School Council Nominations

A big thank you to the parents and carers who have already returned their School Council nomination forms this week.

If you are interested in becoming a School Council member please find below the School Council Parent Nomination Forms (one for those wishing to self-nominate and one to nominate another parent at the school). These forms are also available in hard-copy from the school office.

Please submit these to the office by 3.30pm on Friday 27th February.

We are still looking for a few more nominations and would love to see more of our wonderful parent community get involved. Over the past few days, I have had some great conversations with parents about what School Council is all about, so to support your decision I have put together a short summary below to help explain the role and what being on School Council involves.

What is a school council and what does it do?

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

Who is on the school council?

For most primary school councils, there are several possible categories of membership:

A mandated elected parent member category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. Department employees can be parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school.

A mandated elected school employee member category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.

An optional community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. Department employees are not eligible to be community members.

A small number of school councils have nominee members.

Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills and a range of experiences and knowledge that can help inform and shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

Do I need special experience to be on school council?

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. However, councillors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them. It is important to have an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

Code of conduct for school councillors

School councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004. School councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct for Directors of Victorian Public Entities issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission.

The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values and requires councillors to:

act with honesty and integrity - be truthful, open and clear about their motives and declare any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest and duty
act in good faith in the best interests of the school - work cooperatively with other councillors and the school community, be reasonable, and make all decisions with the best interests of students foremost in their minds
act fairly and impartially - consider all relevant facts of an issue before making a decision, seek to have a balanced view, never give special treatment to a person or group and never act from self-interest
use information appropriately - respect confidentiality and use information for the purpose for which it was made available
exercise due care, diligence and skill - accept responsibility for decisions and do what is best for the school
use the position appropriately - not use the position as a councillor to gain an advantage • act in a financially responsible manner - observe all the above principles when making financial decisions
comply with relevant legislation and policies - know what legislation and policies are relevant for which decisions and obey the law
demonstrate leadership and stewardship - set a good example, encourage a culture of accountability, manage risks effectively, exercise care and responsibility to keep the school strong and sustainable.

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