Corporation Minutes 31 October 2024
Corporation Minutes 31 October 2024
Corporation and Committee Minutes- Corporation Minutes 31 October 2024
Minutes of a meeting of the board of Leicester College Corporation
Held on 31 October 2024
Present: Danielle Gillett (Chair), Chloe Bakewell, Lesley Giles, Shabir Ismail, Chan Kataria, Zubair Limbada, Neil McDougall, Louisa Poole, Heather Powell*, Robert Radford, Jackie Rossa*, Sophie Stevens- Robinson, Lee Soden, Tom Wilson
In Attendance: Louise Hazel - Director of Governance and Policy, Kully Sandhu - Vice Principal (items 1-10), Debi Donnarumma Vice Principal (items 1-7), Jane Parkinson - Director of Finance, Zoé Butler - Director of Student Services and Markerting (items 4-5), Jody Kerrod - Quality Development Manager (item 6)
*Joined meeting online via Teams
Declaration of Interest
1.1 The following declarations of interest were made:
1.1.1 Members of the ELT in item 10.
1.1.2 Chan Kataria in item 10 (reference to East Midlands Housing)
1.1.3 Danelle Gillett in Items 16 and 17.3.
Apologies for absence
2.1 Apologies for absence were received from Vipal Karavadra and Della Sewell. Sallyann Turner was absent
Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising
3.1 Members of the Corporation received and approved the minutes of the meeting on 3 July 2024.
3.2 As a matter arising, the Vice Principal updated the Corporation on discussions with the City Council over High Needs funding. The Council had initially proposed an additional £600k but following ongoing negotiations had confirmed that it would increase this to £1 million, taking the total allocation to £2 million. The Council acknowledged that this was a compromise position. Negotiations for 2025/26 had started with a deadline of 8 November. The current proposal was for 200 students to be funded.
3.3 The Vice Principal was thanked and congratulated on his work in achieving this successful outcome. Governors asked the following questions:
3.3.1 What would the value of funding for 2025/26 be based on 200 students? It would depend on the level of element 3 funding needed.
3.3.2 What was the position if the Council did not come back by the deadline? The Council was aware of the deadline and of the fact that the College would only deliver to the agreed number of students. If the Council could not afford 220 students, the College would only deliver to the number the Council would fund.
3.4 Members of the Corporation received and approved the confidential minutes of the meeting on 3 July 2024.
3.5 Members of the Corporation received and approved the confidential minutes of the Special meeting on 29 August 2024.
Safeguarding
4.1 The Director of Student Services and Marketing presented the Safeguarding Annual Report. The following points were highlighted.
4.1.1 There were 1,086 safeguarding referrals in 2023/24 relating to 816 students compared to 646 in the previous year. The continued increase in referrals was not a concern and was felt to be more reflective of the size of the College and greater confidence among staff in making referrals.
4.1.2 The introduction of Smoothwall in January 2023 continued to add to the numbers of referrals particularly among males. The increase in adult referrals was attributed to effective training for staff during the year.
4.1.3 Of all the referrals, Mental Health continued to make up the largest proportion. There was a noticeable increase in homelessness and housing issues. An attempt had been made to engage the City Council in dealing with these cases. This would be actively pursued again in 2024/25.
4.1.4 There were good relationships with external services and the College referred on complex cases where necessary.
4.1.5 Mandatory training had high completion. Extensive staff development continued during the year to promote a safeguarding culture across the College. This included half termly networks which were well-attended.
4.1.6 The College conducted 252 risk assessments for students with criminal convictions, with six students refused entry due to unmanageable risks.
4.1.7 The number of care experienced children continued to increase significantly and was expected to increase further. All received mentoring support and the College worked well with Virtual Schools. There was an increase in the number of unaccompanied young asylum seekers. Transition events for young people had been held during the summer which had been well received. The College had won the Social Mobility Award for education for its work with Care Experienced young people.
4.1.8 Plans for 2024/25 were outlined. AI would present new challenges. Trauma informed training would be rolled out to staff.
4.2 Governors made the following comments and asked a number of questions including:
4.2.1 Was the College involved in the Homeless Charter for Leicester? Contact had been made and the LA promised to include the College in meetings although that had not happened.
