Bosses at troubled South Lanarkshire College expressed “serious concerns” highlighting possible “considerable financial and reputational risks” for the institution.
That came in the form of a letter sent to the Scottish cabinet secretary for education and skills, Shirley-Anne Somerville, on the eve of the dramatic suspension of its principal.
And Lanarkshire Live can reveal the contents of the letter, which warned of “unprecedented risks to the college’s reputation, financial sustainability and good governance”.
In a highly unusual move, seven senior executives penned the letter collectively on November 23, 2021, claiming that “due process” had not been followed while principal/chief executive Aileen McKechnie was under threat of suspension.
She was suspended after this alongside interim clerk to the board, Brian Keegan - with both remaining so - amid a probe into “various complaints.”
The letter warned that working conditions were “impacting the health and wellbeing” of senior staff and were having “a significant, visible impact on our principal and chief executive, and the senior leadership team.”
Following that, the authors of the letter – who include depute principal Stella Marie McManus, the associate principals of the college’s three faculties, and heads of student services, finance and human resources – called for “swift and appropriate” action to address their concerns.
Their letter stated: “We have been delivering all of this under a very difficult set of circumstances over this past year.
“We believe these conditions include risks to compliance with the code of good governance, the staff governance standard and to the college’s own policies and procedures, as well as impacting the health and wellbeing of senior staff.
“In our collective opinion, based on decades of experience in the education sector, there are now unprecedented risks to the college’s reputation, financial sustainability and good governance.”
This latest development comes ahead of a December meeting of the SLC board, at which a decision is expected to be reached about Ms McKechnie’s future.
Responding to the leaking of the letter, the Scottish Government said ministers’ paramount interest was “safeguarding the quality of learning at SLC, and high standards of governance are crucial in ensuring this”.
A spokesman continued: “Those involved are aware of the allegations made and the process which is being undertaken to resolve that.
“It is important that due process is followed and the investigations must be allowed to conclude in a fair and transparent manner.”
The author’s cite the decision to stop the safeguarding measure of senior staff’s attendance at some committee meetings, and the exclusion from board meetings of the principal - along with staff and student board members – as “clear breaches of the code of good governance.”
They believe the conduct is in breach of SLC’s dignity at work policy, grievance and whistleblowing procedures.
The letter, written under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, continues: “It is a significant concern to us that it is impacting on their health and wellbeing, which creates risk to operational delivery.
“There is the increasing risk of significant negative impact on the reputation and standing of the college.
“Furthermore, there is a real risk that these challenging governance and relationship issues will cause unnecessary anxiety amongst the wider college community should they become common knowledge.”
Paul Hutchinson, chairing member of the college’s board of management, also acknowledged the letter saying governance concerns raised were “central to the implementation of a Governance Improvement Plan,” which “demonstrates our commitment to restoring good governance within the college”.
A structured governance review is due to follow.
Authors of the letter have called for a meeting with Ms Somerville, but have yet been unsuccessful in their request.
It’s the latest in a series of claims by disgruntled staff, past and present, to have rocked the troubled East Kilbride institution in the last 12 months.
Indeed, earlier this week we told you how brow-beaten staff were threatened with the sack after flagging up concerns about their working environment.
Speaking to us, a whistleblower claims workers had moved to highlight “unprofessional and inappropriate name-calling” by a manager in an email to HR.
But rather than investigate the claims of concerned staff, bosses ‘threatened to call police’ claiming the email was “malicious correspondence”.
* Do you have an opinion or comment to make regarding this story? Email: niki.tennant@reachplc.com
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