Mr I Knowles Mrs V Martin Dr A Nortcliffe Mr D Smith Mr S Smith (Vice Chair) Mr C Stanbra Mr A Stott (Chair) Mr J Vjestica Mrs K Wood

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1 Governance Meeting/Committee Board Meeting Date of meeting 8 June Membership A A Ap Ap A Ms L Adams Mr L Allen Ms E Barnett Ms C Burn Mr D Buxton Mr J Connolly Mr A Elce Mr M Hannigan Mr S Hussain Mr B Kerslake Ap Mr I Knowles Mrs V Martin Dr A Nortcliffe Mr D Smith Mr S Smith (Vice Chair) Mr C Stanbra Mr A Stott (Chair) Mr J Vjestica Mrs K Wood In attendance: Mr T De Ath Ms J Dallinson Mr P Sayles Mr P Baylis Mr J Austin Mr G Adams Mr D Everitt Mrs D West Clerk to the Corporation Secretary to the Board Deputy Principal Vice Principal HE & Quality Vice Principal Curric & Student Support Commercial Director Vice Principal Funding & Finance HR Director Apologies for absence Apologies were received from Mr Stott, Mr Buxton and Mr Elce. In the absence of Mr Stott, Mr S Smith Chaired the meeting Declarations of Interest None declared Minutes of the Meeting held 11 May 2017 The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record and were signed by the Chair Matters Arising In response to a question from Mrs Martin, The HR Director said morale within the organisation was as expected during any period of restructure and a full update would be provided under item Mr Kerslake sought clarification over the Director of Finance and Director of Funding posts contained in the new structure. Mr Connolly confirmed that 1 P a g e

2 the Director of Finance post was a replacement for Mr Everitt and was currently out for recruitment. The final structure was open to a degree of flexibility about where that role should sit, depending on the calibre and experience of the person recruited. The opportunity had been taken to open up the vacancy to professionals outside the FE sector. The Board would need to decide whether the role continued to hold Designated Post Holder status Lloyds Bank Account In order to retain a lower rate of interest on the University Centre loan, approval was sought to transfer current banking arrangements from RBS to Lloyds Bank. Whilst the resolutions requiring approval were quite extensive, they were in the Lloyds standard form and were believed to be manageable. The transfer of banking arrangements was considered worthwhile, achieving a saving in the region of 50k per year. The Chair of Audit confirmed there were no issues in respect of the Audit Committee. On the basis that the SLT were content that no issues were anticipated at an operational level, the Board gave approval for the day to day banking to be transferred. The full form of resolution would be attached to the minute RESOLVED That RNN Group banking arrangements be transferred from RBS to Lloyds Bank, and that the Bank s standard form of mandate be approved, subject to the additional authorised signatories proposed where authorised instructions were inconsistent with the Financial Regulations Chairs Action Chair s action had been taken to approve subcontracting arrangements with a further number of training providers for the delivery of the TATA Steel support programme. Details of the organisations and costs had been provided for Governors to note, and the Chair s approval of these was ratified. The Financial Statements for the final six months trading prior to the dissolution of Dearne Valley College were required to be submitted to the ESFA by 30 th June. Approval was therefore sought for the Audit Committee to receive and approve the Statements at its meeting on 22 nd June, in order that the deadline be met RESOLVED That responsibility be delegated to the Audit Committee to approve and authorise signature of the Financial Statements for Dearne Valley College for the period ending 31 January Safeguarding Report The statistical analysis attached to the report showed a significant rise in mental health issues amongst staff and students, reflecting the national trend. Training had been provided to frontline staff and curriculum teams in dealing with challenging behaviour, and the college continued to work with MIND to identify any signs of suicidal behaviour at an early stage. Mrs Burn reported on a piece of work undertaken by the BCVS with Health & Social Care students. One of the issues highlighted was the lack of information available on where to go to disclose issues of mental health. 2 P a g e

3 In response to a query from Mr Knowles, confirmation was provided that all staff are required to sign up to the Disclosure and Barring Update Service, which is checked on an annual basis by the HR Team. Governors agreed checks should continue despite conflicting advice Management Accounts Period 9 The monthly accounts presented by the Vice Principal Funding & Finance showed little change from the period 8 forecast, with a deficit of 425k before expected costs of restructuring. The combined full year forecast remained in Good financial health. In response to a query from Mr Knowles regarding the declining contribution from the Griffin Grill, the Vice Principal Curriculum advised that a full review had been undertaken resulting in a decision to close the operation, based on financial viability. Provision for 2017/18 would be transferred to the DVC site, with the opportunity to also utilise the Wharncliffe Restaurant at the Rotherham site. Referring to the EBITDA projected figure of 6.9%, the Chair asked if there was a sector expectation, and suggested a future target be set. Mr Everitt was asked to provide further guidance on a suitable measure of performance Draft Financial Plan The income and expenditure report indicated 1m surplus in 2017/18, slightly reducing to 900k in 2018/19 before rising again to a 1m surplus in the third year; this represented a slightly improved position from the previous report. The draft plan included an assumed 1% pay award in each of the 3 years. Mr Knowles noted the reduction in subcontractor volume to nil by 2018/19. Mr Sayles explained that this was due to tighter financial circumstances and the ability for subcontractors to contract directly with ESFA, resulting in fewer opportunities and higher risks. Mr Stanbra asked if there might be an opportunity to develop additional courses, as a result of the lagged funding, which may increase student numbers. Mr Connolly said that whilst efforts continued to try to respond to the declining catchment population and increased competition from schools, the larger percentage of the decline was being suffered by the FE sector. Meetings had commenced with managers and teams to consider how investment could be made in refreshing the curriculum, which would hopefully attract more students and increase engagement with employers. A full-time post had been created within the new structure, with sole responsibility for curriculum development. The Director would be asked to produce frequent reports to the Board which would indicate the direction of the curriculum going forward. However, Mr Connolly acknowledged that addressing quality issues would be the priority in the short term. Responding to concerns raised by Mr Kerslake in relation to growth in subsidiary contributions over the 3 years, the Commercial Director confirmed that whilst targets were challenging, this was his expectation. The Board agreed to support the draft budget, whilst recognising a degree of ambition and desire for development. The final plan would be presented to 3 P a g e

