Board of Governors

The Board of Governors met on Wednesday 21 May 2025 and discussed the following matters:

Financial Audit
The Board received the audited financial statements for the 2024 calendar year, presented by the School’s auditor, Nexia Edwards Marshall.

Business Director recruitment
The Board approved the recruitment of a new Business Director, with an appointment to be formally announced shortly.

Enrolments and Marketing
Current enrolments are strong, sitting ahead of the budgeted figure.

The Board was briefed on the development of a new targeted media and advertising strategy to promote enrolments. This campaign is scheduled for launch later in Term 2.

Capital Works
The Board received an update on current and upcoming capital works:

• Gilles Street Arms – Restoration of the balcony is nearing completion, with scaffolding to be dismantled shortly.
• Science Laboratories – Refurbishment works are scheduled to commence in June.

Workplace Gender Equality Report
The Board noted the School’s 2024–25 Workplace Gender Equality Report. Pulteney’s gender pay gap currently sits at 7.1% in favour of women, reflecting a high proportion of women in senior and higher-classified roles across the School.

Strategic Planning
The Board and Executive Team will hold a strategic planning day on 5 September 2025, continuing their focus on long-term priorities and school-wide development.

Student achievement
The Board congratulated the Year 7 students on winning the State Da Vinci Decathlon, and noted with pride that Pulteney will now represent South Australia at the national competition.

School Musical
Board members expressed their anticipation for the upcoming School musical production, Urinetown, being staged at the end of May.

Community Forum
The Board Chair and Principal hosted a Community Forum immediately following the meeting, providing an opportunity to share updates with families and engage directly with members of the school community.

The Board of Governor’s discussed the following items at its regular meeting on Wednesday 2 April 2025:

Mid-Year Reception Campaign
The Board received an update on the recent campaign supporting Pulteney’s Mid-Year Reception and Reception intake. Promoting attendance at the Open Morning, the campaign formed part of the School’s broader enrolment strategy and achieved strong digital and social media reach. It contributed to healthy interest and enrolment in the Mid-Year Reception program, which offers a flexible entry point for younger students and supports a smoother school transition in a smaller cohort.

 NAPLAN 2025
The Board received a report on the successful delivery of this year’s NAPLAN testing. The process was managed with a focus on student wellbeing, minimal disruption to learning, and thorough preparation for staff and students alike. Strong participation rates across all year levels were achieved, with 98% of students completing the tests. Special provisions were provided in accordance with students’ Individual Learning Plans. A detailed analysis of the final results will be undertaken once national data is released in Term 3.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey
The Board acknowledged and thanked the parent community for participating in the 2024 Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, with 38% of families contributing feedback. Conducted in partnership with Square Holes, the survey supports Pulteney’s commitment to listening to its community, measuring engagement, and informing continuous improvement.

The survey resulted in a neutral NPS outcome, reflecting a balance of positive and constructive feedback. Parents highlighted strengths such as the quality of teaching staff, small class sizes, inclusive culture, and the breadth of co-curricular opportunities. One parent shared:

“The teachers at Pulteney go above and beyond to make learning engaging, personalised, and meaningful, fostering a love of learning in every child.”

Areas for improvement were also identified, including communication, academic challenge, and leadership stability—important themes that will be explored further as part of the Board and Executive’s ongoing planning.

 Business Director Resignation
The Board formally acknowledged and extended its thanks to Mr Nick Miller, Business Director, who will conclude his tenure at Pulteney in June 2025. Nick has provided outstanding leadership across the School’s business operations since 2020, contributing significantly to financial sustainability, capital works, compliance, and governance. Plans are underway to ensure a smooth transition ahead of his departure.

Property and Facilities
The Business Director provided an update on current facilities projects, including:

• Gilles Street Arms Restoration – Restoration works continue to progress. Excavation of the old cellar has caused some delays but will help protect the building’s longevity. Detailed stone restoration is now complete, and the installation of wrought iron work for the balcony will shortly enable the completion of the upper level.

Strategic Planning
The Board and Executive Team will undertake a strategic planning day in September 2025. This will provide an opportunity to reflect on progress, review community feedback, and define forward-looking priorities for the School’s continued growth and improvement.

The Board of Governor’s discussed the following items at its regular meeting on 19 February 2025:

The Board of Governors welcomed Mr Greg Atterton to his first Board meeting as Principal.

