Coorparoo State School established a School Council in 2014. The following information is provided to help members of our Community to understand the role of the School Council, and the approach that Coorparoo State School will take to create it.
What are School Councils?
School Councils are consultative bodies created to provide advice to the school Principal on strategic matters within the school. They are guided by a Constitution which outlines the Council’s procedures and areas of responsibility. They enable greater involvement of the school community in the setting of strategic direction.
Why should we have one?
Our school has become increasingly complex as we have grown. Student learning outcomes have been excellent and I am keen as Principal to see this continue. We believe that one way to achieve this is to have a more collaborative conversation about our long and short term plans, facilities planning, our budget and our school performance. We report on many of these things to the P&C as we will still do, but a deeper discussion in a separate forum will allow this to be a better informed and owned process.
Would a School Council make our school a better school?
We suggest so. We have a supportive school community (staff + parents) with incredible skills and commitment. Tapping into this allows for robust and more broadly informed conversations about the work we do. We believe this would serve to make our school improvement agenda more precise and deeper.
Is there a difference between a P&C and a School Council?
Yes. The P&C would still remain and maintain its core responsibility engaging parents in our school and providing vital services such as Tuckshop, Uniform and Book Shop services as well as parent liaison and fundraising. We would still provide monthly reports to the P&C.
Who is on a School Council?
The Principal and P&C President are automatically members of a School Council. The School Council is led by its own Chair and is supported by equal numbers of elected staff and parents. Staff and parent representatives have an elected term of either one or two years.
Would you like to know more?
Questions can be directed to principal@coorparooss.eq.edu.au