Curriculum Strategy and Quality Improvement Minutes 14 June 2023
Curriculum Strategy and Quality Improvement Minutes 14 June 2023
Corporation and Committee Minutes- Curriculum Strategy and Quality Improvement Minutes 14 June 2023
Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of Leicester College Corporation:
Meeting of the Curriculum Strategy and Quality Improvement Committee Held on 14 June 2023
Present: Anne Frost (Chair), Zoe Allman, Lisa Armitage, Sam Emery (online via teams), Verity Hancock, Harmesh Manghra, Jackie Rossa, Sallyann Turner (online via teams)
In Attendance: Louise Hazel- Director of Governance and Policy, Kully Sandhu- Vice Principal Adult and HE, Debi Donnarumma- Vice Principal Study Programmes and Apprenticeships, Matt Widdowson (Minutes)- Governance and Policy Officer, Ibrar Raja*- Director of Engineering, Claire Willis**- Director of Quality Improvement
Declaration of Interest
1.1 The Chair introduced the new governors: Harmesh Manghra, Jackie Rossa and Sallyann Turner.
1.2 Zoe Allman declared an interest under item 4 during discussion of Engineering HE provision as the person leading on Engineering at De Montfort University.
Apologies for absence
2.1 Apologies were received from Danielle Gillett and Shaun Curtis., Jai Sharda was absent.
Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising
3.1 The minutes of the meeting on 24 April 2023 were agreed as an accurate record and approved.
3.2 DESTINATIONS DATA
3.2.1 As a matter arising, the Principal presented the Destinations Data. The following points were highlighted:
3.2.1.1. This paper presented a simplified view of student destinations.
3.2.1.2. There were 9,592 leavers in 2021/22; there was no data for 42% of these. 27% of this overall number internally progressed.
3.2.1.3. Of those who returned the survey (n=2,589), 23% reported that they were not in employment or education. The majority of these were thought not be economically active in any way and were likely to have studied ESOL or basic skills.
3.2.1.4. The data could be cut in various ways, and, in this case, student destinations were shown by area. Engineering had the highest number of positive destinations for leavers. This data was used by curriculum areas.
3.2.1.5. When cut by ethnicity, the data indicated that white students were more likely to have a positive destination that other groups.
3.2.1.6. Of all leavers, 52% were known to have had a positive destination which compared favourably with other colleges.
3.2.1.7. Several next steps were outlined including:
Capturing destination data at the end of every term once internal progress had been identified.
Training for staff to support students to achieve positive destinations.
Developing careers advice, guidance, and information.
Using ProMonitor to track student progression and interventions.
Working closely with employers.
3.2.2 Governors asked the following questions:
3.2.2.1. Did the College need to devise its own measure such as destinations by provision type?
There was already the ability to cut the data by provision type.
3.2.2.2. What were the ‘changes’ highlighted on the final slide (“Identify why certain student groups have had a decrease in positive outcomes...”)?
There did seem to be a change with regards to certain groups and these would need to be investigated
3.2.2.3. The outcomes looked good when compared to other colleges although it was acknowledged that benchmarking was difficult across the sector.
It had been difficult to benchmark and there was no real mechanism for capturing the data, although curriculum teams tended to be best placed to know where their students had gone.
3.2.2.4. With regards to NEETs, was there any information regarding the numbers of these who studied either ESOL 3 or employability skills?
The data would be able to provide this information.
3.2.2.5. NEET could also include asylum seekers and other people with challenging personal circumstances.
Agreed.
3.2.3 Governors noted the Destinations Data and Next Steps.
Ibrar Raja joined the meeting.
Curriculum Area Focus: Engineering
4.1 The Director of Engineering gave a presentation on the work of the area. The following points were highlighted.
4.1.1 The Engineering Area was split into Engineering (Electrical/Electronic and Mechanical) and Motor Vehicle. Each included Level 1-3 study programmes, Higher Education, Adult evening courses and commercial courses.
