Set up a school council

If your school doesn’t have a school council, your principal must work with the school community every year to try to create one.

This is a requirement under the Education Act 2015.

When your school can't form a body

At times, a school council can't be formed because it can't meet the membership requirements set out in the Act.

For example, if the school only has a teaching principal but no other teachers. In this case, a school management council is set up.

When a school has a management council has been set up, a parent consultative group might also be set up. This allows parents and community members to talk to the principal about school matters and student needs.

Read more about school management councils on the Department of Education website.

How to set up or reactivate a body

You don’t have to wait for your principal to ask you if you want to set up a school council.

Talk to your principal if you want your community to have one set up. You can also reactivate a school council that hasn’t met for a while.

The process for setting up is listed below.

Step 1. Principal asks for support

Your principal will ask the Department of Education to support your school community to set up a school council.

The department can also organise for NT COGSO to help you.

Step 2. Meet with the school community

The principal will hold a meeting with the school community.

This includes parents, teachers, students (if your school is a secondary school) and any other interested people.

Where possible, a person with experience in school councils will come to speak and answer questions.

After this meeting, everyone will have time to think about what is best for your school and community.

You don't have to decide straight away if you want to set up a school council.

Everyone may decide they need more than one meeting to ask questions, have more conversations and seek support.

Step 3. Elect members and hold the first meeting

If it's agreed that a school council is best for your school, parents of students must arrange a meeting to elect parent members.

The principal can help organise this, including overseeing voting if needed. The principal or the school community can also ask NT COGSO to help with this process.

• Teachers choose teacher members and students choose student members.
• The principal is automatically a member of the school council.
• New school council members can also invite others to be members.
  • Invited members could include people with special skills or knowledge, or your local parliamentary representative.

At the end of the school council's first year, half of its elected members must:

• step down or
• put their name forward to be re-elected.

This makes sure that in future elections, there are enough members left to continue. It also helps to have a mix of new and experienced members.

First meeting

Once everyone has chosen their members for the school council, new members will hold the first meeting.

Elections will take place for parents to be the chair, secretary and treasurer. These are also called office bearer roles.

Their responsibilities are outlined below:

• the chair leads and oversees meetings - this role must be filled by a parent member
• the secretary manages the business of the school council
• the treasurer reports to the rest of the members on finances.

Read more about member roles and responsibilities and how they're elected in the first meeting.

Step 4. Approve the constitution

At the first meeting, the school council adapts the model constitution provided by the department.

The department must approve the constitution, then the school council must meet again to approve it.

Find out more about the constitution.

Step 5. Get approval

The school council must get approval from the department and the Minister for Education to create the body.

Your principal can help you with this process.

Step 6. Be incorporated

The body becomes incorporated once it is:

• approved by the department and the minister
• officialised in the gazette.

This makes the body a separate legal entity. This protects members from legal claims if they act in good faith while carrying out their duties.