DRAFT/unadopted

THE ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE EDUCATIONMinutes of Council 3 (under the new governance structure) meeting held at

ASE Headquarters, HatfieldSaturday 14th July 2012, commencing at 10.30am

Present: Richard Needham (Chair of Council 2011-2012) Peter Borrows (Association Treasurer – appointed to Council) Roger McCune (Representing Q & A on Council) up to Item 4e which was taken at 4pm Stuart Farmer (Council Member Elected by Membership 2011-2014) up to Item 4i at 5.30pm Des Dunne (Vice Chair of Council & Council Member Elected by Membership 2011-2012) Wilson Agnew (Council Member Elected by Membership 2011-2013) up to Item 4i at 5.30pm Sally Howard (Council Member Elected from previous Council 2011-2014) Maggie Hannon (Council Member Elected from previous Council 2011-2012)

Invited Guests: Lynne Horton (Chair of the Association 2011-12) Liz Lawrence (Chair Elect of the Association - invited as observer)

Apologies were received from: Professor Robin Millar (ASE President) Janice Griffiths (Council Member Elected from previous Council 2011-2013)

In attendance: Annette Smith (Chief Executive) John Lawrence (DCEO and Registrar) Tony Leaney (Director: CMS) Joined Council from Item 3e up to Item 40 Marianne Cutler (Director: PCI) Joined Council from Item 3e up to Item 40 Alan Evans (PA to CEO/HR) – Minutes

Item no

Notes Actions

1 Richard Needham, Chair of Council 2011-12, welcomed everyone to Council 3 at 10.30am.

1a Welcome and apologies

Apologies were received from:

Janice Griffiths (Council Member Elected from previous Council 2011-2013) Professor Robin Millar (ASE President)

The Chair confirmed that Janice Griffiths had resigned her post on Council, due to other commitments, and that therefore a new member of Council, from The Assembly, would be appointed in due course.

1b Minutes of Council Meeting 2:

Minutes of Council 2 Meeting held 24th March 2012 were accepted by Council, with some amendments.

‘Janice Griffiths (Council Member Elected from previous Council 2011-2013)’ to be deleted from ‘Present’ list, p5.

The entry for Roger McCune (Representing Q & A on Council) listed on the ‘Present’ list, p5, should be updated to include ‘for part of the meeting - up to 3pm’.

The words ‘Region 8 Secretary’ to be deleted from 2nd line, Item 3.2.4, p8. Item 1, p5: ‘Reserved Business’: the following text inserted before ‘Three

items of Reserved Business were discussed’: ‘Council agreed a procedure for confirming the notes of Reserved Business. The CEO will circulate the notes of Reserved Business for Council to read and initial at the following Council meeting’. (This will appear as an agenda item and will form part of the Council Operating Procedures). The minutes of Council 2 have been amended to reflect these changes and subsequently signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

1c Matters arising

‘1.2’: The DCEO said that the outstanding Conflict of Interest and “willingness to act as a trustee” form had not been signed by one member of Council, and that this was unlikely to happen now.

2.2 item 7.4: The DCEO confirmed that Q & A agreed minutes had been placed on the website for all members as agreed with Roger McCune.

Item 4.5: The CEO reported back that different channels had been explored for filling the two advertised trustee vacancies, but that this not been achieved as yet. The CEO suggested that Council meetings taking place on a Saturday may be a factor, and further to this, Council briefly discussed the appropriateness of Saturdays for Council meetings.

CEO

Item 3.1 The CEO said trustee abstentions (‘Consensus Decision Making’ - paper 2d) would be taken under the Strategic Plan later in the agenda.

Item 3.2.1: The DCEO discussed age profiling the membership over the last two years and said that the dataset used had been passed to Tony Leaney (Director: CMS) who will use it for planning future membership strategies.

Director: CMS

Item 3.2.2: It was confirmed that that following approval by Council 2, it had been officially announced that there will be no increase in membership subscription rates 2012/13.

Item 3.2.3: New Corporate Membership: to be covered later in the agenda.

Item 3.2.4: re Pauline Anderson: the words ‘Region 8 Secretary’ to be deleted from 2nd line, Item 3.2.4, p8. (already covered in ‘Minutes of Council Meeting 2’).

Item 3.6: The CEO confirmed that the ‘ASE and its governance and support of the Nations’ paper written by Stuart Farmer, had been incorporated in the Regions

paper.

Item 3.6: The Anniversary Appeal would be taken later in 2b.

Item 4.1: 4a Assembly 2: Lynne Horton (Chair of the Association 2011-12) to report back to Council re Assembly 3 later in the agenda in 3: ‘Current Issues’.

Item 5.1: 5a: The DCEO confirmed that the amended minutes of the AGM Friday 6th January 2012, were now on the website.

Item 5.3: 5c The CEO said that the relevant documentation relating to changes in the By-laws was being sent out in the next week to the Privy Council for approval.

Item 5.4: 5d Quality and Audit committee report. The DCEO said a separate tab had now been under the Admin area for Members area to facilitate the location of the Q & A minutes on the website.

