Board Training and Development

The governance functions of school boards are established in common and statute law, and high standards of due diligence are required from all directors and officers of the company in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities.

To assist the boards of member schools to meet their responsibilities, AISNSW provides advice on school governance issues and conducts governance training via workshops, courses, conferences and online modules.

In accordance with NESA regulations, all directors of school boards must undertake 12 hours of professional learning in governance over a three-year time frame. Training must be predominantly in the context of school governance, and provided by a NESA approved training body.

AISNSW Governance Workshops

Governance workshops cover a range of Governance topics and can be designed specifically to educate and assist your school board. The workshops are regularly updated in response to changes in legislation and regulations, improvements in recognised best practice and the changing needs of independent schools.

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Online Training Modules

This online suite of self-paced Governance modules are designed to provide essential knowledge and understanding for prospective or newly appointed members to school governing bodies. These online activities will also be valuable for current members of school boards to ensure they understand their governance role and are able to discharge their financial and legal responsibilities. 

Online Modules

Governance for School Council Members

Wednesday, 12th June 2019 or Thursday, 7th November 2019

This program provides insight and support for members of school councils.

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Assisting Board Members to Understand Child Abuse

This self-paced online course provides an essential overview of the legislation in NSW that relates to child protection. This online course will assist you to develop an understanding of the four key strands of legislation that relate to safeguarding of children in NSW.

Online Course Registration

Governance Resource Manual

The AISNSW Governance Resource Manual (GRM) was developed to assist member schools meet their registration requirements in relation to governance: standards for the ‘proper governance’ of independent schools were introduced by Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) in October 2014.

Governance Resource Manual

School Board Appraisal

AISNSW conducts a School Board Appraisal (SBA) process as part of a suite of governance services to independent schools in NSW. The SBA process seeks to assess how successfully a board discharges its dual responsibilities of compliance and performance, and how these processes may be improved to further the effectiveness of governance, and the mission and purposes of the school.   

The SBA process collects quantitative and qualitative data in relation to ten key areas of board effectiveness and performance:

Effectiveness Domains

  • Board Selection
  • Induction, mentoring and training,
  • Monitoring and assessing the School’s achievement of key goals and objectives
  • Ensuring short and long term financial stability
  • Relationships between Principal and Chair
  • Confidentiality
  • Current strengths and areas of improvement
  • Issues for the coming year
  • Board skill set
  • Future issues

The SBA process is facilitated by Chris Duncan, Division Head of Governance.

Process

  • Documentation: Reviews board related documentation including the constitution, board charter, annual report and various board policies.
  • Interviews: Confidentially interviews all board members individually including the Principal, and Business Manager (assuming he/she acts as company secretary for the Board). Interviews gather qualitative data in relation to the above key areas of board performance and also enable board members to reflect, provide insights and pose questions about the  dynamics and effectiveness of the board’s processes. Interviews provide insight into the functioning of the Board.
  • Surveys: Responses to written surveys of individual board members provide quantitative data in relation to Board Meetings, Communication, Board Work and Roles and Relationships. Responses to written surveys serve the strategic activities of the board with a greater focus on mission and purpose. All data and responses to the written surveys are provided in a clear graphical format.
  • Observations, Conclusions and Recommendations.

Cost

AISNSW provides a wide range of core services to member schools as part of their annual membership of the Association. The School Board Appraisal Process is a fee for service option for member schools. The cost of this service to the participating member school is $5000.

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Online Training Modules