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

Student Liaison Committee Minutes Held on 26 February 2025

Present: Tom Wilson (Chair), Kyle James, Chloe Bakewell, Shabir Ismail, Lee Soden, Vipal Karavadra, Neil McDougall, Nicky Randall

In Attendance: Zoe Butler- Director of Student Services and Marketing, Shaun Curtis- Director of Estates and Campus Services, Louise Hazel- Director of Governance and Policy, Harjinder Singh- Student Liaison Officer, Matt Widdowson- Governance and Policy Officer (Minutes), Craig Whitehall- Student Liaison Officer, Melanie Arrowsmith-Kemp- Head of Student Engagement, Pete Thorpe - Personal Development Manager

SET Team Course Representatives and Student Union Representatives (See attached list)

1. Declarations of interest

   • 1.1 There were no declarations of interest.

2. Apologies for absence

   • 2.1 Apologies were received from Sophie Strevens-Robinson.

3. Minutes and matters arising from the last meeting held on 27 November 2024

   • 3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2024 were agreed as an accurate record and approved.

4. Responses to issues raised at previous meetings

   • 4.1. The Director of Student Services and Marketing provided the responses to the issues raised at the previous meeting. The following points were highlighted.

     • 4.1.1. There had been ongoing discussions around additional social space in APC B block with the Director of Engineering considering whether existing space could be repurposed. This had been challenging as space was prioritised for teaching.

     • 4.1.2. The Director of IT would be looking into whether BoxPhish could be rolled out to students. The induction package would also be looked at to see how cyber security could be incorporated.

     • 4.1.3. The Marketing Team were working on producing an SU activities screen similar to that used by SET.

     • 4.1.4. The Student Information System had been the suggested name for a general communications channel. However, “SIS” was not considered to be an appropriate name due to its gender connotation.

     • 4.1.5. A message would be sent out to College staff to remind them of the Don’t Curb Access campaign.

   • 4.2. Governors and students made the following comments:

     • 4.2.1. It would be useful to identify who would be responsible for each action and provide a timeframe for completion.

     • 4.2.2. The SU had been working on a project to incorporate Don’t Curb Access into the Bus Stops.

   • 4.3. Governors noted the responses to issues raised at previous meetings.

5. Estates Update

   • 5.1. The Director of Estates and Campus Services provided an update. The following points were highlighted.

     • 5.1.1. The aeronautical building was progressing well and would be watertight within the next three weeks, with completion due in July 2025. The new facility would include high-tech equipment such as jet trainers, wind tunnels, laboratories and simulators.

     • 5.1.2. The old sports hall was being refitted for electro-technical. This facility would also feature high-tech equipment.

     • 5.1.3. By mid-year, the campus wardens had recorded 117 incidents which was down on the same time period last year. There had been a downward trend in toilet vandalism but bike theft had become an issue at FPC. Students were reminded that they should use a good D-lock to secure their bicycles.

     • 5.1.4. A fence would be installed around APC within the next 5-6 weeks. The entrance would be on Belgrave Gate and there would be the option to narrow the gate to make the campus more secure.

   • 5.2. Governors and students made the following comments.

     • 5.2.1. It was vital that students ensured that their ID was visible. Could superreps remind other students of the need to wear their ID.

     • 5.2.2. It was noted that the SU operated a ‘No ID, no service policy.’

   • 5.3. Governors noted the responses to the estates update.

6. Facilitated Discussion

   • 6.1. The Vice Principal introduced the facilitated discussion. The following points were highlighted.

     • 6.1.1. A lot of work had taken place to look at attendance in the widest possible sense. It was understood that there were many reasons for not attending College and the aim was to provide support to students and remove barriers to attendance. The Student Liaison Committee could provide valuable input into this work.

     • 6.1.2. The aspects of promoting good attendance which had been considered included:

       • 6.1.2.1. Both staff and students should role model good attendance. As part of this a ‘Hard Start/Soft Finish’ approach had been considered, meaning that lecturers were asked to ensure that classes started on time, with a more flexible end time to enable them and students to travel to their next class. Another part of this would be promoting the idea that classes are changed or cancelled as little as possible.

       • 6.1.2.2. Staff needed to understand that non-attendance was often for a reason. There needed to be early conversations so that staff could work with students to remove barriers to attendance. At the same time, it would still be important to promote resilience due to the expectations that workplaces would have.

       • 6.1.2.3. It was important to involve stakeholders such as parents, carers and employers who could help develop some of the improvement actions.

       • 6.1.2.4. College culture was important. How could students be supported to want to be at the College?

       • 6.1.2.5. While attendance targets did exist, good attendance was more about improvement. The College wanted to celebrate improvement.

       • 6.1.2.6. How could a culture of high attendance be promoted in a positive way?

   • 6.2. A facilitated discussion took place with the following questions:

     • 6.2.1. What types of visual messages across the College would support the positive promotion of attendance?

     • 6.2.2. What messaging would have the biggest impact on attendance?

     • 6.2.3. At what times during the year should we promote these messages?

   • 6.3. Course representatives and governors provided the following feedback.

