External Board effectiveness review 2025 - Summary

Introduction

  • 1. The Board of Leicester College commissioned the Association of Colleges (AoC) to undertake an External Board Review in line with the Department for Education (DfE) requirement that college boards complete external reviews every three years.

  • 2. This External Board Review was undertaken by Rob Lawson OBE over the period October to December 2025.

Scope and Process

  • The process for an External Board Review (the ‘Review’) is based on statutory requirements set out in Government legislation and as part of the DfE’s conditions of funding for Leicester College. The Review Framework considers, but is not limited to, principles from Codes of Governance, the Education Inspection Framework, Office for Students requirements and the DfE’s guidance on external board reviews.

  • The objective of the Review was to identify the strengths of Leicester College’s governance structures and where there are development needs, suggest actions based on sector good practice that will lead to governance improvements and therefore have a positive impact on the College and its students’ experience.

Strength and Areas for Improvement

Dimension

Strength

Area for Development

Board Composition

  • Excellent mix of skills and backgrounds with particular strengths in finance, Further Education (FE) and senior leadership.

  • Chairs who run meetings smoothly, efficiently and at pace.

  • Diversity of thought which leads to meaningful debate and different perspectives voiced at meetings.

  • Governor attendance target was hit but could be improved.

  • Ensure the incoming Chair does not also chair the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

  • Understanding the grey area between governance and management.

  • To continually review the ethnicity and gender diversity on the Board.

  • The Board’s engagement with stakeholders could be improved

Board Structure

  • Approach to hearing the student voice – particularly through the Student Liaison Committee – is exemplary.

  • Board structure understood by governors and works well, giving the requisite platforms for challenge and scrutiny.

  • Evaluation, documentation and the OneDrive governance folder.

  • Approach to risk and compliance.

  • Governors felt that committees could be too ‘siloed.’

  • Executive summaries in board papers could be improved.

  • Governors would like more opportunities to meet staff, which would help with triangulation.

  • Annual reaffirmation to Nolan Principles recommended.

Board Interaction

  • Approach to hearing the student voice – particularly through the Student Liaison Committee – is exemplary

  • Succession planning.

  • Induction is thorough and there are plenty of training opportunities for governors

  • Safeguarding a real priority.

  • Approach to risk and compliance.

  • Challenge can be too robust on occasion.

  • Induction list to include the Nolan Principles.

  • Governors can get too operational.

Concluding Judgment

  • Leicester College has a high-performing Board that is well led and is ambitious for the College and its students. The Board has an excellent mix of skills and backgrounds, with finance and education being particular strengths. The experienced Chair is particularly effective.

  • The executive team and governors have a good working relationship based on openness and transparency.

  • There is clear evidence of a good level of scrutiny and challenge – though the latter can be too robust on occasions, while governors can also occasionally become too operational.

  • The Board’s approach to hearing the student voice and understanding the student experience is exemplary.

  • EDI and diversity are key priorities of the Board, which understand there is more to do to diversify the Board further.

  • A relaxed and collegiate environment at most meetings observed encouraged discussion and debate, and although governors can and do disagree with each other, the Board shows a consistent level of collective accountability.

  • The concluding judgement is that there is strong evidence that the Board is highly proficient and consistently impacts on College effectiveness and outcomes.

    Updated January 2026