Pressure mounts for answers over Warwickshire College principal Mariane Cavalli’s departure

A Midland college is under growing pressure to go public over the departure of its former principal after she unexpectedly stepped down temporarily before it was announced this week that she would not be returning.

The University and College Union (UCU) wants the severance package being offered to Warwickshire College’s Mariane Cavalli, who officially leaves post at the end of next month, revealed along with details about what’s behind her departure.

Her temporary leave of absence was announced “with immediate effect” at the end of June and she was replaced on an interim basis by governors’ chair Sue Georgious. The college announced on Monday that Ms Cavalli would not be returning, but refused to comment further, citing legal reasons.

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Andrew Harden

Andrew Harden (left), UCU head of FE, said: “It is disappointing the college is refusing to give any reasons why Ms Cavalli is leaving the college, or details of a severance package funded by public money.”

The college declined to reveal Ms Cavalli’s severance package and would not comment on why she was leaving.

Ms Cavalli was one of the five founding college principals of the Gazelle Colleges Group and each has dished out more than £530,000 to the organisation, according to figures obtained from Freedom of Information Act.

More than 20 current and former member colleges were asked by FE Week what they had spent on the organisation, which was launched in January 2012 with standard annual membership priced at £35,000.

Gazelle, which raked in around £3.5m from colleges, claims to, “develop innovative new learning models and new partnerships with business to deliver an improved outcome for students, their communities and the economy”.

Its chief executive, Fintan Donohue, said the “enrichment of student experiences and outcomes” was its “overriding goal,” but no independent research has been carried out into whether learners benefit. However, the UCU has called for publication of a report by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) which Gazelle claimed was “supportive” of its leadership development programme. Both the ETF and Gazelle have so far declined to go public with the report.

Nevertheless, Warwickshire College praised Ms Cavelli’s record on Gazelle and also pointed at the ties she had developed with China.

“Under Ms Cavelli’s leadership, Warwickshire College became one of five founder colleges of the Gazelle Colleges Group, a growing group of leading colleges from across the country, committed to developing an entrepreneurial mindset in their students. From just five the Group has now grown to 23 UK Colleges and continues to works with leading entrepreneurs from across the world,” said a college spokesperson.

“Her leadership also saw Warwickshire College launch the first UK FE college in China. The China-UK National Skills College was officially unveiled in 2012, cementing a joint venture between two leading vocational colleges from both countries and a Chinese Education Investment Company.”

However, the UCU remained critical.

“A successful college is one rooted in the heart of its local community,” said Mr Harden. “Ms Cavalli may leave with the warm words from people she met on taxpayer-funded trips to China ringing in her ears, but staff facing redundancy will probably view her tenure as less triumphant.”

He added: “We are not convinced that being a founder of the Gazelle Group is a particularly proud boast. A lot of money has gone to the Gazelle Group, but it seems to have just gone towards a promise of ‘student outcome enrichment’ and ‘educational concepts’, which have yet to demonstrate much in the real world.”

A college spokesperson told FE WEEK: “Regarding severance pay and any international visits, we are unable to comment or provide any further details at this time, however, the college’s annual report and financial statement for 2013/2014 will be made public in December.”

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6 Comments

  1. Paul Smithers

    1. Will Mz Cavalli be getting the statutory minimum payout on offer to those made redundant at Warwickshire College? or will there be an element of enhancement included in order to ensure an orderly transition to the status quo anti.

    2. Will there be any form of residual fee(s) for her expertise at running the college for the past four years

    3. Will the same expeditious approach be taken by the surviving college management in their negotiations with UCU and other unions over redundancy?

    4. Am I mistaken, but does this mean that the five original founding principals of Gazelles Group are no longer with their founding colleges?

    5. Gazelle claims the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) was “supportive” of its leadership development programme,out of curiosity, what does the National College for Teaching and Leadership say?

    6. Who are these ‘leading entrepreneurs’ from around the world; do they have to pass an exam, or do they get awarded Oscars after being nominated by someone?

  2. Irritated and bemused

    It’s all very well people brandishing Mariane Cavalli as some kind of villain (I guess she should be fortunate that she hasn’t been compared with the Home Secretary) BUT have any of you …. yes you: knife wielding, spineless staff members of Warwickshire College … have ANY of you even thought to ask what part members of the Governing Body have to do in all of this?

    With the departure of Ms. Cavalli surely there now needs to be an inquiry into the governance of the College (Dr Collins, come out – wherever you are – earn your keep!).

    I would love to know what salary the self-annointed Savour / Interim Principal / Former Chair of Corporation / “someone who must have signed off decisions” is being paid.

    It seems to me that Ms. Cavalli may rattled too many cages at the College – what a pity she didn’t smack a few people over the head with them!

    • Paul Smithers

      Dear irritated and bemused,

      Who are you?

      If you wish to cast aspersions, then at least stand up for you beliefs.

      I don’t know if Mz Cavalli is a villain or not, but I do know that under her leadership, good teachers had their lesson observations graded as ‘needs improvement’ for lack of demonstration of ‘commercial nous’.

      If you understand what this means, please let me know; and please let the college staff know so that we can develop as teachers and better implement ‘T’ shaped learning.

      Whilst you are giving a master class in the delivery of teaching and learning, perhaps you can explain the difference between a management appointed ATP and a management appointed intraprenurial adviser.

