Update

Following further feedback and amendments from many people, this guide was last updated on 26 June 2010. We also invite you to provide your feedback about this latest draft.

During 2010, the guide will be illustrated via video interviews with parents, teachers, principals, students and education support personnel together with links to local school initiatives.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the many principals, teachers, parents, students and community members together with personnel in Victoria's DEECD for commenting on earlier drafts of this section.

Introduction

Decades of research and practice in schools make it clear that:

1. Where parents, teachers, students and community members continue to learn from each other and really work together, the gains in student achievement can be significant
2. The family-school-community partnership is among the most powerful improvement levers that a school has access to.

The research also suggests that these partnerships need to be much stronger - if partnerships are to become a source of major gains in student engagement and achievement.

As school councils are the focus of shared decision-making in a school, good governance is the foundation for building stronger partnerships. But it is also an ideal which is not easy to achieve.

Few education systems are close to this ideal. For one thing there have not always been sufficient and sustained resources and support for schools to develop the very best governance. 

Nonetheless, during discussions with many principals and school councils, a shared view was that there was a need for key indicators of good governance in schools - which could be used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of current practice.

Ten Good Practices

Based on the good practice of school councils and the guidelines in the Department's Making the Partnership Work, ten suggested draft indicators of good governance are as follows:

1. Common commitment to core business
2. Clarity about objectives and functions
3. Planning, policy making and reporting
4. Shared values and ground rules
5. School community conversations
6. Effective meetings and sub-committees
7. Partnerships, participation and inclusion
8. Information and communication
9. Community capacity building
10. Evaluation and improvement.

Together, they can comprise a self-assessment and improvement tool for a council. Each is discussed below.

1. Common commitment to core business

As a school council is a corporate body, decisions made by the council are those of the whole group rather than of an individual, a sub-committee or section of the school community.

All sections of the community - parents, teachers and students - contribute views to discussions about a school's core business (high quality education and the best interests of all students) and thereby assist the council to come to an informed decision.

The principal helps to promote this common commitment and ensure that the council is focused on its core strategic business by:

• Providing the school council with timely advice about key educational and other matters (via the principal's report and educational focus items on the meeting agenda)
• Reporting to the school council on the school’s performance against its strategic and implementation plans.

Likewise, the school council president does this by:

• Ensuring council stays sharply focused on key issues to do with improving education and student learning outcomes
• Making sure that meetings stay on track – keeping to both the subject (sticking to the agenda) and time allocated.

Both the principal and president thus support a council to focus on matters that are strategic and improvement-oriented.

A council may discuss: how do we add real value over time to policies, plans and partnerships to improve student learning outcomes? During a two-year period, it may hold a forum in which teachers, parents and students explore questions such as:

• What educational challenges are we trying to address?
• What can we all do to further improve learning outcomes?
• How can we further build school-family-community links?

2. clarity about Objectives and functions

The objectives of a governing body should, of course, be clear and understood by all council members. A council’s objectives are to:

• Assist in the efficient governance of the school
• Ensure that its decisions affecting students of the school are made having regard, as a primary consideration, to the best interests of the students
• Enhance the educational opportunities of the students of the school
• Ensure the school and the council comply with any requirements of the Education Act, the regulations, a Ministerial Order or a direction, guideline or policy issued under this Act.

With enhancing the educational opportunities of students, for example, school councils put aside time to 'drill down' into this objective - to agree as to what it means and how their planning, policy and partnership work may best enhance such opportunities.

School councils also make sure that their functions and powers are thought through carefully and the basis of their practice. Among a school council’s functions are:

• Establishing the broad direction and vision of the school
• Developing, reviewing and updating policies of the school
• Informing itself of, and taking into account, any views of the school community for the purpose of making decisions in regard to the school and its students
• Ensuring that an annual report relating to financial activities and the school plan is published and made available to the school community
• Stimulating interest in the school and the wider community.

Discussion of functions and powers obviously ensures that all council members are 'reading from the same page'.

