A college leader who was criticised by the FE commissioner and the University and College Union (UCU) for his previous role at one of London’s biggest colleges has resigned.

Garry Phillips has left his role at City College Plymouth, just months after joining it this summer. The move comes days after he was criticised in a report by the FE commissioner on Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, and following a no-confidence vote by UCU members at City College Plymouth.

Mr Phillips was appointed CEO of the London college in 2014. It was rated “inadequate” by Ofsted in 2015, before being subjected to an intervention by the FE commissioner. It subsequently went on to be rated “good” by Ofsted in 2017. Mr Phillips left the college this summer to take up the role in Plymouth.

He is the eighth college principal to quit across England in as many weeks, marking a turbulent start to the academic year for the sector. 

A ‘material distraction’

A statement from the college confirmed that Mr Phillips had “decided to step down”. It said: “Regrettably, external pressures on the corporation and Garry have become a material distraction to the college’s core purpose of supporting its students. 

“Garry was appointed in March 2018 following a rigorous process of selection facilitated by an external company and for totally personal reasons decided to accept the corporation’s offer of employment. 

“In the short period since Garry’s appointment, he did a great deal of good work. He has put in place an effective financial improvement plan, which the corporation believes will place the college’s finances on a sound footing so as to allow it to further improve the strong quality outcomes that have already been successfully delivered.”

The college added that Ben Manning, vice-principal for curriculum and quality, will “step into the role of acting principal until an interim and then permanent appointment is made”.

‘Poor’ leadership at previous college

The latest report from the FE commissioner concluded that “the executive leadership of the college in relation to delivering an appropriate property strategy and securing overall financial sustainability has been poor”.

“Financial leadership and risk management have been poor,” it continued. “Curriculum and business planning has not been rigorous, with ineffective control of staffing costs and weak operational effectiveness”. The report added that the college had an “immediate need for external cash flow support” and would have been “unable to meet its commitments from early October without support”.

In response, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College’s new CEO, Karen Redhead, tweeted that the report had been “rightly” critical of its former leadership.

No confidence vote

After the report was published, the UCU branch at City College Plymouth held a vote of no confidence in Mr Phillips’ leadership. In total, 349 out of the 350 members who voted said they had no confidence in his leadership.

UCU regional official Philippa Davey said: “Following Phillips’ departure, it is time to halt his redundancy plans and for the governors to work with us to move forwards. It is frustrating that staff were forced to deliver such a damning no-confidence vote in Phillips and the governors for action to be taken. We now need to all work together to help move this fantastic college forward.”