Item 5.8: The Chair said he was not aware of any suggestions received from Council for increasing book sales.

Item 5.9: Peter Borrows (Association Treasurer) said the West Midlands Region account will close at the end of July 2012, and they will use the centralised HQ account from 1/8/12.

Item 5.10: 5j Outline budget 2012/13: to be covered in detail later in the agenda.

Item 5.11: re DATA campaign: the CEO said that Richard Green was putting a working group together on the future of the subject and that she will meet with Richard next week to discuss issues facing both associations.

Item 5.12: 5l Membership figures Months 6 & 7: the DCEO said an extra column had been inserted to show an annual, month by month comparison with the previous year’s figures.

Item 5.14: 5n Registration Board 21st April 2012 Update: the DCEO said 24 out of a random sample of 25 CPD records had been reviewed and found satisfactory, and there was an on-going discussion with the remaining one.

Item 5.18: 5r Forums: would be covered in detail later in the agenda.

Item 5.19: 5s: the DCEO said the word ‘website’ had been edited out from the document heading in the ASE ‘Standard terms and conditions’ document relating to the Association’s business transactions.

Item 5.21: 5u Update on progress with the Operating Procedures:The Chair asked for the status of each document ie the various components within the new Operating Procedures document to be made known to Council.

CEO

The DCEO suggested that the forthcoming Council Training date (29 September 2012) might become an annual event and this was agreed by Council (but that next year’s budget allocation would be monitored in relation to this).

AOB: The Chair said no notifications if items of ‘AOB’ had been received for Council 3 The Chair then said that if an ad-hoc National Curriculum working group was necessary, this did not require the formal agreement of Council or Assembly, and could proceed immediately.

2 Strategic matters ACTIONS

2.1 2a: Strategic Plan, p15.

The CEO said the Strategic Plan was not yet complete, but wanted to see if Council agreed with the direction of travel, and that the plan’s structure was clear and accessible. The CEO discussed the three Key Strategic Objectives ie resources needed by the membership and the profession, the influence of ASE in raising the profile of the science teaching profession, and the work carried out by HQ and the structure within ASE. Previous comments received had been absorbed into the values statement including the area of diversity.

Following discussion on the use of the word ‘resources’ in Key Strategic Objective 1, the CEO noted various suggestions from Council for refining the wording, After Council had discussed online discussion in the process of finalising decisions, the CEO discussed the timescale for implementation and said the new Strategic Plan would be in use for setting Action Plans in the next ASE year, ideally with associated threads on the Forum. The CEO discussed the ‘success criteria’ for all objectives and described the forthcoming HQ workshops on setting SMART targets which would feed into staff and volunteer Action Plans in September appraisals. Council agreed to a suggestion for numbered paragraph and line numbers in the formatting of the plan. Progress so far was approved nem.con

CEO

2.2 2b The Anniversary Appeal - CEO verbal report re latest developments to Council:

The Appeal has been publicised in two editions of EIs and the CEO has liaised with stakeholders including AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust’s Primary Teachers’ College to promote the Summer Conference and business opportunities. The potential involvement of SLC Bayfordbury is also possible.

The CEO said a firm decision as to whether HRH Duke of Edinburgh will attend the Summer Conference 2013 is expected from the Palace in November. The incoming ASE President will speak at the event, which, under agreement with the University of Hertfordshire, will take place on 27/28 June, 2013. The CEO will be meeting with the Vice Chancellor to attempt to obtain terms beneficial to ASE for the conference, which will feature a marquee and exhibition.

The CEO will be writing to Honorary Members to encourage Appeal donations. A ‘Donate Now’ button has been placed on the website, and an alternative suggestion of revenue generated by an ‘online raffle’ was discussed, in light of the general economic situation. The Chair expressed the view that focusing on bookings for the Summer Conference would generate interest among sponsors and the business community. York was also suggested as the Summer Conference venue for wider membership appeal, however the CEO said York could not cope with the 500 people planned to attend.

CEO

CEO

2.3 2c Membership initiatives, To approve proposals in paper, p25

The Chair said detailed questions would be covered later when Tony Leaney (Director: CMS) was in attendance. The CEO discussed the updated actions for staff members and Regions. The system for administering the 20% discount for technicians and 11-19 members recruiting new members has been discussed and organised by Tony Leaney and the Membership team. It was suggested that further information such as Corporate Commercial Member trends would be useful, and Council agreed that that the regularly updated document be included on a regular basis.

The CEO spoke to the proposals in the paper including Primary schools wanting resources with their membership and the recommended e-membership bundle being

Director: CMS

trialled. ‘Risk Scenarios’ were discussed including the implications of all schools receiving the e-bundle at the discounted rate. The proposals were approved nem.com

2.4 2d Committee reorganisation - approval for timetable doc, p31.

Council discussed the timescale for the Chair’s proposed changes to committees and considered the previous system of advertising for committee vacancies in the February 2013 issue of EiS. The Chair discussed the election process for 2012/13 in order to implement the committee changes in September 2013. It was suggested that prior to adoption, committees should alert Council before Council 1 to any process problems.

