OUR SCHOOL BOARD
Our Board Members
Board members are elected to act on behalf of the school’s community to ensure that the school continuously improves student progress and achievement.
Our current Board of Trustees members are :
Brendan Dickinson - Trust Rep
Joanna Fullerton
Stephen Lankshear
Janita Liddington - Chair
Anna Pieterse - Principal
Tim Popping - Staff Rep
Audra Thackwray
Annemie van Tonder
Lisa Zegwaard - Minute Secretary
Southcity Educational Charitable Trust
Harry Croucher
Brendan Dickinson
Anton Post
Jono Yeow
The Board's Role
The School Board is responsible for ensuring the school complies with all legal directives made by the government and the Ministry of Education. This is done by ensuring we have robust policies and procedures in place. There is a clearly documented line between board work and management work. School Board govern (oversee management) and principals manage the school. It is not the role of the School Board to be involved in the day-to-day operation of the school, this is the responsibility of the principal and the school staff.
Board work is primarily about governance of the school. Governance involves setting strategic direction through our vision, core values and strategic goals. Core work of the board includes setting targets and tracking student progress. This also includes regular review of curriculum areas. The board monitors financial expenditure of the school and sets a yearly budget. We also establish long term property plans and prioritize property projects with allocated funds.
Board Meetings
School boards meet regularly. The meetings are not public meetings, but they are "open to the public". This means that even if you're not a member you are welcome to attend as an observer although you may not have speaking rights.
Some items on the agenda may need to be discussed in private, for example if they concern a complaint to the board or a disciplinary matter. This is usually done "in-committee" The board chair will tell you when you need to leave the meeting, and when you can come back after the in-committee discussion is complete.
Board Meeting Minutes
Board meeting minutes are usually available on your school or kura website, and/or in the school office. These are public documents and therefore you have a right to see them.
The minutes of the meetings will also record whether the board went into committee. If this occurred, you will not be able to see what was discussed in that part of the meeting. The only details you will see will be when that part of the meeting started and finished.
Te Whakangārahu Ngātahi | Planning Together
This page will provide access to our School Charter, Strategic Plan, Annual Plan and our most up to date Annual Financial Report.
Strategic Plan
Under the Education and Training Act 2020, the government have made changes to how schools plan and report that will be implemented in 2024. The framework, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, is currently being introduced to school leaders and boards.
Te Whakangārahu Ngātahi | Planning Together is designed to help:
Focus schools and kura on continuously improving their planning and reporting practices to deliver equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
Support learners, whānau and communities to be involved in the planning process for their school or kura.
Give schools and kura flexibility to reflect their local contexts in their planning and reporting.
Support whānau and communities to hold their schools or kura accountable for learner outcomes.
Te Whakangārahu Ngātahi│Planning Together requires the board to develop:
a 3-year strategic plan[1] developed in consultation with their school community, that sets out how the board will meet their primary objectives (set out in the Education and Training Act 2020)
an annual implementation plan that sets annual targets and actions for working towards their strategic goals
an annual report that reports on the school’s progress and finances.
[1] Your board’s first strategic plan will be for a timeframe of 2 years (1 January 2024-31 December 2025) to align the strategic planning cycle with board triennial elections.
ERO report
Our most recent ERO Profile report was conducted in February 2020. The full report can be found here.
Annual Report
It is a Ministry requirement to have the previous years annual financial report from the auditor on the school website. See ours below.
Implementation Plan
Our Charter contains our Strategic Goals ad is used alongside our Annual Implementation Plan.
Contacting the Board
If you are wanting to make contact with the School Board please address your email to the Presiding Member:
Annual Audited Accounts
Policies
From time to time the Board, Staff and School Community review policies and procedures. This gives all stakeholders the opportunity to have a say in how certain aspects of the school and currculum are managed.
When required to do so, you will be notified in the newsletter of which policy we are reviewing and you can access the SchoolDocs website and review the policy and leave comment where appropriate.
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https://southcity.schooldocs.co.nz/Logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f
Board Documents
The New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA)
NZSTA provides governance and employment advice and support to help boards do the very best for their students and communities.
NZSTA is contracted by the ministry to support boards in the undertaking of their roles and responsibilities. NZSTA provides practical support, advice, resources and professional development opportunities to help boards govern and manage their schools.