Board Membership
The Board welcomed Leah Schubert as the Governor nominee from the Parents’ and Friends’ Association (P&F). Leah is an experienced executive with expertise in people, culture, leadership, and strategy. She has a long-standing association with the School, with her daughter being a Pulteney Old Scholar.

Chris Prance, who supported the Board throughout 2024, brings significant educational experience, which had been identified as a Board requirement. He has now officially joined the Board as a Governor.

The Board of Governors also established the 2025 membership of the following sub-committees:

• Finance & Risk Committee
• Governance & Nominations Committee
• Strategic Capital Works Committee

Strategic Priorities

The Board discussed the strategic priorities for 2025 and committed to a strategic planning day in collaboration with the executive team. It also noted its early focus for the year on enrolments and communication.

Property & Facilities

The Business Director provided an update on current projects, as well as ongoing discussions with the City of Adelaide to enhance facilities within Park 20 (Blue Gum Park / Kurangga).

Gilles Arms Restoration

The restoration of the Gilles Street Arms, particularly the balcony, is progressing well. Work has commenced on the external stonework, which will remain unpainted to restore the building closer to its original heritage. The balcony roof and ironwork are scheduled for installation over the coming fortnight.

Other Matters

The Board Community Open Forum was held on 20 February, providing an opportunity for community members to raise matters of interest directly with the Board Chair and Principal.

On 30 October the Board of Governors discussed the following items at its regular meeting.

Board Membership

The Board completed its appointment process for the Board vacancy following assessment of a strong field of candidates.  Mr Christopher Prance was appointed to commence as a Governor from 1 January 2025.  The Board welcomes Mr Prance as a member noting his significant education and Anglican schooling experience.

The recruitment of the Parents and Friends Committee nominee to the second vacant Board of Governors position will be finalised at the November Board meeting.

Mr David Reynolds was re-elected as Chair of the Board and Ms Diana Newcombe was elected as Deputy Chair for the next two years.

School Activity Updates

The Board welcomed the report on 2024 NAPLAN scores which demonstrated strong performance by the School.  Discussion occurred around the growth in results across years and targeted efforts for the differing needs of school cohort groups.  It was noted that the data is used by teaching staff to assist to make plans and supports for individual students in line with the school strategic direction for individualised learning.

The school Strategic Direction document has been updated to a style that can be used for communication with parents and the broader school community. This document will be shared on the website and with school promotional material.

2025 School Fees

The Board had an initial discussion around school fees for 2025.  Commonwealth funding levels for 2025 have not yet been provided to the school.  The fee level will be set once that information has been received.

The Board is committed to supporting a rich and diverse range of extra-curricular activity. The Board noted a review of the consistency in charges associated with the provision of extra-curricular activity against the cost of providing those activities. The Board agreed a policy of standardised charges where activities are provided by external instructors or organisations. We recognise that changes to charging arrangements may impact families and the Board is committed to clear and timely communication.  Any adjustments to existing charges will be communicated directly to families where students participate in those specific activities.

Policy Updates

The draft Community Code of Conduct Policy was approved by the Board for community consultation. That consultation will occur over the next few weeks.  Subject to input from that consultation it is intended that the policy will be finalised for commencement in 2025.

The Board of Governor’s discussed the following items at its regular meeting on 14 August 2024

Board Membership
The Board approved and welcomed Tim Ridgway to the Board as the Governor nominee from the Pulteney Old Scholar’s Association (POSA). Tim is a registered psychologist and experienced board director.  Tim has a long association with the School, with himself, and his children, all being Pulteney old scholars.

The Board noted a Board vacancy has been advertised for 2025.  This process will be managed through the Board’s Governance and Nomination sub-committee.

The Parent’s and Friend’s Association has also advertised for a Board nominee to commence in 2025.

Legal Changes and School Policies
Discussion occurred amongst the Board in relation to changes in legislation and regulations affecting the School’s operations with an update provided on relevant School policies.

Finance and Risk Sub-Committee
The Board approved an increase in the enrolment deposit fee from $750 to $1,000 per student noting that this fee has not increased for approximately 10 years. This increase will bring the School into line with peer schools. A disbursement of $300 of the enrolment fee given to the Pulteney Old Scholar’s Association will continue.

Other
The Board congratulated the Pulteney Foundation and organising group on the success of the recent Pulteney Long Lunch.

The Board noted the ongoing work to implement the recommendations from the VUCA review. It was identified that all items were either completed or ‘In Progress’.

The Board agreed that at the next regular meeting a focus on the links between the School strategy and Pulteney’s value proposition will occur with a focus on opportunities to increase enrolment numbers.

