Hot Topics

Charity Governance Code Update

Please read the article below for an update on the charity governance code consultation:

‘No plans to charge’ for use of Charity Governance Code, says steering group (civilsociety.co.uk)

Data Compliance Audit Framework

The Information Commissioner's Office has published a data protection audit framework to help organisations to assess their compliance with information law.

Data protection audit framework | ICO.

Co-leadership at CEO level

The Association of Chairs have created a guide on co-leadership at CEO level. Please see below.

Given two heads are better than one – isn’t it time for more co-leadership roles? (associationofchairs.org.uk)

Stone King Webinars in the lead up to AoC Annual Conference

Stone King will once again be exhibiting at the AoC Annual Conference, taking place on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 November at the ICC in Birmingham. In anticipation of the event and in line with this year’s theme of “Opportunity,” Stone King have developed a series of webinars and video clips to explore key topics.

All three webinars are free to attend, and details of how to book each webinar are below.

https://www.stoneking.co.uk/aoc-conference-2024

Webinar dates and topics below:-

• 9^th October - How colleges are using their governance review outcomes as an opportunity to enhance the contribution that governance makes
• 16^th October - A panel of HR professionals will address key questions arising from the Government’s proposals regarding changes to employment law. The panel will discuss how these changes will impact on workforce strategies within colleges and will bring their expertise and insight to some of the key issues arising from these significant changes.
• 24^th October - Further SEND opportunities and challenges for colleges

Changes to the FE governance guide

Amendments have been made to the FE governance guide in order to align it with the college financial handbook. The college financial handbook was published some time ago but comes into effect today.

The governance guide amendments simply mirror the college financial handbook where appropriate. There is a change note on the landing page which lists the sections where changes have been made.

Governance guide extracts fin handbook alignment v3 pub 1.8.24

AoC Governance Professionals' Conference 2025

The AoC Governance Professionals’ Conference 2025 has launched. The dates are as follows:

Part 1 - Tuesday 21 January, 09:30 - 12:30

Part 2 - Wednesday 22 January, 09:30 - 12:30

The conference will take place online via Zoom. To book or learn more, please click the link below.

https://www.aoc.co.uk/events-training/events/aoc-gov-prof-conf-2025

Students at the heart of governance

The Sixth Form Catholic Association has posted a blog on the importance of student governance. To gain further insight into student governors' impact, please read here.

FE workforce/governor data collection 22/23

The FE workforce/governor data collection for 22/23 has been published: Further education workforce, Academic year 2022/23 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)

Inclusion at Work Panel Report

To understand how we can better promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace, please read the Inclusion at Work Panel's comprehensive report, which provides actionable recommendations and insights.

Read the report here.

Charity Governance Code Review

The consultation on a review of the Charity Governance Code has been launched. The deadline for responses is 11 August. You can find more details here: Charity Governance Code Survey (surveymonkey.com).

There's a Word version of the survey to help with preparing answers here (it's still necessary to use the online version to respond): charity-governance-code-survey-questions.docx (live.com)

Ministers response to MP proposing right to paid volunteering leave

Charity Minister Stuart Andrew has responded to MPs proposal for right to paid volunteering leave.

To read the full response, please click here.

Empowering student-governor collaboration through speed networking

Please see this article from Advance HE on speed networking for students and governors: Empowering student-governor collaboration through speed networking | Advance HE (advance-he.ac.uk)

Political activities for charities and organisations

As it's known that there will be a general election at some point by January 2025, please acquaint yourself with the restrictions on political activities for charities and organisations in receipt of government funding.

There is an overview of the position regarding political activities in the Compliance section of the FE governance guide. Boards are encouraged to familiarise themselves in particular with:

• the Charity Commission guidance on Political activities and campaigning by charities
• the Cabinet Office grant funding restrictions on political activities. These are covered at 30.3 of the accountability agreement (part 1). Please see in particular paragraph 16 of the Cabinet Office Guidance for General Grants, Minimum Requirement Six: grant agreements.

The Charity Commission: Refusing/returning donations

The Charity Commission has shared the new guidance about refusing or returning donations:

New guidance for charities facing decisions about donations - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

UK Corporate Code of Governance 2024

The updated UK Corporate Code of Governance has been published. It will apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025.

Digital Skills/Strategy

Please see below for digital advice and support service for charities/the 3^rd sector. This has a range of free resources and advice which may be of interest:

Catalyst - digital advice and support for UK non-profits (thecatalyst.org.uk)

Report on Charity Digital Skills:

The 2023 Charity Digital Skills Report is live - Zoe Amar Digital

Curriculum Efficiency Benchmarking Tool

As part of the FE Commissioner's package of help and support for colleges, a new benchmarking tool was released in March using data collected in the 2022 Finance Record (FR22).

Known as 'Compare your curriculum efficiency', the tool includes a range of curriculum efficiency measures which have never previously been available to colleges as a national data set (the tool is distinct from the ESFA financial benchmarking tool). By selecting a menu of ‘family groups’, colleges can compare themselves against relevant data sets.

Due to the sensitivity of curriculum planning data, the benchmarking results have been anonymised so that confidentiality is preserved for this section. All colleges can access the tool in View Your Education Data.