St Joseph's School
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St Joseph's School values the support of volunteers and their contribution to school-related activities. We aim to strengthen the partnership between home and school and foster an inclusive school culture through volunteer involvement. We inform our school community about events and activities that may need volunteer support. The school reserves the right to select the most appropriate volunteers or decline offers of help at any time.
The board has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of all workers and others who may be affected by school operations (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 36). To exercise good practice, we apply the same duty of care to all volunteers involved with our school. Volunteers are informed of their roles and responsibilities and are expected to support student wellbeing and safety.
Volunteer roles and responsibilities
As appropriate, the school communicates with volunteers to inform them about:
Volunteers should check with the school before bringing dependants (i.e. other children) with them to a school activity.
All volunteers are expected to follow relevant school policies and procedures, including but not limited to:
We encourage volunteers to raise any questions, concerns, or conflicts of interest with an appropriate staff member. See Raising Concerns and Complaints and Conflicts of Interest.
Health and safety
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the board as the 
PCBU has a responsibility to provide a safe environment and minimise or eliminate risks, including those associated with volunteer involvement. See Risk Management.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 defines different types of volunteers and outlines their health and safety responsibilities. We expect all volunteers to:
Student wellbeing and child protection
Volunteers are not required to be safety checked or police vetted by law, although the board or management may choose to police vet volunteers as we determine necessary.
At our school, we police vet parent volunteers for camps and overnight activities.
See Police Vetting and Safety Checking.
St Joseph's School staff monitor activities that involve volunteers, including ensuring volunteers are not left alone with students where possible. If we are considering using private vehicles to transport students, our EOTC guidelines apply – see EOTC Transport.
If a volunteer becomes aware of an issue that may affect student wellbeing and/or safety, they are expected to raise this with the appropriate staff member. See Child Protection and Responding to Student Wellbeing Concerns.
Hei mihi | Acknowledgement SchoolDocs appreciates the professional advice of the Anderson Lloyd legal team (Dunedin) in reviewing this Volunteer Involvement policy. |
Release history: Term 3 2024, Term 1 2020