4.1.2 Most Engineering Area students were 16-18 (71%). The majority of 16- 18 students were studying Motor Vehicle Classroom. Motor Vehicle was the largest area but this would change with the expansion of T-Levels and HE.
4.1.3 The curriculum intent was centred on:
4.1.3.1. Holistic Study programmes with flexible points of entry.
4.1.3.2. Increased participation in student enrichment activities and work placements.
4.1.3.3. Increasing employer engagement.
4.1.3.4. Positive outcomes and destinations.
4.1.3.5. Clearly mapped out progression pathways.
4.1.4 The College was ranked number 1 for market share in the subject area locally.
4.1.5 New qualifications included T-Levels in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Mechanical engineering, light and electric vehicle engineering, electric/hybrid vehicle, and HE Aeronautical engineering and HE and HTQ construction.
4.1.6 In 2023/24 the intention was to promote the Access to HE courses and the Engineering Area would be running HE programmes in Aeronautical Engineering and Construction. Leicester College had an exciting HE offer which differed from those offered by universities.
4.1.7 The predicted achievement rate for 2022/23 was 84%. Previous years had been affected by the pandemic which had a major impact on the area’s ability to deliver face-to-face teaching.
4.1.8 Bid projects:
4.1.8.1. Staff had appreciated the training opportunity offered through the SDF project.
4.1.8.2. The T-Level refurbishment was underway, and the building had been handed over to contractors to be finished in November.
4.1.8.3. Work was underway on the OfS aerospace centre project and the HTQ project.
4.1.9 Key challenges:
4.1.9.1. Improving achievement rates.
4.1.9.2. Qualifications reform.
4.1.9.3. Staff shortages. Some inroads had been made with regards to recruitment. There had been positive feedback around how the culture of the College made it attractive to potential recruits.
4.1.9.4. Accommodation restrictions. B Block had been closed and delivery could not take place in the building in September. Classrooms at SMC would be used instead.
4.1.9.5. Employer Engagement. It was important to gain input from employers on the curriculum. A skills advisory board was in place.
4.2 Governors asked a number of questions including:
4.2.1 Did employers understand what they were looking for?
Employers understood apprenticeships and the knowledge, skills and behaviours they wanted but did not fully understand the full-time courses. Mapping the apprenticeships across to classroom-based courses would assist employers.
4.2.2 There were a lot of positives highlighted in the presentation. There were also some potential headlines which had not been captured. When the department was promoted externally the positives were highlighted more.
4.2.3 Governors were impressed by the well-planned inclusion of those who did not have Maths and English.
4.2.4 Why was the curriculum area so confident of the estimated improvement in 2022/23 achievement rates?
Delivery had been truncated this year due to the handover of B Block. All external results were in. Additionally, achievement rates had been down in the previous year due to the carry-over from the pandemic.
4.2.5 Was the curriculum area confident that it could recruit for HE?
There had been a lot of interest both externally and internally.
4.2.6 Had consideration been given to the recruitment of ex-military engineers?
Not specifically, although there had been candidates who were ex-military. Recruitment would be dependent on their teaching abilities.
4.2.7 Recruitment was always a challenge. Were there different methods of recruitment which could be looked at?
Different approaches had been tried including reaching out to graduates, speaking with industry, agency recruitment and talent events. Word-of-mouth was also an important factor.
4.3 Governors thanked the Director for his presentation and noted the information. Ibrar Raja left the meeting. Claire Willis joined the meeting.
2022/23 QI Plans
5.1 DEEP DIVE SUMMARY TERM
5.1.1 The Director of Quality Improvement presented the term 2 results of deep dives. The following points were highlighted:
5.1.1.1. The final deep dive of the year had taken place during the previous week.
5.1.1.2. The intent of the curriculum offer was generally strong although sometimes staff could have articulated this better to review teams.
