Ferny Grove State High School became an Independent Public School in 2014. The Independent Public Schools (IPS) initiative empowers school principals in conjunction with staff, parents and the broader community to make important decisions regarding their school and respond directly to local needs and aspirations.
All Independent Public Schools are required to establish a school council. School councils enable greater involvement of the school community and other stakeholders, such as industry, in setting the strategic direction for the school.
The school council:
monitors the school's strategic direction
approves plans, policies and other strategic school documents including the annual estimate of revenue and expenditure
monitors the implementation of the plans, policies and other strategic documents
advises the school principal about strategic matters.
School council's must adopt a constitution. The number of members of a school council must be at least six and not more than fifteen. The official members of a school council are the school principal and the president of the Parents & Citizens' (P&C) Association.
School Councils will have the responsibility to approve the strategic documents that set the direction, culture and tone of the school. The P&C Association president will be on the school council to represent the views of the P&C Association. The Independent Public Schools initiative will not have any impact on the functions of P&C Associations.