Minutes of the Governing Body Meeting – 11 April 2024

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STEAM ACADEMY CONFERENCE ROOM AND VIA GOOGLE MEET – 4:30pm

PRESENT:

Jeff Greenidge – Chair
Emma Adamson
Viv Buckley – Principal
Trish D’Souza
Judith Evans
Marion Evans – Staff Governor
Teodora Grancea – Student Governor
Claire Marshall
Joanne Oak
Lloyd Tandy – Student Governor
Helen Verity

IN ATTENDANCE

Joe Baldwin – Deputy Principal (Learner Journey, Systems and Inclusive Practice)
Gemma Carr-Evans – Director of Curriculum (Cowbridge Road and Queens Road)
Nicola Eyre – Clerk
Andrew Gibbs – Deputy Principal (Resources)
Hayley Thomas – Vice Principal (Curriculum & Quality)
Tom Millard – Senior Operations Manager (Willmott Dixon) – left after agenda item 3

The meeting opened at 4.30pm

1. CHAIR’S WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were noted from Lisa Dobbs (Staff Governor), Dawn Lewis-Whelan, Stephne Puddy and Catrin Sullivan – Director of Curriculum (Pencoed). An apology was received from Hayden Llewellyn after the meeting.

Dan Biddle did not attend the meeting.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None declared at the start of the meeting.

Trish D’Souza declared an interest in agenda item 11.2 ‘Data Management & GDPR Policy’ as one of her colleagues had advised the College on this.

3. PRESENTATION AND UPDATE – TOWN CENTRE CAMPUS

The Deputy Principal (Resources) introduced Tom Millard, Senior Operations Manager at Willmott Dixon (WD), to the Governing Body and the video of the proposed town centre campus was played.

Tom Millard gave an overview of the work that had taken place to date and the project plan for the next six months.

The Chair thanked Tom Millard for his presentation and opened the discussion up to the members.

[REDACTED]

There were no more questions for Tom Millard and he left the meeting.

The Deputy Principal (Resources) informed the Governing Body that the contract with WD for [REDACTED] is now ready for signing and requested formal approval for this to be signed and sealed. The Deputy Principal (Resources) was able to provide assurance that the contract had been thoroughly reviewed and recommended for approval by both the College’s and WD’s legal teams.

The Governing Body unanimously approved the signing and sealing of the contract with Willmott Dixon for [REDACTED] to build the College’s town centre campus.

{Clerk’s note – the signatures of the Chair and Principal and the Corporate Seal were applied to two copies of the contract immediately after the meeting}

The Deputy Principal (Resources) gave a brief update on the project:

The MSCP remains one of the biggest risks.
Ministerial approval for the overall project cost of [REDACTED] has been obtained.
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
Project Risk Registers (strategic and detailed) are being updated as the project progresses.
Discussions on the lease for the MSCP site are about to start.

The Chair thanked the Deputy Principal (Resources) for the update and there were no further questions.

4. MINUTES OF THE GOVERNING BODY MEETING HELD ON 11 APRIL 2024

The minutes of the Governing Body meeting held on 8 February 2024 were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

5. MATTERS ARISING

5.1 Action Tracker

There were six actions on the Action Tracker – one red, two amber, two green and one ongoing. The amber actions were not yet due.

[REDACTED]

The members noted the other actions and the update given against each of the actions on the Action Tracker.

6. PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

The Principal updated the Governing Body on the following

CTER has recently issued its Statement of Priorities. The next step will be for CTER to develop and publish its Strategic Plan setting out how these priorities will be achieved. At this stage, there is nothing further to report.
Bevan College – Estyn has recently carried out an inspection and the feedback has been very positive. [REDACTED]

It was noted that some key working relationships were developed and strengthened during this inspection.

Changes to EWC (Education Workforce Council) regulations – from May 2024, all practitioners registered as FE teachers in Wales must have a teaching qualification. The implications of this are huge for both the College and the sector as there are some staff with industry specific skills that do not hold a teaching qualification or want to study for one. The example of a qualified vet teaching on a veterinary nursing course three hours a week was given.
Strategic Alliance with the University of South Wales (USW) – a new alliance with four other South East Wales colleges (The College Merthyr, Coleg y Cymoedd, Cardiff and Vale and Coleg Gwent) and the Cardiff Capital Region has recently been signed.

The Chair also brought the Governing Body’s attention to the Skills Competition successes in the Principal’s report and the Governing Body gave their congratulations to all of the students and staff involved.

A member questioned whether the SLT had reviewed CTER’s priorities and mapped where the College’s strengths are. The Principal confirmed that this process is underway and many of CTER’s priorities are already ingrained in the workings of the College. The examples of established collaborative arrangements already in place with the USW Alliance and the Bwbl Consortium were given to demonstrate the College’s commitment to being learner-centred.

