Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion Board Meeting Minutes - Thursday 26 June 2025

Agenda item

Main discussion points

Action/decision

1

Meeting Governance

25/15/1.1

Apologies for absence and declarations of interests

Apologies for absence were received from Mrs Erica Cassin, Mr Ben Francis, Mr Huw Davies, and Mr Louis Dare (CSG Staff).

No further Declarations of Interest were received besides those already held by the Clerk to the Board.

25/15/1.2

Approval of the restricted CSG minutes of the last meeting: 3rd April 2025

25/15/1.3

Matters Relating to Coleg Ceredigion

Approval of the Restricted CC minutes of the last meeting: 3rd April 2025

There were no matters relating to Coleg Ceredigion.

The Coleg Ceredigion Board CONFIRMED the RESTRICTED minutes of the Coleg Ceredigion Board meeting held on Thursday, 3rd April 2025, as an accurate record.

25/15/1.4

Matters arising and action points not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

• CC/CSG Board Rolling Action Plan

The Board were made aware that Medr has produced its operational plan, and a link to this was provided.

Although not yet confirmed in writing it was expected that 85% percent of the national insurance contributions increase would be funded by the Welsh Government and 15% by the College.  

The College is delighted that the SA1 campus of the UWTSD, which has facilities second to none, is one of the venues for the national skills competition, which is being held in Wales for the first time.

All action points within the relevant timescale had been completed.

2

Matters for Discussion and/or Approval

25/09/2.1

Student Union President Report

The Board RECEIVED a report, presented in Welsh, from Hannah Freckleton (2024/2025 Student Union President).  It was NOTED:

• Hannah Freckleton thanked the Board for their support during her year as Student Union President.
• The experience had shown that the learner voice was represented with the board, and students were considered in the decision-making process.  Her confidence to speak had improved and she had gained a lot from being involved on the Board.
• High points in the year were working with the Samaritans, involvement in the International Women’s Day and being involved with other student unions, working at a national level.
• The setting up of the student magazine was a highlight, which received good feedback.
• There had been challenges throughout the year, and she had been outside of her comfort zone, which had helped her grow a lot during the year.
• The feedback given from the Student Council into the new Strategic Plan had been included and taken on board and this was great to see and backed up the support given to the students.

The Board thanked Hannah Freckleton for her report and kind words.  

The Board welcomed Ioan Armstrong, the incoming Student Union President, to the Board meeting and wished him a successful year.

The Student Union President was asked what advice she could offer to enable the Board to help incoming Student Governors. It was NOTED that the Student Union President had met with the Clerk and discussed this.  A handbook offering information and understanding on certain topics and including acronyms that are likely to be encountered was considered a potentially helpful process

25/09/2.2

Principal’s Report

• Medr Strategic Plan

The Board RECEIVED and CONSIDERED the Principal’s Report.  It was NOTED:

• Overall, the WG has provided the FE Sector with £12m for funding in-year growth (CSG has just over £1M of this money due to over-recruitment beyond target), £15m for the Pay Award, £2m for Mental Health, and an additional £3.5m for EMA.
• There is some new, modest monies available for capital spending within the ALN portfolio - the College is currently looking at this for some minor works.
• The discussions around the WG funding National Insurance is still ongoing.  WG & UK to conclude in May 2025.
• The announcement of £1 learner bus travel costs to be implemented for under-21s from September 2025 as part of a learner travel pilot. There have been many discussions about how this affects different regions, as bus routes and regularity are important features in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.
• There will be a re-invention of the SEREN programme moving forward.  This is under development but will include a vocational strand and be piloted in some schools and FE institutions before rollout.
• The Regional Skills Partnerships have been asked to focus on the First Minister’s priorities, featuring jobs and growth. 50% of RSP funding will be against Growth, and this work will be monitored closely.
• Medr (Complaints & Office for Independent Adjudication (OIA): (Section 127))—New procedures are being consulted regarding the use of the OIA across the tertiary sector.
• The strategic plan was launched this month. The Operational plan is being developed for implementation in May / June 2025.
• Qualifications Wales - Many Principals (including CSG Principal) gave evidence to the Children’s and Young Persons Committee at the Welsh Government on 14-16 Qualifications.  A new Suite of 14-16 qualifications is now imminent with: -
• Wave 1 – main GCSEs – implemented September 2025 with completion in Summer 2027.
• Wave 2 – ‘new’ GCSEs – implemented September 2026 with completion in Summer 2028.
• Wave 3 – VCSEs / Skills Suite / Foundations with implementation September 2027 with completion in Summer 2029.
• The risk identified: What will the 900+ 14 to 16-year-olds that visit the College every week study in the future? Discussions are ongoing about this critical matter.
• NUS Cymru presented information highlighting four areas the NUS is currently working on: funding, transport, trans students, and international students. The NUS President stressed the importance of effective learner engagement and representation and discussed developing and implementing a Learner Engagement Code and Learner Protection Plan.
• The sector is currently engaging in a ‘Tackling Misogyny’ project between Wales and Canada. This follows the development of the MoU signed with Colleges Canada last year. Five Welsh colleges are involved, including Coleg Sir Gár, represented by Tom Snelgrove (Director of Learner Support).
• As the political elections loom, Colegau Cymru is starting to think about: Demonstrating the IMPACT of the sector socially, environmentally and economically, Engage with Medr and Welsh Government in relation to key strategic priorities, Developing and articulating a selection of asks (MANIFESTO), Respond to new challenges and opportunities and Increase financial sustainability whilst managing risk.
• Discussions have been held with Carmarthenshire County Council on
• ALN – positive recent meeting with staff in the county – progressing well.
• Planning together to create a pilot transition programme explicitly aimed at suitable learners (from a safety perspective) from PRUs across Carmarthenshire.
• Effectively have educated 800+ pupils in Carmarthenshire - highest in Wales. The College is looking to work with the Council on a transition programme for these learners.

