Governor (Inclusion) Derwentside College

Derwentside College is supported by a Board of determined, successful professionals who share a collective belief in the transformative power of education. Bring your professional expertise in the area of inclusion and join them in realising their vision to create positive futures for their learners, community and region.

• Location: Consett, County Durham
• Salary: Unremunerated, with reasonable expenses paid

Located in a semi-rural location, high on the edge of the Pennines, Derwentside College is based on a single site in the heart of the town of Consett. We offer a diverse range of provision to young people and adults from across the local, predominantly rural, community. We currently deliver education and training to around 4,000 learners across over 200 courses, supported by around 170 staff.

Who we are

Derwentside College is not your traditional FE college.

Whilst we deliver a broad range of 16-18 classroom-based provision, including beauty therapy, catering, health and social care, and digital technology, along with maths and English, the majority of our students-55%-gain their education through apprenticeships. Our differing mode of delivery is one of the things that sets us apart from other colleges across the northeast of England. Indeed, through this, we deliver more apprenticeships than other local colleges.

Due to our heavy focus on apprenticeship delivery and through our launch of T-Level provision, which has just completed its first successful year, we are privileged to work with over 1,000 employers from across our local region.

It is not just our apprenticeship provision which is industry-focused. All of our adult provision - delivered to over 1,000 learners each year - is tailored to meet local skills needs and support local industry.

Graded 'Good' by Ofsted in 2022, and with a refreshed strategic plan that will take us to 2026, we have a firm base from which to progress with our ambitions for growth and development on our Journey to Outstanding in the years ahead.

We are proud that across the four key groups of students, staff, leadership and governance, we are able to demonstrate our values of trust, respect, excellence, enjoyment and enterprise each day. Through a shared commitment to these values, we have established ourselves as a beacon of opportunity within the local area.

We are an organisation that is deeply rooted within its local community. We understand deeply the challenges that our communities face: deprivation, generational unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis. By achieving our aims and serving as a vital partner for local employers, we are well positioned to help people across our local area overcome the barriers and challenges they face.

Our finances are consistently strong with an annual turnover of over £10 million. Despite our relatively small size compared to others across the sector, we are punching well above our weight with achievement rates placing us in the top 5 % nationally for vocational education. This is something we are immensely proud of, and we are well aware that this couldn't have been achieved without a dedicated and determined staff team who love where they work. Indeed, a recent national staff survey placed us at the top for staff satisfaction. It is this positivity, coupled with a vibrant and determined student body, which creates such a positive culture across our college.

About the role

We are due to publish our new strategic plan shortly, which will outline our roadmap for delivery and impact over the next six years. Reflecting on all that we have achieved in recent years and considering the voices of our staff, stakeholders, and learners to understand what the future may hold, we will dedicate our future activities to our mission to transform lives through education, ambition, and impact.

We recognise as a leadership team and as a board that, without outstanding governance, you can't be outstanding in other areas. It is this understanding, coupled with our shared values of trust, respect, excellence, enjoyment and enterprise, that will drive our collective success into the future. Five bold priorities will underpin this future success, and we will use these to guide everything we do. Our external review of governance took place earlier this year and found that governance at our college is strong, with board members putting the success and well being of our students at the heart of their decision making. You can read the full report here.

Our priorities for the future are:

• Leadership, Governance & People
• Learners
• Partnerships
• Resources & Investment

Our Board is led by our Chair, David Allsop, who has worked tirelessly with our Principal & CEO, Chris Todd, and other colleagues across our leadership team and board to refocus our direction and culture, and to grow our aspirations as a college.

Part of this process has seen David and Chris work together to build a renewed sense of collegiality across our board. We have appointed a number of new and experienced members, successful experts in their respective fields who are already offering a new level of challenge, scrutiny and support. This is resulting in driving a more inclusive culture of successful governance.

Given the depth of our ambitions, we are now seeking to recruit further governors to our board. We are now welcoming applications from individuals with professional expertise in inclusion who can bring a new set of questions to ensure we remain a college serving everyone in our community and wider region.

Who we are looking for

To achieve our organisational aims, our Board must continue to consist of experts and experienced professionals who can provide the appropriate levels of challenge and questioning to enable us to grow, develop and improve.

Following a recent successful governor recruitment process and subsequent consideration of the expertise we need across our Board, we have identified that the area of inclusion is a priority for us. We seek candidates who can bring their professional expertise to scrutinise our practice and offer insights on how we can be more innovative in this area of our delivery.

We will welcome candidates from all manner of professional settings, but would be particularly interested in those who are delivering inclusion strategies in educational and charity settings.

Expectations and Commitment

Time commitment: 10 hours per month

We ask our Board Members to commit to a four year term of office. Appointed individuals will need to be able to attend five Corporation Board meetings per year, including our strategic away day in May. Board meetings take place on a Tuesday in person at the College and usually outside of the working day.

We estimate that our Governors dedicate around 10 hours per month to their roles, although with this particular focus, we may ask the appointed candidate to take on a 'link governor' role, which at times will lead to a need for greater time commitments.

Whilst previous governance experience is welcomed, it is not essential. All new governors are supported through a comprehensive induction and training process, with ongoing support thereafter.

Peridot Partners and Derwentside College are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and our client expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references before any final offer can be made.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners.

Timetable

Closing date: 9 a.m. Friday 21st November 2025
Candidates informed of outcome: Friday 28th November 2025

We are in the process of confirming interview dates. Once confirmed, we will update the site and contact those who have applied.

Peridot and Derwentside College are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout, and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.

The information will be treated confidentially and anonymously and will help us to support our commitment to fair recruitment practice. All information provided will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with anyone, in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 launched on 25 May 2018.

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