School council skills and expertise guide



School council skills & expertise guideIntroductionSchool council is the governing body in Victorian schools, with membership drawn from the parents, Department of Education and Training (DET) employees, students (in schools with students enrolled from year 7 and above) and the wider local community.It is important that all council members know and understand their roles and responsibilities. It is equally important that councils and individual council members have the skills and expertise to perform their role.This guide is designed to help school councils assess their competency and identify the competencies readily available to them. It also provides some guidance about how and where to build those skills and expertise it might be lacking.To be effective school council members should first understand their role and responsibilities. They are encouraged to read the material in the Improving School Governance training modules available on the Department’s website in conjunction with this guide. Why is this Skills and Expertise Guide important?An effective and pro-active school council is a key factor in having a successful school. The most effective school councils have a wide range of skills and expertise – or a good understanding of where to find them.After reading this guide, school councillors should:know how to identify and assess their skills and expertiseknow how to build their individual and collective competencies.About school councilSchool councils play a key role in Victorian government schools, and being a member of the school council is a rewarding and challenging experience. Working as a team, council supports the school to provide the best possible educational outcomes for students. Although each councillor brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that may be unfamiliar to them. These might include developing the broad direction and vision for the school, building community partnerships, interpreting data or financial statements, maintaining and building the school’s facilities and understanding legislative and policy requirements.The effectiveness of a school council relies both on the skills and expertise of its individual members and on council working as a team. School councils vary in size depending on their constituting Order. Any member of the school community is entitled to serve on school council, depending on their eligibility for any of the four member categories: Parent, DET employee, Student and Community members. School councillors will have a diversity of experiences, perspectives, information, connections and skills to carry out their governance functions. While all individuals bring value, some may be better prepared to serve on school council than others.As individuals, school councillors should consider what understandings and capabilities they have, and what they can do to build their skills and expertise. As a team, school councils should identify the skills and expertise they need in order to be effective. Few councils will have everything they need among existing members, but they can take steps to build their capabilities.Effective governanceCharacteristics of an effective school councilAn effective school council is one that: has a clear understanding of its role and responsibilities focuses on improving student learning outcomes and educational opportunities form a governance perspectiveinvolves the school community in conversations about key educational issues and challengesis actively involved in the development of the School Strategic Plan promotes meaningful parent and community participation and actively seeks the views of its school community includes members who represent the diverse views of the school community? has clear and consistent processes for decision-making maintains high ethical standards has members with trust and respect for one another evaluates and communicates with the school community about its activities regularly reviews and evaluates its own performance appropriately delegates to individual members and sub-committees devotes time to its own growth and development, through induction and training.An effective school council should support the development of strategic partnerships to help the school achieve the goals set out in its school. Roles and responsibilitiesEffective school councils understand their roles and responsibilities. They understand the difference between their governance responsibilities and the operational responsibilities of the principal and school staff.The functions of a school council are outlined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 and include:establishing the broad direction and vision of the school within the school's communityparticipating in the development, monitoring and endorsement of the School Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT)approving the annual budget and monitoring expendituredeveloping, reviewing or updating school policies that fall within a school council’s responsibilitiesraising funds for school-related purposeshaving general oversight over the school’s grounds and buildingsproviding the cleaning and sanitary services that are necessary for the schoolensuring that all money coming into the council is used for proper purposes relating to the schoolthe provision of meals and refreshments for the staff and students of the school and charging for those meals or refreshmentsentering into contracts, such as for cleaning in regional schools or construction workreporting annually to the school community and to the Departmentcreating interest in the school in the wider communitytaking into account the views of the school communitymanaging the hire, licence and shared use of school facilitiesif desired, making provision for a preschool program ie. kindergarten or outside school hours care service at the school or other premises controlled by the Minister.School council is generally also involved in the school principal selection process.Reviewing how school council is operatingIt is good governance for a school council to regularly review how it operates. The usual time to do this is at the end of a council term, either at the end of the calendar year or immediately before a new election. However, councils may vary this to suit their needs.As part of this review, councils may consider their Standing Orders, their sub-committees and the effectiveness of their meetings. It is important that school councils – and individual councillors – work effectively, but also that they know they are working effectively. A good way to do this is to survey individual members, then discuss the results either in small groups, or as a whole, particularly in the case of smaller councils. A sample evaluation questionnaire can be found in Appendix 1.Most school councils will identify some areas for improvement. They may agree this is because they lack particular skills or expertise, or that their capabilities are underdeveloped.Councils will have to determine the best way to rectify this.