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All government schools in Victoria have school councils.They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school. In the performance of their role, school councils are able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students. Within guidelines provided by the Department of Education and Training, the Footscray High School council has responsibilities for developing such things as:
Footscray High School Council meets eight times a year. If you want to attend a School Council meeting, have a matter to raise or want to find out more about the work of the School Council, please contact the School Council President or the general office.
It is a legislative requirement that all Victorian government schools prepare an Annual Report by 30 April each year, for publication on the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority State Register.
The Annual Report provides principals and school councils with an opportunity to share the year’s achievements and progress with the school community. This includes reflecting on the school’s performance and explaining the impact of school improvement efforts on student outcomes.
Annual Reports are presented to the school community via a public meeting of the school council.
2023 Annual General Meeting was scheduled on the 15th August at 6.30pm at our Barkly Campus.
Parent members must comprise more than one-third of the school council’s total membership. Parent members within this category are elected by parents of students currently at the school.
‘Parent’ includes a guardian or person with parental responsibility for the student. A parent of a student at the school who is a Department of Education and Training employee but does not work at or for the school is included in the Parent electorate. These parents are classified on school council as ‘DET parents’.
Members of the Department employee member category make up no more than one third of council membership according to the constituting Order.
Department employee members are elected by Department employees at the school (except for the principal who is an automatic Department employee member of school council as the council’s executive officer.)
For all government schools with a Year 7 cohort and above, a mandated student member category (2 positions) is required.
Student members of school council have the same role and responsibilities as other council members including full voting rights. However, student members are not eligible to hold any office bearer position.
To be eligible to run in the student member category, that person must be a current student Footscray High School student. There is no minimum age requirement. These members are elected by all students enrolled at the FHS.
The Footscray High School Council is made up of elected and appointed members in four categories:
Elections are held annually to fill vacancies for parent, student and teacher members.
The term of office for elected and co-opted members is not more than two years unless the term has been varied by a Ministerial Order. The term of office commences the day after the date of declaration of the poll and ends on the date of the declaration of the poll held two years later.