The prospect of making the leap into leadership without any guidance can be daunting for senior staff.

“I’d been challenged by my then chief executive, who said “Do you want to be a principal or not?’” says Esme Winch.

“And having decided I did, I thought the LSIS senior leadership and management development course would be a good way to take that forward.”

So she enrolled last year – and has since been appointed principal of Loughborough College.

The LSIS course, a series of short residential modules over nine months with follow–up work, aims to prepare senior managers for the challenges of leadership as principals or chief executives.

As Ms Winch discovered, these challenges can be external to the organisation, and internal.

“There’s a whole host of stuff going on, the policy and funding environment, the local enterprise partnership (LEPs) . . .,” she says.

“All of that is good when you’re an established principal but as a new principal in a new college, you’ve got to get that on board with a new team around you and new set of governors.

“It was great being able to have a look on the course at issues around change management. In a new job you are going to want to change things, and we’re in a sector that constantly has to change and reinvent.

“You need the skills, expertise and confidence to be able to do that.”

An emphasis on theory into practice is central to the revamped course, which took over from Aspiring Principals in 2011.

Participants are encouraged to apply their new skills in the workplace as they learn, and are offered mentoring via email, telephone or in person.

This was one of the course’s strengths for Graham Towse, who is now about to take up his first principal’s post at Hull College.

“It was very much about not just being lectured to.

“Instead, it was about practical application of what you’d been learning,” he says.

“You studied your module, practised scenarios with your colleagues on the course, then went back to base, experimented with it and applied it, with the support of mentors.

It was great being able to have a look on the course at issues around change management

“I learnt a lot from the first couple of modules and was able to apply that learning very quickly in my normal working. As a result I saw some real changes and improvements in the way I led and managed, and engaged with people.

“You got out of the course what you wanted to put in.

“It’s the type of course where the emphasis is very much on you as a person to develop.”

Many participants find that a major part of this development comes through the opportunity to network.

Mr Towse says: “As a deputy principal you don’t always get the opportunity to get out and about and network with other colleagues at the same level. You tend to be back at base managing things.

“Following the course I’ve got a network of 20 or 30 people who regularly share things. We’ve been looking for opportunities for joint development as well — that’s been really useful.”

Ali Foss, vice principal at Queen Mary’s College Basingstoke, was part of the first cohort on the revamped course.

“Once you get a large group together who are working closely enough to be very open and honest with each other, then you begin to work out who’s got the greatest expertise in different areas,” she says.

“We were able to be stronger than the sum of our parts because there was probably nothing between us that one of us had not come across before.

“We’ve all stayed in touch, we’re all sharing strategies. That kind of professional relationship that continues beyond the end of the course is always valuable.”

Ms Foss acknowledges that it can be difficult in a rapidly changing sector to find the time to reflect alongside senior practitioners; training that allowed that to happen was important not just for individuals but for the sector as a whole.

Esme Winch adds: “It is undoubtedly important for more principals and aspiring principals to engage with training like this.

“The senior leadership course was very specific, which I thought was very good – and I’m not sure what else there is around for aspiring principals without getting into very general leadership training.”

LSIS is currently recruiting the fourth cohort, offering modules into 2014, but the loss of funding makes the course’s future look uncertain.

Graham Towse describes this as “a shame”.

“The sector needs a senior leadership programme to help to develop the leaders of the future — and this has been a very good course,” he says.

“I’m hoping there will be something within the new FE Guild that aspiring leaders will be able to access when they want to move on to the next level.”

Caption for featured image: From left: Esme Winch, principal of Loughborough College, Graham Towse, currently vice principal at the Grimsby Institute for FE & HE and will take up his new position as principal of Hull College in April and Ali Foss, vice principal at Queen Mary’s College Basingstoke

Sheila Selwood finds it easy to explain the inspiration for the Learning Board, LSIS’s support for governing bodies.  “We don’t always see ourselves as others see us,” says the director of governance at West Herts College.

The support programme developed when West Herts governors approached LSIS after realising that  they wanted more than the internal view provided by self–assessment and, as Ms Selwood says, there was “nothing out there”.

West Herts and the service partnered to develop the programme, which examines how FE governors work as a team, and provides feedback and suggestions to allow them to improve their effectiveness. It was trialled at the college before it was rolled out nationally.