For example, school council members discuss what does it really mean to establish the broad direction and vision of the school and how a vision really connects with practice on a day-to-day basis.

3. Planning, POLICy making and reporting

In the Department's Making the Partnership Work, it is stated that:

• A school council is accountable to the Minister in respect of the performance by the council of its functions
• As the governing body, a school council plays an important role in accountability and improvement processes
• This role involves active participation in planning, review and monitoring of school performance
• An effective school has a council that engages in analysis, discussion and debate about performance as a normal part of its business
• A school council endorses the key school planning, evaluation and reporting documents.

Strategic planning

A school's strategic plan is the basis for teachers, parents and students and community groups working together - a point around which a whole school community can focus and unite.

A school council seeks to consult with the school's community. This can culminate in a clear, coherent plan for the future that includes shared school-family-community goals.

Some schools publicly display their shared vision and goals in understandable, explicit terms to their communities in a variety of ways (e.g., on their websites and posters on classroom walls).

Policy making

Good policies complement a plan. Policies let everyone know what the whole school community approach to certain matters will be and ensure that there are uniformity and consistency in decisions and in how the school operates.

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.

A school council may schedule all policies for review on a regular basis. Ideally, parents and students should be informed of which policies are to be reviewed each year, the process to be undertaken, how parents and students can be involved and any agreed changes at the end of the review process.

The Department has a useful framework for developing policies.

Financial reporting

A school council ensures that:

• An annual budget is prepared and subsequently that a statement of receipts and expenditure is prepared
• Proper accounts and records of financial operations and the financial position and operation of the council are kept
• An internal control system is maintained and monitored to ensure operational efficiency and adherence to statewide requirements.
  

It is the financial plan that makes sure that the school's resources (people, programs, services and equipment) support the educational goals and priorities. It shows how the school will make the most efficient and effective use of these resources to produce the results aimed for in the strategic plan.

Good financial practice obviously means managing finances so that the budget and the school’s strategic plan (ideally with major goals focused on the future of education) are closely aligned.

The Department also has a very useful internal financial control checklist which a school can use to make sure that it does not expose itself to financial risk. A school's treasurer and finance committee should be familiar with it.

Annual report

It is obviously good practice for an annual report to be data-rich, objective, both celebratory and critical and a basis for in-depth discussion within a school council.

If it is simply signed-off with minimal discussion, it is a missed opportunity for carefully reflecting on what has been achieved, what has not worked and what may need to be rethought.

4. Shared Values and ground rules

A council promotes broad agreement about values (as reflected, for example, in a shared code of conduct) and demonstrates these values through standards of behaviour.

School councils may also ensure that all members have a copy of (and have read) the Director's Code of Conduct (as issued by the Victorian Public Sector Standards Commissioner).

A school may set ground rules for how its meetings are to work. Ground rules are of tremendous importance – and yet are often overlooked as a tool. Devoting an hour to working on ground rules can save countless hours in the future.

It is also important to refer to them regularly. Some schools print them on a poster that is taped to the wall so they are visible at every meeting. Ground rules can be added to standing orders.

The following ground rules are a mix of the ground rules used by several schools. They are relevant to all small group, committee or school council meetings as well as larger community forums.

Sample ground rules

We encourage:

• Everyone to propose matters that may be placed on the agenda that is distributed prior to the meeting
• Everyone to express their views at the meeting
• Making an effort to listen carefully and to understand each other’s views
• Using body language to show warmth and acceptance and to encourage others to relax and respond in kind
• Questioning
• Mutual learning
• Thinking about what’s best for the community as a whole and not just any one part of it.

We understand that:

• Disagreement and robust debate are opportunities to learn more about an issue and to, ultimately, make a wiser group decision.

We avoid:

• Talking over the top of people
• Not saying anything (e.g., the problem of conflict avoidance)
• Being aggressive or rude
• Taking ‘cheap shots’
• Factions, stacking meetings, hidden agendas and undermining
• Rubber stamping
• Non-collaborative body language (e.g., people rolling their eyes when another person is speaking).