A question was asked about plans to engage with candidates in relation to the forthcoming assembly elections in Wales.  It was NOTED that there was a two-layer approach. Firstly, Colegau Cymru are and will be lobbying on behalf of the sector, which is backed up by Principals attending cross-party meetings on various topics.  The College meets regularly with members of the Senedd, local authorities to discuss general education issues and plans and projects.

The Principal thanked the Vice-Chancellor for her support in the political landscape.

A comment was made suggesting that a briefing document on the College’s position in relation to the MIM and other projects be made available to governors so that all Governors and ambassadors of the College have the correct information should they be asked questions.  This was considered a good idea and could incorporate ColegauCymru information and a regional piece.

A question was asked about the financial impact that the learner’s transport change would have.  It was NOTED the College is having close conversations with transport in both Counties and this information will be brought to the next resources meeting.

25/16/2.2

Principal’s Report

The Board RECEIVED and CONSIDERED the Principal’s Report.  It was NOTED:

• There has been an appointment of the new CEO in Medr, with James Owen taking on this role.  He is the current Chief Operating Officer for Medr.
• Medr is currently conducting a consultation on its new regulatory framework, including the new Quality Framework.
• The UWTSD and Ceredigion County Council have made an announcement regarding the future of the Lampeter Campus. 
• Plans are being explored to develop post-16 vocational training at the University of Wales Trinity St David.
• Plans for skills training at the site have been described as “very, very exciting” by the leader of Ceredigion council.
• Both the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) and the council have confirmed they are in the “early stages of scoping opportunities” to develop skills and vocational provision at Lampeter.
• The College has a longstanding commitment to collaboration in all that we do. In keeping with this ethos, we will actively engage with our partners and remain keen to understand the opportunities currently being explored between the local authority and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD).
• The CEO and Vice Principal Curriculum, Skills and Quality met with the Carmarthenshire Council Director of Education and have been asked to join a county-wide Strategic Board for Post 16 Education. Members include the education team based in County Hall and all the Headteachers of Secondary Schools. This is unique in Wales and we believe will become national best practice.
• Topics of discussion have included:
• Campus Caerfyrrdin
• VCSEs – new national post-16 qualifications
• Transformative Post 16 models in operation across Wales
• Personal meetings with the Director of Education continue where CSG has discussed wider issues such as ALN transition, Junior Apprenticeships and our own Youth Access programme, the transition of PRU pupils into College and county-wide transport.
• Since the last Board meeting, the CEO has held meetings with the following:
• Minister for Further and Higher Education (Vikki Howells), 20 mins online, discussing the challenges facing the College and the FE sector.
• Adam Price – met at the Graig Campus in Llanelli as part of ongoing discussion in relation to Ammanford.
• Cefin Campbell - met at the Graig Campus in Llanelli as part of ongoing discussion concerning Ammanford and wider discussion around 14-16 qualifications, Medr and the current challenges facing the College.
• Jane Dodds - visited Gelli Aur to see the work being undertaken in Agriculture and Green Skills. She was particularly interested in the Green Skills Academy.
• Estyn’s inspection of work-based learning (BWbl Consortium led by Pembrokeshire College) lasted for nearly two weeks at the start of June. The outcome was positive, but the College has to wait for the finalised report, which will be released at the start of the next academic year.
• Two Achievement of Excellence Awards events have been held at Cardigan (Coleg Ceredigion) and Llanelli (Coleg Sir Gar). These superb events bring together the best performing students from across the College.  These are held in addition to the individual curriculum areas, celebrating the success of all students.
• Graduation will be held on July 3rd 2025 in the Ffrwnes Llanelli with two ceremonies at 11am and 3pm.

