House Keeping
Annual Reminders
Coburg High School is fortunate to be located in close proximity to natural and built up environments that are great for extending our learning and applying it in a real world context. To make accessing these resources easier, as well as reduce the need for parents/carers to give consent for each of these local activities, a Local Excursion Consent agreement is signed upon enrolment and continues while the child remains a student at CHS.
See below for key information about Local Excursion Consent.
Local excursion consent
Coburg High School may take students outside of school grounds to undertake educational activities in the local area.
Local excursions are excursions to locations within walking distance of the school and do not involve ‘adventure activities’. These can be on an impromptu, one-off, or recurring basis.
Example activities include walks along the Merri Creek (HPE) or to collect water samples (Science); or photographing the architecture of Pentridge (Visual Art). Both the Swimming Carnival at Coburg Olympic Pool and Athletics Carnival at Coburg Athletics Track are also local excursions.
Local excursion consent means CHS will not seek further consent from you before local excursions take place; however, we will provide advance notice of upcoming planned local excursions via Compass.
School staff will administer first aid or seek medical attention if it is considered reasonably necessary while on the local excursion. Any costs associated with student injury rest with parents/carers unless the Department of Education and Training is liable in negligence (liability is not automatic). The Department of Education and Training does not provide student accident insurance or ambulance cover. Parents may wish to obtain this cover, depending on their health insurance arrangements and any other personal considerations.
Families understand that:
They need to ensure the school has up-to-date health and contact information about the child, and that the school needs to be informed if this information changes
Local excursions and their details, like other excursions, are visible on Compass
Consent for a local excursion may be withdrawn prior to the day of the excursion by contacting the supervising staff member in writing.
Student Health Plans
Parents / carers of students with medical conditions requiring a School Action Plan (such as anaphylaxis, allergies and asthma) must provide the school with a current ASCIA Action Plan or Asthma Action Plan completed and signed by the student’s doctor or nurse practitioner.
If your child’s Action Plan and prescribed medication have not yet been supplied to the First Aid Officer, please ensure this is done as soon as possible. Email - melissa.miller@coburg.vic.edu.au. Having this information and medication on file is essential to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for your child.
CSEF Forms
The Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund (CSEF) is provided by the Department of Education to families with Health Care Cards to help cover costs for many school activities.
For more details on the fund please visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund
Below is a CSEF application form, you can either print and complete this or pick up a printed copy from Reception
*FAMILIES CURRENTLY RECEIVING CSEF - for this to continue in 2026 you will need to complete a new application form each year
When submitting your CSEF forms, please include a copy of your current Health Care Card (in person: we are happy to take a photocopy for you, email: you can take a clear photo and include it with your completed form)
Personal Property
Parents / guardians and students should be aware that personal property brought to school is not covered by the school or Department of Education and Training does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage. Personal property is often brought to school by students, staff and visitors. This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. Students are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.
Accident
The Department and school do not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents and guardians are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. Student accident insurance / ambulance cover policies are available from some commercial insurers, and can be obtained by parents/guardians for individual students.
Privacy
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.
Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website here. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy - information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Dari
* Gujarati
* Mandarin
* Somali
* Sudanese
* Turkish
* Urdu
* Vietnamese.
Photo policy
Mobile Phones
A reminder that the Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobiles phones to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.
The department is requiring all schools to ensure this ban is in place and enforced from the start of the 2024 school year.
The ban applies equally to all government schools right across the state.
This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions.
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.
We ask for the support of all our families, staff and students in continuing to support the implementation of this policy in our school.
Further information
Exceptions: For a small number of students with particular health needs, an exception to the policy may be granted.
Emergencies: In the event of an emergency or if you need to immediately contact your child, I ask that families contact the school office who will pass on a message as required.
Parent support: The Mobile phones in schools webpage provides links to resources for families to help them balance their children’s time using mobile phones.
