Teaching costs could be cut by £700k at John Leggott College in Scunthorpe

TEACHING costs could be cut by £700,000 at John Leggott College, the Scunthorpe Telegraph can reveal.

A copy of the college's financial and organisational strategy, dated March 1, has been leaked to the Telegraph.

Potential savings identified in teaching areas totalled £707,000, which the college calculated as the equivalent to the salaries of 17.25 full-time staff.

However, the college cannot confirm the number of potential redundancies.

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To "reduce interdepartmental inconsistency", the 20 heads of department at the college will also be reduced to 10 curriculum managers heading up several departments.

The total savings outlined in the document come to £1.18 million.

College principal David Vasse said: "We need to reduce staffing costs because of inefficiencies across a range of departments. That is the proposal.

"This can be done in many ways, including people moving on to other jobs.

"I can think of several people who have already decided to go for promoted posts elsewhere, which reduces the need for selecting people for redundancy. As a result of the need to reduce staff costs, there is the potential for redundancies in the college.

"It is unproductive to think how many there might be.

"There is a need for reduced cost in certain departments.

"It is not possible at such an early stage to talk about the potential number of redundancies."

Savings of £233,000 have also been proposed in non-teaching and support areas.

The proposed reorganisation of mentoring could see 17 posts reduced to 14.

A consultation period on the proposed changes will run until Thursday, March 28.

Mr Vasse insisted the planned reductions would not impact on the learning experience for students. He said: "One of the things we've been careful to do is to make efficiency savings.

"This will not impact on the quality of experience that learners have. For me, as a leader, you do have to work through some really tough times with your staff.

"For every time I think about the tough set of circumstances at present, I also think about the long-term improvements.

"I have had discussions with staff to say that a good college must be financially strong. I see an opportunity to reach that point. There is some change and unpleasant decisions to make, which can be an emotional challenge for people. But the long-term success of the college is looking really bright."

Mr Vasse said he believed the reductions would pave the way for financial stability by the start of the 2013-14 academic year in September.

He said: "We will be in a position in September this year where the college has financial strength with no further anticipated cuts and can look forward to a brighter future when it may be possible to give rewards."

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