School Council
The Patch School Council for 2026:
President
Kate Hutchings
Vice President
Amanda St Leger
Treasurer
TBA
Secretary
Coby Beatson
Parent representatives
Kiri Seamer and Anna Moss
Staff representatives
Jim Burnside (Principal), Alesha Sangster (Assistant Principal) & Karen Robinson.
Community representatives
TRY Australia – Jo Rouse
Council Subcommittees
Community, Finance, Buildings & Grounds, Policies.
School Council welcomes contact from parents. Feel free to email the school at the.patch.ps@education.vic.gov.au.
Currently, School Council meet monthly on a Tuesday night at 6.00pm. All parents from the school community are welcome to attend meetings – just contact Jim or Kim prior to the meeting on 9756 7463.
I love our primary school for its strong sense of community, dedicated staff, and the beautiful grounds where our children learn and play. It’s a privilege to serve on the school council. I value the opportunity to contribute and to give back to this wonderful community that gives so much to our children and families.
Apparently my interests are now whatever my kids are doing on the weekend. I do like running when my knees let me.
I also love dogs and on the odd occasion I manage to answer a Saturday age quiz question correctly I feel a ridiculous amount of relief.
Kate Hutchings
School Council President
What is the function of school council?
- Establish the broad direction and vision of the school within the school’s community
- Participate in the development and monitoring of the school strategic plan
- Develop, review and update school policies
- Develop, review and monitor the Student Engagement Policy and the School Dress Code
- Raise funds for school-related purposes
- Approve the annual budget and monitor expenditure
- Maintain the school’s grounds and facilities
- Enter into contracts (e.g. cleaning, construction work)
- Report annually to the school community and to DEECD
- Generally stimulate interest in the school in the wider community
School Council does not…
- Manage the school
- Employ ongoing teaching staff with no fixed date for termination
- Represent sectional interests
- Renew the principal’s contract or hire and fire the school principal
- Determine class allocations
- Discuss individual issues between teachers and students and/or parents
- Purchase land or buildings
- Enter into hire purchase agreements or obtain credit or loan facilities, unless authorised by the Minister
If you wish to know more about the operations of School Council, please visit: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/school-council-overview/overview
Parent payments
Under the Department of Education Parent Payments Policy, Victorian government schools are required to provide transparent information to their school community on voluntary parent/carer contributions.
The following documents outline the voluntary parent/carer contributions at our school:
2026 Parent Payments Arrangements