A question was asked if there are any implications for the College shouting out in relation to Medr.  It was NOTED that there are some concerns within the FE sector that the framework is not written with FE in mind, with some of the nuances that occur within this sector.  The FE sector has recently met as a group to respond and provide feedback to Medr to help it be representative of the FE sector within the regulatory framework.

A question was asked about the position of post-16 outcomes. It was noted that last year, the consistent performance measures in relation to level 3 performed well. In level 1 and 2, more work was needed. The College had a Quality Board meeting this week, and the College has been targeting these areas. It is hopeful that by the end of the year, these areas will have seen improvement. A lot of internal work has been done on monitoring and tracking throughout the year.

3

Matters for Approval*

25/10/3.1

There were no matters for approval.

4

Matters for Information**

25/18/4.1

Committee Report of the Learners & Standards Committee meeting held on 8 May 2025

25/18/4.2

Committee Report of the Resources, Resilience & Partnerships Committee meeting held on 15 May 2025

25/18/4.3

Committee Report of the Audit & Risk Management Committee meeting held on 22 May 2025

25/18/4.4

Committee Report of the Search and Governance Committee meeting held on 12 June 2025

25/11/4.5

Student Magazine

25/18/4.6

MIM: approval to proceed to stage 2

25/18/4.7

MIM: Stage 1 invoice & Grant funding confirmation from WG

25/18/4.8

Achievement of Excellence Awards 2025

• (i) CC
• (ii) CSG

25/18/4.9

Student Governor Thank You

5

Any Other Business

6

Declarations of Interest

25/13/6.1

To confirm any conflicts of interest that may have arisen during the meeting.

No further Declarations of Interest were received during the meeting.

7

Date of the next meeting

25/14/7.1

Date of the next meeting

Thursday 16th October 2025

Meeting Governance

25/08/1.1

Apologies for absence and declarations of interests

No apologies for absence were received.

No further Declarations of Interest were received besides those already held by the Clerk to the Board.

25/08/1.2

Approval of the Restricted CC minutes of the last meeting: 3rd April 2025

25/08/1.3

Matters arising and action points not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

• CC/CSG Board Rolling Action Plan

The Board were made aware that Medr has produced its operational plan, and a link to this was provided.

Although not yet confirmed in writing it was expected that 85% percent of the national insurance contributions increase would be funded by the Welsh Government and 15% by the College.  

The College is delighted that the SA1 campus of the UWTSD, which has facilities second to none, is one of the venues for the national skills competition, which is being held in Wales for the first time.

All action points within the relevant timescale had been completed.

Matters for Discussion and/or Approval

25/09/2.1

Student Union President Report

The Board RECEIVED a report, presented in Welsh, from Hannah Freckleton (2024/2025 Student Union President).  It was NOTED:

• Hannah Freckleton thanked the Board for their support during her year as Student Union President.
• The experience had shown that the learner voice was represented with the board, and students were considered in the decision-making process.  Her confidence to speak had improved and she had gained a lot from being involved on the Board.
• High points in the year were working with the Samaritans, involvement in the International Women’s Day and being involved with other student unions, working at a national level.
• The setting up of the student magazine was a highlight, which received good feedback.
• There had been challenges throughout the year, and she had been outside of her comfort zone, which had helped her grow a lot during the year.
• The feedback given from the Student Council into the new Strategic Plan had been included and taken on board and this was great to see and backed up the support given to the students.

The Board thanked Hannah Freckleton for her report and kind words.  

The Board welcomed Ioan Armstrong, the incoming Student Union President, to the Board meeting and wished him a successful year.

The Student Union President was asked what advice she could offer to enable the Board to help incoming Student Governors. It was NOTED that the Student Union President had met with the Clerk and discussed this.  A handbook offering information and understanding on certain topics and including acronyms that are likely to be encountered was considered a potentially helpful process.

25/02/2.3

CEO / Principal Position

The Board CONSIDERED the CEO/Principal position within the College following the recent announcement of the standing Principal’s decision to leave the post in January 2026.  It was NOTED:

• The Search and Governance Committee met to discuss the appointment process for the position.
• The S&G Committee felt that a small task and finish group working with the UWTSD and the Director of People and Culture was required to lead on this incorporating Governors with relevant skills and experience. The group is:
• Prof Elwen Evans (Vice-Chancellor, UWTSD)
• Sarah Clark (University Secretary, UWTSD)
• John Edge (Chair)
• Abigail Salini (Vice-Chair)
• Erica Cassin (Board Member)
• Sharron Lusher (Board Member)
• Rebecca Jones (Director of People and Culture)
• Abigail Salini and Erica Cassin have HR skills and experience, and Sharron Lusher has held an FE Principal position and has excellent knowledge of the sector.
• The Board will be kept up to date on developments throughout the appointment process.

