SOUTH & CITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM CORPORATION

Minutes of the Corporation Meeting Held on

Tuesday 4 December 2018 Student Common Room, St Michaels

Digbeth

Present: Clive Henderson (Chair), Heather Jones, Mike Hopkins, John Gemmell, Pat O’Neill, Gerald Bermingham, Alex Stephenson, Lucy Jeynes, Shaun Pitt, Ian Richards, Marianne Coward, Paul Johal and Parveen Ghulam (Clerk)

In Attendance: Sardul Dhesi, Dawn Ward, Paul Morris, Alan Howey, Jacqui

Deane, Jacqui Maher, John Hillen, Alma Aganovic, Ann-Marie Bathmaker (Governance Researcher) Sarah Dolman, Ahsan Haq Arman Sajaad and Jane Linsell.

Start Time: 18:25

1. Apologies

Apologies were received from Emma WynneWillson, Shireen Avari, Angela Pocock, Richard Weber, Zahoor Mann and Nasir Awan

2. Register of Interests and Declaration

All those present confirmed that they had no interests to declare that were not already included on the register of interests held by the Clerk.

3. Minutes of the Corporation Meeting held 9 October 2018

The minutes were agreed as accurate.

145/18 Resolved: That the minutes of the Corporation meeting held on 9 October

2018 be signed as an accurate record.

The Chair welcomed Arman Sajaad, Sarah Dolman and Ahsan Haq to the

meeting.

4. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising

5. Minutes of Committee Meetings 5.1 Employment & Equalities Committee meeting held on 9

October 2018

Sardul advised that Angela had provided a verbal update at the last meeting

and Parveen confirmed that Angela as Chair of the Committee had reviewed

the minutes.

146/18 Resolved: That the minutes of the Employment & Equalities Committee

meeting held on 9 October 2018 be signed as an accurate record.

5.2 Audit Committee meeting held on 28 November 2018

John Gemmell thanked the Clerk for providing a written draft of the minutes

considering the meeting had only been held a few days earlier. He informed the

Committee that the updated terms of reference had been approved and the

Committee had discussed the 2 internal audit reports on GDPR/FOI and sub-

contracting. He noted that the GDPR audit required a number of actions, many

of which were based around the need for a clear information asset register and

an updated policy to be put in place. He advised that the Audit Committee would

follow up the action points.

John advised that the annual internal audit opinion provided by RSM had

adequate controls and sat well in comparison to other colleges. He noted that

the External audit carried out by Mazars raised no material issues and that the

Internal Annual report to the Corporation and Principal had also been

recommended for approval. John informed the Governors that the Risk

Management update and IT Asset report had been discussed.

147/18 Resolved: That the minutes of the Audit Committee meeting held on 28

November 2018 be received and noted.

5.3 Search & Governance Committee meeting held on 4 December 2018

Alex advised that the Committee had discussed many of the agenda items that were included on the Corporation agenda. He advised that the terms of reference had been agreed as appended. He said that the staff governor elections had being carried out using a Single Transferable Voting system (STV) which had been managed by an external company, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), which had received positive feedback from staff members. He congratulated the College on the use of the new system and was pleased to note that a total of 11 candidates had stood for election for the two staff governor posts.

Alex noted that the Training Need Analysis report had been provided for information purposes following the 2018, Corporation Annual Conference. He asked governors to contact the Clerk if they had any further training needs. Alex noted that a number of governors had resigned due to personal commitments and the Board now consisted of a total of 21 governors.

148/18 Resolved: That the minutes of the Search & Governance Committee meeting

held on 4 December 2018 be received and noted.

6. Approval of Committee Terms of Reference

Parveen advised that there was a requirement to approve the terms of reference on an annual basis. She said that all of the Committees had now reviewed their terms of reference and had recommended them for approval Ian Richards advised that under the new AOC Code for senior staff the Chair should not chair the Senior Staff remuneration Committee. Clive confirmed that the Code was not yet formally in place and that this would be addressed in the near future by the Clerk.

149/18 Resolved: That the Terms of Reference for all of the Committees be approved.

