Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the Curriculum and Quality Committee of the City of Sunderland College held at 4.30pm on Wednesday 25 May 2011 in Room 614 at the Shiney Row Centre

PRESENT: Mrs D Butler, Mr A Carter, Mr R Edmonds, Mr I Forster (Chair), Mrs A Inkson, Mrs A Lawson-McLean, Ms K Murray, Ms A O’Donoghue, Cllr A Wilkinson.

IN ATTENDANCE: Mr J Anderson, Ms S Duncan, Mr N Harrett, Mrs J Ridley. CLERK: Mr C Crossman.

CQ/11/12 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Mr D Ambrose and Mrs A Hodgson.

CQ/11/13 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING HELD ON 9 MARCH 2011

The minutes were accepted as an accurate record subject to adding Mrs D Butler to the list of those present.

CQ/11/14 MATTERS ARISING THEREFROM

There were no matters arising.

CQ/11/15 JANUARY 2011 AS/A2 MODULE EXAM RESULTS

The Assistant Principal (Sixth Forms) presented the January AS/A2 Module Exam Results. Student entries had gone down as the College had moved away from offering the January Modules to all AS/A2 students as they were not appropriate for everyone.

It was explained that there had been issues with the marking of the January modules for some subjects and that this was a problem nationally. OCR were carrying out an official review of the College’s results and as a result the whole cohort would be re-marked; however, assurance had been given that students would not be marked down. It was noted that examiners no longer made comments on the scripts, therefore it was difficult to give guidance on where the students could have improved their marks.

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The Assistant Principal outlined the intervention strategies set out in full in section 4 of the report. These included:

Additional support sessions; Involvement of Curriculum Leaders with teams identifying issues

and improvement strategies; Identifying and spreading best practice where there is a

performance variation between centres or within a centre; and Continuing specific support and intervention with Maths and

Science, including the appointment of a new Head of learning and standards for Maths and Science and new staff in both subject areas.

A Governor commented that re-sits could act as a ‘wake-up call’ for students however it was noted that Universities were reviewing their entry criteria and were considering screening out the applications from students who had taken re-sits. It was also pointed out that staff would deploy strategies other than entering students for re-sits in order to alert them to potential underperformance.

The Committee:

received the report on the January 2011 AS/A2 Module Results and welcomed the intervention strategies put in place across the curriculum and across centres.

CQ/11/16 STRATEGIC SETTING OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE TARGETS The Vice Principal Quality & Student Support took the Committee through the report in detail setting out the proposed success rate targets for 2011-2012.

The Committee was advised that the College continues to make very good progress towards the outcome for all learners to be judged as outstanding; the key areas of focus for improvement being: Success rates on AS Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry The proportion of higher grades for 16-18 year olds on

some AS and A2 programmes Value added for 16-18 year olds on AS and A2 programmes Literacy and numeracy for 16-18 learners at levels 1 and 2

All of these areas were being addressed within the leadership and management and sixth form quality improvement plans.

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It was noted that the Data Information Service was currently reviewing the national averages and that it may move away from subject specific to qualification specific national averages.It was also noted that past National Average figures were being revised downwards as a result of an audit of success rates claimed in some colleges.

The targets proposed for 2011/12 took account of perceived risk to success rates in 2010/11 previously reported to the Committee, including loss of EMA and the loss of students who transfer to apprenticeships each year (which impacts upon retention).

The Committee:

approved the proposed targets agreed to revisit the targets for 2011/12 in light of the current

year’s performance

CQ/11/17 PROPOSED HE PROGRAMME FOR 2011-12

Confidential:

The contents of this report are confidential and should not be circulated to third parties for reasons of commercial sensitivity.

CQ/11/18 BURSARY FUND

The Vice Principal Curriculum & Student Support presented the report providing details of the Bursary Fund to be introduced by the Government to replace EMA. He explained that consultation ends in May and the final guidelines would be provided to Colleges in June.

Students had been informed of the scheme and sent application forms. The fund would be used to provide support for travel, meals and equipment and would be paid based on attendance, conduct and achievement.

The College had submitted an individual response to the consultation together with a collective response via both the 157 Group and the AoC.

The Committee:

received the report

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CQ/11/19 REVIEW OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION – THE WOLF REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COLLEGE

The Committee received the report noting that the Government had accepted all 27 recommendations made in The Wolf Report. The Vice Principal Curriculum & Student Support outlined the implications for the College set out in detail in section 4 of his report.

Key implications included: FE lecturers to be allowed to teach in schools; Ministers to decide which vocational qualifications count in league

tables; Work experience starting no earlier than age 16; 16-18 year old without good English and Maths GCSEs to be

required to continue their studies of these subjects; Fixed level of funding per student; Subsidies for employers who provide apprenticeships; Legal right of Colleges to enrol under 16 students to be made

explicit; and No requirement for qualifications to comply with the qualifications

and credit framework.

The Committee:

received the report

CQ/11/20 JOINT COMMITTEE MINUTES

The Committee:

received the unconfirmed minutes of the Joint Committee meetings noting that Mrs D Butler did not accept that she had been quoted correctly at W11/12 of the Washington 16+ Joint Committee minutes for 17 February 2011.

CQ/11/21 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

None.

CQ/11/22 DATE, TIME AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 23 November 2011 at 4.30pm in the Room 614, Shiney Row Campus.

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The meeting closed at 6.15pm

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