5.1.1.3. Staff had undertaken pedagogical and digital pedagogy CPD.
5.1.1.4. Students were well behaved and felt safe.
5.1.1.5. Workload and staff wellbeing was well considered by managers and the hybrid working model was working well.
5.1.1.6. Personal Development was an area which was ‘spikey’. Students were able to articulate the content of their PD sessions and were well supported in terms of mental health. However, there were other areas which required work.
5.1.1.7. Macro-sequencing required improvement and there was already a plan in place to improve this.
5.1.1.8. Feedback and feed forward required improvement.
5.1.1.9. Attendance in sessions was too low and evidence of intervention was required.
5.1.1.10. Careers and IAG for students who were unsure of their next steps required development.
5.1.1.11. There were safeguarding inconsistencies, and a plan was in place to address this and provide some key training.
5.1.1.12. CPD was not always recorded on the central system.
5.1.2 Governors made the following comments:
5.1.2.1. This was a long list of improvements. Was there anything governors should be particularly concerned with?
Most of the improvements required basic ‘tweaks’ with a lot of the issues able to be grouped together. Safeguarding was being worked on as there were some staff who were still unable to provide basic information. There were also staff who were not able to complete SMART targets. Attendance was an issue across the sector.
5.1.2.2. Was the issue with Planning For Learning just a case of schemes of work being poorly written?
It was just a case of how it was written up. However, lecturers had good pedagogical skills.
5.1.2.3. Was there a way of simplifying the approach to SMART targets?
SMART targets needed to be better than just aiming to “improve my attendance” or “complete unit 1”.
5.1.2.4. Did the deep dive process involve PAMs outside of the curriculum area?
There was a Review Team which used managers from outside the area to conduct the review. When paired viewings took place, these involved PAMs from across the College.
5.1.2.5. It might be useful to articulate some of the areas for concern in terms of what the impact could be on 6 students.
Noted.
5.2 QIP MONITORING
5.2.1 The Director of Quality Improvement provided an update on the QIP. The following points were highlighted:
5.2.1.1. Attendance had been an issue in EPYP. The impact of the new delivery model would not been seen until the next academic year.
5.2.1.2. The work on formative assessment would not been seen until next year.
5.2.1.3. Adult internal progression had been affected by the cost-ofliving crisis. In some ways the impact had been greater than that of the pandemic. A lot of adults were limiting their learning aims due to work commitments.
5.2.1.4. Formative assessment – the results of the work which the College had been undertaking would start being seen next year.
5.2.1.5. Behaviour and attitudes were good in the classroom and the T-Level review had also highlighted the good behaviour around the campus.
5.2.1.6. There was further work to do on improving EPYP achievement but there had been improvement. There had been improvements in Hair but Beauty remained a particular concern.
5.2.1.7. The final set of quality assurance meetings had taken place. English and Maths predictions had been very conservative, and the expectation was that they would be much better. Sport, UPS, functional skills, LAMP, and Launchpad were also looking better, although there was expected to be no movement in Construction.
5.2.2 Governors asked the following questions:
5.2.2.1. What was currently being done to prepare students for more exams?
The pedagogical model for the past three years had been focussed on that. The College had been an early adopter of technical qualifications and had experienced a hit on achievement initially but there had been improvements year on year. However, there were still some areas where it was more difficult to move away from BTECs.
5.3 KPI MONITORING
5.3.1 The Director of Quality Improvement provided an update on KPI Monitoring. The following points were highlighted:
5.3.1.1. RETENTION
Overall retention was 94.7% 7
The retention rate for 16-18 was 91%
The retention rate for 19+ was 96.1%
There were no real concerns.
5.3.1.2. ATTENDANCE
Attendance was down the previous year and not where the College wanted to be.
Multiple issues were affecting attendance including the cost-of-living crisis with Leicester having the highest child poverty rate in the East Midlands. Students travelling back and forth between different countries was also an issue which affected attendance.
The new attendance policy had not been implemented until mid-way through the academic year.
