Governance

Tarremah Steiner School Foundation (TSSF) is the incorporated body of the school and elects the School Council. The role of the School Council is to guide Tarremah’s long term strategy, maintain the school’s financial solvency and protect the school against risk. The Council works closely with the School Executive to deliver on the education, financial and regulatory responsibilities of the school.

All parents/guardians of enrolled students are automatically members of the TSSF (unless they have opted out). Other members of the community are invited to apply for membership using the Annual Subscription Form to the right.

Documents

TSSF Constitution

TSSF Membership Annual Subscription Form

TSSF Council Nomination Form

Council Members

Council Members are elected for a three-year term at the AGM. The Council is legally responsible for budget and compliance issues, and has oversight of the school’s general wellbeing, including adherence to Steiner educational principles.

The Council appoints the School Chair who is a Council member ex-officio, and the Business Manager is also in attendance at all meetings.

The College of Teachers and School Executive are responsible for the day-to-day running of the school and all educational matters.

As chair of Council, I am committed to good governance to support the elements of the Tarremah Steiner School to teach, learn, develop, and play.

I commenced my role as Council member in December 2016 and have skills in community development, policy development, organisational change management and communication having worked for state and local governments as well as in community organisations. I am a parent of two teenage girls who attend Tarremah and have been developing my knowledge of the Steiner pedagogy over the last 20 years.

I am a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and regularly attend the annual Governance Leadership and Management program with Steiner Education Australia. I bring this knowledge, experience, and network to the work of good financial and corporate governance at Tarremah. For further background information about me see my Linked In profile.

Seeking meaningful, fulfilling ways to apply her 15 years working in the field of accounting, Bernice seeks opportunities to support businesses with passion, progressive agendas, and conviction. Bernice’s career has been spread over the Asia Pacific region and taken her across sectors including public practice, state government, international development and emergency response, gender equality, and now working to support the arts here in Hobart. Through her work and studies, Bernice has developed strong skills in business partnering, financial reporting, forecasting, data analysis, business, and systems analysis, and believes strongly in continuous improvement and sustainability.

Drawn to Steiner pedagogy when exploring educational options for their children and recognising that the format was the best suited to their eldest son, Tarremah became the obvious choice when locating to the area in late 2019. Bernice joined the council mid-2020 and the Finance Committee at the end of 2020 with the view to harness her accounting experience to support the financial governance function of the council.

Sarah Bury joined the Council in 2020 and shares the role of Secretary. Sarah is a lawyer, currently working in the government sector on human rights and anti-discrimination law policy. Sarah attended Tarremah from 1989 to 1995 and now has two children enrolled at Tarremah.

As a young man in England, John first became aware of Steiner education through close friendships with Steiner school teachers. He is now a retired school principal and, in the past, has been the principal of both primary and secondary independent schools in Australia. For a number of years, he was the Business Manager of the Perth Waldorf School in WA.

John is currently the Chair of the Independent Schools Block Grant Authority of Tasmania, a member of the Schools Registration Board, Independent Schools Tasmania Board and serves on the Board of Management of the Independent Schools Council of Australia.

Sarah-Jane Fox is a passionate sustainability communicator in the environmental and social space. She is the Founder of communications company, Communicate Blue.

After studying Media Communications and English literature, Sarah-Jane qualified in the areas of Global Environmental Challenges and Global Development Challenges. She has been working in marketing communications since 2002, specialising in public relations, stakeholder engagement, media relations, marketing strategy and business development.

In 2008 Sarah-Jane was one of the innovators in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and later began addressing a more global sustainability agenda. She has worked in areas such as sustainable development, responsible investment and building conscientious brands.

During her time in Australia, Sarah-Jane has worked on initiatives such as Food Innovation Australia Ltd (the Federal Government’s food sustainability initiative), Ecosave (Australia’s largest energy efficiency company), the Advance Awards (an annual award honouring global Australians in fields such as cleantech, advanced manufacturing and social innovation) and the National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development (run by the former head of sustainability for the White House). She has also worked for Westpac on an employee engagement and well-being programme.

Sarah-Jane is a parent to three young children, who attend Tarremah.

From Hobart, studied medicine at UTAS, worked in general practice in UK and Tasmania. Clinical tutor.

Interested in Anthroposophical approaches to medicine, health, and education. Alumna of Gerry Josephson’s “Grail Quest” course, held at Tarremah.

Governance

Council Members

Penny Finlay

Bernice Thompson

Sarah Bury

John Green

Sarah-Jane Fox

Annette Leitch

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