Minutes of a meeting of the Board of Leicester College Corporation:

Search and Governance Committee held on 24 May 2023

Present: Danielle Gillett (Chair), Chan Kataria (Vice Chair), Shaun Curtis, Nicola Gonsalves, Verity Hancock

In Attendance: Louise Hazel- Director of Governance and Policy, Matt Widdowson- Governance and Policy Officer

1. Declarations of Interest

   • 1.1 Chan Kataria declared an interest in item 4.

2. Apologies for Absence

   • 2.1 There were no apologies for absence.

3. Minutes and matters arising from the previous meetings

   • 3.1 Governors asked about the progress of minute item 4.4. Lee Soden had agreed to become the Vice Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. Lisa Armitage had also agreed to become the SEN Lead Governor.

   • 3.2 The minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023 were agreed as an accurate record and approved.

4. Succession Planning

   • 4.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented a paper on succession planning. The following points were highlighted.

     • 4.1.1 The membership stood at 17 with three current vacancies and a further two vacancies expected by the end of the academic year.

     • 4.1.2 Chan Kataria and Tom Wilson had both agreed to serve another term of office, if approved.

     • 4.1.3 The recent recruitment exercise had been successful. Peridot had been funded by DfE to recruit new governors with curriculum and/or Further Education experience. Five candidates had been interviewed, of which three had been recommended to be appointed: Sallyann Turner, Harmesh Manghra and Jackie Rossa. All the recommended candidates were very experienced with two having experience as Ofsted Inspectors. Two of the candidates did not live locally but indicated to the interview panel that they were willing to travel and be available to attend meetings.

     • 4.1.4 Two further applications had been received and candidates had been interviewed. The interview panel had recommended the appointment of Robert Radford and Lesley Giles. Robert Radford had a background in accountancy and audit, and Lesley Giles had a skills policy background.

     • 4.1.5 Committee membership was discussed:

       • 4.1.5.1. It was recommended that, if appointed, both Robert Radford and Lesley Giles should be asked to join the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

       • 4.1.5.2. If appointed, Sallyann Turner, Harmesh Manghra and Jackie Rossa should be asked to join the CSQI Committee with Jackie Rossa asked to chair the committee. Harmesh Manghra would be asked if Jackie Rossa was unable to take up the chair. Zoe Allman would be asked to become vice chair.

       • 4.1.5.3. It was recommended that the new governors be asked to initially join just one committee. However, Robert Radford had expressed an interest in the student experience and career opportunities and may be asked to join the Student Liaison Committee, and Lesley Giles may be asked to become the governor Skills Lead and join the CSQI Committee.

   • 4.2 Governors made the following comments.

     • 4.2.1 Recruitment had been a robust process which meant that there would be enough governors with curriculum experience.

     • 4.2.2 It was noted that Peridot had been successful in identifying candidates and had provided the interview panel with a good choice.

     • 4.2.3 The interview panel had been aware that governor attendance had been below the 80% target and sought to address this by asking candidates about the time commitment required by governors.

     • 4.2.4 Governors asked about the time commitment which could be offered by the two potential new governors who approached the College independently of the Peridot recruitment. Robert Radford was semi-retired, and Lesley Giles had assured the interview panel that she would be able to make time for the role.

     • 4.2.5 Governors commented that it was important for new governors to be confident when challenging ELT and this might be more challenging for those working in the sector. The candidates came with a wide range of skills. The importance of providing robust challenge would be reiterated to the new governors and could also be picked by the Chair in 1:1s.

     • 4.2.6 Governors asked about the diversity of the Corporation. These appointments would improve the ethnic diversity of the Corporation, however this may alter depending on the appointment of new student governors.

     • 4.2.7 Governors asked why Caroline Tote and Anne Frost were stepping down. Caroline Tote was retiring from her role with Leicester City Council and was stepping away from the governor role at the same time. Anne Frost was stepping down as she had new responsibilities including as Chair of Bishop Grosseteste University.

     • 4.2.8 Would a new governor be happy to chair the CSQI Committee? Both Jackie Rossa and Harmesh Manghra had previous experience of chairing curriculum committees and so they would be encouraged to take on the role.

