Working With Children Clearance @ ENPS

Child safety is our highest priority Essendon North Primary School and we are committed the protection of all children. Our school strives to create an open and inclusive school community, and encourages parents and carers to be actively involved in their child’s development and education. We also strive to foster strong partnerships with local community services, schools and other organisations. In addition, Essendon North Primary School values the many volunteers that assist our school staff to deliver an international standard of education for our students. 

We encourage all visitors and volunteers to familiarise themselves with our school’s:

• Statement of Expectations

• Child Safety Policy

• Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

• Child Safety Code of Conduct

• Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy

• Visitors Policy

• Volunteers Policy

• Respect for School Staff Policy

• Guiding Statements

Please note that Essendon North Primary School is not a public place, and the principal has the authority to permit or deny entry to school grounds. 

Volunteers

To ensure that we are meeting our legal obligations under the Worker Screening Act and the Child Safe Standards, Essendon North Primary School is required to undertake volunteer suitability checks. 

Considering our legal obligations, and our commitment to ensuring that Essendon North Primary School is a child safe environment, we will require volunteers to obtain a WWC Clearance and produce their valid card to the school’s office for verification in the following circumstances: 

• Volunteers who are not parent/family members of any student at the school if they are engaged in child-related work regardless of whether they are being supervised. 

• Parent/family volunteers who are assisting with any classroom or school activities involving direct contact with children in circumstances where the volunteer’s child is not participating, or does not ordinarily participate in, the activity. 

• Parent/family volunteers who assist with excursions, camps and similar events, regardless of whether their own child is participating or not. 

• Parent/family volunteers who regularly assist in school activities, regardless of whether their own child is participating or not.

• Parent/community School Council members sitting on School Council with student School Council members, regardless of whether their own child is a student member or not. 

In addition, depending on the nature of the volunteer work, our school may ask the volunteer to provide other suitability checks at its discretion (for example, references, work history involving children and/or qualifications). Proof of identity may also be required in some circumstances.

Please refer to our school's Volunteers Policy for full details.

Visitors

All visitors who are engaged in child-related work must have a valid WWC Clearance. Additional suitability checks may also be required such as reference, proof of identity, qualification and work history involving children checks. 

In some circumstances, visitors to Essendon North Primary School who are not engaged in child-related work will also be required to produce a valid WWC Clearance depending on the particular circumstances of their visit. For example, Essendon North Primary School will require a valid WWC Clearance for: 

• visitors who will be working regularly with children during the time they are visiting, even though direct contact with children is not a central part of their normal duties 

• visitors (e.g. contractors), who will regularly be performing work at the school during school hours or any other time where children are present, and in circumstances where they will be performing their work in an area where they will be unsupervised and around children. Further background checks, including references, may also be requested at the discretion of the principal. 

Please refer to our school's Visitors Policy for full details. 

We encourage our community to read the Child Safety page on our school website, and refer to the Department's Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors. 

All current Essendon North Primary School policies may be viewed on our website's Polices page.