Governors

The purpose of the Governance section is to provide you with background information on the body responsible for College governance (the Corporation), explain the roles and responsibilities of the governors and provide access to publicly available documents.

A Guide to the Governing Body

Sixth-form College Corporations (Governing Bodies) have the legal status of statutory corporations and exempt charities. A College is a charitable activity undertaken by its Corporation.

The composition of the Corporation is laid down by the College’s Instrument & Articles of Government. This is a legal document under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and establishes the Governing Body as a legal entity and defines what the Governing Body and the College may do.

The Governing Body (Corporation) has a total of 19 members, each of whom bring their own specific expertise, skills and experience to the role. All Governors give their time voluntarily and have always shown a high level of commitment to both the College itself and its mission.

The Governing Body comprises:

11 Foundation Governors, who are appointed by the Diocese of Leeds
2 Co-opted members selected because of their special expertise or standing in the community or links to the College
2 elected Staff Governor
1 elected Parent Governor
2 elected Student Governors
The Principal

The Chair is David Wright.
The Clerk to Corporation is Susan Francis.

The Responsibilities of the Governing Body

The key responsibilities of the Governing Body are:

To set and communicate the College’s educational mission, vision and quality improvement strategy
To hold executive leaders to account for the educational performance and quality of the college and the performance of staff
To exercise effective control to ensure that funds and assets are used efficiently, and legal obligations are met
To oversee the appointment, grading, suspension, dismissal and the determination of the pay and conditions of the Principal, Vice Principal, Finance Director and the Clerk
To set a framework for the pay and conditions of service for all staff
To contribute to the leadership of the College in ways which promote the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and raise student achievement. In addition, governors also commit to follow the Nolan 7 principles of public life, which are the ethical standards expected of people in public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

The Roles of Committees

The Governing Body meets at least four times per year. In addition, the following committees undertake detailed work on behalf of the Full Corporation:

Audit: has legal powers to investigate all aspects of the internal control and financial systems of the College and employs a firm of auditors.
Finance and Physical Resources: oversees the budget, monitors the duties of the Corporation as the employer and manages the resources and the estate.
Curriculum and Standards: to support the Board in fulfilling statutory duties relating to curriculum, standards and safeguarding, understanding relevant data, provide a framework for effective self-evaluation, monitoring and evaluation.
Human Resources/Search and Governance: the purpose of the Committee is to receive and consider annual reports from the Principal on Human Resources advise the Corporation on the appointment of its members, to advise on the induction, development and training of the Corporation Members, and to provide an oversight to Corporation governance arrangements.

Vacancies

The Board of Governors at the College is seeking Independent Members to join the Board. The right candidates would be motivated, committed and dynamic with the ability and background to help shape the educational character, strategic direction and mission of the College.

The Board of Governors includes people drawn from a range of backgrounds and experiences reflecting the local community. The Board is looking for people able to offer strategic skills and a range of complementary experiences drawn from a business, professional, educational or voluntary sector background.

The role of College Governor is a voluntary position and involves a commitment to attend approximately 4 Corporation meetings per academic year. Governors are encouraged to join at least one of the Board’s committees.

If you are interested in taking up the opportunity to assist in the governance of the College and would like more information, please contact the Clerk to the Corporation at s.francis@notredamecoll.ac.uk.

Committee Membership

The Corporation conducts its business through a number of Committees. Each Committee has Terms of Reference which have been approved by the Corporation. These Committees are: Finance and Physical Resources, Human Resources (including Remuneration), Audit, Curriculum and Standards and Search. The Chair of the Corporation is Mr. David Wright and Vice Chair is Mr John Barnes. The Clerk to the Corporation is Susan Francis.

Audit Committee