4.2.2 The Council had a statutory obligation in respect of homelessness, what more could the College do to engage the Council? Work on this would continue this year.
4.2.3 1,000 referrals seemed a lot, how did this compare with other colleges? It was very difficult to benchmark but based on staff’s previous experience in other colleges, this seemed about the right level. Themes were also similar to those seen in other colleges.
4.2.4 Why had the six students been refused entry? Criminal risk assessments were done at an individual level; where external agencies deemed the individual to be high risk, the College would usually accept the advice and refuse their application; sometimes this was a temporary measure and they could reapply.
4.2.5 It was a comprehensive and reassuring report. Did it sufficiently address the potential risks associated with engaging external agencies? There would always be cases where it was difficult to engage external agencies but the team took a robust approach, escalating cases where necessary.
4.2.6 The transition sessions for care experienced students had been very well received by recipients and their carers.
4.2.7 The team’s work was essential the College working efficiently. Thanks was passed on to everyone involved for their work in safeguarding students.
4.3 The Director of Student Services and Marketing presented the main changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). The following points were highlighted.
4.3.1 There were no amendments that required changes to practice.
4.3.2 The updated version included changes to the definitions of safeguarding, early help, abuse, neglect and exploitation and children and young people absent from education.
4.4 The Director of Student Services and Marketing then presented the revised Safeguarding and Prevent Policy. Minor changes were proposed including the definitional changes as required by KCSIE and additions to the list of children, young people and vulnerable adults to whom the College should have particular regard.
4.5 In response to a question, it was confirmed that the reference to Deputy Principal would be changed to Acting Principal.
4.6 Members of the Corporation
4.6.1 Noted the Annual Safeguarding Report.
4.6.2 Noted the changes to the KCSIE guidance
4.6.3 Approved the Safeguarding and Prevent Policy.
New College Website
5.1 The Director of Student Services and Marketing gave a demonstration of the new College website.
5.1.1 The site had been redesigned for mobile use. It now also included a careers widget which gave information on career paths and employment.
5.1.2 An accessibility audit would be completed on the new site.
5.2 Governors made a number of comments and asked the following questions:
5.2.1 Would the website help improve the application process? It would; the learner hub was embedded in the new site.
5.2.2 The website looked good.
5.3 Members of the Corporation noted the new website.
Complaints Annual Report
6.1 The Quality Development Manager presented the Complaints Annual Report for 2023/24. The following points were highlighted.
6.1.1 141 formal complaints were received during the academic year, a 6% decrease from 150 in the previous year. Three complaints advanced to stage two, a decrease on seven in 2022/23, indicating that the College was better at dealing with complaints at an early stage.
6.1.2 Curriculum areas received 94 complaints, reflecting a decrease on the previous year’s count of 96. Service areas received 47 complaints, down by 13% from the previous year’s 54 complaints
6.1.3 Most curriculum areas showed an improvement in the response time from the previous year.
6.1.4 Most Service areas showed a decline in the response times apart from Campus Services. Service areas with an average response time over the 15 working days were Libraries (55 days), ICT Services (50 days), Student Services (25 days), and Estates and Facilities (24 days).
6.1.5 Action would be taken to provide training on the complaints process for managers and look at strategies to enhance support, communication and organisation for students including through a revised student voice approach.
6.2 Governors made a number of comments and asked the following questions:
6.2.1 What would affect the timeliness of responses? In some cases this was due to the complexity of the complaint; in other cases it was a compliance issue.
6.2.2 Why did BECT have the most complaints? It had the largest number of students so might be expected to have the most complaints.
6.2.3 What were the issues around the cancellation of AAT? This had poor achievement and was judged not to be the most appropriate qualification for 16-18s and so had been cancelled.
6.2.4 It was good to see the focus on actions arising; could future reports provide more information on the actions and impact? Noted.
6.3 Members of the Corporation noted the Complaints Annual Report.
Recruitment and Enrolment Report
7.1 The Acting Principal gave an update on student enrolment. The following points were highlighted.
7.1.1 16-18 enrolment had gone well with several curriculum areas exceeding plan. There would be some drop out but current numbers were around 4,100, well above the allocation of 3,700. The sector as a whole was seeing growth in 16-19s.
