Minutes of a meeting of the board of Leicester College Corporation - Away Day
Held on 6-7 June 2025
Present: Danielle Gillett (Chair) Robert Radford Lesley Giles Jackie Rossa Sue Hopewell Sophie Strevens-Robinson (6 June) Vipal Karavadra (6 June) Lee Soden Neil McDougall Tom Wilson Roger Merchant
In Attendance: Shabir Ismail Acting Principal Debi Donnarumma Vice Principal Kully Sandhu Vice Principal Amanda Scott Director of HR Louise Hazel Director of Governance and Policy Brandon Powell SU President (Session 2) Harshad Taylor Director of IT (Session 2) David Hughes Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, Guest speaker (Session 2)
Welcome
1.1 The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Apologies for absence / Declarations of interest
2.1 Apologies for absence were received from Chan Kataria, Zubair Limbada, Louisa Poole, Alex Stacey-Midgely, Nicky Randall, Kyle James and Chloe Bakewell.
2.2 There were no declarations of interest.
Aims
3.1 The Chair outlined the aims for the away day which were to:
3.1.1 Have identified and discussed the main strategic opportunities and risks for the College and considered the Corporation’s risk appetite
3.1.2 Discussed and agreed what should be some of the strategic priorities for the next three years
3.1.3 Discussed and provided a steer on the direction we should take with the curriculum offer to meet local and national priorities
3.1.4 Discussed the potential resource implications
3.1.5 Considered any implications of what we have discussed for the Mission, Vision and Values.
3.1.6 Confirmed next steps in the process for developing the Strategic Plan.
Session1: Where are we now?
4.1 The Acting Principal gave a presentation on progress with the third year of the 2022- 2025 Strategic Plan. The following RAG rating was given to each objective and highlights and issues were described:
4.1.1 Objective 1. Green – Strong 16-18 and apprenticeship recruitment. Some issues with T level recruitment and placements; tailored learning allocation insufficient and impacting on adult overall recruitment.
4.1.2 Objective 2. Amber – New quality framework in place but issues with the predicted achievement model and target setting. Attendance an area of concern. NARs had increased.
4.1.3 Objective 3. Green – Considerable work around personal development; effective safeguarding but many more students with EHCPs.
4.1.4 Objective 4. Green – Lots of EDI activity focussed on anti-racist approaches. Achieving the 2030 carbon reduction target would be difficult without additional funding.
4.1.5 Objective 5. Green – Budgeted position on track; positive EBITDA. Having good financial health would be crucial in unlocking future funding.
4.1.6 Objective 6. Green – Staff recruitment and pay remained under pressure.
4.1.7 Objective 7. Green – £7.3m investment in capital over past two years. Rising construction costs and the aeronautical project were risks.
4.1.8 Objective 8. Green – Good progress overall.
4.2 The following comments and questions were raised during discussion of progress and achievement of the KPIs:
4.2.1 Tailored learning – why had Nottingham got a much larger allocation? There had been work between the Council and Nottingham College to pass on funding; this was not the case in Leicester.
4.2.2 For the 70,000 people identified with no qualifications, might they have qualifications from another country? There were many who were highly qualified in their field but needed English language skills which the College could provide for example through IELTs qualifications.
4.2.3 Given the issues around placements for T levels, was it right to continue to grow? This was something to consider.
4.2.4 Had any colleges cracked the attendance issue? The College would be looking at those colleges which were doing it well to see what could be learned from their experience. The complexity of issues that many students presented with created challenges.
4.2.5 It was important to be clear about what the root causes of quality issues were and what actions were being taken to address them.
4.2.6 The assessment was a fair reflection of what had been achieved during the year, particularly given the absence of one member of the senior team. Being in a good financial position was going to be critical.
4.2.7 The extension to the strategic plan was useful in providing some breathing space but it was important that this did not stall ambition.
4.2.8 Collaboration and partnership working would be essential and avoid the College missing out on future opportunities. There was a significant environment of uncertainty; it would be important to identify where/who had control and decision making powers and therefore where to invest time and effort.
4.3 David Hughes gave a presentation to the Board on the external environment. The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
4.3.1 The government’s five missions were going to be critical; the College should look at how it was contributing to each of the missions.
4.3.2 There were also eight sector workforce plans plus construction and health.
4.3.3 HE relationships might need to be revisited particularly given DMU’s issues.
4.3.4 The Weston College report should be considered; it might be helpful to describe how the College ensured separation of powers and the related checks and balances.
Session2: What does the future look like?
5.1 The President of the Student Union gave a presentation on what had worked well for students and for the College. This included an effective student representation system, personal development and wellbeing support, careers and employability services and financial support. The quality of the interactions with teaching staff and the support they provided to students was vital.