7. Governor Appointments Parveen informed governors that the STV system used for the staff elections

had worked well and that Ahsan Haq and Sarah Dolman were the successful candidates. She noted that the Student Governor election had also being carried out and that Arman Sajaad Bano and Aleemah Nasir were duly elected as student governors.

150/18 Resolved: That Ahsan Haq be appointed as non-teaching staff governor for a

period of 3 years from 4 December 2018. 151/18 Resolved: That Sarah Dolman be appointed as teaching staff governor for a

period of 3 years from 4 December 2018. 152/18 Resolved: That Arman Sajaad Bano be appointed as a student governor for a

period of 2 years from 4 December 2018. 153/18 Resolved: That Aleemah Nasir be appointed as a student governor for a period

of 2 years from 4 December 2018.

8. Governor Attendance Parveen advised that governor attendance levels were reported on an annual

basis. She highlighted, that as per the report, there were 3 governors who had been absent for 4 or more meetings, explaining that the absences were due to either work or personal commitments and that the Governors did contribute to other committees or working groups, so therefore there was no cause for concern.

154/18 Resolved: That the Governor Attendance Report be received and noted.

9. Governor Training Needs Analysis

Clive informed the Governors that the report set out the training requirements requested by governors and asked governors to inform the Clerk of any additional further training requirements.

155/18 Resolved: That the Governor Training Needs Analysis be received and noted.

10. Inspection and Principals Report

Ofsted - Mike apologised for the delay in providing his report. He advised new

governors that his report usually provided a background to a number of matters.

However, for this report, the main agenda item was in relation to the Ofsted

inspection. Mike noted that prior to inspection the College had not known

whether the College would be subject to a two day inspection or a full

inspection. He explained that when he received the call, he was told that the

inspection would be a full inspection and would include Bournville Academy.

Mike informed governors that the inspection had been very intensive and the

outcome was positive showing that the College had and was doing extremely

well.

Mike explained that at the last inspection prior to the merger, Bournville College

received an overall grade 3 with a grade 4 for their apprenticeship

provision. Following the merger a very significant amount of work had been

done to improve the quality of provision and, due to the hard work of all staff

across the College we had achieved a grade 2 as a merged college, which was

a major achievement task. Mike noted that the College was always focused on

students and this was clearly portrayed in his presentation story to the

inspectors and was evidenced clearly by the inspectors from the feedback of

stakeholders and students. Inspectors found the College to be welcoming with

good quality teaching and support which enabled students to progress onto

university.

Mike thanked all staff for their team effort to showcase the College. He said that

he was heartened by the amazing work that staff had carried out. He added

that many staff had chosen to work over the weekend prior to inspection, in

order to ensure that all the College was ready for the inspection. Mike thanked

the Senior Staff who had also carried out some exceptional work, rising up to

the challenge of an Ofsted inspection. He thanked all governors who gave their

time and commitment to the College over the years, explaining that each

governor had played an important role in the College’s grade. He advised that

there were areas for improvement and these were detailed in Appendix 1, all of

which the College had previously identified, (attendance, English and Maths

and A levels). He explained that action plans would be put in place to improve

these areas. Mike said that it was important for the College to continue to do

well and focus on all areas, with a view to aiming to be a grade 1 college in

future.

Mike thanked Jacqui Deane for being the College nominee for which the

inspectors were very complimentary. He added that the College had proved

that it was good in all areas and the inspectors were somewhat surprised of

such an achievement so soon after a merger. He noted that this was no mean

feat as the inspectors spent a lot of time with students in all areas to hear about

their experiences and he also thanked Jane Linsell for her work on safeguarding

as inspectors could see that students are kept safe and well looked after.

Mike advised that as a result of the good inspection he would be looking to give

staff an additional days leave over the Christmas period and would hold a party

for all staff and stakeholders with positive end of year talks.