The governors of St Helen’s College, Merseyside, used the Learning Board last year, after the clerk to the corporation, Chris Jones, picked up a leaflet at the LSIS annual governance conference.

Ms Jones says: “Another clerk at the conference had had it in her college and was recommending it at one of the workshops, so I brought it back to our board as an idea and our governors decided to go with it.

“Initially, the Learning Board facilitators came in and discussed it with the principal, the chair and myself, and gave us quite an extensive questionnaire.”

The facilitators then conducted interviews lasting an hour and a half with governors, face–to–face or over the phone.

“I thought ‘this isn’t going to go down very well with the governors,’ and I don’t think they thought it would take an hour and half. But once they started talking about the college it was hard to stop them,” says Ms Jones.

Interviews include questions on the core purpose and values of the college, the risks to it, the relationships between board members, the chair, senior management teams and stakeholders and how each governor saw themselves as fitting into to that picture.

The consultants also attend and observe a range of board meetings: to “get under the skin” of how the board operates, as Shelia Selwood explains.

The whole idea of other people coming in and observing the meetings works”

“The whole idea of other people coming in and observing the meetings works. They see how the board communicates, how the board and management interact and how they behave as a corporate team – an external person can often see things that you don’t see yourself because you’re enmeshed in the process,” she says.

Rather than compliance, the process focuses on five key areas: core business, trust and support, contribution and execution, stakeholder engagement and leadership. It is based largely on a model developed by Patrick Lencioni in his 2002 book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which puts effective teamwork at the centre of the success of any business or organisation.

Consultants take their findings and compile a report which is fed back to the college but, says Ms Jones, the feedback still takes into account the thoughts of the board.

“The report came back to the chair and was very much of the view that it was our report. We were told to amend anything if we wanted. So, for example, there were recommendations based on comments by just one governor, and the chair was keen for those to be separated out from things flagged up by a larger number of governors.”

Ms Selwood has continued to be involved with the programme, and has contributed as an external assessor at another college.

She says: “It has enabled people to look at their framework of governance; it has enabled them to look at the quality of information they receive, to look at the relationship between the board and the college managers.”

Although not a problem at her own college, the Learning Board has also helped colleges that have “thornier issues”, such as the dominance of a particular governor, the chair or the principal, or an imbalance in the relationship between manager and governors.

“If there are difficult issues, hearing them from somebody else can sometimes be easier than hearing from a colleague,” she says.

However, it is also able to flag up much simpler changes that could make a huge difference to the operation of even a fairly effective board.

Ms Selwood says: “The external assessors noticed the board didn’t have an opportunity to socialise and to talk to each other outside meetings, so we introduced a break half way through
a meeting. That was just one simple
thing we were able to change, which we hadn’t spotted at all.”

Governors at St Helen’s College had a similar experience when their feedback suggested they move their development session to a seperate evening, rather than the usual slot before the board meeting.

Ms Jones says: “It focuses the governors’ minds on ‘that’s training, this is board business’, which was an interesting observation. It’s not rocket science, is it? But it’s made a difference.”

The concept of the Learning Board is based on a theory of group problem–solving developed by theorist Peter Senge, which describes a learning organisation as one where members are continually reflecting and learning as they work, so the feedback is only the beginning.

Ms Jones says: “We dedicated a whole meeting to the LSIS report. We went through it systematically and picked out actions, and I’m now going to develop a quality improvement plan that we can follow up in the long term.”

For Ms Selwood, the facilitated self–assessment must be built on with continuing self–assessment.

“You’re in a changing sector so you should be robust about your own strategic leadership role — which many colleges are,” she says.

“If you don’t, you’ll never identify improvement and you can become incredibly complacent. What a rotten role model that would be to the rest of the college . . . when we are demanding self–assessment and improvement and high aspirations, that has to start with the board.

“There’s a whole impetus of self–assessment that we cannot afford to lose when LSIS goes, which I think boards are aware that they need to do.”

Having watched the Learning Board from its conception, Ms Selwood believes the project has been a success.

“I think it’s been very well received – we were certainly glad we did it, and I know others who’ve they’ve been glad they did it too,” she says.

“It’s not dictatorial, it’s an enabler. It enables you to look at things from a different perspective.”

Caption for featured image: Sheila Selwood, director of governance at West Herts College and Chris Jones, clerk to the corporation of St Helen’s College

Huge responsibilities, you don’t get paid and there’s little in the way of a public profile — why would anybody want to be a college governors’ chair?

