Board of Management Training

Board of Management Training 2008

Training Sechedule
Booking Form

Educate Together’s Training Schedule for the school year 2008/2009 can be downloaded here. The training is designed to cover various areas of the work of an Educate Together Board of Management.

At present, Educate Together provides school support through the following channels:

1. Personal contact (Deirdre O’Donoghue, Louise Daly)
2. Website FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
3. Website Forum
4. Confidential Advice Service for Principals and Chairperson (Deirdre, Louise)

As the number of schools grows, it is necessary to ensure that we make the best use of the resources available to us. This means more structured training, getting schools to use technology (website forum, FAQs) and sharing of information and experience between schools.

Members of Boards of Management put considerable energy and time into their work. It is vital that this effort is translated into good practice, as a foundation for good decisions, progress on difficult issues, achievement of aims and objectives, resulting in the satisfaction of a job well done. It is our aim to support Boards in their work, in ways that make a meaningful contribution to that work. We have just celebrated our 30th Birthday, and it’s important that all Educate Together schools feel part of our organisation, and know that they’re not working alone.

In order to provide the best possible service, we would like everyone who wishes to attend any of the training modules to book as soon as possible. This saves money on unnecessary printing, makes catering arrangements fit the requirements of the particular group, and allows us to plan best use of the day according to the numbers attending.

We have tried to move out of Dublin wherever possible, but feedback on other training occasions has made it clear that for many, Dublin is easier for everyone to reach, while holding training in other towns and cities makes it easier for some, but much harder for others. We’ve also clustered schools for some training in an effort to minimise travelling for Board members where possible. We will be looking for further feedback on this as training progresses, so that we can make adjustments next year if necessary.

The first session is General Board of Management Training, which is designed for Boards of Management of established Educate Together schools, and should be attended by all Board of Management Members. It will cover Corporate Responsibility, Role and Functions, Relationships and how the Board can work best together and with the wider school community to achieve the aims and objectives of the school. This is being done on two evenings and two Saturdays, in seven locations.

The second session is Training for Start-Up Groups only (i.e. for groups wishing to open new schools in 2009 and later.

The third session is Training for Boards of Managements that are being formed in 2008 (12 new ET schools and Bracken ETNS), and is designed for new Boards as they take up the role of managing their new school. It will cover basic issues, with the emphasis on coming together and working as a productive Board of Management. It is designed to provide information and training for members who have no experience of a Board of Management of a national school.

The February 2009 session is Financial Management for Treasurers and Chairpersons, and will be held in Dublin. It will look at setting up and maintaining proper accounting records, best accounting practice, and a demonstration of a working set of Board of Management accounts by an experienced Treasurer.

The session for March 2009 is a full day on Recruitment Training, covering all staff appointments, including Posts of Responsibility, SNA Appointments, etc. This is designed for Chairpersons and Principals, and invited Independent Assessors. Our intention is to move to a situation where all Independent Assessors would have attended an Educate Together training session. Please send contact details of any Independent Assessor you have used in the past (or wish to use in the future) and we will invite them to the training.

The final session in April will cover Health and Safety, Legislation and Policy, and Child Protection, and is designed for Chairperson and Principals.

We hope that everyone will attend the appropriate training, and give us the feedback we need to work on developing a comprehensive training programme for each school year.

Please make sure that each participant brings their Board of Management Handbook to ALL training sessions. If you need more copies of the Handbook, please contact the office on 01 4292500.

Training Sechedule
Booking Form