Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB) is getting a new Board following the local election on 7 June 2024. But what does the Board of an ETB do? In this blog our Chief Executive Anne McHugh tells us more about it.
The Education and Training Board (ETB) is a statutory body which gets its powers from the Education and Training Boards Act 2013.
The Board members, 21 in total, have an overarching responsibility to ensure that the organisation is achieving all of its aims and objectives and is being governed appropriately. Having this oversight role means that it does not get involved in the day-to-day running of the ETB, which is the job of the Executive (employed staff) under the direction of the Chief Executive. The members of the Board have a list of Reserved functions for which they are responsible and these include the adoption of the strategy statement, the annual service plan and annual report and the establishment of various committees.
Twelve elected members of Donegal County Council make up the largest group on the Board. Two members elected by ETB staff and two parents nominated by the National Parents Council along with five members drawn from a list of bodies specified by the Minister for Education round out the membership. The five members from the specified bodies are appointed by the sixteen members above following the receipt of nominations from the bodies which include those representative of business, industry and employers, bodies representative of learners and bodies representative of school leadership. In addition, Foras na Gaeilge, Gaeloideachas, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and The Wheel are also included. A Chair is selected from among the members and this position usually rotates during the five-year term.
When our Board is fully constituted it will nominate members to each Board of Management of our fifteen post-primary schools. The Board will also establish an Audit and Risk Committee and a Finance Committee. These committees are extremely important for the good corporate governance and accountability of our organisation for the spending of large amounts of public money and they include external members as well as Board members in order to achieve transparency. Finally, the Board appoints a Youth Work Committee which also includes external and relevant members to liaise with the Youth Development Officer on matters relating to the provision of Youth Work within the county.
The Board meets on approximately seven occasions each year during the five-year term where, along with the approval of accounts and other governance matters, the members receive reports from the Chief Executive and Directors on the various elements of their work. To achieve our collective aims the Board meets annually with the elected representatives from the Oireachtas to highlight and discuss the current needs of the organisation. The TDs and Senators are then in a really good position to bring back the issues from Donegal ETB to the national stage for consideration.
Donegal ETB has been fortunate over the years to have proactive and energetic Board and Committee members: they always take a keen interest in education and training matters because everyone agrees that the provision of excellent services in this area means that the county, in general, will be a better place to live.
We look forward to working with our incoming Board over the next five years to the benefit of our wonderful County.