Wellbeing

Child Safe Standards Training

Under the Child Safe Standards, schools must provide annual child safety training, induction and guidance to all staff and school council members. This will be conducted on Tuesday at 3:15pm or all staff. All staff who are mandatory reporters must complete the Protecting children: Reporting and other legal obligations eLearning module through LearnED on eduPay. The training covers child safety information, including indicators of harm, failure to disclose and failure to protect, and the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

School volunteers engaged in child connected work – work performed in a school while children are present or reasonably expected to be present – must receive an induction in child safety requirements. Volunteers must also complete child safety training the school considers appropriate to their role.

The Jackson School Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy demonstrates our school’s commitment to creating and maintaining a child safe and child-friendly organisation, where children and young people are safe and feel safe. It informs our school community of everyone’s obligations to act safely and appropriately towards children and guides our processes and practices for the safety and wellbeing of students across all areas of our work.

Please find below our new induction pack is to ensure Jackson School staff are familiar with our policies and procedures relating to child safety and understand the important role they play in maintaining and promoting the safety of our students. You must read the suite of policies and procedures in the links below before commencing any work where children are likely to be present.

• Jackson School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children. We want children attending our school to be safe, happy and respected.
• We are committed to creating inclusive environment where diversity is supported, and students feel safe to bring their whole selves to school.
• Allegations and concerns relating to the safety and wellbeing of our school community will be treated very seriously and consistently with our policies and procedures. 
• We are committed to preventing child abuse, identifying risks early and removing and reducing these risks.
• Everyone has a role to ensure children are safe – if something doesn’t feel right, speak up. If you have any concerns about any inappropriate behaviours in the school community you should speak to the Principal or Assistant Principal. If this would not be appropriate in the circumstances, you can contact the South Western Regional Office of the Department of Education on 1300 338 691.

This induction pack contains the following documents that all new volunteers must read and familiarise themselves with. Please click on the hyperlinks to access each document. If you would prefer a hard copy of this pack, please contact the team in the office who will happily provide you with one.

• Jackson School Volunteers Policy https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/xNvERZ5 
• Jackson School Child Safety and Wellbeing https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/pNpVrpM
• Jackson School Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/pNpVrpM
• Jackson School Child Safety Code of Conduct https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/pNpVrpM
• PROTECT: Four Critical Actions for Schools – Responding to incidents, disclosures and suspicions of child abuse https://www.schools.vic.gov.au/report-child-abuse-schools
• PROTECT: Identify child abuse https://www.schools.vic.gov.au/identify-child-abuse

To view our Jackson School Policy Advisory Library with child safe standards policy and guidelines, please visit: https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/pNpVrpM 

Please scan or click the QR code to complete our Child Safe Standards Induction Checklist and view our Jackson School Policy Advisory Library. By completing this form, the Principal (or delegate) will certify that you have completed the Jackson School Child Safety training.

Resources to support staff, students and families affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East

Monday 7 October this year will mark one year since the attacks by Hamas on Israel that precipitated the current conflict in Gaza. Current events in the region continue to be distressing to all, but especially for those with family and/or friendship connections to the region.

It is likely there will be protests to mark the date in a number of places, organised by groups who may hold strongly opposing views. These events may be held on the weekend before 7 October and/or on 7 October itself. There is also likely to be distressing material posted on social media related to the date around this time.

As always, but especially at times of potential heightened tension, it is vital that all members of the school community treat each other with respect, understanding and sensitivity. Staff are asked to be mindful of both students and colleagues who may be especially distressed on that day.

In light of the fact that 7 October this year is the first day of Term 4, schools are asked to discuss with students on the first day of Term 4 of the importance of being sensitive and respectful to all. 

Staff must ensure they engage in such discussions about the conflict in accordance with the requirements in the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees and the Victorian Teaching Profession’s Code of Conduct. These obligations exist to ensure that teachers maintain public trust, integrity and impartiality, while also ensuring the wellbeing and cultural safety of all students, staff, and the wider school community.

Resources to support students

The department has developed a range of resources for schools, teachers, students, families and carers to support student mental health and wellbeing.

The department’s Mental health and wellbeing toolkit includes mental health support at times of an emergency or natural disaster and advice for teachers on supporting student mental health and wellbeing during uncertain times. 

The department also offers a range of resources and supports for students and families from refugee backgrounds. Schools supporting students and families from refugee backgrounds may find the following resources helpful:

• Foundation House’s School’s in For Refugees website includes recordings of webinars on supporting students, staff and families experiencing distress: How to support your school community affected by current events in the Middle East and Supporting communities impacted by violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
• a tip sheet on how to support students and families experiencing ongoing trauma due to conflict and instability in their country of origin: Supporting children, young people and families during an international crisis.

The Phoenix Australia website provides resources, guidelines, supports and services designed to help individuals understand, prevent and recover from the impacts of trauma, and to support trauma-impacted loved ones or communities. Key resources include:

• a guide for young people who are experiencing trauma – refer to Dealing with trauma
• a guide for parents of children who have experienced trauma – refer to Helping my children after trauma.

Support for school staff

It is important to recognise the impact these events may have on staff wellbeing. If any staff need support through this period, please refer to the our Employee Wellbeing Support Services on the Staff Health, Safety and Wellbeing page.

Future Social Media Ban for under 14s

As you may have seen in the media, The Victorian Government will work with South Australia and the Commonwealth Government to introduce age limits for social media through national legislation – with further detail on age limits and definitions to be determined through national-level consultation. While Victoria was prepared to introduce state legislation, it will prioritise a nationally consistent approach and work with the Commonwealth to help deliver one set of clear rules to keep the tech giants in check. Over the coming months, Victoria will also lead a consultation round with parents, schools and children – to make sure their diverse needs and circumstances are considered during the development of the national reforms. 

Under this model, social media access would be prohibited for children aged under 14 and would require parental consent for children aged 14 and 15 to access. The model also proposed options for enforcement. Importantly, under this model, a mechanism would be provided for social media services to be exempt if they pose little risk and support healthy development – such as educational sites, or programs designed for diverse learners. The new national laws must also be flexible enough so states experiencing different online trends can be supported.

While these new laws are put into place, the Department of Education's Ministerial Order mobile phone ban requires students who bring mobiles phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours. Before school students should also have their phone switched off and kept in their bag until they can place this in the classroom safe. Please use the safes provided in each classroom to ensure that they are secure during the school day.

By ensuring mobile phones are kept away at recess and lunch times, students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that mobile phones can cause. This includes wearable cellular devices like Apple Watches connected to the internet or student's phones. 

I kindly ask for the support of all staff in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school. 

School mobile phone policy: A copy of our school’s local mobile phone policy, which implements the government’s mobile policy in line with our local context, is available here: https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/kNVR13N/mobile-phones/page/cover

Download guidance for parents in different languages: https://www.vic.gov.au/mobile-phones-schools#download-guidance-for-parents-in-different-languages