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Governance

What is the purpose of the Governing Body?

The Governing Body, or Corporation, is responsible to the local and the wider community to oversee the way the college is run and to make sure it delivers what the community needs. It sets the strategic direction of the college and is responsible for its assets. Governors foster an ambitious vision and want to ensure that all learners can achieve to their highest potential. The Corporation oversees the quality and performance of the college.

Corporation Membership and contacting the Corporation

The Governing Body is known as the Corporation. Members of the Corporation are mostly external to the college and are local people with a range of skills, knowledge and experience to help the college take forward its strategic objectives. The Corporation includes in its membership the College Principal, staff and student governors.

Any person wishing to become a Governor, or correspond with the Corporation, should write to Heather Cross, Director of Governance, for an application form and relevant information regarding Corporation membership and eligibility:

Heather Cross
Director of Governance
Wiltshire College and
University Centre
College Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 0ES

Tel: 01985 803453

heather.​cross@​wiltshire.​ac.​uk

Our Constitution

Our Instrument and Articles of Government are available to view or download.

Regulatory Publications

To view our regulatory documents and statements click here.

External Board Review

The Governing Body commissioned an external board review which was carried out in Spring 2023 by Governance4FE. An executive summary of the review outcomes and recommendations is available here.

External Board Review May 23

Governing Body Minutes

Jenny Davies

Jenny is the Operations Director of Wiltshire Creative, an arts organisation based in Salisbury which runs Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury International Arts Festival. Prior to this she was Head of Historic Properties at Stonehenge for six years, with responsibility for the visitor operation welcoming over 1.5 million visitors to Wiltshire annually and for the care and conservation of the iconic World Heritage site location. Jenny's earlier career was spent as a General Manager for commercial theatres, largely in London's West End, including nine years at the Dominion Theatre. She lives in Salisbury with her husband and two young sons.

Brian Humphreys

Brian retired from the Department for Education in 2022, having worked alongside many further education providers in the South West and South East regions of England for over 20 years. During his career, he worked in planning, research, policy implementation and service delivery roles in the post-16 education sector. He has substantial experience of further education funding policy and operations and wants to use his experience to make a difference for Wiltshire learners. Brian lives in Wiltshire and is a keen walker.

Cathryn Giles

Cathryn is a Staff Governor. She is Deputy Head of the Foundation Studies Department, and is mainly based at our Trowbridge Campus.

Clive Barker

Clive is a retired Chartered Accountant with a distinguished career in public service. He previously served as the Chief Finance Officer for Wiltshire Police for over two decades, giving him a comprehensive understanding of local community and business organisations. Additionally, he has held the position of governor at a local secondary school.

Dr Daisy Agathine-Louise

Daisy is a professional Further Education (FE) senior leader and manager, highly experienced in leading on curriculum strategic development and quality improvement. She has a proven track record in taking programmes from inadequate to good and outstanding in many curriculum areas during her career. She holds a doctorate in leadership and management in Education. As an educational consultant, Daisy advises and supports on quality improvement and quality assurance. She also successfully mentors and coaches FE leaders and managers.

An experienced Ofsted Inspector since 2015, Daisy has carried out inspections across a wide range of settings in Further Education and Skills, including FE colleges, Apprenticeship Providers, Independent Learning Providers and Adult Learning. Her inspection practices have enabled her to develop valuable and highly transferable skills, knowledge and competence relevant to FE and Higher Education institutions.

Emily Palmer

Emily is a Registered Nurse and NHS Manager, with a diverse background spanning marketing, education, development and healthcare. Previously, she has served as an ambassador for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE), a Fellow with the Canal and River Trust, and a policy advisor for the YHA, focusing on youth development and accessible education.

Emily's commitment to lifelong learning and community service has earned her prestigious awards such as the British Citizen Award for Volunteering, the Coronation Champion Award, and the Wiltshire Life Award. A proud Wiltshire native, Emily is deeply rooted in the local community and is dedicated to advancing the college's mission of serving its students and community effectively.

Iain Hatt, Principal & CEO

Iain has executive responsibility for the strategic and operational leadership of the College. Iain was appointed Principal & CEO of Wiltshire College & University Centre in February 2021 and took up post in August 2021.

Prior to this, Iain held the post of Deputy Principal, Curriculum & Quality. Before joining Wiltshire College & University Centre in 2014, Iain worked in senior management positions at Exeter College and South Devon College and was a member of the senior teams which took both colleges to outstanding Ofsted grades.

Iain has over 19 years of experience in further education - managing organisational change, driving improvement, and developing and delivering high-quality teaching, learning and assessment. He is passionate about ensuring students develop the knowledge and skills that will enable them to progress in the future and has an excellent track record in quality improvement in the further education

Janet Bolton

Janet is a retired HR professional with over 40 years experience in the Not for Profit, international Charity, Housing and Healthcare organisations.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development she has spent most of her career working at a strategic level.

Living locally with her husband she enjoys running, baking, travel and socialising with friends

Justin Purkis

Justin is a Chartered Accountant, qualified Risk Manager and Executive Coach. He has spent his career in financial services and currently provides consultancy services to large financial organisations.

Justin is Chair of the Wiltshire County Scout Council, as well as being involved at district and group level. He has previously served as a governor of a local primary school, including as Finance Governor and as Chair.

Katie Walker

Katie has been involved in education for over 40 years, teaching in a variety of middle and secondary schools in UK and overseas. She was Director of Studies and then Deputy Head of Chafyn Grove in Salisbury. She is a former Inspector as part of the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Katie is a keen gardener and walker, is interested in art, fashion, village life and books, and is learning Spanish.

Lily Raynor-Blundell

Lily is Head of Engineering and has worked at Wiltshire College since 2015.

Alongside her role at the College, Lily is also studying her PhD, where she is focusing her research on Relationship and Sex Education.

Lucy Townsend

Lucy Townsend is the Corporate Director for People at Wiltshire Council having worked for the Council since 2014. She holds the statutory role of Director of Children’s Services and as Corporate Director for People is responsible Children’s Social Care, Education and Skills, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Adult Social Care, Mental Health and Housing Operations.

In her spare time, Lucy enjoys spending time with her family and playing hockey for her local team or walking the dogs.

Philippa Gray

Philippa runs a livery yard and small farm, having wide-ranging rural interests. Her professional background is in rural estate management and she is a qualified chartered surveyor. She practised as a land agent and head of country house departments for two of the leading specialist estate agents in this field.

Rachael Lawes

Rachael is a Qualified Chartered Accountant. She has worked in Local Government for over 20 years mainly within a senior finance role in the Education Service. More recently she has worked in the Charity Sector as the Chief Finance Officer for Citizens Advice and Head of Finance for Clifton Catholic Diocese.

Rachael enjoys working in a sector where the focus is to improve outcomes for individuals in society. Providing the financial expertise to ensure the best possible results are delivered has been her utmost priority.

As well as her financial background Rachael has also managed and had responsibility for other Business Support Functions such as Human Resources, IT and estates management. She enjoys the variety and believes that to provide sound financial advice you need to have a good understanding of a business and how it operates.

Rachael lives in West Wiltshire and in her spare time she enjoys gardening, baking or going for long walks with her husband and labradoodle ‘Aston’.

Our Governance structure

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