MORLEY COLLEGE LONDON

External Governor Recruitment

September 2017

Introduction

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Thank you for your interest in becoming a Governor of Morley College London. We are a unique educational institution with a history stretching back almost 130 years, and this is an exciting opportunity for you to offer your skills and expertise to help shape the futures of adult learners in Lambeth, Southwark, and beyond. We are currently seeking to recruit new Governors with the following skill sets and backgrounds: • at least one Governor with expertise in finance, accounting and audit, preferably

with a CCAB accountancy qualification • one or two Governors with professional experience of estates management and/or

fundraising and/or marketing • one or two Governors with a close knowledge of the local community in Lambeth

and Southwark that the College has always served and where almost half of our students live.

Expressions of interest from black, Asian or minority ethnicity applicants will be particularly welcome.

Student Testimonial: Melanie Devine – City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Professional Reflexology

“My tutor made studying here special because her enthusiasm and her love for the subject filtered down to all of us. Morley is a warm, friendly college where everyone is treated as an individual, and there’s a lovely energy about it. It’s very diverse and I think that’s very important. You’re made to feel that you’re valued.”

Why become a Governor?

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Becoming a Governor of Morley College London offers a fantastic opportunity for you to

use your knowledge and experience to help an extraordinarily diverse range of students. At

Morley, these include adults looking to reskill so they can change careers or return to work;

mature students with few traditional qualifications who now want to improve their prospects

in work or education; international students who wish to improve their English language

abilities for work, study, or everyday life; school leavers who want to build professional

skills and get qualified, but are concerned about the time and financial commitments of

going to university; and many others who find opportunities for personal development and

enrichment through the study programmes that we offer in Arts, Culture and Applied

Sciences.

As a Governor, you’ll work with our Senior Management Team to set the strategy for the

College, ensuring that we continue to meet the needs of both current and future learners.

You will keep a close eye on how well we are doing this, ensuring that we continue to

provide both the local community and “communities of practice” across the country with the

skills that they need. Your background and experience will be key assets in helping us

develop as an institution in line with our guiding principles, so you can help make a real

difference in the areas you feel most passionate about.

The role of Governor is voluntary and unpaid (although we do reimburse Governors for any

expenses); it is nevertheless highly respected, as well as personally rewarding. You will

have the opportunity to develop new skills, whether in board-level leadership or team

working or simply in the application of your existing knowledge and experience in a new

environment. All these skills are highly valued, and many people find that the experience of

working as a Governor provides a boost to their own career development.

About the College

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The origins of Morley College London date back to the early 1880s, when philanthropist

Emma Cons took over the Royal Victoria Hall – now known as The Old Vic – and

revitalised it to provide inexpensive entertainment for the local community. This included

opera recitals and music hall performances, but a particularly popular initiative was a series

of regular lectures from eminent scientists, which were noteworthy for being accessible for

the cost of just a penny. The popularity of these “Penny Lectures” was a key factor that

helped secure additional philanthropic funding, including a generous endowment from MP

Samuel Morley, and led to the establishment of the Morley Memorial College for Working

Men and Women in 1889. Intended to offer educational opportunities to the impoverished

working class of Lambeth and Waterloo, the newly established institution was the first of its

kind in England to admit men and women on an equal footing.

The College continued to grow and in 1924 it relocated to Westminster Bridge Road, where

operations continued from an adapted 18th century building. Although the original building

was destroyed during the Blitz, the site was subsequently redeveloped and the new,

redesigned building was opened in 1958; it remains the College’s main building to this day.

In 1969 the Morley Gallery was opened, providing a unique exhibition space for the

College’s art and design students, as well as a number of printmaking and painting studios.

Morley also operates from a number of external sites, including Pelham Hall in Waterloo,

the Lewington Centre in Rotherhithe, and most recently the Stockwell Centre in Stockwell.

“Morley is all about the joy of learning and the positive impact

successful learning has in bringing out personal potential, restoring

self-belief and creating new opportunity. The Morley staff team are

specialists in adult education, with considerable subject expertise in the

Arts, Culture and Applied Sciences.”

Dr Andrew Gower, Principal

About the College

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Emma Cons’ philanthropic vision remains a guiding principle in everything the College

does to this day, as we continue to evolve in response to the needs of our students. We

are an energetic and ambitious learning community which embraces the challenges of the

rapid changes in society and the impact of technology and new pedagogies on adult

learning. We recognise the need to incorporate constant external change into our thinking

while keeping true to our mission and values. This year we have launched a range of new

Higher Education programmes; we are extending and modernising our main centre of

operations; and we have ambitious plans for the future development of the curriculum we

offer and how it is delivered.

