Page 1 of 6 At a meeting of Bromley College of Further and Higher Education Corporation held on Monday 24 March 2014 at 6.15pm in B10 at the Bromley Campus there were present: Angela Hands, Chris Cook, Roger Dawe (Chair), David Forty, John Hunter, Caroline Jolliff, Lisa Judd (from item 556), Marek Michalski, Sam Parrett (Principal), Linda Simpson, Frank Toop, In attendance: Andrew Slade (Vice Principal, Curriculum and Quality), John Hunt (Vice Principal, Finance and Resources), Robert Gee (Clerk), Alison Arnaud (Head of English and Maths Academy) 550 Apologies for Absence Apologies had been received from Liz Watson, Victoria Whittle and Johnson Soyinka 551 Declarations of Interest No declarations of interest were received. 552 Chair’s Introductory Remarks The Chair highlighted the presentation on the English and Maths Strategy to be received as item 9 (minute 558) and the importance of this to the work of the College. 553 Minutes of the last meeting The minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2014, which had been circulated previously, were accepted and signed as a true record of the meeting. 554 Matters arising from the minutes It was requested that an outcome was identified in the minutes for each item, not just those requiring formal approval, and this should appear in bold text. 555 Principal’s Report A report, Corporation Document 21/14, had been circulated previously, which included updates on 19 College and national areas of current interest. The following points were specifically highlighted for governors’ attention: document1 Proposed reforms will transfer Apprenticeship funding from the SFA to employers. There is wide concern across the sector that this will threaten College income and many employers are also indicating that they would take fewer apprentices under the new arrangements. The College is encouraging its partner employers to respond to the consultation and John Hunt will do so on behalf of the College. The government’s vocational reform plans will see over 6500 qualifications removed from funding by November 2014. As there is no certainty on what will continue to be available, this is currently impacting adversely on the curriculum planning process. On 10 February the SFA published its funding priorities and budget for the 2014/15 year. This is expected to mean an £874k, or 15%, cut in adult funding for the College as funding is refocused on the 11-18 age range. “Golden hellos” of £7500 have been announced to encourage Maths graduates to teach in the further education sector, and the Education and Training Foundation are seeking bids to pilot a graduate teaching scheme similar to “Teach First” that operates in schools. The College is involved with other colleges and other Page 2 of 6 providers in the submission of 2 bids; one in London and the other in Kent/SE England. Since the report had been written a number of senior appointments had been confirmed, as follows: Ruth Griffiths had been approached as Vice Principal Standards and Schools. Ruth was currently a 14-19 strategic advisor for Lewisham Council, has a background in law and has been the national director of Careers Academies UK. Another candidate for the above post had subsequently been appointed as the Director of Teaching and Learning. John Nunn joins the College from Langley Park Boys School where he is a Deputy Head, has achieved the National Professional Qualification for Headship and is currently training as an Ofsted inspector. Mary McKeenam had been appointed as the Executive Head Teacher of the PRU schools which it is intended will transfer to Academy status under the College’s Multi Academy Trust. Mary was a graduate of the Future Leaders Programme which accelerates high performers from different backgrounds. The Corporation noted the contents of the report. Lisa Judd joined the meeting at this point. 556 Academic Progress Report The Vice Principal, Curriculum and Quality, presented the Academic Progress Report, Corporation document 22/14, which had been circulated previously. The executive summary identified that many key indicators, such as learner numbers, retention, early achievement data and attendance were moving in the right direction. Data was more robust this year and was more effectively supporting improvement interventions. English and Maths enrolments had increased significantly in 2013/14 in response to education policy changes, and was now a key focus of attention. MOT meetings, the strategy for monitoring in-year performance, were held 3 times a year and ‘Panel Reviews’ were considering at-risk learners fortnightly, therefore the accuracy of data and interventions with learners were more robust this year. A consultant would be visiting after Easter to assist with curriculum planning in the light of recent government reforms and initiatives to review English and maths. The biggest risk to continued improvements was performance in English and Maths, although the attention this was now receiving meant that indicators were moving in the right direction. It was considered that the KPI sheet provided a good single page overview. Most areas were RAG-rated (red, amber, green) although some areas were still not rated at this relatively early stage of the development of the report. Trend analysis graphs worked well and helped explain an amber or red assessment. It appeared that attendance had fallen to 2012/13 weekly levels, but it was already responding to the new initiatives