Council discussed the size of different committees and their allocations of budget and appropriate resources. Council discussed whether the election process should be held separately from the elections for Assembly and Council or held in one go to ensure maximum votes, and Council agreed with the Chair’s suggestion that a published list is made available to Council with the names of all those nominated, including nominations recommended by Committee Chairs, not just Council-recommended nominations.

The Chair proposed that Council agree the size of each committee and each committee remit and this was approved nem.conl.

2.5 2e: Region reorganisation including progress with Scotland

The CEO spoke to the paper and discussed the parts that referred to the Structure and Functions of the Regions. The CEO then discussed the proposed Operating Procedures set out in Appendix 2 (p40) of the document and how this related to the new Strategic Plan. Council noted that the Rules applicable to Finance quoted in the document (Rule 44b) may be outdated and possibly require a Rule Change at the AGM 2013.

The Chair recommended the document be sent out in sufficient time to allow Regions to respond. It was agreed that this was a good time to include specific guidance for Regions in the Operating Procedures. It was also agreed to insert the words ‘a minimum of’ before the section describing the activity of a Region.

Council agreed nem.con that responses from Regions were needed by Council 1 in November, and the document therefore should be circulated by early September 2012. Council also agreed that the Report back on progress with rebuilding Scotland Region Committee would be taken in Q & A agenda item 4m.

CEO

CEO

3 Current issues

3.1 3a; Assembly 3; outcomes and recommendations for 2012/13: Website and verbal report

Lynne Horton (Chair of the Association 2011-12 Chair of Assembly) discussed 2-way dialogue with the ASE membership on the Assembly Forum. Evaluations for the year (to be shared with Q & A) reported that plenty had been learned for next year, and she reported that a job description for Assembly members had been developed and placed on the website for feedback. The purpose of the Assembly had been established with a focus next year on working groups between Assembly meetings for concrete outcomes.

Council discussed a request by the Assembly for Council meeting minutes to be circulated more widely in order to raise questions, with differing views exchanged regarding timescales and monitoring the amount of detail contained within the

Chair of the Association

minutes. There were suggestions that the final approved Council minutes should be formally available in full, ahead of the Assembly on the website for all members, and that the appropriate Council members might be available informally to answer issues raised. A summary of the Council minutes being made available to the Assembly was also discussed.

3.2 3b: Election Results

The DCEO proposed that the following confirmed election results be approved by Council:

Chair Elect: Peter Robinson (3 year term Chair elect 2012/13, Chair 2013/14, Immediate Past Chair 2014/15

Elected to Council from membership:(3 years) Stuart Naylor

To Council from Assembly: Alan Rhodes (3 years)

Assembly

(a) Elected from Membership: Alan Rhodes (3 years), Miriam Watson (2 years) & Natalie Timoney (2 years)

(b) Elected from Regions: Chris Colclough (3 years), Helen Rogerson (3 years) & Nick O’Brien (2 years).

The DCEO discussed the recommendation (Part E, p47) for ‘one candidate, one category’ only to avoid multiple entries. The Chair said this should become part of the Operating Procedures for elections. Following discussion, Council agreed that the personal statement and photograph of those nominated should be made accessible via a link on the ASE elections page available to all, but other details behind the Members login.

DCEO

3.3 3c: Composition of Council 2012/13 to include:Chair and Vice Chair of Council

Chair of Council

The Chair discussed 2 options for the Chair election:That the current Council (in attendance) should decide the future Chair, using their experience to guide them. Or alternatively, no Chair should be appointed until Council meets again (with the new composition for 2012/13). Differing suggestions were put forward including that Council should wait and consider what ASE requirements are before appointing (ie option 2) resulting in a ‘bigger pool’ of candidates.

Council discussed the duration of the Chair of Council appointment. There were suggestions that a standard 2 year term would work well, and another that that current Chair, Richard Needham might stay on, in that such continuity would be beneficial. Further discussion followed on the relevant procedural rules, and Council noted that the new Rules should be followed ie the Chair should be elected by and from elected members of Council. The DCEO had emailed all existing Council members who may have been interested in nominating themselves Chair to notify him by 4pm on the day. The CEO said further rule changes may be required to clarify the situation for the future.

Following discussion, The Chair said that regardless of the number of nominations received, Council needed a process to assess whether the calibre of the nominations were of a standard high enough to make the decision to proceed to an election and

vote.

Council agreed the following nem.con

1) The outgoing Council will elect the incoming Chair2) The appointed Chair will not be tied to a 3 year term, but can possibly serve

up to 3 years3) An annual election will take place4) Only elected members can stand as Chair (this is in the current Rules)5) When nominations are received by the formal closing date, Council will then

take a vote on whether to move to an election6) If more than two candidates are involved, a vote will take place and the

candidate with the least number of votes eliminated followed by a second vote. This will ensure that the successful candidate will be elected with at least 50% of votes cast, and this is consistent with the existing Operating Procedures (see Voting Procedures at Council – Appendix 5 Guidelines for Council Members 2009/10)

3.4 Council representatives on Assembly and Assembly representative on Council

It was confirmed that the Vice-Chair of Council and the positions on Assembly from Council would be elected at the Training meeting of Council 29 September 2012.

