Castlemaine Steiner School is a non-profit Company Limited by guarantee. The school is governed by a Board of Directors and managed by a Facilitated Shared Decision Making model of management. This model of school management was developed throughout 2009, and is based on an innovative and thoroughly researched model of school management.

a. The Company provides the legal entity of the school. The Governance Review of 2009 revised the school constitution to successfully update the formal structure of the school.
Membership of the Company is limited to a maximum of 600 members who vote for the two parent members on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of the Company has up to nine members, consisting of teachers, parents and wider community members to oversee the legal, financial and strategic direction of the school. The Board of Directors also oversees the correct audit of accounts and annual returns to the Australian Securities Commission. The Board of Directors meets at least four times each year and has subcommittees overseeing various aspects of the schools operations. For example, initially an Administration Committee will oversee monthly budgets and policy decisions. Further on, other more specialist groups such as Buildings and Grounds, Finance, Human Resources subcommittee and a Strategic Plan working group may be developed by the Board of Directors. The School Facilitator and Business Manager are ex-officio members of the Board of Directors.

b. The Management Team: This information is currently being updated.

c. The College of Teachers is responsible for delivering the educational programmes of the school. The College of Teachers operates collectively and by consensus in a learning role, aiming to support teachers and improve the quality of education provided to children. They meet twice weekly to support and consult with one another on educational matters, and discuss, formulate and review the school curriculum, school policy and the day to day running of the school. Debate meetings and task groups deal with specific educational issues.

d. Parent Participation

Parents are a vital pillar in the cultural strength of Castlemaine Steiner School and Kindergarten. They participate in the life of the school in many very important ways.

• Parents are members of the governing body and its various subcommittees and guide the overall running of the school from this important perspective.
• Parents participate in the education of children in many vital ways, including;
  - Attending class meetings each term to learn about the programme their child/ren is/are undertaking
  - Attending parent - teacher interviews twice per year to discuss the specific progress of their child/ren;
  - Assisting in a range of class activities, from attending camps and excursions to assisting with reading, craft and sport activities.
• Parents help at regular class working bees, taking on specific projects as a class to improve the amenity and beauty of the school site.
• Parents organise and collectively run our annual Spring Fair, the single major fundraising activity of the school.
  

The creation of an atmosphere of caring and support within the whole school community is seen in the class carers' network, the 'hand to heart' system, the craft group, the study group, the singing group and the drama group. Parents also play a significant role in fundraising and organising regular events for the school, in particular the Spring Fair.

All these aspects of the school bring together the many creative impulses of our parent community.

Click here to view our Annual Report for 2009.

Click here to view our Annual Report for 2010.

Click here to view our Annual Report for 2011.

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