We use:

• Non-threatening ways to enforce these rules such as the whole group playing a lighthearted role in addressing violations.

Conflict on a school council

Conflict is obviously a natural part of life. It can be a positive force. It can also have an ugly side. Left uncontrolled, it can divert energy from the group, destroy morale and create suspicion and distrust.

The Department has useful guidelines, tools and resources for preventing and dealing with conflict.

5. SCHOOL community conversations

It is a key role of a school council to facilitate school community conversations about the future of education (and educational policies such as the Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development and models such as e5) and about how all stakeholders can work together to improve learning outcomes.

Such conversations involving stakeholders and enabling mutual learning complement the professional knowledge, skills, experience and leadership of the principal and teachers.

Good facilitation is the key to a successful school community conversation. Schools often use an experienced, independent facilitator who can promote conversation and deep consensus.

A tangible result of a school community conversation may be the development of a shared, school community-wide understanding and policy framework for 21st century learning.

In this regard, in partnership with schools and DEECD, VICCSO is creating practical, state-of-the-art tools to support face-to-face and on-line conversations in school communities. This is a major project which will link with the Department's e5 model.

The tools may assist schools with developing shared views about 21st century education, tackling hot topics and promoting respectful dialogue among teachers, parents and students.

6. Effective meetings and sub-committees

A school council makes sure that decisions are based on proper meeting procedures and high-quality information and advice, informed by well-functioning sub-committees.

This includes making sure that council meetings are run in a productive and efficient manner (no longer than 2.5 hours) with standing orders (see the Department's sample standing orders).

A council carefully develops its standing orders according to its school values and shared understanding of good governance.

Standing orders are an essential part of the induction process for new council members. Every council member should have a copy in a folder that also includes minutes and other documents.

There also needs to be a carefully prepared agenda and papers should be sent at least five working days before a meeting.

The Department has a useful agenda and minutes template to help structure meetings and minute taking.

Each agenda item may relate to a council-approved policy. By matching all or most agenda items with policies, a council can make sure that its work relates completely to approved policies.

This can also assist a council to stay focused on its more strategic role and to monitor how agreed council policies are, in fact, influencing school decisions, action and practice.

Another way to promote this is to have a focus item on each (or every second) meeting agenda - as a key issue to be discussed.

Sub-committees

Sub-committees have clear purposes and terms of reference and procedures for agendas, minutes and reporting to the council and make recommendations for the full school council to consider.

The purposes and terms of reference of sub-committees are decided by the council.

The Department has a useful sub-committee reports template. It is obviously important to have a proper structure for such reports.

Schools find that 'less is more' - it's obviously better to have a small number of well-functioning teams than lots of committees, some of which may be 'going through the motions'.

Sub-committees should determine their meeting frequency. They do not necessarily need to meet monthly.

Some sub-committees may only meet 3-4 times a year - if focused on policy development and planning for the future.

The principal, staff and school council may from time to time review the numbers and types of school committees and identify:

• Problems such as an unclear purpose or a lack of strategic focus on the future
• Duplication, i.e., a school may have school council and staff committees that operate separately and yet cover similar issues (e.g., an education committee and a curriculum committee)
• Positive opportunities for building teacher-parent-student synergy in real teams.
  

Such teams are not just focused on internal school matters but may address broader issues that are of importance both to the school and to groups (e.g., a sporting club) within the community.

Examples of school council sub-committees that may be high-level, whole school community teams include:

• Education or teaching and learning
• Information and communication technology
• Health and well-being or health promotion
• Performing arts or sport and recreation
• Student leadership and participation
• A K-12 or 0-18 partnerships team
• Eco-learning/education for sustainability
• A facilities for new learning team.

7. Partnerships, participation and inclusion

It is obviously imperative to build strong teams, sub-committees and partnerships, that serve to promote mutual learning and joint work among all stakeholders, within and external to the school.

Partnerships that school councils obviously consider as key policy and planning areas for discussing and progressing include:

• Strengthening family-school links
• A P-12 cluster of primary and secondary schools
• Links with a regional network
• Links with workplaces and sporting clubs
• A school as a community hub.