Institute of Technology – Mike noted that the College was a partner with Solihull College, BMet, BCU UCB and Aston University to establish an Institute of Technology in Birmingham. As part of the bid the College has put in a bid for £1.3 million of capital funding to expand higher-level engineering provision at Bournville and the details of this were provided in an appendix to the report. West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Construction Project- Mike advised that the College was the lead college for the project. The project aim was to provide short construction training initiatives leading to employment. The value of the project was £5 million and SCCB would receive a large proportion of this over a 3 year period. Construction Developments – Mike informed governors that the National Federation of Builders had given the College £12,500 to support students in construction. He advised that the College were specialising at the Bournville campus to be a centre for excellence in electronic engineering, robotics and mechatronics. He added that the College were part of a core pilot and had submitted a bid for more funding, the outcome of which would be known in Feb/March 2019. Achievement of Matrix Accreditation - Sardul advised that the College was successful in retaining its matrix accreditation, he thanked Alma Aganovic and Jane Linsell for their work in helping to standardise the matrix following the

merger. Clive thanked Mike for his report and said that it was comforting to hear the feedback from students. He said he was at the feedback meeting and was pleased to hear all of the positive comments from the inspectors and expressed that it was a combined effort from all staff. He thanked the Governors who had met with the inspectors and all governors for their valued input. He also thanked Jacqui Deane for her valuable support and advice.

156/18 Resolved: That the Principal’s Report be received and noted.

11. Self-Assessment Report (SAR) and Quality Improvement Plan (QIP)

Jacqui Deane advised that the College had graded all areas as a grade 2. She advised that the QIP would be updated based on the inspection. She required governors to validate the grade 2 for the SAR. Clive added that the updated documents would be available in the Convene software.

157/18 Resolved: That the Self-Assessment Report (SAR) be received and noted.

12. HE Annual Report

Dale Woolley presented the report to governors. Recruitment - Dale advised that recruitment levels were low due to the population dip and predatory action by universities which impacted on college Final Year Achievements 2017-18 Dale noted that there had been 278 students and that 85%of these students had achieved, this was 2% lower than the previous year. She noted that the Achievement rates for full time students needed to improve, however the part time students fared better. Student Progression - There were 356 starters and 73% of these progressed. These figures were below the benchmark. The reasons for the low progression rate was due to students leaving. Student Learning Experience - Dale advised that there had been a mixed response to the published survey. The College was above the sector and regional rate. However response rates to the survey were low. Teaching Excellence Framework Metrics – Dale noted that the data used for this was historical and in 2016 SCCB had received a silver award and Bournville a provisional award. Since merger, the data resulted in the College being awarded a Bronze award and significant work would be carried out in future to achieve a higher award. Competition and Markets Authority – Dale advised that the College had been audited to validate the College’s compliance with consumer law which applied to higher education programmes and that this had been reported to the audit

Committee. Office for Students – The College has registered for the OfS. Dale advised that the remainder of the report was provided for information and concluded that the report was a mixed report with areas for improvement in recruitment and progression. Ian asked how the college proposed to improve the HE provision. Dawn said that the next step would be to meet with heads of schools to review the courses and to produce an action plan for each faculty. Jacqui Maher added that staffing had been an issue for some courses, due to long term sickness. It had also been difficult to recruit staff within the area. She advised that these issues had now being resolved. Sardul advised that during the Ofsted inspection week the report had been discussed with the Chair and Vice Chair in order to submit the report in time for the deadline date which was prior to the Corporation meeting. Detailed discussions took place at the course review meetings and courses were being offered to address the LEP priorities. He noted that the biggest area of concern was admissions and also instances of students being offered unconditional places.

158/18 Resolved: That the HE Annual Report be approved.

13. Student Outcomes for 17/18

Dawn Ward informed the Governors that as part of the Ofsted inspection the report had been produced for inspectors showing the position statement outcome for learners. She highlighted that there was a trend of improvement and that the report showed the starting position for the college by types of provision and the destinations for students. Although the College was not at the national rate in some areas. An example of an area was given as level 3, hair and beauty. It was explained that the data looked static with poor achievement, but this was due to a change in the qualification. During the inspection the lead inspector looked at this area and commended the College for their work as a result of what they saw. Dawn noted that in the recent FE Week publication, SCCB featured at the bottom of the list for progression and destinations. Dawn explained that 1600 of the learners were from the Job Centre plus and the outcome for them was not necessarily being employed but to acquire further skills, such as English or digital skills, which would help them to attend job clubs, leading onto employment. She added that destinations was highlighted as a strength by inspectors.

