The purpose of these policy and procedures is to ensure that all meetings in The School Café are organised and conducted effectively according to established protocols.
Scope
The School Cafe convenes a range of meetings, including regular staff meetings, meetings to discuss specific projects or issues, management meetings and client meetings. Such meetings are considered to be formal meetings and is the focus of this Policy.
This policy and procedure apply to all staff with responsibility for organising meetings at The School Café
Notice of meetings
A notice of meeting must be sent to all staff at least ten (10) working days prior to the meeting except in the case of emergency meetings.
This notice must be sent by the person organizing the meeting.
The notice is to be sent via email, addressed to participating staff members.
It must identify:

• The subject body of the email must contain the words ‘Notice of Meeting’
• The type of meeting (for example, face to face or teleconference)
• The purpose of the meeting and any additional requirements
• The place, date and time of the meeting.
• Advice that the agenda will be forwarded within three (3) working days of the meeting.

Where a staff member is required to attend a meeting but is interstate visiting clients, teleconference arrangements should be made for that staff member in order that they can attend the meeting.
These staff members are to be advised that they will be contacted via Skype and they are to ensure they are available on Skype at the appointed time.
Staff members who are unable to attend are expected to respond via email advising that they are unable to attend.
The Notice of Meeting
The Notice of Meeting should also be used to remind staff of The School Café meeting code of conduct as follows:

• Everyone is expected to be on time for the meeting.
• Meetings must be entered into all staff calendars to ensure that they are not forgotten.
• Mobile phones must be turned off during in meetings.
• Laptops, tablets and netbooks may only be used during the meeting to make notes or to refer to relevant sources of information.
• Everyone’s point of view must be respected.

Meeting agenda
The purpose of an agenda is to inform the staff of when and where the meeting will be, as well as what will be discussed and done at the meeting.
The staff person organizing the meeting must develop an agenda.
The Koala Corporation Meeting Agenda template must be used, ensuring that:

• Each agenda item is numbered
• Each agenda item is allocated an appropriate amount of time e.g. 9.00 am – 9.15 am for the item to be discussed.
• There is a short summary of what will be discussed under each agenda item.

Agendas must be saved according to the subject of the meeting and the date of the meeting. The agenda will be saved in a specific project file or under a general file, such as “staff meetings”.
Agendas must be sent by email to each meeting participant at least three (3) working days prior to the meeting.
Meeting arrangements
Regular staff meetings are to be held in the Boardroom, which can seat up to 10 people.
Meetings will generally be up to around an hour. However, for longer meetings, those expected to last longer than 2 hours, refreshments should be organised. Depending on the time of day this might be breakfast, morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea.
A maximum cost of $10 per person is allowable for morning or afternoon tea or $15 for breakfast or lunch.
All catering is to be organized through The School Café.
Role of the Chairperson
A meeting at The School Café must have a chairperson to chair the proceedings. This will usually be the person who organizes the meeting and sends out the agenda. The chairperson is required to control the meeting procedures and has the task of:

• nominating or requesting a staff member to take meeting minutes (see following section).
• making sure proper notice is given and that there is an agenda, listing all items that need to be covered;
• checking (and, usually, signing) the minutes of previous meetings if applicable:
• keeping time (It is important that the meeting gets through its business in the allocated time)
• dealing with the order of business;
• facilitating discussion;
• keeping order;
• ensuring everyone has an opportunity to speak;
• limiting the amount of time each staff member can have to speak on a matter; and
• making sure that decisions are reached on issues that are discussed and that everyone understands what the decisions are; and
• declaring the meeting closed.

Meeting notes / minutes
It is essential that accurate minutes of all meetings at The School Café are taken using the methods as follows:

• At the outset of a meeting, the Chair is to nominate or request a staff member to take the minutes of the meeting.
• A laptop and the Minutes Template is to be provided to the staff member taking the minutes.
• The staff member should be advised that minutes must be saved according to the subject of the meeting and the date and saved in a specific project file or under a general files such as staff meetings
• Minutes must be taken as follows:
• It is important that the minutes record any resolutions or decisions made at a meeting.
• Minutes should be as brief as possible without jeopardizing accuracy and credibility of the record.
• At the meeting, notes can be taken and formal meeting minutes written up afterwards as set out in the timelines below. The Minutes Template can still be used for taking notes. Notes must also be provided with meeting minutes.
• Attendances and any apologies must be noted. This is usually done at the beginning of a meeting, although if people leave early or arrive late it is a good idea to also keep a note of this in the minutes.
• Present previous minutes for approval if applicable. Often, draft minutes for the previous meeting will be circulated in advance of the next meeting, giving people time to consider whether the minutes accurately reflect their recollection of the meeting. Minutes should be approved on the basis that they are a correct record of the meeting.
• Meeting minutes must be saved according to the subject of the meeting and the date of the meeting. The meeting minutes will be saved in a specific project file (e.g. Catering Folder YEAR folder or under a general folder such as Client Materials or such as staff meetings).
• Minutes must be provided by the minute taker to the Chair within two (2) working days following the meeting.
• Minutes will be distributed by the Chair to all attendees within five (5) working days of the meeting. This should be via email.

Question 1)
A) Describe five types of meeting (including face-to-face and virtual) that can be used in The School Cafe.
B) Refer to The School Café Meetings Policy and Procedure document and explain three (3) methods for recording meeting notes / minutes as required by The School Café.
C) Again referring to The School Café Meetings Policy and Procedure document explain the following:

1. Two (2) required duties as the Chair of a meeting
2. Two (2) important considerations when arranging meetings
3. Two (2) critical elements in writing an e-mail for a Notice of Meeting invitation
4. Two (2) requirements for the formatting of minutes and agendas+

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 A Five types of meetings that can be used in The School Caf are 1 Regular staff meetings These are recurring meetings that provide a space for teams ... View the full answer