The role of governance has been nudged into the spotlight by a joint report from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) and Ofsted, and by a new debate on whether governing bodies – and particularly their chairs – should be paid.

The joint report, How Colleges Improve, highlights the need for strong and effective leaders. The debate on payments for the legions of volunteers in schools and colleges was prompted by Ofsted’s chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw.

So what are the qualities that you need to become a chair?

For Mike Parker, who holds the post at the Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education, it’s something of a balancing act.

“You’ve got to be a good listener and sounding board, and you’ve got to be able to walk this line between the executive and governance  . . . and you’ve got to do that skilfully,” he says.

Janet Morgan, who has been chair of Derby College for three years, shares that view.

She says: “You need someone who is available to support the principal, and work well with them, but who realises their role is one of governance and not of operating the college.

“They should be able to draw the distinction between fulfilling their role as a governor rather than getting involved in the operational side of it and keeping an objective view of what management is doing.”

Meanwhile, for Angela Lloyd, chair of governors at Coleg Gwent since October 2011, previous experience of a management role is essential.

“In the same way you look for leadership qualities in a principal and chief executive, to be an effective chair you also need good leadership qualities,” she explains.

“You also need to come up with ideas to be innovative and creative in your contribution.”

But, according to Iain Mackinnon, who was chair of Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College for five years from 2005 and continues to govern there, the perfect chair doesn’t exist.

“I don’t think there is such a thing,” he says.

“Part of it is having some variety, people are different — there are people at the end of their careers who devote quite a bit of time, there are people who are currently working who can bring in knowledge and experience and expertise from their work, there are people who’ve got fingers in pies locally, which is invaluable, and there are people who can offer a bridge across from another sector they’ve worked in.”

The one thing that it seems all chairs must have is time, something that often surprises new incumbents.

“It’s probably been more involved than I expected,” says Janet Morgan.

“As a board member you perhaps don’t see how much extra the chair puts into the role, you feel that they come, they chair the committee meeting and that’s probably it . . .  but it’s quite a lot more.”

Angela Lloyd agrees. “Until you actually take on the role, you don’t realise the amount of work that is involved,” she says.

“On top of your main responsibilities there are things like additional meetings, chair’s meeting with the principal, the agenda planning, which you carry out, events which you might be invited to, as well as individual responsibilities that you have as chair.”

Iain Mackinnon thought long and hard before he took on the role at his West London college.

 

Angela Lloyd, chair of governors at Coleg Gwent and Iain Mackinnon, former chair of governors at Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College

“I wanted to do it properly, but I was anxious and I was aware that finding the time would be difficult, and so it has proved,” he says.

He decided to take up the position because he felt he could make a difference to the college, and although he was forced to step down to focus on his own business, he feels he succeeded.

“I enjoyed my work as a governor, I think the work that colleges do is important, I think I got to the stage where I’d got some things I wanted to say and things I wanted to see happen,” he explains.

But it was a much swifter process for  Mike Parker. He was fast–tracked into the role after a long–standing chair stepped down, and no one from the existing board stepped forward.

When the college principal approached him, Parker says it was his commitment to the Grimsby community that persuaded him to agree.

“I was born and bred in Grimsby,” he says. “I’d spent my whole business career working in Grimsby. I am committed to the area and recognised the importance of such a substantial institution to the local community. I wanted to be involved.

“Doing it the way I did really gives you a fresh eye.

“I’m not sure that’s a bad thing in the current climate actually, because you do have to be very innovative and ask questions that might have been asked before. I wasn’t too precious about getting lots of previews about the institution.”

You’ve got to be able to walk this line between the executive and governance”

Following his stint as chair, Mackinnon has some sympathy with Parker’s view, but says his advice would be to talk to the current chair.

“Get to understand how they play the role, you may well want to do it differently, but you’ll learn a lot talking to them,” says the London governor.

Chairs don’t need to have an education background, he thinks, but they do need to keep themselves informed about the wider sector.

“You can’t simply rely on you principal as a source of information, Chairs have to build their own source of information,” he says, advising chairs to read the sector press and use Twitter to follow influential figures in the sector.

“Also, you need to be sure you’ve got the confidence of senior managers, the principal and fellow governors.”