159/18 Resolved: That the Student Outcomes for 17/18 Report be received and noted.

14. Equality & Diversity Report

Sardul Dhesi advised that at the last Corporation meeting an interim report had been provided to governors. He noted that Ofsted inspectors had acknowledged that one of the key core values was social inclusion and to embed equality and diversity, which was visible in teaching and learning. He noted that there were lots of good practice in the College. He said that one key measure was to look at the differential achievement and to narrow the achievement gap in certain categories of students and that this would be part of the action plan for next year. Sardul said the report covered the context of the College and showed that it celebrated diversity and that it was a good report, perhaps with too much data which meant that the key messages may have been lost in the report. He suggested that the Governors approve the report subject to some editing before being uploaded on the website.

160/18 Resolved: That the Equality and Diversity Report be approved subject to editing.

15. Annual Safeguarding Policy

Jane Linsell apologised for the typographical errors in the report which would be amended. She highlighted that the report appeared to show that the number of safeguarding reporting incidents had reduced, she explained that the College now had a triage team in place for early intervention and that safeguarding reporting was still high. She noted that 17 cases had been referred to children’s services and the report showed the age breakdown and gender breakdown was similar to the previous year. However, there were more 16-18 year olds and females reporting safeguarding incidents, many were relating to sexual abuse with youngsters and mental health issues and suicidal thoughts. Jane said that mental health issues was a topical news subject and it was important that early assistance was made available in schools and colleges. Jane reported that the biggest change for safeguarding was the introduction of the new safeguarding software ““My Concern””. This had resulted in students receiving help a lot earlier. Jane noted that more training was required for some areas which were not safeguarding and that 900 staff had registered as users for the new software system. Jane said that the system was used across Birmingham and that some of the categories of reporting would be tweaked, such as adding peer on peer sexual abuse. As a result of the changes, the safeguarding report for next year would look different. Jane explained that “My Concern” was time bound and allowed staff to report any concerns on a confidential basis all in one place and staff reporting the concern would receive an email to say that their concern would be actioned. To date there had been 323 concerns raised and although the software was in its infancy, early intervention and prioritising risks has allowed high priority concerns being actioned in a timelier manner by the safeguarding team. Jane noted that 98% of staff had carried out the Prevent training and the College was working with Birmingham Healthy Minds to carry out one to one sessions and hold workshops for students.

Gerald Bermingham noted that the report referred to allegations of rape and he asked whether these instances were students on students. Jane confirmed they were peer on peer and these were being managed sensitively and had been reported to the police. Ian Richards said that the referrals by campus showed that 45% of referrals had been from Bournville campus and asked if there were any reasons for this. Jane explained that the staff reporting system at the Bournville campus had been different and staff required training on what they should be reporting as a lot of the reporting was early help and not safeguarding. Jane said that she sat on the Executive committee for the National Association for Managers of Student Services (NAMS) and in this remit she could see that colleges were aware of a lot of safeguarding issues and were referring everything. She said that training to establish what were welfare needs and early help and how this should be recorded was currently being delivered. Pat O’Neill commented that the report was very comprehensive and congratulated Jane and her team on their hard work.

161/18 Resolved: That the Safeguarding Report be received and noted

16. Safeguarding Policy

Jane Linsell informed the Governors that there were no key changes to the safeguarding policy and the main change was the reporting structure change to the “My Concern” software. She noted that the safeguarding team had not changed and that the keeping children safe booklet had been updated to cover broader aspects around disability and peer on peer abuse. Ian noted a typographical error on page 18 of the report. Jane advised that the report would be amended and proof read. Sardul commented that the College was reviewing its policies to include policies in one bundle for different areas following recommendations made by internal auditors.

162/18 Resolved: That the Safeguarding Report be approved subject to amendment

of typographical errors.

17. Principals Report

This report was minuted under agenda item 10.

18. Audit Reports 18.1 Internal audit annual report year ended 31/07/18

This had been discussed at the Audit Committee.

163/18 Resolved: That the Internal Audit Annual Report year ended 31/07/18 be

approved.

