Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the first newsletter in Autumn – my favourite season. I love the amazing colours of the Autumn leaves, especially the ones around Bright and the High Country, a place a spend a weekend every there every year in the middle of Autumn.

Speaking to Other Children: We occasionally have situations where parents or carers of a child feel it necessary to intervene with an incident involving a different child. It may be because they see inappropriate behaviour they feel needs addressing or that the child may have had an incident with their own child that they feel needs to be followed up. It is important to let the school deal with these situations as it can be quite frightening for children to have unknown adults talk to them or reprimand them. If you have witnessed a situation in the yard that concerns you, please speak to myself or Sarah Mills about your concerns. Due to privacy reasons, we probably can’t go into much detail, however ensuring you know we are aware and are dealing with the situation hopefully will help alleviate any concerns you may have. There can be numerous factors impacting a child’s behaviour and observing a small part of a situation does not usually adequately depict how we may be managing the situation. We appreciate your understanding and trust that we are doing all we can to support the child and others who may be impacted, including utilising external supports as and when required.

Swimming: We are excited to be starting our Prep – 2 Swimming program next week. The children will walk to the Wave pool to participate in a 45-minute lesson each day next week. If you are a parent or carer of a child who is swimming you are welcome to come along and watch and can assist your child ONLY to get dressed if you feel they need help. Please do not assist other children. Our staff will be available to support children as required.

Updated Covid Guidelines: As we continue learning whilst Covid is still in the community, albeit with less fanfare than we experienced in 2020 and 2021, I thought it would be helpful to include the updated guidance from the Department of Education around keeping our school safe and operational. The following are important points from the most recent guidelines:

Rapid antigen testing
- It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff:
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
If you are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
If you are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.

Students (or their parents) should also report a positive result to their school, either through the COVID Test portal or by phone or written notification.

We still have plenty of RATs available if you need any for your child or aby member of your household. Please contact the office if you would like a box or 2.

Face masks

Staff and students who wish to wear a face mask will be supported to do so, and we have face masks available for staff, students and visitors.

The Department of Health recommends that masks should be worn by a person who is a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 when leaving home.

Management of suspected cases of COVID-19 in schools

A ‘suspected’ case means a person who displays any COVID-19 symptoms who has not yet tested positive for COVID-19.

The staff member, student or visitor who is symptomatic should be recommended to undergo testing for COVID-19. Parents of students who are symptomatic should be asked to collect their child from school and to keep them home until they are no longer symptomatic.

Management of confirmed cases at school

Students who report a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved.

There is no longer a requirement for principals to inform the school community of a positive case associated with the school.

Supervision at Park: As you may be aware, there is a park on the corner of Coburns Road and West Melton Drive, where a number of students wait for their parents afterschool. Please be aware that the school is not able to provide teacher supervision in this area. I therefore suggest that you consider an alternative location at which your child waits to be picked up. Can I also remind you that we have an After School care facility run by Extend that is safe and well supervised and children can attend at a minimal cost? Please contact the school if you would like further information about Extend. Enrolment Packs are available at the office.

I would like to remind parents that it is your responsibility to:

ensure that your child arrives to school safely and are in the care of school staff at the beginning of the school day, and
ensure that your child is collected from the school premises at the end of the school day, or that alternative arrangements have been made for your children

Child Safety Standards: At Melton West Primary School, we are committed to acting in the best interests of our students and keeping them safe from harm. The School regards its child protection responsibilities as being of the utmost importance. This means that in practice we are focussed on providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection legislation and regulations; and to maintaining a child safe culture.

The following principles underpin our commitment to child safety at Melton West Primary School:

All students deserve, as a fundamental right, safety and protection from all forms of abuse and neglect.
Our school works in partnership with families and the community to ensure that they are engaged in decision-making processes, particularly those that have an impact on child safety and protection.
All students have the right to a thorough and systematic education in all aspects of personal safety, in partnership with their parents/guardians/caregivers.
All adults in our school, including teaching and non-teaching staff, volunteers and contractors as well as the broader school community have a responsibility to care for children and young people, to positively promote their wellbeing and to protect them from any kind of harm or abuse.
The policies, guidelines and codes of conduct for the care, wellbeing and protection of students are based on honest, respectful and trusting relationships between adults and children and young people.
Policies and practices demonstrate compliance with legislative requirements and cooperation with governments, the police and human services agencies.
All persons involved in situations where harm is suspected or disclosed must be treated with sensitivity, dignity and respect.
Staff, volunteers, contractors, parents/guardians and students should feel free to raise concerns about child safety, knowing these will be taken seriously by school leadership.
Appropriate confidentiality will be maintained, with information being provided to those who have a right or a need to be informed, either legally or pastorally.

Melton West Primary School is committed to the continuous improvement of our Child Safe Program. The Program is regularly reviewed for overall effectiveness and to ensure compliance with all child protection related laws, regulations and standards. Our Child Safe Policy is available from the office and on our website. Please make an appointment to speak to a member of the Principal Class Team if you have any concerns about a child’s safety.

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal

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