The range and diversity of the courses that we offer has been widely recognised as

outstanding, a judgement confirmed by Ofsted at the College’s last full inspection. A short

inspection in April 2016 noted the progress that we were making on our journey to

becoming ‘outstanding’ overall, while confirming our status as a ‘good’ college in all

respects.

Over the years, the College has attracted tutors with high levels of professional expertise

as well as outstanding reputations in their fields. Gustav Holst was the first Director of

Music; Michael Tippett was one of his successors. Ralph Vaughan Williams, Virginia Woolf,

Bridget Riley and Margaret Drabble are among the musicians, writers and artists who have

taught at Morley, while Maggi Hambling continues to offer a weekly masterclass in painting

and drawing. She is only one of many expert practitioners who continue to share their

practical experience, as well as their teaching skills, with today’s students.

About half of the College’s income comes in the form of a grant from the government’s

Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), with the remainder earned through the

provision of education services to local authorities and others and through tuition fees

charged to students. Although Morley has, like all other schools and colleges, been

affected by public expenditure constraints, it is currently recognised by the ESFA as being

in outstanding financial health. The College recorded a small surplus on continuing

operations in 2015-16 and expects to record a slightly larger surplus in 2016-17. The Board

has set a break-even budget for 2017-18 and expects, with prudent management and in

the absence of any significant unexpected changes in the external environment, to return

to surplus in 2018-19. The Annual Report for 2015-16 is available on the College website

here.

About the College

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Partnerships play a vital part in enabling us to reach out to and support the local

communities and communities of professional practice that we serve. Our current partners

include:

educational institutions including universities and London-based Institutes for Adult

Learning

local employers and businesses, through the London and London Southside

Chambers of Commerce, the South Bank Partnership, the Waterloo Employers’

Forum and Business Improvement District and the South Bank Employers’ Group

local authorities and community groups

(through our four curriculum schools) institutions and groups active in or

representing different aspects of the arts, humanities and applied sciences.

Visitors to Morley often comment on the spirit of the students and staff in a range of

activities including: the moving Access to HE awards ceremony held in July every year,

celebrating the achievements of students who have often overcome considerable

difficulties in reaching their goals; the stirring pulse of the Morley Jazz Orchestra; the

lunchtime concerts that staff and students pop in to enjoy; the exhibitions in the Gallery;

and the lively student forums, including the Disability Forum where students with a wide

range of disabilities communicate their views and ideas about how to improve the College.

These activities, and many more, typify the essence of Morley College London – inclusive,

democratic, supportive and striving for the highest standards – and this is the environment

that Governors seek to sustain.

Student Testimonial: Thomas Shear – Access to Science and

Engineering

"I discovered Morley when I searched online for local colleges that

offered maths- and science-related Access courses, and I decided to

study here because of the high student satisfaction ratings. The

feedback we got on our assignments was great – we knew what we

had done well or not so well, and how we could take that feedback

forward so we could do better next time and achieve a distinction."

The future

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In March 2016, the College launched its Strategic Plan 2016-20. The Plan builds on

Morley’s past achievements and sets three new strategic goals, as set out below:

A full version of the Strategic Plan can be found on the College website here.

The Strategic Plan is underpinned by a suite of strategies covering curriculum, finance,

human resources, IT, property, and marketing and communications, and by a partnerships

protocol.

The Curriculum Strategy sets out how we intend to build on Morley’s strengths in its

specialist subject areas to create a curriculum offer that is attractive to those who wish to

study, whether for personal development and wellbeing, for academic progression, or for

career advancement, at any level from entry level to degree level. A key objective is to

establish a portfolio of Higher Education programmes, beginning in September 2017 with

Higher National Diploma (HND) courses in Fashion, Ceramics, Business, Health and

Social Care, Music, and Performing Arts. At the same time, we are offering a wider range

of Essential Skills courses, including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL),

English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Maths, IT, and employability skills.

Our Property Strategy focuses on the steps that are necessary to meet additional demand

and to improve the student experience by renewing and remodelling our existing buildings

and creating new learning hubs elsewhere. A Masterplan has been agreed, which can be

implemented in phases as funds become available. Phase one, which involves the creation

of a new entrance, reception area and radio studio in our main building, is currently in

hand, and we have bid for additional funding from the London Economic Action Partnership

for an extension of this phase to include improvements to the existing Gallery and Art

Block.