4 the next meeting together with a sensitivity analysis, highlighting any key risks to assumptions Curriculum Report An education and training analysis covering all programmes and campuses had been included with the report. An electronic version of the data would be available to managers within the next 2 months, with the intention to roll out access to the Dashboard to Governors shortly after this. With retention now almost stable, the focus at this point in the year was on achievements. A whole college approach had been adopted to ensure maximum attendance at GCSE exams, which appeared to have been successful with only 4% nonattendance over the 3 exams. Apprenticeship outcomes were currently the area of greatest focus for the college, with the risk that success rates may fall below the current national average, as reported to the Board in March. A more detailed report would be provided to the next meeting. Mrs Wood expressed her continuing concerns regarding Apprenticeship data, emphasising the need for learner outcomes to improve, and highlighting the ongoing concerns over the progress of learners. Mrs Wood stressed the impact poor achievement data would have on the Group s reputation with employers. The Deputy Principal explained the key strategic move to centralise the Assessor Reviewer team within RNN training, which would allow tighter monitoring and therefore would begin to improve quality within college. Mr Connolly believed that the level of focus on quality had been impacted over the last 18 months due to the imperatives of mergers. It had therefore been agreed in the last few days that the targeted savings in Quality should be reduced to retain some additional resource within that team, and it was proposed that some additional resource be recruited in the subsidiary operations. However, it was acknowledged that the data was disappointing and a greater focus on subsidiary activity was required to identify the actions needed to address these issues. As such, an action plan would be presented to the next meeting for consideration and approval. In response to Mr D Smith s question about whether any specific areas were giving cause for concern, confirmation was provided that some areas were performing better than others, but the data was not consistent. Mrs Wood asked if the strategic aim to become Outstanding by 2020 was still realistic, given the projected learner outcome data and the ongoing issues regarding learner progress. Mr Connolly said a review would be undertaken over the summer as part of the annual Self Assessment process, including reflecting on a realistic plan and timeline, however he agreed with Governors that the ambition to become Outstanding should remain, although the timeline would be reviewed in light of the 2017 SAR Quality Report The report provided by the Vice Principal Quality focussed on the two quality improvement processes currently running. The CAR process, which would be in place across all sites from next year, takes a more holistic view and measures performance by curriculum area rather than individuals. Under the new structure, there would be a single Quality Director reporting to the Vice Principal Curriculum & Quality, and additional resource below that 4 P a g e

5 level to provide the necessary support. Progress of learners would be a key measure in 2017/18 and procedures had been put in place to track learner performance against target aim grade (TAG). The Chair summarised discussions, stating that Governors were fully supportive of the work of the SLT and did not underestimate the challenges they continued to face. However, the Board needed to understand whether the issues were merger related or systematic, or a combination of both, and would expect regular reports to future meetings for the foreseeable future Commercial Report The Commercial Director presented the monthly report, which showed an improvement in NFPC activity, a slight decline in Aston, but challenges in terms of starts for Create Skills and Charnwood Training, mainly due to the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy. Overall, the year forecast contribution had been held at 771k University Centre Encouraging progress had been made towards achievement of key milestones. The preferred Project Contractor was confident that the building would be completed and open in line with the timeframe. The Deputy Principal confirmed that an opening ceremony had been scheduled in to the Marketing plan Restructuring Consultations The Section 188 notification had been issued on 12 th May, following approval of proposals presented to the Board on 11 th May. Prior to the start of the consultation process, the proposed 70 FTE roles, affecting 200 staff, had been reduced to 50 FTEs, affecting 150 individuals. Formal consultations had commenced on 15 th May and would conclude on 28 th June. Weekly meetings were currently taking place with the recognised Trade Unions and would continue throughout the process. A voluntary severance window had opened to all staff on 15 th May for a 2 week period. 70 expressions of interest had been received and almost 40 applications submitted. After consideration, 32 of those applications had been supported (equivalent to 28 FTE posts), primarily in areas where staff were at risk of redundancy. As a result, the number of compulsory redundancies had been reduced to 25 FTE s. In addition, VS applications from staff not at risk were being considered in the hope that the number of compulsory redundancies could be reduced further through bumping opportunities. Selection to roles would take place during the consultation process, in order to minimise the period of uncertainty for those at risk Security Planning The college continued to work closely with the Regional Co-Ordinator to ensure all staff are trained in Prevent. In addition, the SLT had received counter-terrorism training, which would urgently be revisited to ensure frontline and security staff have sufficient information in the event of an incident. In light of recent events, the Prevent Action Plan was being updated and changes to online safety and campus security were currently under consideration. 5 P a g e

6 The Chair took confidence in the report and noted that security arrangements at each site would need to be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and requested regular reports on the matter be presented to the Board Confidentiality No items were deemed confidential. This being Mr Everitt s final Board meeting, the Chief Executive thanked him for his services throughout the mergers and Governors wished him well in his new role Date and Time of Next Meeting Thursday 6 July 2017 at 6pm, venue to be confirmed. Signed Chairman Date 6 P a g e