3.5 Vacancies for appointed positions

Appointed members of Council: 4 vacancies for appointed members of Council each for a three year term.

The Chair said that attempts to recruit a Treasurer from a financial background have not been successful and asked if Council would be willing to appoint from the retiring members of Council – this was approved nem.con. The Chair said Des Dunne (Vice Chair of Council & Council Member Elected by Membership 2011-2012) had offered to be appointed and take up the position of Association Treasurer. Council noted that Peter Borrows 5 year term as Treasurer was to expire, however, technically this could be extended to 6 years and changing Treasurer at this time might not be the best timing. Following discussion, an arrangement was proposed that Peter Borrows would stay on as Treasurer until the AGM 2013, to allow shadowing to prepare Des Dunne in advance of officially taking over the role. This was approved nem.con.

Following discussion, Roger McCune (Representing Q & A on Council) proposed to Council that Maggie Hannon be appointed to be the Council rep on Q and A and this was approved nem.con

Names are to be put forward to the CEO for the remaining co-option to Council (an additional appointed vacancy will occur post AGM.The Chair said the vacancy that would be created on Council by the resignation of Janice Griffiths would be filled from Assembly.

Of the further vacancies (one immediate and a further one following the AGM when Peter Borrows steps down), the Chair requested that Council members consider who they knew in terms of diversity (age, gender, ethnicity) and also the skills lacking in current Council members (long term financial planning, fundraising, media, HR) for appointment as a Council trustee. The Chair invited suggestions by 21 July stipulating that anyone approached must be a member with relevant experience. The Chair will then call potential appointees.

All Council??

3.6 3d Website developments

The DCEO discussed responding to recommendations on the website forums made in the report by the working group which comprised: Rob Butler, Des Dunne and Peter Borrows. The Anniversary Appeal pages have a Paypal ‘instant giving’ button. An enhanced ‘Primary Resources Area’ is currently under development similar to the Heads of Science area being developed by 11-19 committee members. A rotating banner and more visible ‘Join ASE’ and “Benefits of Membership” link are being introduced on the homepage.

Council discussed the recommendation for a reduction to three forums as follows:

ASE Organisational Issues (Council, business matters etc) Science Education issues Anniversary Appeal

Council discussed opening up the forums more widely and the DCEO discussed the financial implications of the further recommendations in light of budgetary constraints and advice from NetXtra. Council also noted the Google Analytics report prepared by Becca Bull (Communications Officer: Web Editor) which displayed the international hits on certain website pages (notably those of the new Registers). Tabs for the forums will be clearly placed on the website in line with increasing visibility on the main page

The logistics of implementing the further changes in the report (3 to 10) were discussed and cost was put in the region of £1,600-3,200 & VAT.

Recommendations 1 & 2 were approved by Council nem,con

The Chair said the remaining recommendations would need to be revisited before any further decisions were made in relation to available funds.

DCEO

3.7 3e Decision making between Council meetings

Council agreed that the current arrangement of 3 Council meetings a year may mean the need for email communication between meetings. The CEO explained that the protocol in the paper was designed to avoid long email chains, and to retain a formal framework in this respect for the decision making in-between scheduled Council meetings. Following discussion on how a decision is reached, it was suggested that minutes of ‘online decisions’ in-between meetings should be added to the next ‘Chair’s Business’, or appear separately after the main body of Council minutes. This was agreed nem.con, and will become part of the refined Operating Procedures in due course.

CEO

4 Fiduciary matters

Note: Marianne Cutler (Director: PCI) & Tony Leaney (Director: CMS) joined Council discussion until item 40.

4.1 Progress to year end

The DCEO distributed the Projection to year end based on Month 11 data that had been obtained the previous day there not having been time to confirm every line. The likely out turn at year end is a deficit of £98k.

Though the actual amount in the bank is currently reasonable, the reserve is very low and the next three months are critical due to considerable outgoings and little incoming. The CEO emphasised that the overall situation is extremely serious and that she will be speaking with Stephen Fyles, Accountant about the implications. A recovery plan is in place which will be discussed with the auditors, and if good

income is generated by the Anniversary Appeal this will help greatly. The current and incoming Treasurer agreed to meet with the CEO, DCEO and Accountant at HQ in the next two weeks to be further informed about the situation.

4.2 4a Performance against budget - detail

The CEO led in with a brief overview then the respective Directors gave their input and commentary on the expected outturn from their budget lines.

4.3 Corporate Operations

Income: The DCEO predicted a £3-4k income figure for the finance line which was lower than in previous years. The DCEO reported that with new registers impacting, the Registration Board line was above predictions, and that membership registrations may also be slightly over budget (ie £625K instead of £6225 budgeted-for).

Expenditure: Governance is overspent slightly. The Finance line with items such as non-recoverable VAT and gains/losses on investments has been difficult to predict in the past. Council was asked to note the unexpected Council-approved payment impacting on the HR budget in the current year.Premises: one garage had now been cleared out and now a further one would be removed from use in late September/October. One would remain for conferences holding their desk and A frames. The ground floor of ASE HQ would be rearranged to cater for the materials that had been retrieved from the garage.