Board of Governors’ Meeting Summary – June 2024

The Board of Governors discussed the following items at its regular meeting on 19 June 2024.

Board Membership
The Board noted that the Pulteney Old Scholars Association (POSA) has confirmed their nomination for Board, and the Chair intends to meet with the nominee prior to the next Board meeting.

The Board noted an update on the Board recruitment process more broadly and it expects to call for expressions of interest in the coming weeks.

Governance and Nominations Sub-Committee
The Board adopted the recommended Bequests Policy & Procedure (Employees).  The Board noted that it will investigate the merits of including a reference to the Fundraising Institute Australia’s Code. In addition, a further draft of the Community Code of Conduct Policy was considered, which will return to the next Board meeting accompanied by a simple summary to support community engagement.

Finance and Risk Sub-Committee
Year-to-date Management Accounts were noted and the Sub-Committee confirmed that the Executive’s work to support sound budget management is ongoing to ensure resources are allocated efficiently.

Board of Governors’ Meeting Summary – May 2024

The Board of Governors discussed the following items at its regular meeting on 22 May 2024.

Board Membership
The Board welcomed Mr Chris Prance to the meeting. As advised in the April Board meeting summary, Mr Prance is a former school Principal, has worked at the Association of Independent Schools and currently has an education related role at the Anglican Diocese.

He is not a Board Governor but will attend Board meetings to provide educational knowledge and experience into Board deliberations.

The Board noted that the Pulteney Old Scholars Association (POSA) has advertised and is currently in the selection process to nominate a Board Governor.

The Governance and Nominations sub-committee noted that it will shortly start the process of advertising for Board members to commence in 2025 to fill Board vacancies.

Finance and Risk Sub-Committee
The Board approved the Audited Financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2023.

The April financial position for the 2024 year was noted and the sub-committee indicated that it was continuing its work to ensure the budget remains on track and resources are allocated efficiently.

The updated risk management framework is continuing to be developed and finalised.

Other Matters
The Board noted an update on the Principal recruitment process.

It was noted that the draft Community Code of Conduct Policy has been supported by the Staff Consultative Committee and will return to the next Board meeting for consideration and subsequent community consultation.

The Board Chair and a Governor (Mr McClurg) attended the most recent Pulteney Foundation meeting. This will be a regular occurrence to assist consistent messaging and strategic direction between the Board and the Foundation. The Board also noted its out of session approval for the Foundation leadership positions of Mr Ryan Bamford as Chair and Mr Anthony Kelly as Deputy Chair.

The Board noted the date of the Term 2 Community Open Forum of 4 June to enable community members to raise matters of interest with the Board Chair and Interim Principal.

Principal Recruitment
As noted in the last Board summary, the Board has commenced the process for recruitment of a new Principal.  The role has been advertised online and in the Advertiser on Saturday 6 April. Hender Recruitment is assisting to manage the recruitment process.

Board Membership
The Board warmly thanks Mr Ken Hall for his service to the Pulteney Board of Governors following his resignation as a Governor.  Ken has served for 2 years as the Pulteney Old Scholars Association (POSA) nominee on the Board.  The Board has requested POSA to identify a new nominee.

Noting the fact that the Board’s skills matrix shows a deficit in educational experience the Board approved Mr Chris Prance to attend meetings of the Board of Governors.  Mr Prance is a former school Principal and has had educational related roles at the Association of Independent Schools and the Anglican Diocese. Mr Prance will contribute to discussions of the Board but not have a vote on Board matters. Mr Prance will also assist in the Principal recruitment process given his educational experience.

Engagement with School Community and Committees
The Board held an open forum for the community on 26 March, which was attended by around 30 people.  The Board Chair and Principal updated the forum on a range of matters and achievements at the school.  That was followed by a question and answer session providing the opportunity for community members to seek information.  These forums will continue to be held each term.

The first joint meeting of the Chairs of the Board, POSA, P&F and Foundation (who was an apology) also occurred and has formed a basis for improved communication between the groups.

2023 School Academic Results
Ms Adnett provided the Board with a summary of the academic results for 2023.

The 2023 cohort is the largest group of Year 12 students for 11 years and 100% of them achieved their SACE, with 50% achieving in the A Band and 88% of the cohort achieving B grades or higher.  17% of students achieved a merit listing, demonstrating exceptional achievement and an overall subject grade of A+ (awarded to the top 2% of the State in a given subject). An additional 38% of the cohort of students achieved a VET qualification in their senior years.  Pleasingly, 2023 saw the highest percentage (89% of cohort) of first/second preference offers for their next stage of learning, since record keeping commenced in 2012.

