The board of trustees of Whangaroa College is focused on the ongoing improvement of student progress and achievement within an environment that provides inclusive education as stated in the New Zealand Curriculum, the New Zealand Disability Strategy, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People.

 

To ensure effective school performance, the board is committed to maintaining a strong and effective governance framework that incorporates legislative requirements and good practice.

 

The following are the board’s agreed governance and management definitions which form the basis upon which both the working relationship and the board’s policies are developed.

 

 

Governance

 

The board acts in a stewardship role and is entrusted to work on behalf of all stakeholders. It is accountable for the school’s performance, emphasizes strategic leadership, sets the vision for the school and ensures compliance with legal and policy requirements.

 

Board policies are at a governance level and outline clear delegations to the principal. The board and principal form the leadership team with the role of each documented and understood. The principal reports to the board as a whole with committees used sparingly and only when a need is identified in order to contribute to board work.

 

The board is proactive rather than reactive in its operations and decision making and does not involve itself in the administrative details of the day to day running of the school. The ongoing improvement of student progress and achievement is the board’s focus. 

 

Management

 

The board delegates all authority and accountability for the day-to-day operational organisation of the school to the principal who must ensure compliance with both the board’s policy framework and the law of New Zealand. [For detail see Operational Policies]

 

In developing the above definitions for Whangaroa College the board was mindful of the following excerpts from the Education Act 1989:

 

Education Act 1989, Section 75 and 76, and Section 65

 

The legal responsibility of boards of trustees is determined by Section 75 of the Education Act 1989:

 

s.75 Functions and powers of boards

(1)A school's board must perform its functions and exercise its powers in such a way as to ensure that every student at the school is able to attain his or her highest possible standard in educational achievement.

(2) Except to the extent that any enactment or the general law of New Zealand provides otherwise, a school's board has complete discretion to control the management of the school as it thinks fit.

Section 75: replaced, on 132013, by section 16 of the Education Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No).

 

s.76 Principals –

(1) A school’s principal is the board’s chief executive in relation to the school’s control and management.

(2) Except to the extent that any enactment or the general law of New Zealand provides otherwise, the principal –

(a) Shall comply with the board’s general policy directions; and

(b) Subject to paragraph (a), has complete discretion to manage as the principal thinks fit the school’s day to day administration.

 

s.65 A board may from time to time, in accordance with the State Sector Act 1988, appoint, suspend, or dismiss staff.