The DCEO emphasised that the Registration Board had reduced to 2 face to face meetings per year and that income and expenditure are linked Membership expenditure was relatively stable and predicted income the best figure we can suggest.

Overall CO income was 1% above budgeted, while expenditure was 8% under budget.

4.4 4h – 2: Communications & Membership Services: Tony Leaney (Director: CMS)

Journals Budget based on 4 paper issues of EiS and one electronic. Not implemented so 5 issues produced. In reality some savings made on estimated cost of 5 paper issues. For SSR, due to member numbers reducing, some reduction in print and distribution/postage costs. Some increase in PS library subscribers. Plus JES I&E included in this line for convenience. Therefore also includes small number of JES subscribers plus small sponsorship amounts for JES and page setting and design costs. The cost of STE is included in the ATSE membership fee (and therefore accrue to CO budget), only small additional library subs accrue to CMS.

Annual Conference 2012: income down £62k due to registration fees and reduced exhibition space (£36k down), and £2k had been lost due to the lack of a sponsor for the International Lunch. There had been less expenditure on the marquee at Liverpool, though overall savings had been impacted by some unexpected bills from the University including a charge for the student union foyer. The staff salary budget was higher as the stewards costs of £7.8 k (budgeted for in OE had been moved to this heading.

Area conferences: E of England showed smaller revenue than hoped. York & Humber had to be cancelled due to lack of interest. Fewer opportunities to make revenue as we stage more partner conferences with SLCs where they administer registration and provide venue and we administer exhibition. Our income is then only from exhibition. London & SE originally budgeted as one where ASE would get registration fees but changed to partner SLC South of England.

The Annual Technicians Conference and the National Primary Conference were examples of the new model working with the NSLC. This reduced risk, but also affected the potential to generate income. The Scottish conference had been a successful well-organised event featuring a science fair for the first time, and praise was due to Steuart Cuthbert. The ATSE conference budget was problematic as the conference did not generate enough revenue to cover costs. Noted that the shortfall would be met from the ATSE account held external to HQ which should now be returned to HQ in accordance with good practice.The NAIGS Conference attracted fewer delegates than anticipated, resulting in less income and expenditure.

Advertising revenue had been difficult and impacted by the departure of Liz Mayers (Assistant Advertising Manager). The current Advertising Manager had subsequently been unable to perform both roles. A trial period with a small agency had not worked out and the contract had been cancelled. All ASE advertising was now being sold by a larger well established agency – TenAlps, who were also a publisher.

‘ASE Promotional Activity’ had included an income estimate of £30k of new business but this had not materialised. Field Officer travel expenses had been reduced by £2/3k, the ASE website was predicted to save £500, and SchoolScience would exceed planned revenue by £13k by year’s end, though expenses incurred from additional staff travel and increased costs for the SS Web Editor meetings had increased its expenditure.

In response to a question from the Treasurer Tony Leaney confirmed that the three main factors contributing to the deficit in the CMS budget lines were the Annual Conference, Advertising and the -£30k Income re business development.

ACTION: DCEO

4.5 4h – 3: Professional & Curriculum Innovation: Marianne Cutler (Director: PCI)

Marianne discussed a £1.5k IPWS deficit, but emphasised that the Opto-electronics sub-project within the Technicians CPD line had been taken out part way through the year leaving an £11k surplus. In line with agreements with the University of Hertfordshire, incoming PSQM contributions would next year cover Sarah Taylor (Senior Administrative Assistant: Professional Development, currently seconded out to UH) and the CEO in advisory capacity.

The £29k figure for PrimaryUpd8 should have included additional transferred monies, but had balanced successfully without generating a big income. The Treasurer asked if the PrimaryUpd8 £29k projected figure included 5k from the Olympic Fund. Marianne noted that next year’s budget would have to account for additional staffing and consultancy costs. Despite 11.5k costs incurred, Upd8WiKid had benefitted greatly from Sheffield Hallam funding without which the project would not be happening. For Publications the 150k figure had been ‘very challenging’ in light of a year-on-year decline and after a brief upturn during recent months a downward trend had returned. ASE book sales generated 12.3k while Projects income had generated a modest £20k.

4.6 4b Membership figures Month 10

The DCEO said June figures were included in papers. The last 3 months had been steady with a slight increase which was a welcome trend.

The Chair asked if the Facebook traffic was being capitalised on in terms of converting the interest to memberships. Tony Leaney said International e-membership was now being looked at closely, but this would need time to facilitate, and was dependant on Council agreeing to other actions today.

ACTION: DCMS

4.7 4c Movement of funds and cash balances – Months 10: To note

The DCEO referred to the Funds Statement, p71, and said all June figures had been uploaded. The DCEO discussed the Investments figure of £121,988 and said this may need to be converted to cash at short notice, and also noted that £150k in membership fees allocated for 2012/13 would need to be taken into account for the balance sheet.

The CEO confirmed that a management fee applied to the investments with Rathbones.