Our range of courses

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A wide range of courses is offered by the College’s four schools:

Music and Performing Arts

Visual and Digital Arts

Humanities and Applied Sciences

Community Learning and Engagement.

The College's ambitious Curriculum Strategy 2016-20 is designed to enable diversification

of the curriculum within each of the four schools to ensure that there are pathways of study

at each level and through to Higher Education. The majority of the courses currently on

offer are unaccredited, covering the following subject areas at different levels from entry

level to advanced:

Visual & Digital Arts: an impressive range of courses in disciplines such as Painting &

Drawing, Bookbinding, Ceramics, Fashion, Glass, Jewellery, Photography,

Printmaking, Textiles, Sculpture, Digital & Web Design and Film, Video & Animation.

Dance: a varied programme of traditional genres such as Ballet, social dances such as

Ballroom and Latin, and world dances such as Flamenco and Kathak, for everyone

from absolute beginners through to those with more advanced skills.

Theatre & Performance: including courses in Acting, Performance Skills, Making

Theatre and Communication & Personal Development.

Fashion: covering Design & Styling, Pattern Cutting, Costume & Dancewear and

Garment Construction.

Health: opportunities to study a variety of Complementary Therapies, as well as

Movement Sciences such as Yoga and Pilates.

Humanities: a wide spectrum of courses in traditional Humanities subjects such as

History, Philosophy, and Creative Writing, alongside Social Sciences and a range of

short courses designed to help students develop work and life skills.

Languages: courses at different levels in most major European languages, including

Scandinavian languages, as well as in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Turkish.

Music: a key element of Morley’s distinguished history, with courses including Music

Technology, Instrumental Studies, Vocal Studies, and Music Theory, with opportunities

to join a wide range of ensembles and choirs.

Essential Skills: a wide range of provision at all levels from entry level 1 to full level 2 in

English, Maths, ICT, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

As well as the HND courses outlined in the previous section, we also offer intensive Access

to Higher Education courses for students considering progression to university in Business

Studies, Creative Digital Media, Fashion, Health & Human Sciences, Humanities,

Midwifery, Nursing, Science & Biomedical Sciences, Science & Engineering, and Social

Science.

Governance

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Morley College London is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The

Governors are at the same time:

members of the company;

directors of the company; and

trustees of the charity.

The powers of the Governors are set out in the College’s Articles of Association. The

principal powers can be summarised as:

determining the corporate strategy, educational character and mission of the College

overseeing the College’s activities

appointing and supervising the Principal and other senior staff

ensuring that resources are used effectively and efficiently.

The Governing Body thus has ultimate responsibility for the College. It determines the

strategic direction and sets the policy framework within which College leaders manage

from day to day; it holds College staff to account, through the Principal, for delivering the

outcomes required; and it seeks to ensure that the College is fully accountable to the

communities that it serves. The Principal is accountable to the Governing Body for the

management of the College and for implementing the strategy.

The Articles provide for the appointment of up to 24 Governors (including co-opted

Governors). The current membership is 17. Names and brief biographical details of the

current Governors are available on the College website here.

Governance

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The Governing Body has adopted the Code of Good Governance for English Colleges,

which defines the ten principal responsibilities of good governance as being to:

1. Formulate and agree the mission and strategy including defining the ethos of the

College.

2. Be collectively accountable for the business of the College, taking all decisions on all

matters within their duties and responsibilities.

3. Ensure there are effective underpinning policies and systems, which facilitate the

student voice.

4. Foster exceptional teaching and learning.

5. Ensure that the College is responsive to workforce trends by adopting a range of

strategies for engaging with employers and other stakeholders.

6. Adopt financial strategy and funding plans which are compatible with the duty to

ensure sustainability and solvency of the College.

7. Ensure that effective control and due diligence takes place in relation to all matters

including acquisitions, subcontracting and partnership activity.

8. Meet and aim to exceed its statutory responsibilities for equality and diversity.

9. Ensure that there are organised and clear governance and management structures,

with well-understood delegations.

