Welcome to our school council training program. Informed by principals, teachers, parents, students and community members who shared their school council knowledge and experience with us, our training can meet your school's needs in the seven key areas below. It supports the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development school council training package. It is also informed by the Our Community Certificate IV in Governance training program.
As well, our vodcasts are a powerful training tool, and cover the seven areas with practical examples and through interviews with school council and community members.
Schools use our seven-part training program to develop their own training. Feel free to use it. For your next training, call the VICCSO office today on 0402 152 634 or e-mail us at .
Schools and other organisations also invite us to do presentations and facilitate discussions about key themes in education such as personalised learning, the Great Schools Checklist, P-12 partnerships and school clusters, school-family-community partnerships, and languages education.
Besides our training program, principals and school councils make use of our ten practical tips for improving governance in a school as well as our ten useful tools.
An outline of the school council training program follows.
The effective functioning of a school is assisted by understanding and respecting the distinction between school governance and the professional management of the school. If council members seek to micromanage the school, there is a lack of clarity about a council's role and the strategic issues for which council members' knowledge, skills and perspectives are needed. A great council is engaged in strategic discussions and decisions that make the best use of members' time.
The governance role of a school council includes three things:
What is governance? Definitions. As well, a school council is a part of a school's broader governance that includes the leadership team, parent group and SRC. Fundamental to a great school is the partnership between the principal and school council. With their distinct but complementary roles, how a principal's leadership role is enhanced through a school council that functions well.
Legislation. Accountability to the Minister. School council membership. What do school councils do?
What’s really involved as part of a council's governance role?
In developing a council's role, it is important to understand:
How a council adds real value to a school and, via the '3Ps' of planning, policy and partnerships work, to students' learning outcomes. What is good governance and what can be improved? As the role of councils evolves, it is important to know that there are three types of governance (Stuart Ranson):
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast and DEECD's 'Improving school governance' - Induction.
What is your role as a school councillor? Can you make a difference? Being heard; being understood; being informed. What can your school provide to support your personal development? Importance of:
Code of conduct for councilors. Director’s Code of Conduct defined in the Public Administration Act 2004. Handling conflicts of interest.
Characteristics of effective councillors:
Pivotal roles of the principal and school council president. Governance skills of the principal and school council president.
Importance of the principal's report at each council meeting covering a strategic goal and the progress being made towards the goal.
How to build positive relations with other council and community members, and personally help prevent, diffuse, and resolve conflict when necessary.
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast.
The meaning of strategy. The strategic and operational. Identifying strategic issues. How are you personally a strategic thinker?
Five key documents:
Use of a school council workplan. A simple Word table with months along the top and focus areas along the side. Areas may include Strategic Plan, Student Progress and Achievement, Budget, Curriculum Policy, and Policy Review.
Step-by-step strategic planning process. What are good ways to develop a plan?
Understanding and using data.
Shared school-family-community goals and examples of whole school community teams:
A school's strategic plan and leadership structure - examples from schools.
How your school council monitors and evaluates progress towards the goals in the strategic plan. Three key questions:
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast and DEECD's 'Improving school governance' - Strategic Planning.
Budgeting. Internal controls. Financial reports. Investing and fund-raising. Linking the school's goals and resource allocation.
Finance sub-committee. Role of the treasurer.
What is the budget? Budget process:
Elements of a good budget:
Financial literacy. A school council member should be able to answer the following:
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast and DEECD's 'Improving school governance' - Finance.
How to ensure meetings aren’t a waste of time and energy. How do we all agree on things?
Preparing effective meetings. Standing orders. Outline of sample standing orders. Ground rules. Outline of sample ground rules. Guidelines, tools and resources for preventing and dealing with conflict.
Making minutes matter. Making meetings work. The agenda. Meeting papers. Role of the principal and school council president in making sure that:
Problems that can get in the way of good meetings:
How does your council make a decision?
The chair at meetings should:
Successful sub-committees and teams:
Do we need to meet monthly? Discussing the idea to arrange every second meeting as a policy-focused one.
Checking your progress. What are some ways you do or could do to evaluate your council’s effectiveness? A simple evaluation sheet at the end of each council meeting. Things to look at are:
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast.
Why does policy matter? What are school council policies? Policy topics.
A school-family-community partnerships policy. Who develops educational and curriculum policy? Developing policy that deals with:
Developing a shared school community policy framework for 21st century teaching and learning.
Schools seek to have a small number of specific policies that actually affect school practice rather than a large number of policies, some of which may be largely irrelevant or of little use.
School Policy and Advisory Guide for broader Departmental policy information and advice.
Developing and reviewing policy. What is in a policy? Policy writing templates - examples.
Policy-focused meetings at school council. Increasingly relating each council meeting agenda item to a council-approved policy.
Examples of partnerships that you may consider as key policy areas include:
Policy discussions about education more broadly, not only about your own school.
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast and DEECD's 'Improving school governance'- Policy Development and Review.
What are school-family-community community partnerships and participation? Why are community partnerships and participation important? How can community partnerships and participation be improved? What things may hinder this?
Key community-building issues that principals, school councils, parents and teachers mention are:
Essential supports for partnerships:
Practical steps in moving from informal community links to more formal partnerships:
Diversity and inclusion issues:
Why is diversity important?
How do school councillors become aware of the values, views and practical suggestions of their community? Identify key ways. Engaging and communicating with your school community:
What schools do:
Discuss your council's ideas. See our vodcast.