UMG School Council
Independent Public Schools (IPS) in Queensland have one
specific goal: to improve the
outcomes for students!
This is the primary reason for the introduction and
existence of IPSs in Queensland, and is the priority set down by Education
Queensland for the granting and maintenance of IPS status.
It has been recognised that independent school
administrations are best placed to make operational decisions on a day-to-day
basis to suit the conditions that exist in their individual communities. Every
school is different - in its clientele, its staffing, its priorities, its
financial situation, its vision, its plans for improving the outcomes of its
students - and with the continuing evolution of a school's community, each is best
placed to react on a local basis, to changing conditions in order to provide
the best outcomes for students.
By becoming an IPS, Upper Mt Gravatt (UMG) State School has
been granted the flexibility to react to those unique sets of circumstances
that exist in our school.
UMG was granted IPS status in 2015. One of the requirements
for being an IPS was to have a School
Council elected from within the stakeholders of the school.
The make-up of the School Council is set out in the
Constitution (a copy of which is available on this website for public viewing),
and has some flexibility, depending on the size and structure of the individual
school (Primary/Secondary/College etc.).
UMG chose to elect three (3) parent members and three (3)
staff members to work with the two (2) Official Members (Principal &
P&C President) to oversee the progress of the school.
Role of the UMG School Council
The School Council has a very specific mandate to monitor
the progress of the UMG Operational Plan to ensure it is working towards the
outcomes set out in the 4-year plan that was put into place in 2014 - when the
school was still operating as part of the Brisbane South Region. (IPSs answer
directly to the Director General and are not considered to be an official part
of local Education Regions.)
The School Council plays no part in the day-to-day
operations of the school. Its role is solely and specifically to monitor the
implementation of the current 4-year Operational Plan; and to develop, over the
next 2 years, the subsequent 4-year Operational Plan which will begin in 2018.
The School Council has no decision-making capability
regarding the operation of the school (including staffing and educational
content), and has no fund-raising capacity (which remains the charter of the
P&C Committee).
How you can participate
The future direction of the school is in the hands of the
School Council. If you believe that you have some ideas and suggestions as to
how UMG should progress into the future, then contacting a Council Member is
the best way to go about this (in the short term). You are invited to approach
one of the Council members or write your suggestions and proposals addressed to
the Chairman of the Council, via one of UMG's regular communication channels.
Alternatively, you may wish to run for election to the
Council when elections are held next in 2017; however, because of the nature of
the 4-year planning cycle, your contribution at this late stage of the
development of the next UMG Operational Plan may be minimal. So the question
remains:
How can you contribute?
Other than monitoring the current Operational Plan, the
School Council's other main task is to develop the next 4-year Operational Plan
that will best serve the future requirements and desires of our community, and to
improve the outcomes of our students. We need to look at the big picture:
- How big do we want to be?
- What is the optimal size for our
school?
- Which additional facilities do we
wish to have available for students in the future?
Are there plans that can be
implemented to help us monitor the enrolment and distribution of ages across
all year levels?
- Are there staff structures that
can be developed to optimise the outcomes for our students.
- Are there areas of development
that we could pursue to make our school and our students more successful?
These and many other questions need to be addressed if we
are to make UMG the best it can be. The biggest danger for us, and indeed any
organisation/planning committee, is that we don't know what we don't know.
Despite our best intentions, and the broad experience of
those Council Members currently on the School Council, we are largely ignorant
of what we don't know. Obviously the best position we could be in, as a
committee, is to be aware of what we don't know. This would give us direction
and allow us to make decisions, knowing all of the possible scenarios that are
available to us. This is where you come in.
Your suggestions, no matter how ordinary, mundane or
outrageous you may consider them to be, are welcome. Who would have thought, 5
years ago, that we would have a low-ropes course available to UMG students;
that we would run a ROC RACE to present our students with unique physical
challenges, that would further develop their confidence and their
problem-solving abilities. In this day and age, and with the flexibility of
IPS, we can consider anything and everything. If it is going to improve the
outcomes of our students, then we will consider it. If we have the capacity and
the resources to make it happen, then there is every chance that it will be
written into future Operation Plans.
Make your thoughts known to us. The sky is the limit. Share
your dreams and we will make sure they are discussed and considered for
implementation into our future plans.
N.B. Please be advised though that members of
the School Council are limited in their capacity to represent community members
in relation to operational matters at UMG. Management issues and decisions
regarding individual students, staff and curriculum matters are outside of the
charter of the School Council. These concerns need to be addressed to the
appropriate staff members.
Help create the Future
These are exciting times at UMG. We want to improve the
outcomes of our students; and we want to be the best we can be. You can help
make it happen.
What does your
ideal school look like? We invite to let us know.