When I started on the School Council in 2013, my children asked me “What does the Council do?” I recall mumbling something about being responsible for the finances and property of the School. I feel I could provide a more educated response today. The role of School Council has evolved considerably over the past 10 years. While today’s councils (also called boards) are still responsible for setting school budgets and for the property they are also responsible for developing the School’s Strategic Plan and monitoring its performance against it, for the appointment of the Principal and the management of their performance, and for overseeing all areas of risk.

As an Anglican school in the Sydney Diocese, TIGS ordinance (the formal document that governs how we operate) has elements that need to be compliant with requirements from our Diocese. Our Council comprises 14 members which includes two clergy, two-parent reps, and the Bishop of Wollongong. You can see the profile of each Council member on the TIGS website under the Governance section. All positions are voluntary and Council Members give freely of their time and skills to help the School be governed as effectively as possible. Council meets around 12 times per year. Each Council Member is also a Member of one of the Council committees. These are Finance, Property, Governance and Risk, Academic, and Enrolments and Marketing. There is also an Executive committee. Each committee meets 2-3 times per term.

Over the past 12 months, Council has been focused on ensuring TIGS is well positioned strategically and financially with minimal risk to our future in a post-COVID-19 world. We have worked with the Principal to restructure aspects of the school’s operations and commissioned an external academic review conducted by AIS NSW. Over the next 12 months will be developing our new strategic plan, a key component of which will be engaging our stakeholders to ensure their voices are represented. We will also be refreshing our TIGS Master Plan which will provide a blueprint for the future of our School Campus.

You can find a Council Member at most school events. Please feel free to approach us if you have any feedback about how we can better govern our school – or even if you just want to chat. I look forward to seeing you in the future.

Kind regards

Professor Anthony (Tony) Okely

Chair of TIGS School Council