(a) Identifying skills and expertiseThe essential skills and particular expertise a school council must have are those required to execute its key responsibilities:financial literacystrategic planningpolicy makingcommunity engagementfacility managementethical decision-making.It should be a school council priority to have every member proficient in these key areas. The regular review will determine which skills are lacking.Schools councils may delegate the executive officer (the principal) to identify the skills and expertise it lacks and to recommend ways to remedy this, or it may form a working party. The timing of this may be determined by an annual review, or perhaps when the school is adopting a new strategic plan, developing a particular policy or about to embark on a major program. This working party may be comprised of the school council president, the principal, and other members from the Parent category, DET employee category, Student category (in schools with with students enrolled from year 7 and above). The working party might begin by asking the following:Preparation: Does our council have a clear sense of how it will conduct proper governance and maintain the financial security of the school? Do our members have relevant governance experience and an understanding of process?Capacity and composition: Does our council have the diversity and experience to reflect the community and its needs and expectations? Do our councillors have the time to do the job properly? Does our council have the financial capacity to oversee a multi-million dollar enterprise? Structure: Is our council too small (or too big) to manage its responsibilities? Does our council have the best structure to be effective? (e.g. Do we need a separate sub-committee to consider a specific issue?) Clarity: Does our council understand its roles and responsibilities? Are all our councillors fulfilling their role? Smaller councils as a whole may review and assess their capacity.This task should begin with a skills and expertise matrix distributed to all existing members of council. This matrix will help individuals identify their own capabilities when matched against their roles and responsibilities. Once councillors understand their own skills and expertise – and areas that can be developed – they will be better able to contribute to building the whole council’s capabilities. A template for individual councillors can be found at Appendix 2.(b) Building a skills and expertise matrix for councilOnce individual councillors recognise and understand their skills and expertise, school council as a collective can evaluate its capacity and effectiveness. This can also be done through the use of a skills and expertise matrix.This matrix should also identify:the skills, knowledge, experience and capabilities required by council to be effectivehow the council rates itself against the necessary skills and expertisehow council can build any shortcomings.An example of a collective council skills and expertise identification matrix can be found in Appendix 3.If the required capabilities are not readily available among the current council members, then the matrix should show recommended steps to address the gaps. For example, some shortcomings could be rectified with specific training while other expertise might need to be sourced from contractors.The creation of a school council skills matrix is an opportunity for considered reflection and productive discussion on how council is working and what changes are needed to better meet its role and responsibilities.The matrix should be tailored to suit the circumstances of the school and its community. Different schools will require different skills and expertise; different circumstances will bring a need for different competencies. The skills and expertise matrix is an internal working document for the current school council. How to build council capacitiesThe completion of your council matrix should identify the skills and expertise of your council. Other desired skills may be identified from within the wider school or local community and readily available to school council (e.g. on the school staff or from within a parent group).However, the matrix should also identify those required skills that are not available or not established. Council should determine what is needed to correct this. Such action could include:training of existing school councillors, either collectively or individually learning as you go: have inexperienced council members shadow those with more experienceco-option of skilled individuals as community members of council (where vacancies exist)employment of expert consultants as necessary (e.g., architects, web designers)inviting particular individuals to school council meetings to provide advicere-structuring existing council to enable members to better use their skills (e.g., appoint as treasurer a member with financial background, or establish a sub-committee or working group around the canteen/building and grounds)collaborating with others schools and school councils to share information and skillsrunning workshops with school councillors and others in the school community to focus on particular issues, and considering using professional associations to facilitate theseupgrading or adopting technology to improve the council’s effectiveness.Council should decide on the most appropriate action to meet the particular shortcoming, and this should be noted in the skills register. Where training is considered, or if council decides its necessary to appoint a consultant, the executive officer should ensure costs are within the school budget.Whatever council decides it needs, it