The volume
of bids the College was involved in, and the associated work that was required, was
acknowledged. Since the paper had been produced Ambitious about Autism had
been approved. It was noted that if all current bids were successful, the financial
commitments falling to the College could be met from reserves.
c. Sports Hall Capital Application
A report, Corporation Document 109/13, had been circulated previously. Further work
on this project had confirmed that additional design enhancements could create a
facility of regional and potentially national significance.
An additional £300k to allow a 4 court facility, and an additional £185k to
provide a viewing gallery, as recommended by the Finance Committee, were
approved.
d. 2012/13 Financial Summaries as at April 2013
A report, Corporation Document 110/13, had been circulated previously. The end of
April 2013 management accounts showed a small positive change in the full year
forecasted adjusted operating surplus from £137k to 148k. The balance sheet
remained strong with high cash values and buoyant cash flow. There were still risks
around the funding contract out-turns and student debt, making out-turn predictions
difficult, but there was sufficient flexibility to remain reasonably confident that the
forecast surplus would be achieved.
e. Budget 2013/14
A report, Corporation Document 111/13, had been circulated previously. The budget,
developed in association with key budget holders anticipated a surplus of 2%, or
£577k, in line with the request made by the Finance Committee in March. There were
a number of significant risks to the achievement of the budget which were noted;
generating the 24+ loan income was considered to be a risk but overall the proposed
budget was thought to be broadly deliverable.
It was common practice to look at the adjusted operating position but it was important
to note the impact of the reverse pension charge and avoid the impression of
generating a higher surplus than in reality was the case. There would be differences
in presentation in future which would avoid this.
The 2013/14 budget, as recommended by the Finance Committee was
approved.
f.
Financial Plan 2013/15
A report, Corporation Document 112/13, had been circulated previously. The 2013/14
year showed the same figures as in the budget item just discussed but due to the
uncertainties of the funding contracts a ‘steady state’ had been assumed for the
following year resulting in a slightly reduced surplus due to the impact of
depreciation. Financial health would move from ‘outstanding’ to ‘good’ for the year
ending July 2015 largely as a consequence of the cash position which would be
reduced due to the impact of planned capital investments.
The Financial Plan, as recommended by the Finance Committee, was endorsed
for submission to the SFA.
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The Corporation wished to place on record its gratitude to Brian Case who had done much
of the background work in preparing the budget for 2013/14 and for stepping into the interim
Vice Principal role over the last 7 months.
g. Food Services Outsourcing
A report, Corporation Document 113/13, had been circulated previously. A
competitive process had awarded the contract for outsourced catering services at
both campuses to Caterlink, for 5 years starting 1 August 2013, based on both quality
and affordability. Caterlink would install a new manager, undertake capital investment
and split future surpluses (80/20). Existing staff would TUPE to the new operation.
Cheaper prices could be expected with all food freshly cooked. The students involved
in the process had commented favourably.
The contract for outsourcing College food services, as recommended by the
Finance Committee, was approved.
482.4 Audit and Risk Committee
a. A verbal report on the Audit and Risk Committee, which had been held ahead of the
Corporation meeting, was received. The meeting had been convened to consider 2
internal audit reports assessed as amber/red and the Financial Statements Audit. All
other items would be taken at a meeting to be scheduled for September which would
allow the newly arrived Vice Principal, Finance and Resources, to be fully conversant
with the issues.
In relation to the Financial Controls audit it had been reported that bank reconciliation
had now been resolved to the end of May and other control accounts had been
established. Regarding the IT Security and Controls audit, a full discussion was
deferred to the proposed September meeting when the RSM Tenon author of the
report could be in attendance. There were some differences in the opinions of the
auditor and College management and issues relating to the RM contract, pertinent to
this discussion, would have been taken forward.
The strategy on the auditing of the College’s accounts, prepared by Buzzacott, sets
out a schedule of dates in the autumn term, the key issues of significance and the
risks faced by the College.
The arrangements for the forthcoming Financial Statements and Regularity
Audit for the year ending 31 July 2013, as recommended by the Audit and Risk
Committee, were approved.
483.
Date of next meeting
As agreed earlier in the meeting, this would take place on Wednesday 25 September
at 6.15, campus to be confirmed.
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