4.8 4d BIEV reports Months 10

The DCEO said this area showing the likely situation at Month 12 had been covered earlier.

4.9 4e Exception reports – Month 9 and Prediction to Year End

The DCEO confirmed this had been done.

4.10 4f Project planning

This was moved to be covered in Marianne Cutler’s Budget commentary below section 4h - 3.

4.11 4h Budget 2012/13 (booklet, p81) To discuss and approve

The CEO spoke to the revised Budget 2012/13 Summary, first presented at Council 2, now with rows inserted for the Anniversary Appeal, with the aim of replenishing reserves.Donna Evans (Publications Manager) has been looking in detail at booksales in order to properly target and monitor sales in the next year and these figures will appear in the final budget.

The CEO emphasised that despite other expenditure being repeatedly monitored and shaved to the absolute minimum, the budget, without the Anniversary Appeal, did not balance, and this had led to more cuts in staff cost needing to be made. The CEO therefore had written to staff at the end of March informing them that a reduction in the salary bill was needed which would have to be achieved by a cut across the board or redundancies. The solution decided upon was a 10% cut across the staff and most staff have accepted that this has to happen. Some have proposed an unpaid leave arrangement as an alternative and this has been agreed. The CEO said that this would result in a small financial surplus without taking into account the Anniversary Appeal. The CEO thanked the Directors and HR for their involvement in the staff cost reduction and budgeting process. Council discussed the detrimental effect of recent postage costs increases and discussed the possibility of one hard copy issue of the EiS being cut, which would in turn affect advertising revenue.

The CEO said that Andrew Rankin (Field Officer: England South) was to stand down at the end of July, however no replacement appointment would be made and volunteers would be sought to cover the departure.

Publications Manager

CEO

4.11.1 4h – 1: Corporate Operations: John Lawrence (DCEO)

The predicted budgeted Membership figure of £585k was discussed in relation to declining membership numbers and whether a slightly lower figure might be appropriate.

The Registration Board figure of £18,650 would balance out by reduced expenditure if the challenging target numbers of RSci and RSciTech were not met.

The ICT budget had been further reduced and the DCEO noted the following: Trustees need to accept that if the current server fails it will not be possible to recover data on the older Membership 2000 system running on an NT4 server. Similarly, not going ahead with email archival software means Trustees need to be aware about compliance issues and the possibility of not being able to recover emails that users might have deleted from their machines (see Reserved Business.

Region grants money was now being held by HQ, however Governance expenditure would prove a difficult budget line to meet (including budgeting for an extra Council meeting).

The finance line was difficult to predict, as it includes investment losses and non-recoverable VAT. The DCEO discussed the reduction in premises budget line from past years due to reducing depreciation being factored in to the Premises line, but it was unlikely that a bill for electricity and heating will appear before year end.

4.11.2 Communications & Membership Services:

Tony Leaney reported that for all Journals subscription income had been raised by 5%.EiS - last year's EiS budget was based on one issue being produced electronically. It had not and so the budget didn't balance although some savings were made on the estimate of what 5 printed issues should have cost. 2012/13 budget is based on 4 issues only. (No electronic issue). It takes account of this year's expected out-turn plus an extra amount for postage.EiS - Some savings have been made so the budget for OE is only increased by £6k.SSR - Some savings have been made so the OE budget is reduced slightly. PS is much the same. STE is more expensive than has been budgeted for in the past.Re Postage - Having had a close look at the increased cost of postage - which is completely different to the previous pricing structure - calculations are done based on the proportion of journals that are posted within the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Overall we will be paying approx £8,800 more to post out the journals. Costs have been distributed as appropriate across the journal types.

Annual Conference:With help from Belinda Blakeney and Ray Hancock, Tony Leaney had gone through the AC budget line by line, looking at current quotes, previous I&E at Reading 2011 and comparative I&E at Liverpool. The budget includes a delegate rate increase of 5% but no increase in expected numbers from Reading 2011. Exhibition revenue includes an increase of 4% on exhibitor rates.Sponsorship currently stands at £35,850 and this has been incorporated in the budget. However, this could rise by several thousand. With regard to OE; The main difference this year is that Reading University will charge us an Admin/Service fee of £12k as they will not be getting the benefit of us booking out the Halls of Residence.

Technicians, Special and Area conferences all include an increase in exhibitor rates of 8% as these have not increased for 3 years. The first 2 are in partnership with the NSLC and others involve some element of SLC involvement/partnership. The model we now use most is where the (N)SLC provides the venue and registration and our revenue derives from the exhibition income only. The potential for revenue is lower but so is our risk.Area Conferences - assumes no London & SE conference as this will be absorbed into the Summer Conference and takes account of this year's expected out-turn.Scottish Conference is based largely on this year's expected outturn. BP sponsorship and Scottish Government contributions have already been secured by the Scotland FOATSE is included as it occurs this summer (although in 2012/13 budget)NAIGS is not included as it will be budgeted for within the Summer Conference.

