The Review
In February 2009, the Allen Consulting Group was commissioned by the Department of Education and Training (DET) to undertake a review of School Based Management (SBM) practices in the ACT. The Review will provide an update on, and evaluate developments since, the 2004 review of SBM in the ACT. It will also evaluate the current efficiency and effectiveness of SBM against its core objectives. The Issues Paper frames the context of, and terms of reference for, the Review.
The review will concentrate on a number of key areas in order to provide practical recommendations for future operational changes to the model. These include:
- governance and accountability arrangements
- funding mechanisms
- management of human resources by individual schools
- management of major assets and maintenance programs within schools
- purchasing and contracting arrangements operated at the school level
- information and computing technology arrangements managed by individual schools.
Within the context outlined above, the key questions of the review will explore:
- How well is the current SBM system meeting its objectives?
- What are the best (most efficient and effective) features of the current SBM system?
- What are the worst features of the current SBM system? Which features require immediate attention, and what features need to be addressed over the longer-term?
- What are some practical ways in which SBM could be improved?
- Are there good practices in other jurisdictions (in Australia and overseas) that the ACT could consider adopting?
- What gaps or uncertainties exist in the accountability arrangements of SBM?
- Are the roles and responsibilities of key decision makers clear within SBM?
- Should devolution of authority to schools be increased/decreased/remain unchanged?
- Should the extent of devolution depend on the circumstances of each school?
The Review process will run for approximately six months. A key feature of the Review will be substantial stakeholder consultation.
The Final Report is due for public release in late 2009.
Stakeholder Consultation
Community and stakeholder opinion will be canvassed through targeted focus groups, the online survey and submissions.
- Focus groups: will involve face-to-face consultations with a representative sample of key stakeholders.
- Submissions: stakeholders are invited to lodge a submission addressing the key issues of SBM in the ACT. Submissions are to be guided by the Review Issues Paper.
- The online survey: mirrors the questions that will be canvassed at the focus group workshops. The purpose of this survey is to give those who did not have the opportunity to attend a workshop with an opportunity to provide comments. It also aims to enable workshop participants to submit any further comments they may have.
It is anticipated that this consultation process will facilitate the capturing of a broad range of views about SBM, which will be evaluated against good practice examples in the field of devolved school management.