18.2 Report and Management Letter of External Financial Auditors

on the Audit Committee of the Financial Statements for Year Ended 31 July 2018

This had been discussed at the Audit Committee in detail. John Gemmell confirmed that the financial statements were no longer a going concern. Ian Richards asked if there were any issues outstanding. Alan Howey advised that there had been an issue with age grants being paid to the College in error, the SFA had been advised of this and the monies were included on the balance sheet, as creditors. Clive added that the College had now received a letter from Barclays bank and Lloyds bank to remove the covenant and this had satisfied the external auditors.

164/18 Resolved: That the Report and Management Letter of External Financial

Auditors on the Audit Committee of the financial Statements for Year Ended 31 July 2018 be approved.

18.3 Annual Report of the Audit Committee to the Corporation and

Principal for Year Ended 31 July 2018

This had been discussed in detail at the Audit Committee.

165/18 Resolved: That the Annual Report of the Audit Committee to the Corporation

and Principal for Year Ended 31 July 2018 be approved.

19. Financial Reports 19.1 Financial Statements for year ended 31 July 2018

Alan Howey informed the Governors that the financial statements had been discussed in detail by the Audit Committee and that originally the management letter said that the accounting treatment had been a going concern. This had now being resolved and the auditors were now happy to recommend a clean opinion and the statements were recommended for approval.

Shaun Pitt noted that there were a few amendments needed to the wording of the statements but these did not affect the financial statements themselves. Alan confirmed that the amendments had being noted and the statements would be proof read before final signatures.

166/18

Resolved: That the Financial Statements for year ended 31 July 2018 be approved.

19.2 Financial Forecasts Out-turn for year ending 31 July 2019

Alan Howey informed the Governors that the forecasts for the current year showed a reduced operating surplus. He noted that the liquidity was the same. However, there had been changes since the previous report and these were detailed in the report. The main points to note were that adult funding had been reduced due to HE competition. Income was being reduced in a few areas. However, this was offset by a plan to hit targets and voluntary severance payments with a forecast of a £2 million reduction in costs. Alan noted that in the current year the College was in breach of the Barclays bank covenant and possibly the Lloyds Bank covenant. The Lloyds Bank approach was to waiver the breach, as it was primarily caused by creditors in 2017/18 and Barclay’s bank wanted to reset the covenant with possible increase in interest rates. The College was working closely with both banks to address the covenant issues.

167/18 Resolved: That the Financial Forecasts Out-turn for year ending 31 July 2019

be approved.

19.3 3-Year Financial Forecasts to Year End July 2021

Alan Howey informed the Governors that the new insolvency regime would impact on colleges and colleges could now be subject to bankruptcy. He noted that the College needed to maintain being good or strong college financially, otherwise it would attract the attention of the FE Commissioner. Mike added that, in terms of the College’s funding position 60% of funding was received from 16-19 year olds. The College was a big provider of adult courses and was arguing for comparative funding, which was not forthcoming. Mike noted that following the merger, there was a lot of debt leveraging and the College now needed to bring the debt level down. This would be through the sale of assets where possible, along with changes to delivery methods. There would also be staff reductions through voluntary severance schemes if required. Ian Richards asked if the forthcoming pension increases had been built into the forecasts. Alan confirmed that £1million was built in for 2020. Mike reminded the Governors that a cautious and prudent approach was always taken and some savings such as the construction project and the combined authority funding had not been included in the forecasts.

168/18 Resolved: That the 3-Year Financial Forecasts to year end 31 July 2021 be

approved.