introduced. The overall attendance figure was above last year. A lot of effort seemed to be required to produce relatively little gain, but this was as much about instilling an appropriate work ethic as it was about improving attendance percentages. document1 Page 3 of 6 It was concluded that the presentation of the report had improved significantly, with the use of colour and an executive summary being particularly helpful. The contents of the report were noted and the data reports supplementing the KPIs were to be retained. A reference guide to the use of technical terms and acronyms, and a presentation on the funding implications of curriculum and quality issues, were requested. (ACTION – Andrew Slade) 557 Financial Performance Report The Vice Principal, Finance and Resources, presented the Financial Performance Report, Corporation document 23/14, which had been circulated previously. The main points of note were as follows: With the management accounts showing an operating surplus of £189k, the College was currently on target to achieve the forecasted surplus for the year. A lot of work was being done to investigate the tuition fee position. The risk relating to commercial income had been resolved since the report was written Teaching pay costs were currently forecasted to exceed the budgeted figure by £107k but this may be due to a profiling issue and actions were being taken to mitigate any potential overspend through reductions in hourly paid staff in the summer The debtors figure was high but was largely due from the Student Loans Company and local councils in respect of high needs students and so was not considered to be too significant a risk The sports hall development was now well underway and although it was currently a week behind schedule it was anticipated that this time would be recovered. Tenders for the work required to create the catering and hospitality suite at Orpington would be going out shortly and will give greater certainty over the costs of this development Due to complex data issues some learners were being recoded to transfer them from EFA to SFA funding in response to the currently predicted over achievement of the former and under achievement of the latter On 11 March the College had received a letter notifying an increase in the employer contribution to the Local Government Pension Scheme from 17.1% to 19.3%. This was received with no prior warning and so gave very little notice of the increase. The anticipated impact of this is £30k this year and £120k in 2014/15. The Audit Committee was encouraging the College to find out as much as possible about the pension position which was known to be a significant issue in other sectors. Whilst there was a lack of transparency over the calculations these had been produced by an independent actuary. The College was considering alternatives to the LGPS such as NEST (National Employment Savings Trust), and this would be considered again via the Pay Policy which would be presented to the Corporation in the near future. The presentation of the report was found to be helpful with the ‘significant matters’ boxes, inserted into the accounts for the first time on this occasion, being well received. It was felt that the detailed commentary need not appear separately in future as the Key Points and the text boxes in the accounts were sufficient. The information in the Income and Expenditure Account appearing as Schedule 2 was all document1 Page 4 of 6 available elsewhere in the report and it was agreed that this schedule need not appear in future. It was queried when a first look at the budget for 2014/15 would be possible. It would be difficult to finalise the budget whilst curriculum planning was on-going and it had been intended to bring the budget to the July meeting. A 2 stage process was requested with a brief high level paper highlighting the main risks, followed by the detailed budget in July. (ACTION – John Hunt) It was agreed that a task-and-finish group with representation drawn from the previously existing Finance and Staffing Committees should meet in mid-June to consider the emerging implications and consequent actions arising from the 2014/15 budget. (ACTION – Robert Gee) In summary, the contents of the report were noted and it was agreed that a separate commentary to the management accounts and the inclusion of a detailed Income and Expenditure account were not required. (ACTION – John Hunt) 558 Development of the English and Maths Strategy The Corporation received a verbal presentation from Alison Arnaud, the Head of the newly established English and Maths Academy. A briefing paper, Corporation Document 24/14, and a copy of the slides used were tabled. The new Academy had been in operation from January 2014 and was responsible for the management and delivery of all English and Maths qualifications at all levels. There were 3 key drivers: 1. The Wolf Report had highlighted ‘inconsistent practice’ in the delivery of literacy and numeracy and a ‘failure to meet the needs of learners’ 2. Ofsted were now tacitly using English and Maths performance as a limiting grade. The Lead HMI for English had said that ‘if learners do not have good literacy skills, the institution is deliberately disenfranchising its learners’. Recent experience at LeSoCo, following a poor inspection result, provided a template to follow. 