     • 6.3.1. Having case studies featuring ex-students would be good. 

     • 6.3.2. There needed to be positive messaging from staff. Staff should not be biased against someone because of their attendance.

     • 6.3.3. PD sessions were a good opportunity to have discussions around attendance.

     • 6.3.4. Messages should be promoted around holidays, particularly before and after Christmas.

     • 6.3.5. How staff interacted with students was important and should create a warm welcoming environment. This could just be a case of saying “Hi” in a corridor or asking how someone is when they arrive in a classroom.

     • 6.3.6. Students often feel anxious when they first come to the College. There needed to be some thought given to developing their sense of belonging.  

     • 6.3.7. ‘Their presence makes a difference’: how could the College let every student know that whenever they walked into a classroom, they would make a difference?

     • 6.3.8. Statistics could be displayed showing the attendance at each campus. There could even be competitions between campuses.

     • 6.3.9. There needed to be communication outlining what support students could access regarding attendance.

     • 6.3.10. Young people made a lot of use of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Could posts be created which could then be discussed in the classroom?

     • 6.3.11. Attendance often dropped off around halfway through term one when the weather turned cold.

     • 6.3.12. There had been a message during the induction that students would be kicked off their course if their attendance was poor.  This provided a realistic expectation of what would happen in the workplace; however, this approach could be seen as being too harsh?

     • 6.3.13. Could there be termly competitions for both most improved and highest attendance? There could be a budget for rewards allowing students or groups of students to select their own prize. This could be something like a shared prize of hiring an ice-cream van and providing free ice-cream.

     • 6.3.14. Every half-term, lecturers could discuss attendance with individual students.

     • 6.3.15. Could there be support groups/buddy system set up for those with poorer attendance?

     • 6.3.16. HE students could be notified of how much money they were wasting by not being in College.

   • 6.4. Governors noted the feedback from the facilitated discussion and requested updates at the next meeting.

7. Report From The Chair Of The Student Council

   • 7.1. The Chair of the Student Council provided a report from the first meeting of the Student Council. The following points were highlighted.

     • 7.1.1. The EDI Team had joined the meeting. They discussed the College values and how these values underpinned everything that the College did. There had been a Kahoot session looking at EDI at the College and updates on Hear My Voice and the Student Commission on Racial Justice.

     • 7.1.2. The SU had provided details of their priorities which included their work on bus services and student clubs. There was now a Student Christian Club. The SU also gave a presentation on their recent activities and accomplishments.

     • 7.1.3. The Director of Estates and Campus Services had provided an update on the fencing around APC. There had also been details of the new Aeronautical building and the electro-technical work.

     • 7.1.4. There had been a discussion around bicycle theft at FPC.

     • 7.1.5. The Work Placement Coordinator had provided an update on social action including the green space at FPC. There would be focus groups held to gather ideas for further social action.

   • 7.2. Governors noted the report from the Chair of the Student Council.Presentation on the Work of The Student Union

8. Presentation on The Work of The Student Union

   • 8.1. Members of the Student Union Executive presented an update on their work. The following points were highlighted.

     • 8.1.1. There had been a reshuffle of positions within the SU Executive. Brandon Powell was now the President and Katrina Cochrane was the Vice President.

     • 8.1.2. Christmas markets had been held at all three campuses as part of the Christmas Crunch. Samosas had been sold to staff, and free food and hot chocolate had been provided to students.

     • 8.1.3. There had been a bake sale in aid of the Leicester Hospital Charity. This had been done in conjunction with two charity fundraisers who were cycling the length of Britain. £390 had been raised to buy Christmas gifts for children.

     • 8.1.4. A visit to Parliament had taken place and students had met with Leicester South MP, Shockat Adam. It was hoped that he would visit the College in the future to talk with students.

     • 8.1.5. There had been a Women’s Street Safety Event held at all three campuses where personal alarms had been handed out. Students had also taken part in the Reclaim the Night Walk through Leicester city centre.

     • 8.1.6. The Executive had taken part in a development day which had been a success.

     • 8.1.7. One of the Student Governors had participated in the Changemaker event in Leeds. This had been an opportunity to network and attend talks.

     • 8.1.8. A garden area at FPC had been developed as part of Love Your Campus. There would be further developments at APC and FPC. Consideration was being given to making APC B block more vibrant, and the SU would be working with SAIL students on creating a sensory garden at FPC. A £1,000 grant had been received from WWF, taking the overall budget to £3,000.

     • 8.1.9. A sustainability social action project was being developed which would involve T level students who would be carrying out the work.

     • 8.1.10. As part of the End Period Poverty campaign, products had been placed in female toilets at all three campuses. If products were not available in the toilets, students could find them in the SET offices, at reception or at the SU office.

     • 8.1.11. A darts competition was being planned. Players would be able to compete for a chance to win tickets to see the darts at the Mattioli Arena. This was open to both students and staff.

9. Any Other Urgent Business Notified to Chair Prior to the Meeting

   • 9.1 There was no further business

10. Dates of Next Meeting

    • 15 May 2025, FPC