Meeting of the SET Management Board

Date: Tuesday 15 January 2019
Time: 13.00–16.15pm
Venue: University of Derby, Enterprise Centre, 37 Bridge Street, Derby, DE1 3LD

Members present: Amanda Annis (PAG), Zayn Azam (ETF trustee), Barbara Van De Eecken (PAG), Jenny Jarvis (ETF), Anita McGowan (PAG), Martin Reid (SET), David Russell (ETF), Dan Williams (Chair & ETF trustee)
Apologies: Jim Crompton (PAG), Jill Saunders (PAG)
In attendance: Emma Cosby (SET/ETF Marketing Manager), Naomi Dixon (SET Membership Co-ordinator), Amanda Parkes (SET Administrator, Minute Taker)

Minutes

1a. Apologies and Welcome
The Chair welcomed the new Board members to their first meeting and roundtable introductions shared. Apologies for absence were received from Jill Saunders and Jim Crompton.
1b. Declarations of conflicts of interest in the items on the agenda
None announced.
2. Actions from last SMB and feedback from last PAG meeting

a) SMB

The Board received a paper detailing the actions that were identified following the last SMB meeting (11.10.18) and the development of those actions. It was highlighted to the Board that the membership grade discussion originally anticipated for the current meeting has been postponed and will now feature in the May SMB agenda for discussion. The Board was given clarity on the renewal strategy when corporate partner deals expire. The Board asked for clarification on the 100% retention target for corporate partners. Members were assured that the current number of corporate partners is small enough that there can be a more personalised approach to renewals for this year and the 100% retention target is realistic. It was acknowledged that as an on-going target SET would develop a different approach for retention as the corporate partner number grows.

b) PAG

The Board agreed one of the PAG representatives from the Board would relay the actions and outcome from the PAG in the next Board meeting.
The Board received a paper detailing the actions that were identified following the previous PAG meeting (23.11.18). The Membership Coordinator reported the main discussion points from the PAG meeting to the Board and the progress of those actions.

Following updates received on the Local Network Groups (LNGs) the Board requested further clarification on the resources available to LNGs in addition to the training they received. The Membership Coordinator clarified that there are two aspects to the support they receive, financial support and in-house support by way of training webinars, zoom meetings between group leaders and weekly telephone drop in sessions. The Board raised concerns about the LNGs receiving enough support when they grow and as new groups form. The Board was assured that at present the focus is to establish and grow the groups that are already set up to cement long-term geographical networks and then review the size of the support network in a year's time. The Board noted the need for a feedback loop from the LNG meetings to the Board and discussed the options available. Following discussion, the Board agreed that all LNG updates provided during the SMB meeting will be compiled in a report by the Membership Coordinator and shared with the SMB. Any insights, and feedback gained from the LNGs going forward will be shared with the SMB in the next meeting for their input on direction. The Board noted how the feedback would help demonstrate ETF’s added value and help with recruiting new SET members.

The Board received an update on SET governance, including; the updates made to the Practitioner Advisory Group’s (PAG) Terms of Reference, clarification of the next steps and timelines for the recruitment of new PAG members and the two new SMB members. The Membership Coordinator informed the Board that the PAG did not wish to move to a democratic model of voting and thought it was too early to formalise Local Network Groups. The Board discussed the feedback and agreed that SET will not move to a democratic model of voting this year, but additional consultation would take place and feedback gathered to be revisited in either the September 2019 or January 2020 SMB meeting for further consideration.

3a. Operational Plan 2018-19

The Board received oral updates and highlights from SET’s Director on the latest key performance indicators extracted from the SET monthly performance dashboard.

The Board received a paper detailing the SET Operations Plan 2018-19, which outlined SET’s key projects for the year 2018-19 and the RAG status of those projects. The Board was given more detailed updates on simplifying the membership journey, along with the Echo call centre and the decision to bring the call centre in-house. The Board sought clarification on what recruitment would be in process when bringing the call centre in-house. The COO explained to the Board the aim to drive a more self-facilitative support approach and signposting through the correct administrative support. The Board also sought clarification on how the calls would link to the CRM. Members were assured this is something that is under consideration.

The SET Director informed the Board of an ATS and QTLS strategy away day. The SET Director confirmed the following Board issues would be discussed during the away day: the connectivity between the two status’; roll on roll off cohorts for ATS; a salary sacrifice model for corporate partners and their staff; signposting to funding for individuals; and corporate partner pricing discount for QTLS and ATS. The COO informed the Board she would be chairing the ATS-QTLS board in the coming weeks and the Board agreed that the findings from this meeting would be shared with them in the next meeting.

3b. Business Plan 2019-20

The Board received the SET Business Plan 2019-20 in draft format. The SET Director informed the Board that the Business Plan was based on year two of the SET three-year strategy and outlined core targets for the next financial year. The Board shared its feedback on the Business Plan. It suggested that the student membership target was too low and it was agreed that the number would be reviewed. The Board noted that tailored and targeted content based on sectors would help attract members, this was unanimously agreed upon. The Board asked that once the dates were agreed on the operations plan and the recourses had been mapped out that the order of the actions would be revisited through grouping and prioritising. The SET Director agreed the plan would need to be refined with prioritised set of objectives.

The Board was informed that SET is currently working on tailored content for newly qualified teachers.

4. Membership pricing for 2019-20

The Board received a paper detailing the membership pricing plan for 2019-20. The Board discussed the paper and the outlined prices. The SET Director agreed that SET would review pricing for concessionary bands and come back to the Board with a proposal in September for the 20-21 year. The Board considered the proposal to freeze the membership fee for the coming year and increase the non-direct debit payment price. The Board unanimously agreed the pricing plan.

5. Workshop: Practitioner perspectives on opportunities for the workforce
The PAG representatives on the Board shared their pre-prepared three points on what they thought were the practitioner perspectives on opportunities for the workforce available through SET and the ETF’s offerings.

6. SMB/ETF Board workshop: Feedback on workshop session and how that links into ETF priorities
The SMB and the ETF Board came together to discuss the three chosen opportunities/points from the SMB workshop in item five. The three themes chosen and discussed in groups were; Career and diversification, Practitioner input in to solution design, How Do I? – be the best professional

7. Any other business
The Board asked for the meeting dates to be re-circulated

8. The Board noted that the next SMB meeting date was 01 May 2019.