Schools Registration Board

Annual Report 2006-2007

Establishment and Function

The Schools Registration Board (the Board) was established on 1 July 1995 under Part 5 of the Education Act 1994. The Board is an independent statutory body with its composition and powers defined under the Act and its supplementary Regulations. Its primary function is to ensure that non-government schools comply with the educational standards determined by the Minister for Education. In addition, it must assess and determine applications for:

1. the registration of new non-government schools, and
2. the renewal of the registration of existing schools.

Members

Members of the Board are appointed by the Minister (Education Act 1994 45 (1-3) and as of 30 June 2007 include:

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Standards for the Registration of Schools

The matters on which the Minister may determine a standard are contained at Section 53— (1) of the Education Act 1994 and include:

The standards for registration are:

1. the proposed curriculum of a school;
2. the qualifications required of teachers at a school;
3. the facilities to be provided at a school;
4. the minimum number of students to attend a school;
5. the kinds of students to attend a school;
6. the enrolment and attendance procedures of a school;
   1. the financial viability of a school
   2. the governance of a school,
   3. impact of a new school on other schools,
   4. grievance process, and
7. any other prescribed matter, including code of conduct.

Board Meetings

The Schools Registration Board met five times in 2005-06, when it considered matters relating to applications for new schools, and reviews of existing schools, as well as other procedural and policy issues. All meetings were held in Hobart. The meeting dates in 2006-07 were:

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Registration of Schools

Current list of non-government schools in Tasmania

1. Applications for New Schools

Being assured that the Australian Technical College – Northern Tasmanian complied with all Standards, the Board determined, at its July 2006 meeting, to register the college.

2. Review of Registered Schools

In Tasmania, there are sixty-nine registered schools. Seven of the schools have additional campuses in other parts of the state; of these, three have more than one additional campus.

The following schools were reviewed between July and December 2005 and January and April 2006:

On consideration of reports provided by the review panels on the schools, the Board approved the re-registration of these schools for periods up to six years.

The following schools were reviewed between May and June 2007:

The Board will make determinations on the re-registration of these schools at its July and August 2007 meetings.

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3. School Closures/Amalgamation

Geneva Christian College informed the Board of the closure of its Geilston Bay campus at the end of 2006. There were no amalgamations in 2006-7

4. Changes to Registration

Schools are required to notify the Schools Registration Board of any significant changes in relation to its registration.

In November 2003 the Schools Registration Board determined that, in order to fully consider proposals to change registration, school are to notify the Board six months before the intended change is to take place.

The following changes were considered by the Board in 2006-2007:

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Policy, Operational and Procedural Issues

1. National Conference

A National Conference of Managers of Non-Government Schools Programs was held in Perth, in October 2006.

The annual conference of managers provides an important forum for the discussion of developments of national interest in the registration and funding of the non-government education sector. The issues considered at the 2006 conference included:

• Enrolment, including minimum enrolment and accountability;
• Challenges for registering authorities, including,

  o     Australian technical colleges,

  o     For-profit schools, and

  o   Governance and financial accountability.

• Legislative compliance, ranging from teacher registration to school improvement processes.
• Implications arising from non-mandated length of school year.

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2. Expanded Curriculum Standard - Review & Development

The Board and the Office of Educational Review successfully completed an implementation process for review and development with pilot schools.

3. Compliance with New or Amended Standards

The Board sought information on compliance the new Code of Conduct Standard and the amended Facilities and Grievance Process Standards. All schools indicated compliance at 30 June 2007.   

4. Bulletin to Schools

In December 2006,  the Chair, in a bulletin to schools, outlined: -

• the background to amended and new Standards and a request for compliance

• clarification of ‘assessment and reporting” and “review and development”, and

• reminder of the timeline for review and development.

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5. SRB Website & Handbook

The updated Handbook was distributed to schools in December 2006. The information contained in the Handbook and extracts from the Education Act are included in the School Registration Board’s website (http://www.srb.tas.gov.au).

6. SRB Membership

An induction program was held in March 2007 for the five newly appointed members of the Schools Registration Board.

7. SRB Relocation

The SRB office was relocated to Kirksway House, Battery Point in January 2007. The SRB postal address is now PO Box 473, Sandy Bay, 7006.

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