Child Safety, Emergency Management and School Photos Updates

Child Safety Update

Western Port Secondary College is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe.

Our child safety framework explains how we support and maintain child safety and wellbeing at Western Port Secondary College. It includes our:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

• Child Safety Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedures, and

• Child Safety Code of Conduct, which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for all staff and volunteers at our school.

Our students and families are important partners in providing a child safe environment. These regular newsletter reminders are one of the ways we ensure our school community is aware of:

• our commitment to child safety, and

• how to provide feedback or raise child safety concerns.

If you have any concerns about child safety at any time, please contact Xavier McLaurin at xavier.mclaurin@education.vic.gov.au. Any child safety complaints or concerns are treated seriously. For more information about our school’s complaints process, see our Complaints Policy.

We also welcome your ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing. If you have any suggestions or comments please contact Xavier McLaurin on (03) 5979 1577 or at xavier.mclaurin@education.vic.gov.au

Emergency Management Information

Our school plans for a range of hazards, such as bushfire, severe weather, medical emergencies, building fires, intruders, etc. We develop specific response procedures to address these risks.  

We also conduct drills regularly, ensuring that our core procedures of on-site and off-site evacuation, sheltering-in-place, and lockdown/lockouts are well-rehearsed and understood by staff and students. When we run drills, we will alert you of those events via Compass shortly before they run. 

If we enact our emergency management plan, we will notify you via Compass with updates on our actions. If there is anything we need you to do, we will let you know.  

During emergencies, we will work with emergency services and the Department of Education for safety advice and support. Please know that keeping our students and staff safe is our top priority.

This newsletter provides information about our school preparedness for bushfire season. I ask that you please familiarise yourselves with the information to better understand the school’s bushfire registry category and what steps the college will take on days with elevated fire danger.

School preparedness and pre-emptive actions for the bushfire season

Fire danger ratings indicate how dangerous a fire would be if one started in those conditions and provide clear direction on the safest options for preserving life. They can be a trigger for action in community and for school and household level fire plans. 

Schools and children’s services listed on the Department of Education and Training’s Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) and those at some lower risk of bushfire or grassfire on the Category 4 list will be closed when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their Bureau of Meteorology district.  

Schools and early childhood services listed on the Department of Education and Training’s Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) and those at lower risk of bushfire or grassfire on the Category 4 list take pre-emptive actions on elevated fire danger days to minimise the risk of being caught in a fire in these conditions. The category of risk (per the BARR or Category 4 list) determines the actions that the school or early childhood service will need to take on days of elevated fire danger.

Our school has been identified as being one of these schools at high bushfire or grassfire risk and is listed on the Bushfire at Risk Register (BARR) as a category 3 school.

Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in Central fire district. 

The department will advise our school of the potential for a Catastrophic fire danger rating as information becomes available, however the pre-emptive closure will be confirmed by 1pm the day prior to Catastrophic fire danger day.  

Fire danger ratings are forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology up to four days in advance. Should a Catastrophic day be forecast, we will notify you of the potential closure by an email or hard copy letter and Compass notification.  Closure of the school due to a forecast Catastrophic day will be confirmed on the day prior and we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day.

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast.  This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child.  It is also important to note that:

• No staff will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.

• School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for the Bureau of Meteorology district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.

• All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area will be cancelled.

Families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days. On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.

For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) advises that when Catastrophic days are forecast, the safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day.

As part of preparing our school for potential hazards such as fire, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan, completed ongoing bushfire prevention maintenance, and cleared our grounds and gutters to help mitigate fire risk.

What can parents do?

• Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school closes due to elevated fire danger or a Catastrophic fire forecast. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.

• Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.  Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, checking our website westernportsc.vic.edu.au, by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan.

• Most importantly at this time of year, if you’re planning a holiday or short stay in the bush or in a coastal area, you should check warnings in advance of travel and remain vigilant during your stay. 

• If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s Bushfire Survival Plan. 

• You can access current information about school and early childhood services closures, including those due to elevated fire danger, on the Department of Education and Training’s website – see http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/pages/closures.aspx

Multiple sources that offer information on emergencies are listed below:

• VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices

• VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226)

• Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au

• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vicemergency)

• Twitter (https://twitter.com/vicemergency)

• ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters

School Photos Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

The College’s school photo day will be held on Monday 9th February 2026. Advancedlife will again be our photographers for 2026 advancedlife School Photography and Print Specialists. All students are photographed regardless of purchase.

 Parents/carers who choose to opt out of having their student participate in official school photographs must contact an Assistant Principal at western.port.sc@education.vic.gov.au before the date photos are scheduled to be taken to advise that their student will not participate. 

There is no obligation on any parent or carer to purchase any photographs taken. 

However, the school will need to discuss with these parents/carers alternative arrangements for identifying students in emergencies and for other essential purposes as referenced in the ‘Photographing, Filming and Recording Student Policy’ found on the College's website.

• When ordering photographs online, you will be required to provide the photography company with personal information, including your child’s date of birth. You will be asked to verify your child’s date of birth in order to view the photographs online. 
• For any student who is ordering ID Cards, the school will provide the photographer with DOBs to ensure that that the cards can be printed with these details. ID card ordering details will be issued early Term 1.
• If you do not wish to supply your student’s birth date, or cannot order online, paper envelopes will be available from the General Office.

 Please see the attachment to order your photos.

**Online Orders have a 1.5% merchant fee applied when using Visa, Mastercard or PayPal.

Please Note: Online ordering is available up to 10 days after photo day and after this time, processing fees will apply to all orders. Place your order on or before 19/2/2026 to avoid the processing fees!

Kind Regards,

Western Port Secondary College