This is a key piece of advice from Morgan, too, who says: “Work closely with your principal, work closely with the clerk, find out what the life of the college is about really, get out and meet the students, get out and meet the staff, find out what they feel about it.”

For many chairs, this final piece of advice is also the most rewarding part of the role, which makes all the commitment worthwhile.

To this end, the best bits for Morgan have been, “meeting with the students, being able to support the students, their enthusiasm, and being a part of the achievements of the college”.

And Mackinnon also talks warmly about his college.

“You don’t want to get in the way of what the principal and their team are up to, but just popping your nose in and finding out what’s going on can be helpful, because as a governor you can understand where there are barriers which people have just accepted which you can find a way around,” he says.

And for Parker, who describes himself as “relative newcomer,” the entire process has been “extremely rewarding”. He adds: “I have absolutely no regrets getting involved in the sector at all.”

Caption for featured image: Mike Parker, chair of governors at the Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education and Janet Morgan, chair of governors at Derby College

 

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock and Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw have both drawn attention to the importance of FE governance.

The minister spoke of the contribution made by governors when he addressed a gathering of 130 FE governors and chairs of governors, at Lancaster House, London, early in the year.

“I am deeply grateful for the commitment and energy you bring to your roles as governors,” he said.

“Just over a year ago, New Challenges, New Chances advocated an increasingly important role for college governors in their institution’s decision–making.

“I have been impressed with the way the best colleges have taken ownership of this approach and responded positively.

“I know that achieving effective college governance is not easy.

“Colleges are large and complex businesses serving a wide range of customers, striving to meet the aspirations of learners and employers alike, as well as performing a vital role at the centre of their local communities.”

But ultimately, he said, institutions with effective practice and successful governance were those in which decision–making was “transparent, properly informed, rigorous and timely, where there are appropriate and effective systems of financial and operational control.”

Mr Hancock said: “Above all, where there is a strong commitment to providing a quality service for all those that the college serves.”

He said that being a college governor was “a serious job”. It needed a lot of commitment especially from chairs. “It is therefore timely to consider how we support governors” he said. “We want to work with you to look at this matter.”

The minister reminded governors that it was their responsibility to ensure their board contained the breadth of skills that it needed, and to take up their new freedom to form a wider range of strategic partnerships.

“Much has already been delivered, but there is more to do,” he said. “Rest assured, we will help you in whatever way we can to ensure that you get the support and development that you need.”

Meanwhile, Sir Michael spoke about the role of governance for schools and colleges at the Association of School and College Leaders’ annual conference on March 15.

He said: “It is important governors support heads who are trying to make a difference and play an active part in challenging the school to do better.

“Consequently, Ofsted is reporting on governance in much greater depth and with much greater rigour.”

Sir Michael acknowledged the “consternation” caused by his proposal to offer payment to attract more professional governors to boards that failed to hold schools and colleges to account, but said it was an option that should not be ruled out.

“All our evidence at Ofsted shows that in the best governing boards, it is often a small core of governors who lead the other members of the governing board and take on the greatest burden of work,” he said.

“However, where this small core of people does not exist or is hard to recruit, especially in our most difficult schools and areas, then we should incentivise good people to do this job.”

Caption for featured image: Skills Minister Matthew Hancock at Lancaster House, London, earlier this year

It’s a time of transition in FE as high profile principals retire and a new generation of college leaders emerges. But what does it take to run an effective and successful organisation? Does a principal need experience of teaching or does he or she simply need a flair for management?

It’s not an easy time to become an FE college principal. Salaries might stretch to £200,000 for some elite posts, but changes in priorities, funding and politics mean that college leaders need to be more responsive than ever to comply with policy, to balance budgets, and to develop and motivate staff — while also ensuring that students leave fit for work.

Pauline Waterhouse OBE, retiring after nine years as principal at Blackpool and The Fylde College, looks back fondly on her time with the college. “It’s a great job and a true privilege to be a leader within FE,” she says. “It’s the area of education that has the greatest capacity to impact positively on people’s lives.

“The job’s changed since I first began my post; a principal now has more scope than ever to make a difference, not just to individuals but to whole communities.”

However, she accepts that the job is not without its challenges. “As a ‘dynamic nucleus’ within the community, colleges have the opportunity to contribute to economic growth and social inclusion,” says Waterhouse.

