Reminders
Dogs on School Grounds Policy
Purpose
To explain to our school community, the rules and procedures we have in place in relation to dogs attending our school grounds.
Assistance Dogs
St Joseph’s Primary School understands its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) and will make reasonable adjustments for members of our school community with a disability who require an ‘assistance animal’ to help alleviate the effects of their disability.
Assistance animals are permitted to attend our school with
their handler. Our school principal can lawfully ask a person to produce evidence that an animal:
● is trained specifically to assist a person in alleviating the effects of a disability (eg. seeing
eye dogs)
● meets standards of hygiene and behaviour appropriate for a school environment.
We understand that in some circumstances, students may require an assistance animal to attend school to help them to participate in their educational program. St Joseph’s Primary School will consider a request by a student with a disability to allow an assistance animal to attend school with them on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the Principal.
Therapy Dogs
Therapy dogs attend St Joseph’s Primary School at the discretion of the Principal. Therapy dogs will be under the direct supervision of their trainer or another competent staff member unless they have time out/a rest in their allocated ‘safe place’. The welfare of Therapy dogs will be a priority, and each dog will have a trainer with Therapy Dog certification. The qualification provides knowledge on how to ensure safe and meaningful interactions through appropriate boundaries
and the ability to identify distress in the animal. Therapy dogs will be held to strict hygiene, and health standards, including mandatory vet checks every six months and professional grooming every second month.
Pet Dogs
St Joseph’s Primary School is not a public place, and our Principal has the authority to permit or decline entry to school grounds and impose conditions of entry. Whilst St Joseph’s Primary School understands that many families in our school community keep dogs as pets, to ensure that our school remains a safe and inclusive place for everyone, pet dogs are not permitted on school grounds under any circumstances. Our school community is diverse and may include people that are allergic or uncomfortable around dogs. We are also conscious of the health hazards that may be posed by dogs. We ask that families please leave their pet dogs at home or safely tether them outside school grounds when attending our school or school events. Pets are only permitted on site with expressed permission from the Principal.
Stray Dogs
Unaccompanied or stray dogs sighted at our school should be reported immediately to the school reception. School staff will contact municipal authorities and/or Victoria police for assistance in managing and removing a stray dog from school grounds, and ensure staff and students remain safe at school.
Early pick up and late arrival
Dear Parents/Guardians,
If you need to collect your child/ren early for any reason, please arrange this prior to collection via the school office on 9717 6480 or office@stjmern.catholic.edu.au.
It would be much appreciated if the school is advised in advance rather than having families/guardians present to the office unannounced. We would appreciate students getting picked up before or after lunch (10:30am or 11am) or before or after snack (12:40pm or 1:10pm). It is extremely difficult to locate students in the yard during their break times.
It is also very disruptive to learning time and end of school day when students are collected between 2:30pm and 3:00pm. It is imperative that an early pick up in this time frame is made prior to collection.
Please also note, any student who arrives late from 8:55am onwards must be signed in via the Compass kiosk in the office.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Office Admin team
Safety in the Car Park and Streets around Schools