5.3.2 Governors made the following comments:
5.3.2.1 What was the value in providing an overall attendance figure? What were the actions in specific areas?
There was the ability to drill down to curriculum and programme levels. Figures were reported weekly, and Vice Principals discussed these with their directors. Programme Leads also looked at their figures every week. The new approach allowed for rapid intervention. There was also an exercise underway to gather best practice so that it could be implemented in the new academic year.
5.3.2.2 The Matrix graphs showed fully marked registers. Was there an issue arising from unmarked registers?
Yes, although registers should be marked within 30 minutes.
5.3.2.3 The marking of registers within 30 minutes had caused some frustration for some lecturers.
It was a necessary safeguarding measure.
5.3.2.4 Was it necessary to specify that the level 3 diploma was in “Women’s Hairdressing”?
The course specifically taught women’s hairdressing.
5.4 Governors noted the 2022/23 QI Plans.
Predicted Achievement
6.1 The Director of Quality Improvement provided a verbal update on predicted achievement. The following points were highlighted:
6.1.1 E&T predicted at 88.8%. This is an improvement of +3.2% on 2021/22.
6.1.1.1. 16-19 predicted at 77.6%. This was an improvement of 1% on 2021/22.
6.1.1.2. 19+ predicted at 93.3%. This was an improvement of 4.4% on 2021/22.
6.1.2 Apprenticeships predicted at 65.5%. This was an improvement of 8.1% on 2021/22.
6.1.2.1. 16-18 predicted at 65.9%. This was an improvement of 9.7% on 2021/22.
6.1.2.2. 19-23 predicted at 71.6%. This was an improvement of 9.9% on 2021/22.
6.1.2.3. 24+ was predicted at 59%. This was an improvement of 3.2% on 2021/22. 6.2 Governors asked the following question:
6.2.1 How spikey was the profile? There were only concerns about Business and there has been some work in that area.
6.3 Governors noted the update on predicted achievement.
6.4 Governors noted that this would be the Director of Quality’s final meeting and thanked her for the work she had done for the CSQI Committee. Claire Willis left the meeting.
Draft Curriculum Plan 2023/24
7.1 The Vice Principals presented the draft Curriculum Plan for 2023/24. The following points were highlighted:
7.1.1 This plan was put before governors on the recent away day where information about major changes were discussed.
7.2 Governors asked a number of questions including:
7.2.1 Governors asked about the skills aspect of the Ofsted inspection. The College had been working with a range of stakeholders to develop the offer. There was work underway to decide which stakeholders would speak with Ofsted. The College anticipated two or three inspectors would be looking at skills.
7.2.2 This document was helpful. It showed the rationale with regards to the national and local context.
7.2.3 It would be useful to have an abridged version of the Curriculum Plan. The appendices would serve this purpose.
7.2.4 Governors asked about additional hours for study programmes. The College was looking at different areas and viewing was underway. There was variation between curriculum areas and there was work to looking at the banding again.
7.3 Governors noted the Curriculum Delivery Plan and agreed to recommend it to Corporation for approval.
Terms of Reference and Workplan 2023/24
8.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented the Terms of Reference and Work Plan for 2023/24. The following points were highlighted:
8.1.1 The Terms of Reference (ToR) were reviewed every two years.
8.1.2 In the amended version, the CSQI Committee would approve the QIP.
8.1.3 Complaints had been removed from this committee as they already went before Corporation.
8.1.4 The amended ToR included recommending the Curriculum Delivery Plan to Corporation.
8.1.5 The workplan could be amended during the year, as needed.
8.2 Governors made the following comment:
8.2.1 The agenda of this meeting felt quite comfortable, and the Chair was confident it would end on time. It was unhelpful to overfill the agenda.
8.3 Governors noted the information and approved the Terms of Reference and Workplan for 2023/24.
Any Other Business
9.1 There was no further business.
Date of Next Meetings
14 September 2023
30 November 2023
8 February 2023
25 April 2023
13 June 2023