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To make sure people know how your council’s meetings are run, a set of rules known as standing orders must be created and used.
Standing orders help meetings run more smoothly. They can make people feel relaxed about talking and taking part. Everyone on the council should know of and understand their council’s standing orders.
What can go in standing orders
Standing orders set out how council meetings should be run. They can include:
- how to vote and make decisions
- ways your council agrees to deal with difficult conversations
- expected standards of behaviour
- how non-members can be involved in council meetings.
As each council runs meetings differently, the standing orders can be made to suit your council’s needs.
What cannot go in standing orders
The rules in the standing orders cannot contradict the constitution, legislation or the school governance administrative instructions (PDF 772KB).
Example of standing orders
The department has an example of standing orders (Word 33KB) that you use as a starting point.