5.2 The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
5.2.1 Was artificial intelligence (AI) a positive thing from a student point of view? It would be important to be open and positive with staff about the benefits of AI. If used well, it could enable staff to have more time with students and spend less time on administrative duties.
5.2.2 What would the SU President change about the current SU model? More funding for the SU and consideration of a sabbatical role for the President to give them more time to interact with senior staff and students.
5.2.3 What would be the main improvements the SU would like to see in the future? Most of the issues raised by students were around access arrangements and social space.
5.2.4 Did the SU President feel heard by the ELT? He was always felt listened to and had a good relationship with the ELT.
5.3 The Director of IT gave a presentation on cyber security and AI. The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
5.3.1 How was the cyber security risk of staff using laptop managed? The College monitored its own devices and the Office 365 environment.
5.3.2 How much would it cost to introduce off-site backups and SOC monitoring? Around £160k to provide monitoring of servers only and off-site backups.
5.3.3 Was it possible to see a productivity gain associated with the use of AI? Feedback from staff who had been using AI indicated there were certainly efficiencies to be gained.
5.3.4 Could students and staff use any AI tool? People were directed to use Copilot and while no tools were restricted, advice was provided on appropriate tools.
5.3.5 What was in place to stop students using AI to cheat? The College used Turnitin; this was widely used in across the education sector and identified where there was a suspicion of cheating and/or use of AI.
5.3.6 It was important that students were exposed to and enabled to use AI tools affectively since these would be skills needed for the future workplace. There might be other transversal skills modules which could be made integral to all programmes.
Session 3: What are our strategic opportunities and risks?
6.1 Governors split into groups and considered opportunities and threats for the College. Themes emerging included:
6.1.1 Opportunities
Curriculum Offer/Meeting Priorities
T levels – focus on sector priorities. (Also a challenge – quality, industrial placements).
HE – level 4/5 space; opportunities to work with different universities. (Also a challenge given competition).
What does our workforce of the future need to look like so we can deliver high quality provision in priority sectors.
NEETs – expansion of provision to address rising numbers. o Sector priorities vs government policy – are we clear what they are? How can we expand on those areas of demand/priority? o Focus on being the best in those sectors.
Innovation
Recognising the College’s educational function, are there more ways to generate income such as different commercial markets.
Commercial director/team to look at non-exam based provision e.g. tasters, modular training?
Use the estate better, explore sponsorship.
Estates rationalisation
Devolution
Link the College’s work into the Government’s missions so we can show the impact the College has or could have on meeting the missions and priorities. This might be outside the life of the next strategic plan.
Partnerships and Collaboration
Work better with trade bodies to ensure growth and provide pipelines to generate continuity in student numbers
Can we work differently with SMEs e.g. devise a group apprenticeship.
Talk the language of employers. Developing sector strategies and focusing on pathways through those sectors should help this.
6.1.2 Threats
Quality
Achievement rates dropping below NARs.
Do we know what the problem areas are?
Is staff development right and is it having an impact?
We need a RUTHLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE.
High staff retention – a positive thing but is it a problem if people want to stay because they are not being challenged?
Ofsted – new framework and no certainty about how the College will perform. Potential impact on reputation.
Curriculum
Review the curriculum – do some courses need to be closed because of quality and/or viability? Don’t be nostalgic.
Consider provision in each sector but be cautious about cutting provision without looking at the impact on income and progression.
Competition (FE and HE)
Adult funding potentially at risk
Devolution. Need to understand the interim arrangements, be prepared to work collaboratively with different groups and organisations while the various models were being considered.
6.1.3 Impact on Risk Appetite
Relaxing our risk appetite in some areas e.g. around innovation and commercial activity might be helpful.
An open appetite around staffing would enable different approaches to recruitment and a broader look at the workforce, pay and conditions.
Minimal risk appetite around quality (new risk for 2025/26) would enable some change; an averse appetite could create further risks by limiting action.
Some students (e.g. previously/at risk of being NEET) presented risks. There would be positive outcomes for them by participating but these might have a negative impact on the College (achievement rates, behaviour). The risk could be controlled by limiting the number of students.
There was a need to balance risks and priorities with the College’s continuing social and moral responsibility (Mission). If it was very risk averse, it might fail to meet the clear local need.
Saturday 7 June
Session 4: How do we meet future skills needs
7.1 The Vice Principals gave a presentation outlining the College’s current approach to curriculum planning:
7.1.1 The College offered provision in most of the national sector priorities and in priority types of provision. Further detail was set out in the 2025/26 Accountability Statement.
