Safe School FrameworkCode of Conduct Conduct Statement 1: You Act Safely and Competently.

Guidelines

1. You are expected to put the safety of students ahead of every other relevant but secondary considera@on.

2. In doing so, you are expected to act within the scope of your exper@se and role within the school community.

3. If the safety and well-being of a student requires skills and experience outside your core competency, you must refer the student to the appropriate expert.

4. You are personally responsible within the context of your posi@on in the school community for the provision of safe and competent student educa@on. It is your responsibility to maintain the competence necessary to fulfil your role. Maintenance of competence includes par@cipa@on in ongoing professional development to maintain and improve knowledge, skills and aktudes relevant to your role in your school.

5. You recognise that the Principal, staff, parents and students assess your ability to act safety and competently based on your behaviour and decision making, and you do likewise in your assessment of them. You are responsible for conduc@ng yourself in all things such that there is no specula@on, doubt or ambiguity that you do so in the best interests of students. You must take reasonable steps to avoid situa@ons where your decisions or behaviour could be interpreted as pukng students at risk. You must also no@fy the Principal as soon as possible if you found yourself in such a posi@on of ambiguity so that you can explain the circumstances.

6. You recognise each student’s and their parents’ right to receive accurate informa@on; be protected against foreseeable risk of harm; and be involved in and informed about decisions in rela@on to their educa@on.

7. You perform your role in the school within your professional or industry competency and according to school policies and any standards or codes applicable to your profession or industry.

8. You no@fy an appropriate person or the Principal of any informa@on relevant to maintaining student safety and well-being, or any observa@on of ques@onable, unethical or unlawful behaviour, including breaches of this Code, and intervene to safeguard the student if the circumstances require it.

9. You ensure that any informa@on you receive relevant to the safety and well-being of students is either acted upon by you in the best interests of the student if you are the relevant decision maker, or passed to the relevant decision maker for them to act.

10. You perform your work in a safe and competent manner that is not compromised by personal health limita@ons, including the use of alcohol or other substances that may alter your capacity to act safely. If your health threatens your ability to work safely and competently, you have a responsibility to seek assistance to address your health needs. This may include making a confiden@al report to an appropriate authority.

11. You perform du@es in partnership with parents and school staff and in accordance with the standards of your profession or industry (e.g. Teachers Registra@on Board).

12. You perform du@es in accordance with wider standards rela@ng to safety and quality in educa@on and student care and responsibility for a safe school, such as those rela@ng to occupa@onal health and safety, mandatory and cri@cal incident repor@ng, and par@cipa@on in incident analysis and formal open disclosure procedures.

13. You make decisions about students based on their age, ability, and in the best interests of the student’s sense of security, and physical, social, emo@onal and mental safety.

14. You seek advice, assistance and second opinions from experts and Principal as necessary.

Staff Example of Specific Behaviours, but not limited to:

• Staff to always have visitors sign in and be in their line of sight at all @mes, eg. Incursion presenters, speakers, past parents, staff family members etc.

• Staff to obtain permission from Leadership Team for visitors to be on the school site

• Staff members to always be the last person off the duty area.

• Ensure that access to the school grounds is limited – perimeter gates/doors locked as per school schedule.

• When working with individual children staff must have doors and blinds open to enable visibility by others.

• Staff to take responsibility for ensuring their individual WWC and TRBWA requirements are up to date and current.

• Staff to be fully aware of where the children in their care are at all @mes ie. going to toilet, going for messages, etc.

• Staff not to drive students without parental permission, always have students in the back seats (if two students) and when transpor@ng individual students have them sit behind the driver.

• Staff not to engage with students/parents through any social media.

• Excursions – school procedures to be followed.

Parents Example of Specific Behaviours, but not limited to:

• Parents to be reminded about what is deemed appropriate behaviour on school grounds with students, teachers and other parents.

• Parents to sign in and out whilst on school grounds for the dura@on of the day/long periods of @me.

• Parents to use toilets with disabled access only.

• All parent helpers to have completed our Infant Jesus School Volunteer Workshop.

• When assis@ng in the classroom parents to work with groups of students, rather than one on one.

• Parents to sign children out at the office and secretary to call class for children to come to office to be collected.

Students Example of Specific Behaviours, but not limited to:

• Students to be educated in Protec@ve Behaviours.

• Students to be informed that the school expecta@ons are in place to keep them safe rather than for disciplinary reasons; however, there will be consequences for expecta@ons not followed.

• Students need to be made aware of what appropriate interac@ons with adults look and sound like.

Volunteers Example of Specific Behaviours but not limited to:

• Volunteers to always be in the line of sight of the teacher at all @mes.

• WWC required in all cases with the excep@on of Secondary School Volunteer/Community Service students.

• Secondary School Volunteer/Community Service students are to be supervised at all @mes.

• All visitors must wear a clearly visible s@cker/badge indica@ng that they are a visitor to the school, whilst on the school grounds.

Visitors Example of Specific Behaviours but not limited to:

• All visitors must sign in and out at the Office and be accompanied by a staff member at all @mes, with the excep@on of CEWA staff, School Nurse, Therapists, etc.

• All visitors must wear a clearly visible badge indica@ng that they are a visitor to the school, whilst on the school grounds.

• Student Teachers to be made aware of what is appropriate/ inappropriate interac@on with students.