7. SAFEGUARDING UPDATE

The Deputy Principal (Learner Journey, Systems and Inclusive Practice) presented the following update:

He had recently completed the two-day Designated Safeguarding Person (DSP) refresher training course.
The number of cases for the year is in line with expectation and the previous year. There may be an increase in the number of cases in the coming months due to the pressures of the exam period but this will be in line with previous years.
A copy of the supplementary guidance for inspecting safeguarding in post-16 provision issued by Estyn in January is included in the Shared drive (this update was given in the February meeting).

It was noted that the College’s Self Evaluation Report and quality cycle had been aligned to Estyn’s new pilot cycle of three rather than five inspection areas.

[REDACTED]

A discussion took place about how much information and data should be included in this report as an update on safeguarding is provided at every Curriculum & Quality Committee meeting and via the annual Safeguarding Report.

It was agreed that the report provides enough information for the Governing Body to understand the wellbeing of learners and that it gives the opportunity for any questions to be asked. It was also discussed that safeguarding is very complex and a huge responsibility for the College and that if there were any serious concerns, the two lead governors for safeguarding would be notified by the DSP. It was requested that any such notifications are included in future updates.

It was agreed that the format of the report should remain in the current format but with the inclusion of any notifications to the lead governors as it allows the opportunity for any questions to be asked.

The Chair thanked the Deputy Principal (Learner Journey, Systems and Inclusive Practice) for the update.

8. PROCESS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEW CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR

The Governing Body agreed the process for the appointment of the new Chair and Vice-Chair. This process had been followed for the previous appointments.

9. EXTENSION OF INTERNAL AUDIT CONTRACT

[REDACTED]

10. GOVERNANCE MATTERS

The Governing Body APPROVED the following recommendations from the Search & Governance Committee:

The reduction of the membership of the Resource Planning Committee from 8 down to 7 from September 2024 as it was felt that this number was adequate to service the committee.

{Clerk’s note – the committee membership had been 7 members prior to May 2019}

Shelley Wyatt-Williams is to be appointed as a full Governing Body member having served as a co-opted Audit Committee member since March 2021.

Shelley’s biography had been provided to all Governing Body members.

Joanne Oak is appointed for a second term of office (1 December 2024 to 30 November 2028).
The amendments to the Terms of Reference for the Curriculum & Quality and Remuneration Committees.
The calendar of meetings for the 2024/25 academic year.

The Governing Body RATIFIED the following items that had been approved electronically between the February and April Governing Body meetings:

[REDACTED]
Trish D’Souza being appointed as a member of the RPC for the remainder of the 2023/24 academic year.

It was noted that Trish had attended the March RPC meeting.

The Governing Body NOTED the following:

Upcoming dates:
- Reserved Business meeting – MONDAY 29 April at 4.30pm (appointment of Deputy Principal (Future Generations))
- Student Annual Awards Ceremony – Tuesday 25 June at 6pm in the STEAM Academy Auditorium
- HE Graduation Ceremony – Saturday 12 October.
New Governing Body members – the Principal, Chair and Clerk are working through the recommendations put forward at the Search & Governance Committee meeting. The Clerk requested that if any members have any suggestions, to forward these to her.

Trish D’Souza updated the Clerk on the recent approach that she had made to a potential member to say that she is awaiting a reply.

Use of the Corporate Seal – this was used on 29 February and 11 March on the Lease and Agreement for Lease with BCBC for the town centre campus site. The members had received electronic notifications of these.

11. COLLEGE POLICIES

11.1 Grievance Policy

The Principal informed the Governing Body that the Resource Planning Committee had reviewed and recommended this policy for approval.

The Clerk added that one member had fed in some suggestions which had been included in the policy.

The Governing Body approved the Grievance Policy.

11.2 Data Management & GDPR

The Deputy Principal (Learner Journey, Systems and Inclusive Practice) informed the Governing Body that the Resource Planning Committee had reviewed and recommended this policy for approval. It was noted that the only changes were to job titles and the inclusion of an appendix for Subject Access Requests.

Trish D’Souza declared an interest in this item as one of her colleagues had advised the College on this.

The Governing Body approved the Data Management & GDPR Policy.

12. MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS 2023/24 AND FINANCIAL KPIs

The Deputy Principal (Resources) gave an overview of the Management Accounts as they had been thoroughly reviewed and recommended for approval by the RPC:

[REDACTED]

The Principal explained that a significant amount of work had been undertaken by the SLT in order to identify cost savings and efficiencies [REDACTED]. The Student Governors were asked whether they were aware of the need for savings/efficiencies and they both agreed that they were not aware of this and that their student experience had not been compromised or affected in any way. The one Student Governors said that the feedback from the learner walk that she did was that the cost of living is impacting on her fellow students and that they can’t afford the food in the refectory.