3. SFA and EFA funding would be attached to the provision of English and Maths from September 2014 with all learners yet to achieve a grade C required to take a LARA accredited qualification demonstrating progression to the required level. Challenges included the inexperience of main programme staff in English and Maths delivery; the shortage of English and Maths specialists; winning the hearts and minds of learners; embedding ownership across the College and achieving consistency across 6000+ qualification entries. Current and future actions included the creation of a robust tracking system; rigorous diagnostic assessment; staff training; targeted provision of support; profile raising through the ‘All About M.E.’ campaign; the assessment of the English and Maths skills of new staff; the integration of diagnostic assessment into the E-Tracker student record system and the creation of a quality cycle to monitor and improve delivery. The following comments were offered in response to questions raised by governors: There was good experience available from existing staff in the College but additional expertise would be required and any ‘hidden’ costs, such as internal verification, needed to be identified. document1 Page 5 of 6 Progress with English and Maths was a key consideration during curriculum area MOT meetings. English and Maths reports were required a week ahead of those for the main programme so that reflections on progress could be included as appropriate at an individual student level. English and Maths data was expected to be ‘owned’ by curriculum areas, for example, how attendance in these sessions compared with the main programme. E-learning materials were already in use, especially in Maths, with suitable products for the delivery of English being more difficult to source. The videoing of staff and students to provide internal delivery resources was underway. Staff recruitment was a national problem but much was being done by the College, for instance; advertisements for new staff; remission for acting in the role of ‘champion’; lead practitioner posts; and so on. The importance of a sense of momentum to keep staff motivated was acknowledged. Alison Arnaud was thanked for her succinct and highly informative presentation. 559 Minutes of the 14-16 Steering Group held on 11 March 2014 A report, Corporation Document 25/14, to which the minutes of the meeting were appended, had been circulated previously. The Corporation was being asked to approve the submission of a bid to open a Free School. This was covered in item 8 of the minutes but it was felt that a specific paper accompanying the recommendation would have been appropriate and that whether a matter was ‘strategic’ should be the determining criterion. Proceeding with developments beyond the bid would be a matter for discussion at the Conference on 14 May. The financial implications of opening a Free School were queried. John Hunt was involved in this aspect and will undertake a financial assessment as part of the submission. The submission of a bid to open a Free School was approved. (ACTION – Robert Gee to advise Lynn Barratt) 560 Tuition Fees 2014/15 A report, Corporation Document 26/14, had been circulated previously, and contained proposals relating to FE and HE course tuition fees for the 2014/15 and, in the case of HE, the 2015/16 years, as below: 2014/15 2015/16 FE tuition fee increase 2.5% N/A HE tuition fee increase 4.0% 3.85% International fees would be based on the FE/HE fee with a 25% premium added. The level of the proposed increases had been determined by budget considerations. The proposed FE tuition fee increase of 2.5% for 2014/15 was approved. The proposed HE tuition fee increase of 4.0% in 2014/15 and 3.85% in 2015/16 was approved. (ACTION – John Hunt) 561 Treasury Management Policy A report, Corporation Document 27/14, had been circulated previously and set out the parameters for investing surplus cash balances and the types of financial instruments which could be used. The policy also set out the approved sources of finance the College could access, and the authorities required. document1 Page 6 of 6 In discussion it was agreed that the Treasury Management Policy would need to integrate coherently with the delegations framework and that limits to the investments deposited with one institution should be considered. A meeting involving John Hunter, David Forty and John Hunt scheduled for May would provide an opportunity for this to be discussed. The Treasury Management Policy was provisionally agreed subject to any amendments arising from the discussion referred to above. (ACTION – John Hunt) 562 Governance Update Report A report, Corporation Document 28/14, had been circulated previously, and contained a number of brief updates. The importance of engaging in activities under the Link Governor Scheme was emphasised with the target of having visited or otherwise had contact with the link College manager twice before the end of the academic year. Frank Toop reported on his experience of using an i-pad for the management of meeting papers. He had found this to be unexpectedly straightforward, and a convenient way to read and annotate papers whilst travelling. He was happy to be contacted by other governors for advice. The contents of the report were noted. 563 Any other business No further items of business were raised. 564 Date and time of the next meeting PLEASE NOTE: The next Corporation business meeting would be held at 8.30am on the morning of the Corporation Conference on Wednesday 14 May 2014 at the Bromley site document1