20. Progress towards Funding Targets 18/19

Dawn Ward informed governors that the report provided information about achieving the ESFA and HE funding targets. 14-16 Direct Funded Target – Dawn advised that there were 23 learners inherited from Baverstock school and 34 previously home schooled students on roll. The College was 4 students short of its target and any new students would be funded in the following year. 16-18 ESFA Target – Dawn noted that the College was 350 students short of its allocation due to under recruitment across the board. However, the College was generating more income per learner as the funding was allocated on historical information, retention factors and uplift for students from a disadvantaged background. The overall effect of not meeting the targets was a shortfall of £500,000. Adult ESFA Target- Dawn said that the College’s funding had not been reduced by the ESFA, despite not meeting the ESFA targets. Part of the reason was a slow response to job centre referrals, which the College only received minimal funding for to deliver more hours. The College planned to reduce the adult income target and £1million was at risk due to the under recruitment. Apprenticeships – The College was behind its profile for last year and had planned more that it could achieve. The £2.5 million target was on target to be met. Advanced Learning Loans- The College was on target to meet the income. HE Funding – The College was £150,000 at risk from its target. Gerald Bermingham asked whether there were any shortfalls at other colleges. Mike explained that the pattern for the shortfall was similar to the last merger as there were many unknowns. He added that during the merger the College was not as focused on schools as it should have been and the funding methodology was constantly being changed. He said that it was about getting the balance right and the College now knew that it could grow the school learners and as a result of the Ofsted inspection, two schools were looking to work with the College. Mike said that moving forward there was a demographic upturn for 16-19 year olds in the inner city and a down turn in the south of the city. The effect was to review the College premises and staffing levels in order to ensure a good balance to service the needs of the community. He added that colleges had changed over the past 18 months and the College was back on track with a structural approach to delivery. Clive added that the College was better than most colleges in dealing with shortfalls.

118/18 Resolved: That the Progress Towards Achieving Funding Targets 2018-19

Report be received and noted.

21. Treasury Management Report 2017/18

Alan advised that there were no breaches to report.

169/18

Resolved: That the Treasury Management Report be received and noted.

22. Capital Works Update

Paul advised that the report detailed the main areas of expenditure. He noted that the College was in the process of setting up a new engineering facility at Longbridge and that it had set up an academy for the delivery of public service vehicle courses, with National Express. Mike added that recruitment had already increased on the Engineering courses and he was confident that the same would be the case for the National Express Academy.

170/18 Resolved: That the Capital Works update be received and noted.

23. Public interest disclosure (whistle blowing) policy and

procedure

Parveen advised that the policy had been reviewed by the Audit Committee and was recommended for approval.

171/18 Resolved: That the Public Interest disclosure (whistle blowing) policy and

procedure be approved.

24. Health & Safety Annual Report

Paul Morris noted that the format for the report had changed and was more user friendly and included a summary of statistics. He advised that there was a positive trend of improvement and this was encouraging. Paul acknowledged the work carried out by Dawn Francis-Jones. Paul advised that as Chair of the Strategic Health & Safety Committee, one area that required attention was issues in construction and the wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) which would assist in reducing smaller accidents. He assured governors that disciplinary action would be taken against staff for not imposing this requirement for staff and students.

Alex asked whether the report on slips, trips and falls were from height. Paul confirmed that they were not, advising that the accidents were from ground level as the College discouraged the use of steps. The College also discouraged the use of brushes and brooms, in line with HSE advice, scrapers and vacuums were used instead along with a dust suppression system. Paul advised that the College carried out health surveillance for those most at risk and had a very proactive strategic team with a positive approach.

172/18 Resolved: That the Health & Safety Annual Report and Accident Analysis be

approved.

25. Extension of Estate Contracts

Paul Morris advised that the extension of estates contracts was required in order to put together a formal tender. He noted that the existing contractors were performing well.

173/18 Resolved: That the Corporation approves the extension of the M&E

Maintenance contract for M&E Maintenance Solutions until 31 July 2019.

174/18 Resolved: That the Corporation approves the extension of the M&E

Maintenance contract for Integral UK until 31 July 2019. 175/18 Resolved: That the Corporation approves the extension of the contract for

waste services for Sita UK (Suez) to expire on 31 July 2019.

26. Calendar of Business 2018/19 Parveen advised that this was for information purposes.

176/18 Resolved: That the Calendar of Business 2018/19 be received and noted.

27. Calendar of Meetings 2018/19

Parveen advised that this was for information purposes.

177/18 Resolved: That the Calendar of Meetings 2018/19 be received and noted.

28. Any Other Business

There was no further business

29. Date and Time of Next Meeting This was as per the Corporation Calendar Tuesday 5 February 2019.

SECTION F PRIVATE AGENDA ITEMS

178/18 Resolved: It was agreed that due to the nature of the discussion that the staff

and students were required to leave the meeting. Finish Time: 20:30