     • 4.2.9 Governors asked why ‘Manufacturing’ was included in the skills matrix in Appendix 2. This was a standard list of governor skills used by other colleges. The manufacturing line was helpful given the College’s engineering provision.

     • 4.2.10 Governors noted that there were no governors with ‘International’ experience listed on the skills matrix. The College no longer carried out any international work.

   • 4.3 Governors agreed the reappointment of Chan Kataria and Tom Wilson for final terms of office

   • 4.4 Governors agreed the appointment of Sallyann Turner, Harmesh Manghra, Jackie Rossa, Lesley Giles and Robert Radford.

   • 4.5 Governors agreed the committee membership recommendations for the new governors.

   • 4.6 The Committee noted committee membership and the current skills matrix and requested a review of the categories within the skills matrix.

5. Scheme of Delegation

   • 5.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented a revised Scheme of Delegation. The following points were highlighted.

     • 5.1.1 The ONS reclassification meant that the Scheme of Delegation needed to be updated with regards to DfE consent for borrowing, senior pay, severance, and other compensation payments. DfE consent would need to take place after the existing approvals process. There was no choice but to make these changes.

     • 5.1.2 The Board Effectiveness Review had recommended that the Scheme of Delegation could be re-examined to see if there was any scope for reducing the number of items going before Corporation.

     • 5.1.3 Items were identified which, although considered by the Corporation, were not required either by the Instruments and Articles, or funding requirements, including:

       • SARs

       • QIPs 4

       • Sustainability Annual Report

       • Capital Updates

       • Staff Survey Results

       • Complaints.

     • 5.1.4 A further set of items were considered by committees, but came to the Corporation for further consideration, including:

       • Monitoring of complaints

       • Approval of Curriculum Strategies

       • Approval of parameters for the annual pay review

       • Monitoring student survey results.

   • 5.2 Governors made the following comments:

     • 5.2.1 The Corporation might not need to see the QIP and should focus on reviewing KPIs. The QIP was available to any governor should they wish to view it.

     • 5.2.2 It was useful to see the staff survey results and complaints as it gave an overall sense of quality and culture. It was important to be careful when removing items from Corporation agendas, and the staff survey was an important measure of culture.

     • 5.2.3 Capital updates and sustainability reports were considered in depth by the Finance and General Purposes Committee, and governors were comfortable with these being dealt with by the committee.

     • 5.2.4 Governors asked about the complaints report. This tended to be an information item for Corporation. Additionally, the SAR was usually a discussion item but could be an information item for Corporation.

   • 5.3 Governors agreed to recommend the proposed changes to the Scheme of Delegation following the ONS reclassification.

   • 5.4 The Committee also agreed to recommend that the following changes also be made to the Scheme of Delegation:

     • 5.4.1 The student survey could go straight to Corporation rather than first going before the CSQI Committee.

     • 5.4.2 The staff survey and complaints would still need to go before Corporation.

     • 5.4.3 Sustainability and capital reports could be considered by F&GP and did not need to come to the Corporation.

     • 5.4.4 The QIP should be considered by CSQI but the SAR should still come to Corporation.

6. Revised DfE Governance guidance

   • 6.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented a paper outlining the revised DfE Governance Guidance. The following points were highlighted:

     • 6.1.1 The new guidance reflected the changes made by the ONS reclassification.

     • 6.1.2 There was a specific reference to a lead SEN governor, and Lisa Armitage had agreed to take on this role, although her term of office came an end in October 2023.

   • 6.2 Governors noted the revised DfE Governance Guidance.

7. Chair’s 1:1s with Governors

   • 7.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented a paper on the feedback from the Chair’s 1:1s with governors. The following points were highlighted:

     • 7.1.1 Jonathan Kerry had met with 12 governors between August and December 2022.

     • 7.1.2 No real concerns were highlighted, although attendance had been an issue for some governors.

     • 7.1.3 Feedback had indicated that governors had found the masterclasses useful and, with a new group of governors joining, some of these could be repeated, especially safeguarding and funding.

   • 7.2 Governors made the following comments.

