Mobile Area Resource Centre and Mobile Art Craft Centre Services

Roles and responsibilities

Central office

Statewide Programs and Tech Schools within School Education Programs and Support (SEPS) provides policy oversight of Mobile Area Resource Centre (MARC) and Mobile Art Craft Centre (MACC) programs.

The key responsibilities of Statewide Programs and Tech Schools include:

• being a policy contact for regional service support managers
• providing support and advice about the MARC and MACC policy and guidelines to internal departmental staff as required
• maintaining lists of schools receiving the services.

Regional offices

A designated service support manager is located in each of the department’s 4 regions, to provide operational oversight to base and serviced schools about the implementation of the MARC and MACC policy and guidelines.

The key responsibilities of the service support manager include:

• being a contact point for committees of management
• seeking area executive director approval to commence or cease MARC and MACC services, at the request of the committee of management
• receiving annual reports submitted by each committee of management
• maintaining databases of MARC and MACC base and serviced schools
• obtaining requests for van replacements made by base school principals
• identifying networking opportunities for MARC and MACC teachers.

Base schools

Base school principals are responsible for employing and managing the allocation of duties to MARC and MACC teachers in line with the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022 (DOCX). In instances where a teacher works at more than one school, consideration must be given to the Working in More Than One School guide.

Base school principals are responsible for ensuring the organisation of teacher work for MARC and MACC teachers is determined in the same manner as other teachers employed at their school, including the allocation of work directly related to the teaching and learning program (including face-to-face, preparation and planning time) and other duties.

Further guidance on the allocation of teacher work can be found on the Work Requirements – Teachers guide.

Base school principals are also responsible for overseeing the delivery of services and are accountable for the service budget.

Serviced schools

Serviced schools are encouraged to participate actively in service planning and overseeing operations, to assist and support the base school principal with administrative and coordination responsibilities.

Serviced schools have a responsibility to:

• ensure MARC and MACC services are aligned to the serviced school’s strategic planning and integrated in the school’s teaching and learning program (for example, Literacy or the Arts)
• provide support to the MARC and MACC teacher while they are at their school, including ensuring staff are available to supervise students when required (for example, when MARC students are not borrowing material or when MACC students are cleaning up)
• provide a representative to attend committee of management meetings
• contribute to service data collection for annual reporting purposes.

Committees of management

Each cluster of base and serviced schools is required to establish a committee of management comprising the base school principal, the MARC and/or MACC teacher, and a representative from each serviced school. Additional members may be invited to represent curriculum areas, student perspectives, or community interests if deemed appropriate by the committee of management.

It is expected that committees of management meet at least once per school semester, with one meeting designated the Annual General Meeting.

The committee of management is designed to provide local level governance of the services (not including employment issues) and to consider the needs and priorities identified by the serviced schools. The committee of management is accountable for overseeing funding, expenditure and reporting annually. Key functions of the committee of management include:

• approving the annual budget
• overseeing the use of funds allocated to the base school through the Student Resource Package (SRP) and the casual clerical hours entitlement
• overseeing the development and implementation of a timetable of service allocation, ensuring the teacher’s time is divided equitably across serviced schools
• overseeing the arrangements for changes to the service timetable due to student-free days and other school events
• ensuring services support the implementation of the Victorian Curriculum F–10
• determining the contribution to student report writing that is required
• requesting approval for schools to commence or cease MARC and MACC services from the area executive director through the service support manager
• defining the expectations of the services to be reported in the annual report
• endorsing the annual report (DOCX) to be submitted to the service support manager by December each year.

It is recommended the committee of management develop a local implementation document (approved by the area executive director) addressing the items above, and any other program operations that are considered relevant by the committee of management. The committee of management should review and approve the document annually and attach it to their annual report.

Teacher role and responsibilities

The MARC and/or MACC teacher must hold an active VIT registration or permission to teach, and a current Victorian driver’s licence appropriate to the category of vehicle. The teaching conditions for MARC and/or MACC teachers are the same as those for all other members of the teaching service and are set out in the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022 (DOCX).

The MARC and/or MACC teacher should be provided with planning and preparation time that reflects the special nature of their duties. For example, the MARC and MACC teachers may not be able to be scheduled for routine yard duty, and attendance at meetings may need to consider the teachers timetable and the schedule of meetings for the year. This should be discussed with the base school principal.

Key responsibilities of MARC and MACC teachers include:

• development and delivery of relevant Victorian Curriculum F–10 aligned programs with a focus on student learning outcomes
• contribution to student reporting
• purchase and stocktake of resources and materials
• vehicle management and logbook keeping
• participation and contribution to planning and annual reporting as a key member of the committee of management.