should instruct the council executive officer (the principal) to identify the most appropriate option. The Department’s website for school councils has a range of resources, see: School Councils < 1: Reviewing how council is operatingCouncil's performance is an important matter for the entire school. A useful tool to stimulate thinking on performance is to get councillors to rate the council's performance.Attributes:Performance RatingRole clarity(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Focus on students as the highest priority(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)The necessary complement of skills to do the job(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Contribution to policy(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Quality of long term planning(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Degree to which integrity is a priority in all decisions(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Strength of team work(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Ability to lead the school community consultation(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Strategic thinking ability(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Ability to manage information(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Level of respect within the school community(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)The effectiveness of task groups(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Councillor recruitment and trainingInformation packages for prospective councillors(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Briefing sessions for anyone interested in council(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)New councillors know role and responsibilities(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Council has an identified skills matrix(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)All councillors receive regular training(low) 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (high)Appendix 2: School councillor skills and expertise self-assessment (example)Your rating:Skills to develop: My knowledge and contribution could be developedSkilled: My understanding is good and I am contributing in this areaSkills and expertiseDescriptionMy rating is:How I can improve:Key areasFinancial literacyUnderstanding of the school’s financial process and ability to contribute to development and oversight of the annual budget.Skills to develope.g. Join sub-committee; attend Finance training; read DET website.Strategic planningUnderstanding of the school’s strategic plan and ability to contribute to its development.Skills to develope.g. Join sub-committee; read DET website material.Policy makingAbility to develop policies for the school in line with its vision and strategic plan.Skills to develope.g. Join sub-committee; read examples on DET munity knowledge and engagementKnowledge of the school and community and the ability to engage stakeholders and build partnerships.Skillede.g. Could help build better partnerships.Facility managementUnderstanding of the school’s physical environment and ability to contribute to its improvement.Highly skillede.g. Join the facilities sub-committee.Ethical decision-makingAbility to make decisions that are free from bias, sound and consistent with the expectations of public service and the Director’s Code of Conduct.Skills to develope.g. Read the Director’s Code of ConductRelevant skills and experiencesEducational understandingUnderstanding of how a council’s work serves to enhance the educational opportunities of ernance experienceExperience of governance at a board or management committee level. Understanding of a code of conduct.Leadership experienceExperience in leading events, initiatives, groups, committees or organisations.Technology skillsUnderstanding of technology as a key tool in achieving desired outcomes and a willingness to research, develop and adopt.Human resources experienceExperience in dealing with recruitment and selection. Highly skilled: I am working in this area at a high level and could teach others.Appendix 3: School council’s skills and expertise (example)Skills and expertiseDescription12345How we can improve:Financial literacyUnderstanding of the school’s financial process and ability to contribute to development and oversight of the annual budget.e.g.Strategic planningUnderstanding of the school’s strategic plan and ability to contribute to its development.Policy makingAbility to develop policies for the school in line with its vision and strategic plan.e.g. Training; organise workshopCommunity knowledge and engagementKnowledge of the school and community and the ability to engage stakeholders and build partnerships.e.g. Read examples on DET website. Training.Facility managementUnderstanding of the school’s physical environment and ability to contribute to its improvement.e.g. Read examples on DET website. Training.Ethical decision-makingAbility to make decisions that are free from bias, sound and consistent with the expectations of public service and the Director’s Code of Conduct.Relevant skills and experiencesEducational understandingUnderstanding of how a council’s work serves to enhance the educational opportunities of ernance experienceExperience of governance at a board or management committee level. Understanding of a code of conduct, operating in the public interest and in the best interests of their public entity.Leadership experienceExperience in leading events, initiatives, groups, committees or organisations.Technology skillsUnderstanding of technology as a key tool in achieving desired outcomes and a willingness to research, develop and adopt.Human resources experienceExperience in dealing with recruitment and selection. Financial literacyUnderstanding of the school’s financial process and ability to contribute to development and oversight of the annual budget.Strategic planningUnderstanding of the school’s strategic plan and ability to contribute to its development.Policy makingAbility to develop policies for the school in line with its vision and strategic munity knowledge and engagementKnowledge of the school and community and the ability to engage stakeholders and build partnerships.Our skill rating: (Low) 1-2-3-4-5 (High) ................
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