Anti-racism and the role of college boards - Blog 6 - Sixth Form Colleges Association

Anti-racism and the role of college boards

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Anti-racism and the role of college boards
Date22nd Feb 2021AuthorMartin RosnerCategoriesLeadership

On 18th March Martin Rosner and Mandeep Gill of NewVic College will host a SFCA Governance Webinar on anti-racism and the role of the college board.  In this short blog, Martin Rosner, Chair of the NewVic board, shares some of the key themes that boards should be considering now.    

As the Chair of a college board in the highly diverse London Borough of Newham, with its high degree of poverty, I am keenly aware of my responsibility to the college’s students and staff. I want to ensure that students have the best possible chance of success and that staff are able to fulfill their potential. I want to see role models that both students and staff can look up to and I want our curriculum to reflect the rich diversity of the community that we serve. None of this can be achieved without us, as board members and trustees, looking very carefully at the role that we can play and how we work with senior leaders to enable students and staff to get the success that they deserve.

In a recent article, Shaid Mahmood (Luminate Education Group Chair) called on all college Chairs to address the issue of further education leadership, governance and management not adequately representing the make-up of some of the communities it serves. In the article entitled “Further Education leadership, governance and management is at a crossroads”, he pointed out that:

  • From boards stem the college vision and its purpose
  • The values and behaviours at board level and within the executive team originate from the board as do the standards throughout the College
  • Boards must confidently drive positive ongoing cultural change
  • Diversification of boards is a part of the journey because that’s what must be done to better serve and reflect our communities.

The launch of the White Paper has resulted in a good debate about GFE colleges’ key role in delivering the skills agenda and whether employers are the right people to lead on qualifications, though is noticeably quiet on the core purpose of sixth form colleges. However, one small paragraph on another - equally important - issue has gone virtually unnoticed: paragraph 127 says: “... we will provide more support for college corporation boards to develop their capacity and build a diverse membership that better reflects their local areas.” It goes on to say that the government “… will also work with the sector to identify ways in which industry professionals and others with these skills and experience can be encouraged to join college boards. This will include identifying groups currently under-represented on college boards, including people with disabilities, and people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds. Those from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds made up only 4% of college leaders in 2018.”

The open letter from the Black FE Leadership Group (BFELG) last summer, which called for greater diversity and representation in the FE sector, and subsequent discussions with Government officials were a key driver towards ensuring that this statement was included in the White Paper. It is now up to us, as board members, to deliver the goods.

It is not as if we have to start from a blank sheet of paper: the carefully thought out 10 Point Plan set out in BFELG’s open letter to the Prime Minister, Gavin Williamson, and others this month, which has now been signed by around 400 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) senior leaders and allies who work or have an interest in the UK further education sector clearly signposts the way forward. Within the next month or so, it will be supported by additional material to guide boards and Senior Leaders, including guidance on its particular relevance to colleges, and self-audit prompts to cover each point. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and much needs to be done to ensure that the objectives set out in the 10 Point Plan can be achieved.

So, what can we do as board members now?

  1. We can formally adopt the 10 Point Plan
  2. We can review the diversity of our board, identify areas of concern and agree an action plan to diversify as and when vacancies arise
  3. We can review how we recruit to senior posts (further advice is being prepared by BFELG and should be available to boards later in the year), and also ensure that we receive appropriate training
  4. We can review our strategic plan to ensure that it gives due consideration to diversity and anti-racist issues
  5. We can agree what data needs to be collected

As board members, we need to maintain oversight of progress towards implementing the 10 Point Plan in our institution. This means we need to know where we are now against each of the relevant points and understand what full implementation looks like. We need to monitor progress and agree reporting arrangements that will enable us to measure progress towards achieving positive and sustainable change. In these ways, we can ensure that boards play their part in achieving the objectives set out in the 10 Point Plan.

Martin Rosner is Chair of Newham Sixth Form College.

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