Taking the Next Step
In the past councils have, at their best, attempted to deliver good governance and policy leadership, often from a somewhat tenuous understanding of their role.
At their poorest, they have been a "rubber stamp" for the principal's decisions and actions.
In between, the majority of councils drew their understandings from experienced principals and consequently formulated dozens of "policies" with a strong management focus rather than from any governance perspective. A poor understanding of the Principal versus Executive Officer roles didn't help.
Those policies created a climate of "micro management" of the principal and by their nature restricted management flexibility and limited opportunities for real creativity and innovation. Some council professional development programs were often ad hoc and developed/delivered by experienced school managers rather than by those with formal governance experience. As a consequence the "management" bias was often perpetuated.
Each of ASCIV's trainers can draw on extensive governance/training experience from outside the educational sector as well as council experience. Recognising the short-comings of the existing system, we have also undertaken formal training with international educational governance expert Elaine Hines, who stressed the importance of refocussing councils on their proper governance role.
It became clear to us that a school or college needs only five or six policies to deliver effective governance and consequently free up principals to deliver effective management and improved outcomes. This is well demonstrated in the New Zealand model in which Boards (of Trustees) exercise even greater responsibilities than those in Victoria. We have embraced this model and we are now rolling this out in our training of member schools and colleges.
Our publication "Performance Improvement through Responsible Governance: A Guide for the Education Sector" – the first Australian handbook on educational governance –underscores this commitment and while it was challenging for some, this guide set a new benchmark for informing educational governance in Victoria and has been widely applauded. (see details below)
A "Board" is the accepted term for the governance body of a public entity. Under the Public Administration Act 2004, a government school council is regarded as a public entity.
We have chosen to adopt the term "Board" to focus on the governance aspect and help create opportunities for fresh thinking in schools and colleges. The concept of a Board also helps clarify the distinctions between governance and management roles. It's simply a new word for the new mindset needed for schools/colleges to move forward.
We are currently developing draft governance policies drawing on best practise in other jurisdictions and from an analysis of feedback from our own PD programs. They will be provided to members as part of a whole-of-board training package which will equip members with the skills to adapt them to ensure that they fully and properly expresses the values and expectations of your particular board.
This remains a work in progress. Please feel comfortable to share your views and experience with us and contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.
BILL GORDON
PRESIDENT ASCIV