“However, it’s difficult for certain colleges — particularly within big cities — to gain a ‘seat at the table’ as a strategic partner rather than just a provider.

“It’s also a risk to be viewed as a strategic partner — as well as a great opportunity. There’s the danger that colleges could become distracted from their core purpose.”

With years of experience behind her, Waterhouse says that her ‘top tip’ would be to determine the right balance between strategic, external commitments and time spent inside the college with staff. “A good principal needs to have a strong focus on teaching, learning and the quality of learner experience. That’s what matters,” she says.

And does she have any thoughts on principals who enter the profession from outside the sector?

“It’s perfectly possible to be a good principal without working up the ranks in FE,” she says. “There are lots of careers that prepare you for being a strong leader and give you transferable skills.

“The only thing I’d say is that you might gain more credibility from your staff if you have teaching experience. But I wouldn’t say that it’s a necessity — you just need to be able to lead with the learner experience at heart.”

Data from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) shows that more than 90 per cent of principals in 2010–11 were over  40, suggesting a wealth of experience is key for this line of work. It’s no surprise; incoming principals face a number of challenges in the current climate and some might be discouraged by the intense pressures of the job.

It’s an honour to be at the helm of an organisation that exists to shape lives and futures”

Mandie Stravino, recently appointed principal of Derby College, is one new leader who’s not deterred by the job’s pitfalls.

She says: “I’d describe my new role as exciting. It’s an honour to be at the helm of an organisation that exists to shape lives and futures. Naturally, there’s an anxiety that comes with it — it’s a big responsibility to be accountable for the lives of 30,000 learners. But it’s a great opportunity.”

Stravino considers that the main challenges are in her collaborative work with employers to ensure that students leave the college fit for work. “It’s an exciting challenge to build a package of education for young people that will prepare them for the competitive labour market,” she says.

“And, of course, the future holds new challenges of its own; the pace of change this year has been huge with the raising of the participation age, the study programme, learning loans, opening up FE colleges to students as young as 14 . . . But the good thing is that you can be instrumental in change through consultation a lot of the time–  policies aren’t imposed on you as you’re central to the discussion.”

Stravino was well equipped for her role having completed teacher training, training in leadership and management and an MBA in business studies, something she found useful preparation for the ‘chief executive’ part of her job that requires a business brain.

However, she says that peer support has been invaluable: “Most of all, I’ve learned so much from experienced principals in other colleges who are leading successful organisations,” she says. “Even principals from local competitor colleges have been forthcoming in offering help, advice and support. The LSIS induction programme was also worthwhile in terms of establishing a network of other new principals.”

Verity Hancock also recently made the leap to college principal at Leicester College, having worked as executive director of the Skills Funding Agency and personally developing the National Careers Advice Service. She has never worked in teaching, so college life is a new experience.

“I’ve been a college governor and worked with colleges but not in one,” she told  FE Week last year. “I feel it’s very much incumbent on me to gain credibility and I’m conscious that most people expect you to have come up through the ranks.

“However, I’m confident that I have the leadership, financial skills and knowledge to make it work.

“I’m not complacent but not full of trepidation,” she said.

“I expect to work very hard as principal. I’m looking forward to the responsibility of steering the ship — I’m really excited.”

It seems that Hancock’s situation is unusual within the sector as the Association of Colleges’ director of employment policy, Emma Mason, comments: “Where there is movement, it tends to be within the sector and, most commonly, senior managers move internally or on to other colleges. The largest proportion of senior management departures is due to retirement.”

She says that internal transfer is the major source of recruitment at senior level in colleges and that succession planning is key in organisational development strategy.

This is supported by national programmes, such as the Sector Management College offered by AoC Create, and other similar initiatives to develop leaders and managers across the sector.

LSIS confirms the importance of tailored training. Gill Reynolds, head of improvement services: leadership and curriculum design, says its programme for aspiring principals prepares potential principals for life as a college leader.

“We’re also working on a talent mindset framework that’s intended to give the sector some approaches, tools and techniques for maximising potential, rather than focusing just on succession planning,” she says.

“Our senior leadership and management development programme aims to prepare second and third–tier leaders for executive posts, should they have the ambition to seek further promotion.”

Caption for featured image: From left: Pauline Waterhouse OBE,  principal of Blackpool and The Fylde College, Mandie Stravino, principal of Derby College and Verity Hancock,  principal of Leicester College