Some schools develop a family-school-community partnerships policy. It may become a core guiding idea that influences all of a school's decisions, actions and practice.

Students can be co-opted as community members by school council. They are co-opted for two years and have full voting rights. It is good practice to have student members of council. This may be part of a council's student participation policy and strategy.

The best councils are those that are inclusive, comprising people from all walks of life and representing a wide variety of views and skills. Good councils reach out to people who may be co-opted as community members but also make sure that they remain strongly representative of their own local stakeholders.

A key question is: does the school council membership profile reflect the school's demographics? If not, what can be done to increase the representation of under-represented groups?

To focus on inclusion, a council may want to develop a diversity strategy or a cultural and social Inclusion policy and plan.

A way to build inclusion is to make sure that council meetings are open to the school community. Community members should be encouraged to attend (via publicising meetings and agenda items as well as including previous minutes in the newsletter).

8. Information and communication

A school council may make sure that:

• The school has a plan for content-rich, two-way communication between the school and families
• All stakeholders have ready access to meeting minutes, school policies and the strategic plan
• There is high-quality, two-way communication between the governing body and stakeholders.

Open and transparent reporting and communication together with a high level of school community awareness of the work of a school council and its decisions are integral to good school governance.

It is good practice for school council meeting agendas, reports and minutes to be included in a school's newsletter and on its website. As well, upcoming council meeting dates should be published.

There may be e-mail access to council members as well as to policies. (For an example of this good governance practice, see the Fitzroy High School website).

The good practice mentioned above (about minutes, etc.) can be assisted by a plan for better school communications.

The aim of this plan may be to improve a school's website and newsletter content and lay-out. It may include strategies for how best to distribute school council information such as minutes, etc.

Very useful, in this regard, is the Department's school communications toolkit, which provides a range of ideas.

9. Community Capacity building

It is obviously important to build the capacity, over time, of the school council to be effective through:

• Proper induction and opportunities for professional learning
• Sharing ideas and practices with other councils.

A council should ensure that all new members are given adequate support, mentoring and respect. An induction package should include school policies, standing orders, previous minutes and a list of contacts for further information.

A mentor may be available to answer questions a new council member has outside of council meetings and act as a sounding board for ideas or issues the new member may want to test before raising in a full meeting.

In this way, stakeholders (including parents and students of diverse backgrounds) can competently participate in shared decision making as enfranchised and informed decision makers.

10. Evaluation and improvement

Good governance is, ultimately, realised through evaluating the performance of the governing body and identifying opportunities for improvement in governance.

These indicators can be used each year to reflect on a council's performance as a governing body.

Many school councils have an evaluation sheet at the end of every (or second) council meeting.

GOOD GOVERNANCE AT ALL LEVELS

One thing that can be overlooked is this: good governance practices are as important at the regional network and statewide levels as at the local school council level.

Not only should all three levels be developed together, but people at all three levels should have opportunities to interact.

Why? Good governance at all levels is required to bring about improvements in learning outcomes. If the governance roles and responsibilities of any one of the three levels are underdeveloped, the system as a whole is weakened.

What is needed is strong, co-ordinated tri-level governance. This may have the following elements:

• Students and their needs and outcomes are the focus
• Making sure that all three levels promote subsidiarity - meaning that decisions should be made at the most appropriate level
• The sharing of data and information across all levels
• Building leadership capacity across all three levels
• Two way tri-level communication and consultation.

Subsidiarity is important within education departments, favouring the decentralisation of many powers (and the resources to go with them) from central to regional and local governing bodies.

Many major decisions about education and learning are often best taken by the people who work in schools in partnership with those affected by this work, including parents and students.

 CONCLUSION

Governance is pivotal in improving educational performance and outcomes for all. Good governance can be built in two ways:

1. Using key indicators of good governance to assess the strengths and weaknesses of current practice
2. Ensuring that governance practices are improved over time at all levels - local, regional and state-wide/national - and that there are adequate resources and support for achieving this.