Advertising is complicated by Ten Alps commission which has been allocated to OE. There are now unrealistic estimates for the amount of staff time that should be allocated to each advertising line so that should be considerably reduced. This is mainly about the reallocation of one staff member's time, some of which may be set against Project Fundraising either within PCI's budget lines or in Schoolscience if it is an SS project. Some might also be allocated to the Summer Conference. For now it is convenient to leave the salary allocation against the advertising budget.Promotion - how we use this budget and how we can best target our (limited) resources has resulted in savings this year and the budget is set in line with these continuing. We are reviewing all we are doing and using electronic means where possible and not paying for costly external advertising.Press & PR is unchanged.FOs expenses are reduced to reflect this year's out -turn and the impact of emphasising working differently to reduce travel and subsistence costs.Website is reduced - provides £5k for annual fee plus £2k for small web improvement projects.Schoolscience - includes a sponsorship income target raised to £70k plus £45k of new advertising revenue. BUT much of this is offset by the SS web editor's additional salary costs and the Ten Alps commission (£15,750).

Ways to address negative contributions were discussed. Council discussed the importance of journals to the membership, regarding the merits and limitations of both hard copy (eg ‘still has impact’) versus electronic issues (eg ‘easy access of old issues’). Tony Leaney said that following a push asking for members’ email addresses 80% had now supplied an email address (up from 61%). There was concern expressed at the £10k STE electronic journal loss. Council discussed budget lines 25 ‘Press and PR’ & 26 ‘ASE promotional activity’. Tony Leaney said that all production and distribution of marketing materials, flyers, membership forms, advertising placed in our own publications and externally was included in the Promotion line along with the management of bulk emails for Regions and distribution of journals. Part of the Communications Officer’s salary was included in Press and PR and part in the Website line.

4.11.3 Professional & Curriculum Innovation

Marianne Cutler (Director: PCI) said that with big challenges to consider a less risky budget had been put together, and said that a line was to be included for ‘ASE Voice’, which would have no income but would indicate the cost of this part of ASE activity. Publications had an assumed £131k income though income from book sales was just part of this figure. The CEO said that this area would further clarified by Donna Evans (Publications Manager) to pinpoint the key sales areas.

The Project Development line had a low assumed £20k figure, and Triple Science (£17k) had been allocated a separate line. Council briefly discussed the future of PSQM. Marianne Cutler said discussions regarding a possible Secondary Science Quality Mark have been productive and that an ASE proposal for a pilot had been submitted to SCORE? on 17/7/12.

CEO

4.12 Following discussion on delivering the budget in relation to the 10% staff cut proposed, the CEO said the budget had been designed to improve the reserve of ASE and that a timeline and ‘cut-off point’ would be monitored closely should there be a lack of sponsors for the Summer Conference 2013. Therefore the basic budget was conservative.

Council discussed whether the Anniversary Appeal figures should be included in the proposal or separated out prior to approval. Council heard that the new auditors were pleased at the pro-active fundraising approach taken with the Anniversary Appeal and this was important in ASE’s status as a going concern. The CEO said that in the past ASE had achieved lower rates of sponsorship compared to other organisations

conferences and events. The CEO said that frequent review would be carried out to monitor progress and that action would be taken at an early stage if required.

An initial proposal that the budget is proposed in part, with the Anniversary Appeal figures not included was voted upon but not approved, with just one in favour and 6 against.

A second vote to approve the budget in full was then taken and approved by Council with 6 in favour and one against. The budget was therefore approved.

CEO

4.13 4o Annual Conference 2013 and ASE President 2013 To note update on progress

The CEO announced that Lord Rees of Ludlow had agreed to be ASE President 2013, and this was endorsed by Council.

Tony Leaney and Marianne Cutler left Council at this point

CEO

4.14 4i Audit Plan p83-90The DCEO said that the audit would be carried out at HQ by HW Fisher & Company during the week commencing 24th September 2012, with audit costs around £5.5k less than Baker Tilly, the previous auditors. The DCEO said the approach would be to provide as much required information as possible to the auditors at the onset of the process, to save time, but that this represented over 100 separate files of information. The stocktake will be 1st August. Council approved the audit process nem.con

4.15 4j Annual Report including financial statement and impact statement:The CEO discussed preparation of this running alongside the audit process and said that an Impact Report had been requested from Tony Leaney. The CEO will report back to Lynne Horton (Chair of the Association 2011-12) as to what input is needed from Assembly

CEO

4.16 4k CEO Report p91-98: Update on any developments since the report was produced

The CEO had no significant further updates.

The DCEO said he had emailed/written to all to notify that all expenses are to be submitted to Finance at HQ by 10 August. The Treasurer said that though the Northern Ireland region account is to close by the end of July, their Treasurer was in ill health and the resulting lack of signatures was an on-going problem.

Lynne Horton requested, once it has been finalised and sent, a copy of the ASE response letter relating to DfE curriculum proposals and also notes of the meeting at the DfE on 5 July 2012. SCORE have already written to the Secretary of State regarding proposed changes to A-levels. There are no outcomes to report as yet regarding the published SCORE Research into Mathematics in the Sciences report.