The Board congratulates the class of 2023, wishes them well for their future, and looks forward to them remaining connected to the School and part of the broader Pulteney community, including through the Pulteney Old Scholars Association.

School Policies
As noted in the last Board summary, the Board continues to work on a draft Code of Conduct for the School community. The code is intended to create a set of standards for behaviour for all members of the School community. The draft is currently subject to consultation with staff.  Following that process, it will be provided to the School community for consultation.

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
In the Mackinnon building, which houses Kurrajong (ELC to Year 2), each learning space is named with a Kaurna word for a tree or plant. This was a process that was completed a number of years ago and is an important part of embedding indigenous culture in our learning areas.

Last year the RAP committee discussed the possibility of naming the remaining Junior school (Years 3 to 6) classrooms in the same way. The teachers of Year 3 to 6, supported by Jason Fay, will pursue this opportunity, including starting the process of gaining permission to use these names through the indigenous Kuma Kaaru Cultural Services Pty Ltd.

Sub-Committee Updates
The Finance and Risk sub-committee has commenced the process for updating the School’s strategic risk register.  That work, including appropriate risk treatments, will continue and be considered by the Board of Governors in coming meetings.

Budget
The Board approved the 2024 school budget. The budget is planned to achieve a neutral position in 2024.  It is noted that the budget includes a reduction in Federal and State government funding under the school funding agreement as a result of the calculation of school community ‘ability to pay’ under the agreement.  The median school family household income increased from $220,000 in 2022 to $245,000 in 2023 resulting in a reduction of $700,000 in government funding to the school.

Policies
Consistent with the outcomes of the school review last year the Board has progressed two policies.

1. The Board considered and approved finalisation of a Whistleblower Policy.  The policy will now be completed and will be made available on the school policy section of the website.
2. The Board also considered a draft Code of Conduct Policy.  This will be further developed for the next Board meeting.

Further School Review Items
Consistent with commitments in response to the VUCA school review to improve communication, the next quarterly school community forum date will be established shortly.

A meeting is being scheduled with the chairs of the Board, Foundation, Old Scholars and Parents and Friends to assist to ensure these governance groups are communicating and have shared directions.  This is expected to become a regular meeting for this group.

Independent Board Review
The Board has received the independent Board review report in line with the actions from the VUCA review.  The Board will consider its recommendations and make any adjustments it considers appropriate.

Principal Recruitment 
The Board established a sub-committee for recruitment of the Principal.  The sub-committee will include three members of the Board and an independent member with appropriate educational experience. The recruitment process will commence during Term 1.

The Board of Governors discussed the following items at its regular meeting on 6 November 2023.

Independent Board Review

The Board Review process is underway with an independent reviewer having been appointed and Board Members currently completing information as part of the process. A board review is an internal assessment of a board’s operations and its members, identifying areas for improvement to ensure effective governance.  This review was an action committed to by the Board in the recent response to the VUCA report.

Finances

The Board noted the work on finalising the 2024 Budget and forecasts.

The Board also completed its deliberations on the fee structure for 2024 for both local and international students.  The Business Director will now finalise the schedule of tuition fees for 2024 which will be provided to the school community shortly.

Staffing

The recruitment process for a new school Chaplain is nearly complete with an announcement to occur shortly.

Other

It is confirmed that exit interviews are offered to all parents/caregivers when children are withdrawn from the school. Exiting staff are also provided an opportunity for an exit interview.

The Board expressed its gratitude to the Principal and Business Director for their work with the Board for the year.  The Board also expressed its thanks to the broader leadership team and all teachers and staff for their commitment and support in 2023, wishing them a restful and caring holiday season full of the things they enjoy.

The Board of Governors discussed the following items at its regular meeting on 1 November 2023.

General Update
In the update from the Interim Principal and Business Director the Board noted:

• Enrolment numbers remain at record levels, with student withdrawal numbers the same as previous years
• The end of term 3 school tours numbers, for prospective new students, were very high
• Staff turnover levels is in line with other schools reflecting the overall labour market challenges

The Board again acknowledged the excellent work of the leadership, teachers and all staff in delivering the highest quality education and experiences to our students.

Communication with School Community
The Board remains committed to meaningful engagement and communication with all stakeholders as set out in its recent correspondence and as demonstrated through attendance to provide information and answer questions at a recent staff meeting and the Parents and Friends Association meeting on Monday, 30 October.

