BOSTES 24/14

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals and proprietors of non-government school
Representatives of systems of non-government schools

Effective: immediately

The Minister for Education has approved amendments to the Registered and Accredited Individual Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual and the Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual (‘the Manuals’).

Pursuant to the BOSTES’ rule-making powers under section 25 of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards Act 2013 (‘the Act’), the Manuals constitute the rules set out by the BOSTES with respect to registration and accreditation.

The amendments to the Manuals relate to the requirement for non-government schools to have policies and procedures for the proper governance of the school in place.

For individual schools, section 3.9.3 of the Manual details this requirement, including the need for policies and procedures relating to:

• governance of the school
• conflict of interest
• related party transactions register
• professional learning for ‘responsible persons’
• induction process for new ‘responsible persons’
• external independent attestation audit of Annual Financial Statements.

For systemic schools, section 5.9.3 of the Manual provides that systemic non-government schools are required to have policies and procedures in place for the proper governance of the school that are similar to those required for individual non-government schools. Further guidance for systemic schools will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders.

The amendments to the Manuals take effect with the publication of this Official Notice.

The amended Manuals are available to download from the Registration and Accreditation of Non-government Schools (RANGS) website. The RANGS website is accessed from the BOSTES website.

Please note that the web versions of the Manuals are the most up-to-date Manuals at any time.

Tracked changes of the amended Manuals are available in the ‘Reference Documents section’ of the RANGS website.

The following support materials are also available:

• Proformas for Document Audits for Individual Schools
• Proformas for Document Audits for System Member Schools

For more information, contact:
Anita Yates
Inspector, School Registration and Accreditation Standards
anita.yates@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8214