7.1.2 The College planned to adopt a more sector focussed approach to development and delivery through sector specific strategies as part of the next strategic plan.
7.1.3 The curriculum planning cycle used a cyclical and long term approach; the costs and income were planned for one year in line with allocations but the thinking around the offer was intended to be longer term.
7.2 A demonstration of the Vector LMI tool used in curriculum planning was given.
7.3 The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
7.3.1 Was the sector based approach new? It was; the focus had previously been on provision type although it would be important to still pay attention to provision types within each sector. Curriculum areas would see a change but they were already quite critical about how they looked at their respective markets.
7.3.2 Were there clear pathways through the various sectors? Some curriculum areas has already done this and mapped out career pathways with all programmes leading to employment or HE. This would need to be completed for all sectors.
7.3.3 Partnerships would be crucial in mapping the local offer.
7.3.4 The sector approach was right but the College would need to maintain an offer which included transversal skills.
7.3.5 Vocational and technical provision and getting people ready to work or study at a higher level was what the College was known for.
7.3.6 Whatever the College offered it should make sure it did it well. If there were courses or areas where it was hard to recruit high quality staff, it should consider whether it should still offer the provision.
7.3.7 The ‘personal development curriculum’ needed to be embedded within the vocational curriculum in a holistic way. Wider skills would equip students for jobs that were not yet known.
7.3.8 An ethical curriculum was important; the focus should be on what was best for the student, even if they did not sit an exam (e.g. English and maths for apprentices).
7.3.9 Further analysis would be helpful including areas where provision was not viable or high quality.
7.4 The Corporation considered and approved the Accountability Statement for 2025/26.
Session 5: Where should we focus investments?
8.1 The Acting Principal gave a presentation on the estate and plans for capital investment.
8.1.1 The previous masterplan was described; some elements of this had been completed as funding became available including the engineering and aeronautical blocks.
8.1.2 Further shovel ready projects were needed to make sure the College was able to exploit any funding opportunities that arose.
8.2 The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
8.2.1 A strategic masterplan for the estate was needed. This should be driven by the curriculum offer. The APC vacant land provided scope for further development and rationalisation. An external survey to inform the strategy and devise a masterplan should be commissioned.
8.2.2 From a sustainability point of view, there was still a lot to be done and this should be factored into the plan.
8.2.3 Travel to learn patterns and transport routes should be considered. 8.2.4 Better use could be made of the College’s assets.
8.3 Director of HR gave a presentation on the staff profile and people issues. The following points were highlighted.
8.3.1 The College needed to build a future-ready resilient workforce. There was competition for staff from HE and schools; what did the College need to do differently to attract them.
8.3.2 Considerations included:
8.3.2.1 Whether it was time to make a bold move on pay and conditions to align with the College’s future skills needs.
8.3.2.2 Whether there was enough investment in talent development and career progression.
8.3.2.3 Were recruitment processes attracting the talent needed. • The extent to which pay influenced retention.
8.3.2.4 Whether reducing admin burdens through AI and digital tools could free staff to focus more on learners.
8.3.2.5 Whether there was enough training and support to help staff navigate challenges like student behaviour and wellbeing.
8.3.2.6 How to design a workplace culture that retained people through flexibility, autonomy, recognition, EDI and psychological safety?
8.3.2.7 What was the College’s USP?
8.4 The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
8.4.1 The College should be more innovative with different contracts to enable different delivery models.
8.4.2 What were the constraints, how much flexibility was there? There was some flexibility but it would be important to think about the impact on other staff and morale generally. It was likely there would be strikes this year.
8.4.3 Were the contracts fit for purpose; did they need reviewing? The contracts were fine and it was not recommended going back over them; the issue was more about attracting people.
8.4.4 How many new teachers left early and what did this say about their induction and early support?
8.4.5 Was the College sufficiently plugged in to national initiatives? Could the website be used more to promote teaching opportunities and explain the routes into teaching in FE?
Session 6: Next steps
9.1 The Acting Principal highlighted the current the Mission and Values and outlined the timelines for producing the new strategic plan, for discussion. There would be a process over the next year to develop and consult on the components of the new strategic plan with a view to signing it off at the end of next academic year. #
9.2 The following comments and questions were raised during discussion:
9.2.1 The Mission was still broadly fine and represented what the College was about.
9.2.2 It might be worth looking at the order of the statements, should ‘changing lives’ be at the top?
9.2.3 The wording relating to businesses might benefit from updating
9.2.4 Similarly with the Values, should excellence come first.
9.2.5 Was innovation sufficiently covered?
Sum up and reflections
10.1 The Chair thanked governors and staff for their attendance and contributions. The main themes would be written up and would inform future discussions over the coming months as strategies were developed.