Jackson School Staff Handbook

C

Car parking

The front car park may be used by staff and community members of the school. Please park close to the curb to allow room for parents/carers and visitors to park within the yellow lines. Staff, parking in the rear car park must park facing Pinoak Drive at 90 or against the rear wooden fence at 90. This is to ensure the buses can turn easily at the beginning and end of the day. 

Celebrations

It is important we recognise important events throughout the year as they occur. All staff are to be sensitive to religious and cultural diversity and if in doubt speak with a member of the Leadership team.

Censorship ratings

Media with a censorship rating of G (General Exhibition) should only be shown to school students. When a video, CD-ROM, DVD or movie has a censorship rating of PG (Parental Guidance) and is closely related to curriculum programs and suitable for student viewing, parental permission to view the work must be obtained. Such a permission form will clearly state the PG rating and meaning, relevance to the curriculum, and intended guidance from teaching staff. No video, CD-ROM or movie with M, MA, R or X rating should ever be viewed by students as part of a school program.

Cleaners

The school contractors clean the school daily. Please report any concerns regarding cleaning to the general office staff. 

Communication

High levels of communication between all members of the school community is vitally important at all times. Every effort must be made to ensure that all official written communication to parents/carers is of the highest presentation. The official school letterhead must be used for all approved correspondence. All external correspondence (notes, circulars and letters to parents/carers) must be proofread and signed by the Principal and should be professionally presented. Please ensure an electronic copy is saved on the student file under the Communication tab in Xuno.

 

Home/School Communication includes:

  • School newsletter – Published every second Friday in the school term via the school’s website, iNewsletter and Xuno. Various bodies (School Council, Staff, and Children) may contribute but editorial control remains with the Principal. The newsletter also aims to reduce the number of notices being sent home to parents/carers and represents the professional culture of the school in written format.
  • Parent / Teacher information evenings (SSG’s)
  • Requested meeting
  • Informal contact over the phone, email, Xuno and SeeSaw. Seesaw is the main daily communication tool between parents and teachers. To commence this line of communication, at the start of the year teachers are asked to send a personal message to each parent. This communication line is private between the parent and staff member.

Please see the Principal, Assistant Principal or Leadership if you require support to resolve an issue with a parent. It is recommended that parent meetings are documented in Xuno and if appropriate to the purpose of the meeting, sent to all participants as an agreed-upon record of the conversation. According to the Victorian Teaching Profession Code of Conduct, it is unacceptable for staff to communicate with parents/carers or students through personal social networking sites (ie: Facebook). Staff are not to communicate with the media without the prior consent of the Principal.

Consultative committee

The Consultative Committee process in the VGSA 2017 negotiated with the AEU highlights the importance of good consultative practice in schools by placing the following at the forefront of the Agreement. The parties acknowledge that staff morale and employee job satisfaction is enhanced where the views of all employees are considered before decisions are made. The aim of this agreement is to establish workplace consultative arrangements that ensure the Employer’s responsibility to make school-based decisions is carried out in a framework that enables staff to have input into the decisions that affect their working life, CLAUSE 12(1). See Principal for further information on the consultative committee structure and role.

 

The agreed structure of the set-up for the consultative committee at Jackson School is:

  • Principal
  • Two Principal Nominees
  • 2 AEU representatives (Teacher & ES)
  • 2 Staff representatives (Teacher & ES)

Copyright

Staff are to be aware and comply with current laws relating to copyright and adhere to them closely in respect to printed materials, resources used for online learning, video recording, showing videos, photocopying and computer work.

 

For further information, please review DE’s policy here.

CRT Folders

All teachers must have an up-to-date CRT folder, which is kept in the office. The folder must contain the daily program (printed from FileDrive), routines, medical alerts, behaviour support strategies and emergency management procedures. There is a CRT Folder template on FileDrive. CRT Folder Template link

Custody/Access Restrictions

Some families at our school have custody/access restrictions and are not allowed to come into contact with certain individuals. Administration has a Confidential Student Information folder that holds the requirements of any access restrictions. Please ensure you contact the office immediately if you have any concerns about a student’s details. Staff should not provide information regarding students over the telephone or in person unless you are certain you are speaking with the parent or authorised guardian. If unsure, always ask for a confirmation phone number, terminate the conversation and then immediately consult with the Principal. Photos of restricted persons is located on the office wall.

 

Link: Access Restrictions