     • 7.2.1 An issue had been highlighted around the effectiveness of the CSQI Committee. Governors considered whether this may have been due to not having face-to-face meetings, and whether the committee had the right people. New governors would be joining the CSQI Committee and with a new chair, the way it worked would change.

     • 7.2.2 CSQI Committee papers included a lot of detailed analysis. The Chair would be discussing preparing for meetings with governors in her forthcoming 1:1s.

     • 7.2.3 Governors highlighted the point raised on good news stories. Governors were sometimes less aware of positive news, and it was important to remember the difference that the College was making to peoples’ lives. Governors reported that student and staff celebratory events had been uplifting. There was a student newsletter which could go to governors. The Director of Governance and Policy would look into other ways of providing the governors with good news stories.

   • 7.3 Governors noted the feedback from the Chair’s 1:1s with governors.

8. Self-assessment questions 2023

   • 8.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented the proposed self-assessment questions for 2023. The following points were highlighted:

     • 8.1.1. These questions were similar to those of previous years and were similar to those used during the governance review.

   • 8.2 Governors made the following comments.

     • 8.2.1 If these questions aligned with the governance review, then they should be used.

     • 8.2.2 There were some difficult questions to answer around providing evidence. Governors had the option to answer, “don’t know.”

     • 8.2.3 Results from these surveys always appeared to be good quality. There was often a lot of agreement in the comments and it was clear that, in the past, governors had taken their time to respond.

     • 8.2.4 Would the new governors be receiving the self-assessment questions? New governors received these in previous years but it was harder for them to respond so the newest governors would be excluded from this year’s self-assessment.

     • 8.2.5 Was a longitudinal comparison of results possible? This could be done, although there was not much variation year-on-year.

     • 8.2.6 The triangulation between self-assessment questions and the governance review had been positive. The review had been very rigorous.

   • 8.3 Governors approved the self-assessment questions for 2023.

9. Governance improvement action plan

   • 9.1 The Director of Governance and Policy provided an update on the Governance Improvement Action Plan. The following points were highlighted:

     • 9.1.1 Governor Training – governors had access to a wide range of online training modules provided by the ETF. Governors had been contacted about which ones were thought to be most appropriate for them. These modules were fairly short and easy to access.

     • 9.1.2 Learning walks – 17 learning walks had been undertaken by 7 governors which was really encouraging. New governors will be encouraged to participate in learning walks, although as it was coming to the end of the academic year, these would have to be organised for a later date.

     • 9.1.3 Attendance – Attendance was fairly low and there had been a couple of governors who had struggled to attend. The College’s target was 80%, and the average for the sector was between 83-85%.

     • 9.1.4 Dashboard – this was still work in progress.

   • 9.2 Governors made the following comments.

     • 9.2.1 Lisa Armitage would be the SEN Lead and Sustainability Lead, was this a disproportionate amount of work? Lisa Armitage had been very keen to become the sustainability lead as she was on the Sustainability Committee. She also had SEN experience as she had previously managed that area. A new governor could be asked to take this on at a later date.

   • 9.3 Governors noted the update on the Governance Improvement Action Plan.

10. Governors made the following comments

    • 10.1 The Director of Governance and Policy presented the committee’s Terms of Reference and a proposed Work Plan for 2023/24. The following points were highlighted:

      • 10.1.1 There were no changes to the Terms of Reference.

      • 10.1.2 The Work Plan was similar to the current year but could be altered as needed.

    • 10.2 Governors made the following comments.

      • 10.2.1 September would be a busy month. Some of the items would not take up much committee time.

      • 10.2.2 Were three meetings a year enough? The committee could meet more often if required.

    • 10.3 The Committee agreed to recommend the Terms of Reference to Corporation for approval and approved the Work Plan for 2023/24.

11. Any other urgent business notified to The Chair prior to the meeting

    • 11.1 None

12. Revised Governance code

    • 12.1 Governors received the draft revised governance code.

    • 12.2 Governors asked if the revised FE Governance Code required a training workshop. The new code was much simpler and there was nothing that the College would be unable to comply with. A self-assessment would take place and the Director of Governance and Policy would prepare a paper for a future meeting.

13. Dates and times of future meetings

    • 21 September 2023

    • 15 February 2024

    • 23 May 2024