About Governance

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Nelson and Colne College Corporation is the legal entity for the three Colleges forming the Nelson and Colne College Group: Nelson and Colne College, Accrington and Rossendale College and Lancashire Adult Learning.

Members of the Board of Corporation are drawn from business, professional, public sector and community backgrounds.

They bring a range of skills, expertise and experience to the boardroom. The Board of Corporation also includes the Principal, two staff governors and two student Governors. The Board works as a team to determine the strategy and future direction of the College Group, and its responsibilities are to:

Determine and periodically review the educational character and mission of the College Group and oversee its activities
Approve the College Group’s quality strategy
Ensure the effective and efficient use of resources, the solvency of the College Group and the Corporation and to safeguard assets
Approve the annual estimates of income and expenditure
Appoint senior postholders and determine a framework for the pay and conditions of service of all staff

We have an active Board of Corporation who play a key role in the ongoing development and direction of our College Group. Board members have adopted the Nolan’s seven principles of public life (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership) in carrying out these responsibilities.

Nelson and Colne College Corporation was established under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and the College is an exempt charity for the purposes of Part 3 of the Charities Act 2011.

The College Group is administered under the Instrument and Articles of Government which are Statutory Instruments made under the Act and which set out the rules for the constitution and operation of the Corporation.

Nelson and Colne College Group is committed to open and transparent governance. Enquiries are welcome to Debbie Corcoran, Director of Governance on 01282 440204 or to debbie.corcoran@nelsongroup.ac.uk. Recruitment to the Board occurs throughout the year, and is aligned to vacancies and known skill gaps – with the Board particularly encouraging and welcoming applications which support diversity. For further information, please contact the Director of Governance.

In line with the requirements set out in the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, the College Group completed an external governance review in the 2023/2024 year. The review was delivered by Rockborn, completed 2024, and concluded that: ‘Nelson and Colne College Group governance is strong across all areas, shows visible leadership and makes a significant impact on the College Group.’

Areas of best and good practice were highlighted against the 4 P’s of good governance (People, Purpose, Performance and Process), with the 5 recommendations to support ongoing continuous improvement being taken forward in a revised Governance Development Plan, which is overseen and regularly monitored by the Board.

“Governance of the college is extremely effective. Board members receive detailed information from leaders and managers to enable them to provide scrutiny, challenge and support for priority curriculum areas. Board members understand the strengths of the provision and focus on supporting areas for improvement. They meet with learners, apprentices and curriculum managers in areas identified as having low performance. They use these meetings to confirm that actions are having the desired impact.”

OFSTED Feb 2025