CEO

4.17 4l Q and A report: Roger McCune, MBE (Representing Q & A on Council)

Council noted and congratulated Roger on his recent recognition in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list and the award of his MBE.

ASE Scotland: Roger McCune discussed the last Q & A meeting on 8th June and a workshop dealing with Region 8 Scotland issues. Carolyn Yates was now involved in helping Region 8 to move forward and composed for the attention of Scottish ASE members a letter and bulk email which had gone out from HQ and a website message posting. Council agreed the work addressing the ASE Scotland issues had been positive and that Region 8 could be re-established, when ready. The Treasurer said Region 8 was the only Region still with its own bank account and suggested this

DCEO

item should be placed on the agenda to address, which Council agreed.

Q & A had been evaluating recent structural changes and agreed the evolving process was positive, with ASE Scotland issues having been well dealt with, and the Assembly bedding in. Q & A’s role interacting in-between Assembly and Council meetings was discussed and agreed to be working well. It was noted that Graham Kingsley member, Q and A, had assisted the DCEO with online elections for the Assembly at the end of May.

4.18 4M Registration Board: new registrants Update

The DCEO referred to the minutes of the Registration Board held at HQ on 21st April 2012 and on 13th July 2012, and confirmed new registrants as listed in Appendix 1: attached to Council 3 minutes as a separate document.

The majority of RSci registrants were fast-tracked having met the criteria of 2 years’ experience teaching in schools, BSc Hons degree in science and QTS.The DCEO said many RSciTech registrants had applied for ASE membership at the same time which was a positive development.

4.19 4n Buildings p117: The DCEO said ASE is engaged in discussions with the University of Hertfordshire regarding ASE’s current lease arrangement from 2008 for the next 50 years. Current UH plans for the premises (‘The 20/20 Estates Vision’ booklet p119-131) appear to indicate that the ASE building will not exist in Summer 2015 and if ASE has to move as a result, the University will be obliged to support the move.

4.20 4p Review of first year of new structure and progress with Operating Procedures, p3

Following discussion Council agreed that future Council meetings be brought forward to start at 10am, aiming ideally for a timing of 10-4pm. The Treasurer suggested that time could be saved by using online communication to deal with certain items in-between Councils. Council approved nem.con

4.21 As it had now passed 4 pm, the DCEO announced that 2 nominations had been received by the deadline to stand for election as Chair: Alan Rhodes and Stuart Farmer. The Chair proposed that Council moved to an election and this was accepted nem.con. The DCEO will email accordingly in the week following this Council.

DCEO

4.22 Council noted that Council 3 would be the last with Richard Needham (Chair of Council 2011-2012). Richard was thanked by Council for a job well done.

1 Reserved business

The DCEO and PA to CEO left Council at this point.

Two items of Reserved Business were discussed: Notes of these items are held by the CEO.

Council will be asked to approve a hard copy of the note at the next meeting according to the agreed procedure

The DCEO asked Council to note the following dates:

Council & Assembly dates for 2012/13

COUNCIL Training Day 29th September 2012

Assembly 1                         20th October 2012

COUNCIL 1                          24th November 2012

Assembly 2                         2nd February 2013

COUNCIL 2                          16th March 2013

Assembly 3                         11th May 2013

COUNCIL 3                          13th July 2013

Close The Chair thanked Council for their time and contributions before closing the meeting at 6pm.

Appendix 1

RSci –awarded on 21st April and 13th July(Bringing the total to 33)

RSciTech –Awarded 21st April  and 13th July 2012(Bringing the total to 26)

CSciTeach  -Awarded 21st April and 13th July(Bringing the total to 185)

21 April 2012:Angela KindonBernard Major

13th July 2012:Colin OatesJohn DavisonGeorgina  MotterhamDavid WicksJames SnookRebecca WalshNial PickeringStewart McKaneAbigail AllsoppMichael BusfieldHeather MiltonToby PayneDamien RoweDawn PirieTim BrowettKelly DockertyJane ScraggStuart TurnerDavid MulaeVikash SharmaJohn Mark AlexanderJulian MillsMatthew ShawDean JenkinsLucy RandJill DisleyMarc Gillingwater

21 April 2012:Margaret GrayAlison ChristouHelen PowellSelina ColemanJanette O'ConnellMichelle McGaugheyJulia BostockGill HaltonSue SmithWilson Anew

13th July 2012:Simon BlackwoodLorna BarnardVictoria FosterKen CarleyEsther CummingJanette KeirPauline LloydNicola van der MerweGillian MellingFiona RobertsGeoffrey LomaxRachel ChilternAnja ArmstrongElizabeth ShawGreg DavidsonAnne Helliar

21 April 2012:Sunday IwalaiyeMichael RyanJoanna ParrottSarah EamesJames MorelandJanet LodgeMargaret Ritchie

13th July 2012:Gavin GrayMarie BootmanGavin DohertyNicholas RowdeneKate CreeCarol DavenportLeyla Di-BelloniaJodie StuartJoanna ChristopherAndrew MarkwickChristopher Patrick Cassidy

Rajgopaul GovenderEmma Alison Wilson-DownesYvonne JamesJonathan Board