25/09/2.2

Principal’s Report

The Board RECEIVED and CONSIDERED the Principal’s Report.  It was NOTED:

• There has been an appointment of the new CEO in Medr, with James Owen taking on this role.  He is the current Chief Operating Officer for Medr.
• Medr is currently conducting a consultation on its new regulatory framework, including the new Quality Framework.
• The UWTSD and Ceredigion County Council have made an announcement regarding the future of the Lampeter Campus. 
• Plans are being explored to develop post-16 vocational training at the University of Wales Trinity St David.
• Plans for skills training at the site have been described as “very, very exciting” by the leader of Ceredigion council.
• Both the University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) and the council have confirmed they are in the “early stages of scoping opportunities” to develop skills and vocational provision at Lampeter.
• The College has a longstanding commitment to collaboration in all that we do. In keeping with this ethos, we will actively engage with our partners and remain keen to understand the opportunities currently being explored between the local authority and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD).
• The CEO and Vice Principal Curriculum, Skills and Quality met with the Carmarthenshire Council Director of Education and have been asked to join a county-wide Strategic Board for Post 16 Education. Members include the education team based in County Hall and all the Headteachers of Secondary Schools. This is unique in Wales and we believe will become national best practice.
• Topics of discussion have included:
• Campus Caerfyrrdin
• VCSEs – new national post-16 qualifications
• Transformative Post 16 models in operation across Wales
• Personal meetings with the Director of Education continue where CSG has discussed wider issues such as ALN transition, Junior Apprenticeships and our own Youth Access programme, the transition of PRU pupils into College and county-wide transport.
• Since the last Board meeting, the CEO has held meetings with the following:
• Minister for Further and Higher Education (Vikki Howells), 20 mins online, discussing the challenges facing the College and the FE sector.
• Adam Price – met at the Graig Campus in Llanelli as part of ongoing discussion in relation to Ammanford.
• Cefin Campbell - met at the Graig Campus in Llanelli as part of ongoing discussion concerning Ammanford and wider discussion around 14-16 qualifications, Medr and the current challenges facing the College.
• Jane Dodds - visited Gelli Aur to see the work being undertaken in Agriculture and Green Skills. She was particularly interested in the Green Skills Academy.
• Estyn’s inspection of work-based learning (BWbl Consortium led by Pembrokeshire College) lasted for nearly two weeks at the start of June. The outcome was positive, but the College has to wait for the finalised report, which will be released at the start of the next academic year.
• Two Achievement of Excellence Awards events have been held at Cardigan (Coleg Ceredigion) and Llanelli (Coleg Sir Gar). These superb events bring together the best performing students from across the College.  These are held in addition to the individual curriculum areas, celebrating the success of all students.
• Graduation will be held on July 3rd 2025 in the Ffrwnes Llanelli with two ceremonies at 11am and 3pm.

A question was asked if there are any implications for the College shouting out in relation to Medr.  It was NOTED that there are some concerns within the FE sector that the framework is not written with FE in mind, with some of the nuances that occur within this sector.  The FE sector has recently met as a group to respond and provide feedback to Medr to help it be representative of the FE sector within the regulatory framework.

A question was asked about the position of post-16 outcomes. It was noted that last year, the consistent performance measures in relation to level 3 performed well. In level 1 and 2, more work was needed. The College had a Quality Board meeting this week, and the College has been targeting these areas. It is hopeful that by the end of the year, these areas will have seen improvement. A lot of internal work has been done on monitoring and tracking throughout the year.

Matters for Approval*

Matters for Information**

25/11/4.1

Committee Report of the Learners & Standards Committee meeting held on 8 May 2025

25/11/4.2

Committee Report of the Resources, Resilience & Partnerships Committee meeting held on 15 May 2025

25/11/4.3

Committee Report of the Audit & Risk Management Committee meeting held on 22 May 2025

25/11/4.4

Committee Report of the Search and Governance Committee meeting held on 12 June 2025

25/11/4.5

Student Magazine

25/11/4.6

Achievement of Excellence Awards 2025

• (i) CC
• (ii) CSG

25/11/4.7

Student Governor Thank You

Any Other Business

25/12/5.1

Declarations of Interest

25/13/6.1

To confirm any conflicts of interest that may have arisen during the meeting.

Date of the next meeting

25/14/7.1

Date of the next meeting

Thursday 16th October 2025