10. Regularly review governance performance and effectiveness.

Governance

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To discharge these responsibilities, the full Governing Body (sometimes called the Board)

normally meets four times a year. Much of the work of scrutinising proposals, monitoring

performance, and generally providing an appropriate combination of support and challenge

to the Principal and his Senior Management Team, is delegated to committees as follows:

Name of Committee

No of members

Meetings per year

Focus

Audit 4 3 Scrutiny of risk management arrangements

Board assurance programme

Appointing auditors

Finance, Resources and Fundraising

7 4 Budgeting

Financial Management

People Management (including pay framework for staff not covered by Remuneration Committee)

Property Management

Quality and Standards

8 3 Curriculum

Quality

Academic Performance

Student engagement and student voice

Remuneration 4 1 Pay and conditions of service of Principal and other senior staff

Search and Governance

7 3 Governance arrangements

Reviewing capability and effectiveness of governing body

Governor recruitment, training, development and appraisal

A schedule of board and committee meetings for 2017-18 is attached as Appendix 1.

A few individual Governors also have responsibilities for monitoring and championing at

board level particular aspects of the College’s work:

equality and diversity

safeguarding

health and safety.

The College encourages all its Governors to participate fully in training and development

activities to gain an understanding of how the College works and the environment in which

it operates. As well as arranging in-house training and development sessions, and

encouraging governors to attend training and development events run by the Association of

Colleges, the Education and Training Foundation and others, the College runs a Governor

Engagement Programme which enables each Governor to see the College at work and to

engage with staff and students.

Role description and criteria for appointment

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PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

1. As a member of the Governing Body of Morley College London (the ‘Governing Body’),

to play a full part in College governance, including:

setting the strategic direction of the College, evaluating progress and making

adjustments as required

assigning roles and responsibilities

establishing and modelling the College’s values and ethos

ensuring that appropriate systems are in place to achieve the College’s strategic

aims and manage the concomitant risks

developing leadership

ensuring that the College fulfills its charitable objectives and that it and its staff meet

the expectations of those to whom we are accountable, including learners,

employers, local communities and communities of practice.

2. On request, to provide independent but non-professional advice to the Principal and

Senior Management Team on any issues affecting the governance or management of

the College.

3. To act as an ambassador for the College in the wider community.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES

1. Preparing for, attending and participating in full meetings of the Governing Body

(“board meetings”). There are currently four board meetings a year, each lasting

between two and three hours, in addition to two half-day strategy development

sessions.

2. Undertaking professional development as required. Hour-long in-house board

development seminars (including updates on important developments affecting the

College) are normally arranged to precede board meetings. Governors also have

access to training and other events run by the Association of Colleges (AoC) and the

Education and Training Foundation (ETF). Induction training is provided for all new

Governors.

3. Participating in the Governor Engagement Programme, learning about the work of the

College’s teaching and professional services staff, and meeting relevant staff and

students, to gain an understanding of how the College works and of the sort of

operational issues that staff and students face from day to day. Each Governor

prepares a short report after each visit, summarising the main issues discussed.

4. Attending at least some of the public and private events at which important

stakeholders are present.

Role description and criteria for appointment

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5. Serving on one or more of the College’s standing committees, each of which meets

three or four times a year. There are currently five standing committees:

Audit

Finance, Resources and Fundraising

Quality and Standards

Remuneration

Search and Governance.

6. From time to time a Governor may also be asked to contribute his or her expertise to a

task-and-finish group established by the Governing Body or by College management or

to serve in a non-executive capacity on a standing College committee or on the Student

Council. Governors may also be asked to participate in senior staff appointments or the

letting of major contracts.

We estimate that the time commitment required of each external Governor is a minimum of

10 to 15 hours a month. This includes an allowance of one hour’s preparation time for each

hour that the Governor is expected to spend in a Board or committee meeting, but does not

include the time spent travelling to and from meetings or events.

CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT

Essential criteria

1. Not disqualified from becoming a charity trustee or company director

2. Normally able to attend at least 80 per cent of board and committee meetings, to participate in other College events and to undertake professional development as required.

3. Passionate about education and the difference that it can make to individuals and communities

4. An effective communicator, able to support, encourage, challenge and persuade colleagues and stakeholders

5. Able to analyse and understand complex problems from a variety of different points of view

6. Comfortable with the routine use of ICT – able to receive and send emails, download information from websites and from the College’s Intranet, complete forms online and create or modify simple Word (or similar) documents

7. Committed to Morley College London’s vision and values

Desirable criteria

1. Keenly interested in one or more of the College’s significant areas of activity.

2. Familiar with one or more of the communities (local communities or communities of practice) that the College seeks to serve.

