Questions every school councillor needs to ask
Advice for School Councils
Questions every school councillor needs to ask.
Thanks for being a school councillor - we want to support you in the important work you do.
Below we've compiled a list that all school councillors need to ask.
Section one: the council
There are many different kinds of councils. Some councils are there to set policy and shape plans, while some are there to offer advice.
Some things are different in every school. Some things are common in most schools. Once you've got an idea of the particular organisational quirks of your own school, you'll be ready to zoom out to general principles.
Section two: the council member
The council is made up of individual council members, each of whom has responsibilities both as an individual and as part of the collective body that is the council as a whole.
Essential attributes of the good school council member include:
- Committed
- Confident
- Curious
- Challenging
- Collaborative
- Critical
- Self-reflective
- Creative
Section three: preparing for the future
You share responsibility for educating children and young people to deal with a rapidly changing world.
You can't just order them to believe anything that's written on the whiteboard; they'll have to be flexible, agile, and ready to discard anything that's stopped working.
They have a right to expect the same of you.
So.
A last question.
Where do you go from here?
Getting all this right isn’t enough. Once you’re up to speed (as a member, and as a council) on your digital strategy, community engagement and educational policy, technologies and communities and educational imperatives shift and change and you have to adapt.
Even the best policies become gradually less effective from the moment they’re written down. Flexibility is vital, and complacency is fatal.
Most important, though, is to keep a firm grip on your school’s vision, which you will need to adjust to suit changing circumstances. Your task as a council member is to ensure that changes are made to take advantage of new opportunities rather than because your enthusiasm has flagged or your ideals have been compromised and you no longer reach for excellence.
Compromise where you have to, detour where you need to, but keep your eyes on the prize.