The Governing Body discussed that they felt reassured that there is strong stewardship of the College and that they wouldn’t want all the work that has gone into creating such a positive culture to be compromised because of funding cuts.

The Chair thanked the Deputy Principal (Resources) and the Principal for the update.

13. RISK REGISTER

The Deputy Principal (Resources) presented the Risk Register that had been recommended for approval by the Audit Committee.

The recommended additions/deletions were as follows:

Deletion of Risk 4 ‘Failure to maintain income and contribution from Higher Education (HE) in line with targets adversely impacts on ability to meet budget’ – this is covered by Risk 3 ‘Failure to Failure to deliver the budget adversely affects the future of the College, the confidence of stakeholders, its financial health and impacts negatively on reputation and our ability to fund or borrow for investment’. Also, there are other areas of the College that have higher income levels and these don’t have their own separate risks’.
Addition of Risk 15 ‘The College will seek to avoid and minimise any impact to its strong reputation as an excellent College of choice for both learners and staff, as a result of any organisational changes driven by financial sustainability’ – this risk has been added at the request of the new Principal.
Addition of Risk 16 ‘Does the Business Continuity Plan provide the College with sufficient assurance that it can react in an efficient and effective manner to address the implications of any major incident?’ – this is a recommendation from the internal auditors.

There had been some changes to the wording in some of the risks and these had been highlighted in red on the Risk Register.

A discussion took place about whether Risk 16 (proposed addition) is a control rather than a risk. The Deputy Principal (Resources) explained that this had been debated with the internal auditors and that it was on the Risk Register previously but had been removed after the pandemic. It was agreed that this risk would be reconsidered by the Audit Committee (ACTION – AG).

The Governing approved all amendments to the Risk Register other than the addition of Risk 16.

14. CORPORATE KPIs AND BALANCED SCORECARD

The Corporate KPIs and the Balanced Scorecard were presented.

Corporate KPIs

The two red KPIs were highlighted:

[REDACTED]

Balanced Scorecard

[REDACTED]

A member asked the Deputy Principal (Resources) what is the biggest financial concern at the moment. He said that it is the ‘unknowns’ and only being given one year of funding information at a time as these make financial planning very difficult. [REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

The Governing Body noted the update.

15. COMMITTEE MINUTES

15.1 Search & Governance – 26 February 2024

The Governing Body RECEIVED these minutes.

15.2 Audit (Parts A & B) – 29 February 2024

The Governing Body RECEIVED these minutes.

15.3 Curriculum & Quality – 7 March 2024

The Governing Body RECEIVED these minutes.

15.4 Resource Planning – 14 March 2024

The Governing Body RECEIVED these minutes.

16. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

None

The Governing Body noted that the next meeting will be held on 23 May 2024.

VALUES CHECKER

The Chair asked if the Governing Body had had enough opportunity to scrutinise and ask questions and whether the SLT felt that they had received enough support and direction during the meeting.

One member fed back that she felt that the committees and Governing Body are working well together and that there is a golden thread. The Chair echoed this sentiment and said that the value of committees has been demonstrated during this meeting. Another member added that there is a benefit to everyone knowing their roles and that the SLT is very competent as they have answers readily available to questions raised.

Another member commented that there are no surprises at any Governing Body meetings as the committees are undertaking the detailed work which is then being fed upwards.

A further comment was made about the papers being of a high quality and that the presentation on the town centre campus at the start of the meeting was very helpful as it served as a reminder of how the new buildings will look.

It was suggested that in future meetings, there could be a greater emphasis on learner voice and more celebration of student and staff success.

The Student Governors were asked for their feedback on the experiences so far this year. Lloyd Tandy said that his highlight was the trip to Thailand and the friendships that he has made as a result of this. Teodora Grancea said that she has really enjoyed being at the College and feels that there is something unique about Bridgend College. She added that the teachers are constantly supporting her and her fellow students to achieve their full potential and that having access to the Wellbeing Hub at any time is really helpful.

The Principal informed the Governing Body that the College had held an internal celebration in the same week as the meeting for the students who had won awards at the Skills Competition. The Governing Body noted that Teodora had mentored one of the students who had won an award and how she has been a fantastic ambassador for the College. Teodora said that she had fun mentoring her fellow students and enjoyed the awards ceremony in the International Convention Centre.

It was agreed that the Principal and two Student Governors would do a joint presentation in the last Governing Body meeting of the year. The Principal reminded the Governing Body that English is the second language for both of the Student Governors.

The Principal said that she felt that she had had clear answers to any questions that she asked of the Governing Body.

The Chair thanked everyone for attending and the meeting closed at 6.12pm.

A Reserved Business meeting was held for eligible members after this meeting.

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