School Councils

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.
Within guidelines provided by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD), a School Council has responsibilities for developing such things as:

  • the Annual Implementation Plan which sets out the main goals and priorities of the school.

  • the school's budget which shares out the available resources to make sure that the focuses in the Annual Implementation Plan can be achieved.

  • the general educational policy of the school.

  • the physical appearance and maintenance of the school's buildings and grounds.

  • the student code of conduct which provides a safe and orderly environment for learning.

  • an Annual Report on the school's achievements.

School Council Membership

Most members of a School Council stand for election at the school where they are parents or staff members. Other members can be co-opted by the Council.

Because parents have such an important part to play in schools, there is an elected parent member category. Two thirds of the elected members must be parents.

The Viewbank Primary School Council has a total of 13 members being made up of 9 parent representatives and 4 staff members,as DEECD employees,including the school principal.

School Council members are elected (or appointed in the case of co-opted members) for a two year term. Half the membership is elected or co-opted each year and this creates vacancies for the Annual School Council election.

Sub-Committees of School Council operate in specific areas to support the school. Our Sub Committees are: Education, Finance, Parents and Friends and Buildings and Grounds.

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBERS

The Viewbank Primary School Council consists of twelve members – four Department Of Education and Training (DET) members and eight parent members.  Elections are held each year in February with the standard term of office two years.