Time is precious – get a better return on yours through Educate Together Board of Management Training
By the Member Support Team, national office
Members of school boards already provide so much of their own time as part of their board duties. It’s not surprising that many might be reluctant to spend more time attending training sessions.
What is clear is that those that do attend report that they get a better return on their time investment!
The Governance Manual, (available here) together with circulars and the Education Act, sets out everything a board member needs to know. So why would you need training?
The training is about much more than passing on knowledge about fantastically fun facts and where to find them. It is about how to apply them and how they work in practice. It’s the role of each board member and, what they bring, how to work together as a board. It also looks at how to deal with tricky situations, how to hold confidentiality while still sharing information with the school community. It’s about troubleshooting scenarios for relationships within the board, and between the board and the wider school community.
It is about making sure that you get the most out of the precious time of board members, which is the lifeline of any school board.
As a management body for primary schools, Educate Together provides Board of Management training for all board members on a rolling basis over the four-year term of office. The training covers:
- Procedures governing appointment of staff
- Board finances and the role of the Treasurer
- Legal issues – policies and procedures arising from legislation, guidelines, and circulars
- Child Protection procedures
- Anti-Bullying procedures
- Data Protection
We do our best to make it energising and exciting, whether in person or online, and the feedback is always very positive.
So, when you see the training schedule in your mailbox, please pass it on to all Board members. Contact schoolsupport@educatetogether.ie for more information.
