All government schools in Victoria have a school council. The school council is the group of people who govern the school. It is given the power to set the key directions for the school, and is a legal entity in its own right. A school council directly influences the quality of education that a school provides to its students.

The role of school council is outlined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. In essence, the role of school council is one of setting the long term future for the school and maintaining oversight (not management) of the school's operation.

Membership of the School Council at Yarra Road Primary School consists of 15 Councillors – 8 Parents, 5 Department of Education & Early Childhood Development (DEEDC) representatives (i.e., Teachers) and 2 Community members – typically nominees from the Parent’s Association. The school Principal always occupies one of the DEEDC positions.

Each year approximately half the councillors retire and elections are held in March to elect new Councillors.  Councillors are nominated and elected to membership for 2 year terms by the School Community in accordance with the DEEDC guidelines.  Details of the election procedure and a call for nominations are published in the school newsletter and published on the school website in February of each year.

There are no prerequisites for school council membership.  Parent members on school council bring their experience as parents at the school and the views of the wider school community to school council meetings.  DEECD employees bring their educational expertise to school council meetings. An interest in your child’s education is all that is required.  School Council meets in our Staff Room on a Monday evening at least eight times a year and meetings are normally around 1½ hours in duration but depends on the amount of business to be covered.

In addition to being a member on school council, the Councillor is typically a member of one or more sub committees, each responsible for a key area of administration.  Currently these sub committees are: - Education, Finance, Publicity, Fundraising, Building and Grounds, Uniform, After School Care and Canteen.

School Council encourages the use of specific skill-sets which exist in the school community, but may not be part of School Council. These Community members often bring a particular skill to school council. As an example, they might bring building skills or some other skill that the school is looking for at that time, and as such can become a member of a sub committee and share their experience and knowledge for the good of the school.

The responsibilities of school council include:

• developing the strategic plan (the document that tells people what our school wants to achieve in the future and how we plans to get there);

• approving the annual budget (the financial plan for the calendar year that tells people how our school is going to provide money so we can implement its strategic plan in that year);

•setting and reviewing policies (guiding principles designed to influence decisions, actions that our school makes);

• developing, reviewing and monitoring both the Student Code of Conduct (how the school expects students to behave, how bullying will be managed and the school's approach to managing student behaviour) and the School Dress Code (this includes how students are expected to dress during school hours including traveling to and from school, and any arrangement with clothing suppliers that the school might enter into);

• raising money for things that the school needs. This function is typically handled by the Yarra Road Parents Association which reports directly to School Council.

• making sure the school’s grounds and buildings are maintained;

• entering into contracts for things like cleaning the school or a school council building project;

• creating interest in the school within the community; and

• involvement in principal selection.

The School Council sets the tone of the school and drives development of a shared vision.  The Council must maintain accountability through appropriate mechanisms, and understand and respond to its community – in partnership with the school executive and leadership team, it is the driving force for the advancement of the school.

Active participation on the School Council from parents in the school community is very important to the school and its ability to provide a quality educational environment for your child.  Even if you are not on, or interested in being on the council, it is important to be involved in the nomination and election process because the councillors are your representatives.  Find out who the councillors are and be sure to speak to them about your thoughts, ideas and concerns for the school.