Sample induction guide for coordinators

Weeks 1 & 2

1. Meet your line manager and make an appointment to discuss the role your predecessor has played. Get your line manager’s perspective on:

• how the program has been run;
• the coordinator’s role and how it has been handled so far; and
• the future directions of the program.

Don’t make any promises. Remember you are just feeling your way at the moment.
2. Find out where your office is and get comfortable.
3. Read the handover file carefully.
4. Meet with key personnel at each of the schools as well as each of the steering and operations committee members and discuss the issues covered with your line manager. Get their perspectives on the program. Some suggested people to talk to include:

• principals of each school;
• deputies of each school;
• AIEOs of each school;
• Steering Committee members;
• Operations Group members; and
• past students and family members.

5. Have a key contact list with all key personnel from schools and the steering and operations committee members as well as the registrars from each of the schools.
6. Meet the registrars from your site schools and find out what their requirements are. Make sure you get an order book.
7. Meet your students and parents. Meet the students at school with the AIEOs and make phone calls home to get you started.
8. Establish a calendar for the year.
9. Get ready for your first Steering Committee and Operations Group meetings.
10. Make sure that the Learning Centre is ready and operational for the start of the school year.

Steering Committee

1. Find out who the members of the Steering Committee are and what their roles are.
2. Find out the date for the meetings which are set by Central Office.
3. Establish a time and venue for the meeting.
4. Send letters introducing yourself to each committee member with an invitation to the next meeting. Include a copy of the last minutes and proposed agenda with this letter.
5. Establish a chair and a minute taker. This should be done approximately two weeks before the meeting is scheduled.
6. Email or telephone all members the day before the meeting is scheduled as a reminder.
7. Include a coordinator’s report as an agenda item. This should cover information such as enrolments, student progress, successes, challenges and coming events. There should also be a financial report in the agenda.
8. All large scale changes need to be discussed with and approved by the Steering Committee to ensure your directions are consistent with the big picture of the program within your area and the Department of Education and Training boundaries.
9. Invest time and energy into this committee, especially your parent and community representatives.
10. Remember to keep student information confidential unless you have explicit parental permission to divulge particular information.

Operations Group meeting

1. Find out who the members of the Operations Group are and what their roles are.
2. Establish a date, time and venue for the meetings.
3. Send letters to each committee member. Introduce yourself and invite them to the next meeting. Include a copy of the last minutes and proposed agenda (if any) with this letter.
4. Establish a chair and a minute taker. This should be done approximately 2 weeks before the meeting is scheduled.
5. Email or telephone all members the day before the meeting is scheduled as a reminder.
6. This is your professional educational reference group, they keep you grounded within a school setting and provide valuable advice. It is not as formal as the Steering Committee and should be made up of a small group of Department of Education and Training employees.
7. Day to day running of the Learning Centre and the program is discussed in these meetings. The coordinator’s report and financial reports are presented and ideas discussed with this group before they are presented to the steering committee.

Learning Centre

Every Learning Centre should develop a specific calendar of events for the year. This can then be sent out to committee members, key personnel within schools and families. Some things to consider when setting up the Learning Centre are:
1. Where has the Learning Centre been located in the past and is this venue still available?
2. What days and times have been used for the Learning Centre in the past? Are these times still suitable to the student and steering committee needs?
3. Catering is something for the Operations Group to discuss.
4. Who are the tutors and when do they work? Locate and organise tutors to work for you and the program. How did this happen in the past and is it still appropriate? Are new directions needed and what are your students’ needs?
5. What Learning Centre programs will you run and what resources do you have at your disposal?

[Courtesy of Jane Nicholas.]