7.1.2 There might be additional funding available in year to support growth in 16-18 numbers although this was subject to affordability. T levels were around 50 down and had been impacted by the increase in the GCSE English grade boundary.
7.1.3 Adult recruitment continued throughout the year but was looking to be on track.
7.1.4 Apprenticeships were expected to hit the September starts target.
7.1.5 HE remained challenging and was 40-50 down.
7.2 In response to a question as to whether the College could cope with the increased numbers in terms of providing a high quality experience, it was confirmed that systems and processes were in place to monitor and support students and to put in place additional resources where necessary.
7.3 Members noted the update on enrolment.
Finance Report (Period 12)
8.1 The Director of Finance presented the finance report (period 12). The following points were highlighted.
8.1.1 The year to date result was an EBITDA surplus after restructuring costs of £481k compared to the forecast EBITDA surplus of £783k.
8.1.2 16-18 learner responsive learner numbers were above allocation by 212 overall; the College had received additional in year funding for this.
8.1.3 The College would exceed its AEB allocation and additional funds of £400k were expected to be received post year end. The current predicted year end position showed an increase of 7% compared to the same point last year and was 4% above the allocation.
8.1.4 Apprenticeship income was below target by £151k due to funding relating to end point assessments not being as high as expected. Overall, apprenticeship funding had increased by 15% on the previous year. Work was underway to make sure timely claims were made.
8.1.5 Grant income had increased as a result of some project income previously designated as capital being recategorised.
8.1.6 Cash was around £4m and lower than it had been but daily cashflow forecasts for the next two years monitored the position carefully.
8.1.7 Although the College had not met one of its three bank covenants for the year, a waiver had been provided by the bank for this covenant.
8.1.8 The College had achieved a ‘requires improvement’ financial health rating based on these accounts.
8.1.9 Work continued to be undertaken on the draft accounts and the final position was subject to the external audit review.
8.1.10 These figures did not include FRS102 pension adjustments relating to enhanced pensions and the Local Government Pension Scheme. These adjustments were not included within the calculations for bank covenants and financial health.
8.2 The Chair confirmed that F&GP had reviewed the finance report in detail.
8.3 Governors made a number of comments and asked the following questions:
8.3.1 There appeared to be a big swing to non-pay expenditure; what was the reason for this? This related to project grant income previously designated as capital being recategorised. Anything under £1k would not be capitalised. Project-related grants tended to assume a different categorisation of capital expenditure.
8.3.2 Should the College’s definitions be reviewed? They were quite standard definitions used for accounting purposes.
8.3.3 Would this be a recurring issue? It probably would given that the College would continue to receive grant income for different projects. It was hard to predict what might need to be recategorized until spend had taken place.
8.3.4 It might be helpful to reconsider how the variances were presented in future reports. Noted.
8.3.5 What were the £63k for restructuring costs? This was redundancy arising from a small departmental re-organisation.
8.3.6 Were the references to EBITDA deliberate? They were; this was because the sector was increasingly using this as the reporting measure.
8.4 Members of the Corporation noted the Period 12 finance report.
8.5 The Acting Principal gave an update on the implications of the recent Budget Statement. The following points were highlighted.
8.5.1 The AoC had made a pay recommendation of 2.5% or £750, whichever was the greater. The College had included 2% in the current year’s budget. Modelling would need to be done to see if the AoC recommendation could be met in the context of the additional High Needs and growth funding.
8.5.2 The Chancellor had announced £300m for colleges in the budget. This would need to cover growth and any rate increases. There was no additional funding for adult skills or HE. The LLE had been delayed again until 2027.
8.5.3 The increase in employer National Insurance contributions and lowering of the threshold meaning more staff would be in scope would both impact. The DfE had indicated that public sector employers would be compensated but this was yet to be confirmed.
8.5.4 The National Living Wage would increase by 6.6% from April.
8.6 Governors made a number of comments and asked the following questions:
8.6.1 Presumably there was no new capital funding? Nothing new had been announced in the statement for the current year; a five year capital plan had been mentioned.
8.6.2 Skills England round tables had highlighted the value attached to FE and the staffing issues particularly. Noted.
Staff Survey Action Plan
9.1 The Acting Principal presented the staff survey action plan. The following points were highlighted.
9.1.1 Actions arising from the staff culture survey had been identified and discussions had taken place with teams to focus on the areas where there was lowest satisfaction.