Two issues remain critically important:

1. The safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and our community is the highest priority.
2. We are all members of the school community, and we need to look forward and work together to ensure a positive and inclusive environment for everyone.

The Board is aware that there have been instances where behaviours and comments to staff and others in our community do not meet the values and standards we expect in our school.  This includes in person and by way of electronic communications and on social media platforms.

We encourage everyone to adhere to appropriate standards of behaviour including ensuring that communications are free from content that could be considered malicious, defamatory or constitute bullying or harassment.  Should a member of the School community experience behaviours that depart from those standards, a report should be made to the school.

We acknowledge the breadth of views across the community and welcome those being presented in an appropriate and respectful manner through the established engagement processes and communication channels.

New Heads of School
The Board members met the new Heads of School:

• Mr Jason Fay, Head of Junior School
• Ms Lauren Schwarze, Head of Middle School
• Mr Zac Savage, Head of Senior School

The new Heads of School had been at the school during the day for meetings and the Board enjoyed the opportunity to meet and welcome them to the school.

Stakeholder Engagement Sub-committee
The Board progressed the proposed terms of reference for the new Stakeholder Engagement Sub-committee.  It confirmed that the purpose of the Sub-committee is to ensure alignment of views and effort of the school’s formal committee’s (Parents and Friends, Pulteney Old Scholars Association and Foundation) and the Archdiocese.  Its purpose is for improved communication between the groups.

Importantly, the Board is keen to emphasise that there will be many avenues for consultation and communication across the school with its different groups. That will include opportunities for staff input on proposals and broad parent and caregiver input, including through the community forums the Board has committed to.

Independent Board Review
Consistent with its decision to undertake a Board review process, the Board sought advice from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) on experts to undertake the review.  The Board Chair and Chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee are progressing conversations with a proposed reviewer for their agreement to undertake the work.

Sub-Committee Business
The Board:

• Approved an updated Authorised Delegations Matrix from the Finance and Risk Sub-committee
• Noted work has commenced on planning the 2024 Budget in the Finance and Risk Sub-committee
• Noted work has commenced on a new Whistleblower Policy by the Governance and Nominations Sub-committee
• Noted that minor capital works are occurring on Allan Wheaton House for:
  • drainage and moisture management as part of the heritage maintenance plan; and
  • new access doors to be installed in the summer holidays to create a more welcoming and secure entrance.

The Board of Governors discussed the following items at its meeting on 18 October 2023.

Acknowledgement
The Board welcomed the Interim Principal, Ms Deb Dalwood to her first meeting in that role and acknowledged the leadership team and all staff for their work and commitment.

Action Item List from Review
The Board determined to ensure it takes immediate steps with respect to the actions it established and communicated as part of the response to the VUCA review.

The full list of actions has been referred to the Board Governance and Nominations Committee to determine an implementation plan for the actions.

Two actions are to be implemented as a matter of priority:

1. Provide update to school community after each Board meeting (this document is the first of those)
2. Establishing the Board stakeholder engagement committee.

The Board stakeholder engagement committee will include the Chair of the Board of Governors, Chairs (or nominees) of each of P&F, POSA and the Foundation, and an Anglican diocese representative.  A terms of reference is being developed for this group focused on information sharing and strategic alignment.

Strategic Planning
The school review process confirmed support for the teaching and learning strategic direction of the school and the Board fully supports that strategy.  Following the community feedback, the Board is aware that it needs to provide a clearer presentation of the strategic direction to the school community and ensure that it fully consults and communicates with the community on implementation plans.  The Board agreed to seek advice from the school executive and staff on this matter.

Infrastructure Works Plan
The Board noted that there are no current major infrastructure projects underway or planned.  It was agreed that further information would be shared with the community prior to any further major projects proceeding.

Independent Board Review
The Board resolved to immediately seek to identify an independent expert to undertake a Board review process consistent with good governance practice.  It is noted that the independent expert would need to be external and not have any existing relationship with Pulteney to avoid any conflicts of interest. It is intended that the independent expert would advise the best practice process to undertake the review, and that the review be completed this calendar year.

Net Promoter Score Survey
The school conducted net promoter score surveys in November 2019 and 2021.  It was due to conduct the same survey in November 2023.  The Board determined to defer the survey until a future date (likely in 2024) to ensure the survey provides useful comparative data and analysis.

David Reynolds
Chair
Board of Governors