      Finally I would be grateful if you could direct my attention to the research papers and educational consensus that stipulates that the way forward for ‘students’ is to improve their educational experience by teaching them how to emulate Del-boy Trotter, surly as accurate a model of enterprenurialism as anything from American post graduate private educational establishiments.

      • Irritated and bemused

        Oh I see! Talk, chalk and the smell of the Banda fluid for those inspirational work-sheets. Heaven forbid curriculum innovation that prepares learners for the 21st Century!

        A simple t’internet Google search (is that too racey, Massuh Smithers) would reveal that the concept of the T-shaped learning refers to individuals with both depth and breadth of knowledge. It reflects a deep expertise in a single area, usually technical, complemented with a broad working knowledge of multiple areas of inquiry, establishing a professional as capable of interacting with various facets of an organisation.

        • Paul Smithers

          Dear Irritated and Bemused,

          You still have not explained commercial nous or the difference between an ATP and an Intraprenurial Adviser.

          I have heard of nothing new under the banner of T shaped learning except for the expression of ‘commercial nous’.

          I prefer to think for myself, not to be told what to think and how to implement it. My students want to learn what they need to learn in order to progress, (as they and their employers define the term) These people are all adult tax paying citizens, and deserve the right to be consulted before being made the subject of an educational experiment.

          So much for ideals of Democracy.

          You mention the word ‘professional’,and ‘interacting with various facets of an organisation’,what does it mean? This is the sort of language that gets inflicted on teachers when their exponents have gone on inspirational courses delivered at private, post graduate colleges, on a Saturday morning by an Evangelical Baptist Minister (as a very brief Google search will demonstrate, “Babson” + “Entrepreneur” should get you started)

          I work in a college stuffed to the gills with PhD’s, MA’s, multiple BA’s and B Sc’s and yet none, other than senior leadership staff, were qualified to attend these courses.

          It might be a suitable philosophy for those who have ‘learned to learn’ it is not very helpful with adults who are trying to get a recognised qualification in order to get a job.

          Employers want staff to carry out a specific role – they do not appreciate unauthorised staffs acting in a managerial role (no matter how well they understand it), any more than airlines appreciate their maintenance staff carrying out repair and modification activities without prior authorisation.

          Why, if these principles were to be applied to teachers, they might actually understand how colleges are run and have some knowledge of such esoteric subjects as teaching, learning, mentoring, leadership and even budgeting. This might lead (perish the thought) to teachers forming their own opinions about their profession and then they might demand the right to determine how to teach their students and what strategies are suitable for their particular cohorts.

          This might then require the establishment of a cadre of Advanced Teaching Practitioners (lets call then ATP’s) whose position is achieved through the acclamation by their fellow professionals, not by managerial appointment.

          We could of course nip this process in the bud by insisting that all teachers have nationally recognised qualifications – which will of course have modules on T shaped learning and commercial nous.

          Or perhaps OFSTED might take an interest, and award all colleges who show no inclination to embrace this initiative a grade 3 at their next inspection.

          Curriculum innovation is in the eye of the beholder, nothing other than commercial nous was new in the concept of T shaped learning. I have had my teaching practice observed twice under this new learning innovation by a colleague, who, last year was an ATP. I did less to prepare for them than under the previous regime, I was graded as 2.

          As for deep expertise in a single area what does this mean? Am I dealing with a level 1 Exhaust Pipe Fitter? or a level 6 Functional Skills Teacher?

          Finally – if you wish to make chippy remarks about some assumed anti-bellum attitudes on my part, at least back it up with worked examples of actual reactionary attitudes expressed through these blogs.

          After all, my Great Great Granddaddy did actually fight for the Union cause in the American Civil War (1861 – 1865) his name was Thomas Morley, you can read his war record on the internet, I found Google very useful for this.

          We do not have to agree with each other, but we can I hope, refrain from name calling.

          What is Banda Fluid?

          Regards

          Paul Smithers

          Cert Ed(FAHE), BA(FAHE), Pg Cert(Management & Leadership), Pg Cert (Mentoring), Pg Dip (Education)

  3. Richard Le Corney

    Could you let me know why the following comment I submitted on 6 August has not been included on this page? After “awaiting moderation”, it disappeared completely from my view of the page and has not returned. Please reply to my email address.

    I have just received emails informing me of changes to the directors of Gazelle Global and Gazelle Foundation.
    Mariane Cavalli resigned her directorships of both organisations on 30 July. Sue Georgious, although only supposedly an interim stand-in while Warwickshire College’s governors get their act together, replaced her as a director of Gazelle Foundation (but not Gazelle Global) on the same date.
    Interestingly, Gazelle Global, the company in which each of the five founding Gazelle colleges “invested” £600,000, is now down to 2 directors and a Company Secretary and has a net worth of MINUS £19,347. Gazelle Foundation has 10 directors, no Company Secretary and does not have to file accounts until 04/03/2015. Gazelle Transform has 3 directors, no Company Secretary and does not have to file accounts until 17/04/2015. Fintan Donohue, Gazelle’s chief executive, is a director of Gazelle Foundation and Gazelle Transform, but resigned as a director of Gazelle Global on 1st February 2013.
    Curiouser and curiouser!
    http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07717822/GAZELLE-GLOBAL-LIMITED/directors-secretaries#people-summary
    http://companycheck.co.uk/company/08556045/THE-GAZELLE-FOUNDATION/directors-secretaries#people-summary
    http://companycheck.co.uk/company/08613830/GAZELLE-TRANSFORM-LIMITED/directors-secretaries#people-summary