Governance Documents

Overview of College Governance

Colleges exist to advance education for the public good.

Colleges provide high-quality technical and professional education and training for young people, adults and employers. They prepare students with valuable skills for the workplace, helping to develop their career opportunities and strengthen the local, regional and national economy. Colleges are inspirational places to learn because education and training is delivered by expert teaching staff in industry-standard facilities. From basic skills to postgraduate degrees, colleges offer first rate academic and vocational teaching, in a range of professions including engineering, hospitality, IT, construction and the creative arts.  They offer a range of qualifications and training including:

• A Levels
• Apprenticeships
• Traineeships
• Vocational qualifications
• Higher education
• Entry level training

(Reference 1)

“The governance duty is, above all, to drive relentless ambition for the young people served by our schools system, whatever the circumstances”. Baroness Berridge (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools).

Effective College governance is about:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff
• Overseeing the financial performance and making sure its money is well spent.

(Reference 2)

About West Suffolk College

West Suffolk College (WSC) is a leading further education college in the east of England. WSC has multiple adult centres across the east of England to support:

• basic qualifications (from Entry Level and beyond)
• university qualifications (from Levels 4, 5 and 6) with leading education partners including University of East Anglia, University of Suffolk, and Pearson
• industry specific skills (short courses to support their progression whilst in-work)
• tailored programmes to support requalification or re-entry into the workplace
• hobby based skills (i.e. pottery, baking, arts, etc.)

WSC also sponsors Suffolk Academies Trust (the “Trust”) is a nationally recognised multi-academy trust specialising in post-16 education in the east of England. Established in 2015, the Trust currently runs two centres:

• Abbeygate Sixth Form College (ASFC) in Bury St Edmunds
  • ASFC opened in 2019 and continues to grow and now educates over 1,100 students each year, with students travelling from Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk to study academic courses in its state-of-the-art facilities.

• One Sixth Form College (OSFC) in Ipswich
  • OSFC opened in 2010 and has grown year-on-year and now educates over 2,270 students each year, with students travelling from across Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk to study both academic and vocational courses in its state-of-the-art facilities. OSFC is also the only Outstanding sixth form college in Suffolk.

with its headquarters in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Mission, Vision and Strategy

WSC and the Trust operate under a collaboration agreement and have a strategic alliance to work together as the Eastern Education Group (the “Group”).

The Group has a common vision “deliver a world-class, inspirational life-long learning journey that drives prosperity and wellbeing for all in our communities. At the heart of this is progression and supporting students to the next stages of their lives by focusing on:

Alongside their aspirations, learners have personal, practical realities that can become barriers for learning. Everything is underpinned by our wraparound support that helps address challenges and find solutions so that no student is left behind through circumstances that are beyond their control.”

Our Group approach focuses on joining up education by looking at commonality and areas for collaboration (removing inefficient competition and focusing on best practice to benefit all) to best support students and efficiently pool resources and expertise, to provide outstanding vocational and academic education to students throughout their lifetime across the east of England.

The Eastern EducationGroup helps shape and deliver education from primary through to those accessing University, Apprenticeships (higher and degree) and professional development in the workplace. We also support those people who simply have a passion for learning.

Our aspirational primary and secondary school programmes, the Escalator programmes, help bring together education at all levels and engage hundreds of young people each year. At Sixth Form and Higher Education, we directly enable over 15,000 students across the region to access the courses and connections they need to give them unparalleled regional, national and global opportunities.

Operational Structure

Since establishing the Trust, WSC and the Trust have operated with a common CEO, CFO and Clerk. This has progressed in the fullness of time, leading to an ever more efficient and agile Group. Group leads and their specialist teams now oversee central infrastructure functions, and teaching and learning staff across the Group regularly work together to share and implement the latest evidence-based practice to improve teaching and standards for all. We now operate as one Group institution with multiple sites.

The Corporation recognises the value of the Group and in July 2022 noted “the coincidence of interest (public benefit) between the College and Suffolk Academies Trust” and “the substantive benefit of working in collaboration to achieve our common charitable object – the advancement of education for the public benefit”.

Governance Structure

The governance structures of WSC’s Board (Corporation) and the Trust’s Board and have been closely aligned to maximise our impact to the Trust as its sponsor and to best support our strategic alliance.

The Corporation and Trust Board have a similar governance structure and operate with common Chairs and Vice Chairs across the Boards and some Committees, and the consider common agendas and KPIs. The Corporation and Trust Board also operate several joint Committees populated by members from both the Corporation and Trust’s governance, and with a Group-wide remit: the Educational Excellence Committee and Resources Committee (as of November 2023) and the Nominations and Governance Committee and Remuneration Committee (as of March 2024). The joint Committees are advisory to the legally distinct Corporation and Trust Board.

The Corporation operates using the following governance structure:

Terms of Reference

• Audit and Risk Management Committee
• Educational Excellence Committee
• Finance Committee
• HE Educational Excellence Committee
• Nominations and Governance Committee
• Remuneration Committee
• Resources Committee

Whilst the Corporation has ultimate responsibility for all governance matters, in accordance with its Instrument and Articles of Government it may delegate certain responsibilities. Detailed information on how the Corporation delegates its responsibilities; the roles of Governors and Committee members, Executive and the terms of reference of the Corporation and its Committees can be found in the Corporation’s Standing Orders and Scheme of Delegation.

In addition to Governors and Committee members, the Corporation also has Governor Leads (responsible for oversight of a key statutory responsibility such as Safeguarding) and Governance Links (responsible for oversight of an area of operation across the College).

Governance Meetings

The Corporation’s schedule of meetings can be found here. The Corporation determines the membership of each Committee, based on the skillset required by the Committee and the skillsets held by the individual. Meetings are run as hybrid meetings (i.e. with the option for virtual or physical attendance). Papers are circulated in advance (7 days prior for Corporation and Committee meetings) by the Clerk. Papers and minutes are stored and available on GovernorHub.

Twice a year (in January and May), everyone involved in governance at both WSC and the Trust come together (physically) to discuss the strategy of the respective institutions and for the Group overall. In preparation for this annual Strategic Conference, WSC and the Trust hold monthly virtual Briefing Strategy Seminars which discuss strategic issues affecting our sector, region, and/or community.

In addition to governance and strategy meetings, everyone involved in governance is expected to participate in induction meetings (when new in post) and training sessions (throughout their term of office) to keep up to date with the latest information, guidance and best practice.

Committee Skillsets

• Role Description and Person Specification for Committee Member
• Audit & Risk Management Committee - Committee Skillset
• Educational Excellence Committee - Committee Skillset
• HE Educational Excellence Committee - Committee Skillset
• Nominations and Governance Committee - Committee Skillset
• Finance Committee - Committee Skillset
• Resources Committee - Committee Skillset

Key Policies

• Appointment and Terms of Office Policy
• Code of Conduct
• Financial Regulations
• Scheme of Delegation
• Standing Orders

Role Descriptors

• Chair of the Corporation
• Vice Chair(s) of the Corporation
• Governor
• Staff Governor
• Role Description and Person Specification for Committee Member
• FE Student Governor

Key Information      

Useful Links

1. Glossary - National Governance Association (nga.org.uk)
2. How to guide - GovernorHub (governorhub.com)