Role description and criteria for appointment

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OTHER INFORMATION

An appointment as a Governor of Morley College London is a public appointment. All

Governors are required to abide by the Governing Body’s Code of Conduct, which is based

on the seven principles of public life (the ‘Nolan’ principles): selflessness, integrity,

objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

All Governors, including Staff and Student Governors, work on a voluntary, unpaid basis.

The College meets reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (such as travel expenses) incurred

by Governors in the performance of their duties.

Each Governor is appointed for a term of up to four years (Student Governors – up to two

years). In the case of an external Governor (a Governor who is neither a Staff Governor

nor a Student Governor), this term may be extended for a further period or periods by

mutual agreement, subject to an overall limit of eight years’ service. This limit may be

breached where a Governor holds the office of Chair or Vice-Chair at the end of his or her

eighth year of service and is invited to continue for up to four years further while that office

is held.

When considering whether to appoint a new external Governor or to extend the

appointment of an existing external Governor, the Governing Body will have regard not

only to the skills and knowledge of each individual candidate but also to the balance of

skills and knowledge available to the Governing Body as a whole, including the extent to

which the Governing Body has access to the views of different stakeholder groups.

Each Governor is required to make an annual declaration of eligibility and to declare any

interests that might be seen as potentially influencing his or her behaviour as a Governor.

The performance and effectiveness of each Governor is assessed on an ongoing basis by

the Chair of Governors and the Clerk, who undertake an individual development interview

with each Governor as part of the Governing Body’s cyclical programme of governance

review.

If you have any questions about this role, please contact:

Martin McNeill

Clerk to the Governing Body and Company Secretary

martin.mcneill@morleycollege.ac.uk

Tel. 020 7450 1848

Role description and criteria for appointment

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If you would like to be considered for appointment as a governor of Morley College London,

please send your application to the Clerk to the Governing Body at the address given

above not later than 12.00 noon on 16 October 2017.

Applications should comprise:

an up-to-date cv

a supporting statement demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the

requirements set out in the job description and person specification

contact details (email and telephone) for two referees.

Morley College London is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from

suitably qualified people from all sections of the community regardless of race, religion,

gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or other protected characteristic.

Student Testimonial: Maybelle Laye – Access to Fashion

"Every aspect of the course was really interesting and thought-

provoking for me. The tutors really pushed us and put a huge amount

of effort and care into each and every one of us. I haven’t studied

anywhere like this before and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been a great

experience for me, and now I'm going to take RADA's Postgraduate

Diploma in Theatre Costume, which is really exciting!

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Appendix 1

GOVERNORS’ MEETINGS 2017-18

Monday, 2 October 2017 Search and Governance Committee 3.00pm – 5.00pm

Monday, 16 October 2017 Board Development

Board

4.30pm – 5.30pm

5.30pm – 8.00pm

Monday, 6 November 2017 Remuneration Committee 4.00 pm – 5.30 pm

Monday, 20 November 2017

Quality and Standards Committee 4.00pm – 6.30pm

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

Finance, Resources and Fundraising Committee

10.45am – 12.45pm

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

Audit Committee 10.30am – 12.30pm

Monday, 11 December 2017

Board Development

Board

4.30pm – 5.00pm

5.00pm – 7.15pm

Monday, 22 January 2018 Search and Governance Committee 3.00pm – 5.00pm

Monday, 5 February 2018 Board Strategy Development 1.00pm – 6.00pm

Tuesday, 27 February 2018 Finance, Resources and Fundraising Committee

10.45am – 12.45pm

Monday, 5 March 2018 Quality and Standards Committee 4.00pm – 6.30pm

Tuesday, 13 March 2018 Audit Committee 10.30am – 12.30pm

Monday, 26 March 2018 Board Development

Board

4.30pm – 5.30pm

5.30pm – 8.00pm

Tuesday, 1 May 2018 Finance, Resources and Fundraising Committee

10.45am – 12.45pm

Monday, 14 May 2018 Search and Governance Committee 3.00pm – 5.00pm

Monday, 21 May 2018 Board Strategy Development 1.00pm – 6.00pm

Monday, 11 June 2018 Quality and Standards Committee 4.00pm – 6.30pm

Tuesday, 19 June 2018 Audit Committee 10.30am – 12.30pm

Tuesday, 26 June 2018 Finance, Resources and Fundraising Committee

10.45am – 12.45pm

Monday, 16 July 2018 Board Development

Board

4.30pm – 5.30pm

5.30pm – 8.00pm