Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk.

A report of the Town Clerk informed Governors that the Skills Working Party had recently undertaken a skills and effectiveness review. The review had asked all Governors of the Board to comment on various aspects around the work of the Board and the management of meetings with regard to best practice and guidance from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Leadership Foundation. It explored Governors’ understanding of the Board’s role, the input into and quality of meetings, the governance and clerking support received by the Board, and Governors views on communication from the School. It went on to assess personal skills and attributes including specialist and technical areas relating to the School.

The non-attributable results of the effectiveness survey demonstrated that overall Governors were satisfied with the administration of the Board and that the role of the Board was understood. The results showed that Governors felt reports to the Board contained relevant information but could be more concise in nature, the length of Board meetings could be shorter and that a separate Governor’s online portal could be made available to provide Governors with access to relevant material i.e. the Strategic Plan and other key documents.

The results of the skills audit demonstrated that the Board was strong in areas of governance, strategic management and business planning and that Governors had an interest and knowledge of the arts. There was, however, a lack of identified skills with regard to fundraising.

The review also highlighted that the Board was comprised of a number of Governors who had specific and relevant skills and knowledge to carry out their role, such as Governors who sat on other educational governing bodies and some with qualifications in Education, Music, Stage Management and Theatre, which all served to strengthen the governance of the School.

In response to a question by a Governor, the Principal explained that HEFCE remains a very significant institution in the HE sector, as it has a continuing role in regulating Higher Education Institutions and although HEFCE funding is less significant now than it was, still provides grants and with regard to the School provided approximately £2m a year.

It was noted that the two new Members to the Board had received an induction pack and 1-1 meetings with the Principal were in the process of being arranged.

Governors were asked to notify the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Town Clerk if they had any particular views on the frequency of Board meetings.

It was noted that an informal ‘Away Day’ would be arranged for late October/early November.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and the actions set out at Appendix C of the report be approved.