9.1.2 The Acting Principal and members of the ELT had been attending team meetings and were also looking at the quality of those meetings.
9.1.3 There had been significant investment in IT and an allocation identified for server replacement.
9.1.4 A lot of work had taken place with the Black Leadership Group and with staff networks and this would continue to keep EDI a priority.
9.1.5 Teaching hours had been reduced to help address workload issues.
9.1.6 Particular attention had been paid to health and safety and lanyard checking.
9.2 Governors made a number of comments and asked the following questions:
9.2.1 Mental health awareness was coming out as an issue in several reports; what more could be done in this area? The survey had taken place almost a year ago and a lot of work had been done over the past year with staff and with new managers; a toolkit was also being developed.
9.2.2 Would staff recognise that the issues in the plan were being addressed? Discussions has taken place with teams and staff were aware of the actions.
All staff and students left the meeting
Senior Postholder Remuneration Report - Confidential
Staff and students rejoined the meeting
Corporation Self-assessment, Governance SAR and Improvement Action Plan
11.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented the Corporation selfassessment, governance SAR and improvement action plan. The following points were highlighted.
11.1.1 The self-assessment process had been helpful in providing views on the way in which the Corporation and Committees had operated over the past year.
11.1.2 Responses were very positive. Some suggested areas for improvement included simpler, shorter papers; more focus on sustainability; increasing board diversity and the range of skills on the Board including more people with local knowledge; more evidence of planned impact; and promoting greater understanding among governors of the College’s work with stakeholders.
11.1.3 The draft Governance SAR the main themes coming from the selfassessment process and the Governance Improvement Action Plan translated them into actions which would be monitored by the Search and Governance Committee.
11.2 Governors made a number of comments and asked the following questions:
11.2.1 Was the point about information overload a new issue? This did come up periodically and would be looked at again during the year; there was a need to balance providing sufficient information and explanation with more accessible reports. Greater use of dashboards in the future would be helpful.
11.2.2 Visual presentation of the response data would be helpful. Noted.
11.2.3 Changes in terms of policy context might present opportunities for example around recruiting governors from specific sectors. Some more detail in terms of milestones and timescales might be helpful. Noted.
11.3 Members of the Corporation noted the Corporation self-assessment and approved the Governance SAR and Improvement Action Plan.
Policy Reviews
12.1 The Director of Finance presented the Subcontracting and Tendering Policy for approval. The following points were highlighted.
12.1.1 The Policy had been amended to reflect changes arising from the Procurement Act.
12.1.2 The threshold was a high bar given the College’s limited amount of subcontracting.
12.2 Members of the Corporation approved the Subcontracting and Tendering Policy.
12.3 The Director of Governance and Policy presented the Whistleblowing Annual Report and Policy for approval. The following points were highlighted.
12.3.1 The annual report included a summary of the one whistleblowing case during the year which had previously been reported to the Audit Committee.
12.3.2 The Policy followed the AoC model. One minor change, the addition of reference to anonymous allegations of sexual harassment, was proposed. This reflected the new duty to prevent sexual harassment at work.
12.4 In response to a question as to whether the final written warning was a normal outcome, it was confirmed that following discussion at the Audit Committee, the Director of HR had reviewed the case and confirmed this was the correct outcome.
12.5 Members of the Corporation approved the Whistleblowing Policy.
Governor Visits Reports
13.1 Members of the Corporation received and noted the Governor Visit Reports.
Partnerships and Projects Report
14.1 Members of the Corporation received and noted the Partnerships and Projects report.
Stakeholder Feedback
15.1 Members of the Corporation received and noted the:
15.1.1 Employer Feedback Report
15.1.2 Changes to Student Voice Structure Report.
Governor Appointments
16.1 Members of the Corporation received and noted the Governor Appointments Report.
Items from Search and Governance Committee
17.1 Members of the Corporation received and noted the:
17.1.1 Search and Governance Committee Annual Report
17.1.2 Governor Engagement Report
17.1.3 Chair’s Report 2023/24
17.1.4 Action Record.
Dates of Future Meetings
20 November 2024 (Provisional)
11 December 2024
30 January 2025 (Provisional)
3 April 2025
6/7 June 2025 (Away Days)
3 July 2025