St Joseph's School
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At St Joseph's School, we plan EOTC events to provide effective supervision. Staff who are appropriately trained and competent in specific areas lead the activities. We judge a staff member to have competency based on their experience and/or qualifications. Our staff have the right to decline supervising an event. We plan supervision so that any emergency situation can be managed effectively.
Supervision structure
We establish the supervision structure for an event or activity as part of our EOTC safety management and risk assessment planning. We consider the number of skilled and experienced supervisors compared with the number of students or participants in an activity, and the level of risk. See EOTC Event Planning and Approval and EOTC Risk Assessment and Management. The person seeking approval for the event proposes a supervision structure based on the following considerations:
Where possible, we try to ensure the person in charge is not directly supervising students so they can have oversight of the whole group. The supervision plan should still be effective if one or more of the activity leaders or assistants becomes unavailable for any reason. If in doubt, St Joseph's School takes a conservative approach and/or seeks professional advice when deciding on an appropriate supervision plan.
General supervision guidelines
All activity leaders and assistants should:
Safe supervision
We ensure that non-teachers (e.g. contractors) are safety checked as required, and have appropriate skills for the activity. We let them know they must comply with relevant school policies. When working with an external provider, we may rely on the safety checks they have completed and seek assurance that these checks have been carried out. See Safety Checking and Police Vetting.
At St Joseph's School, all EOTC activities are alcohol and drug free. We ensure that all participants are aware that they must comply with our Alcohol, Drugs, and Other Harmful Substances and Smokefree and Vapefree policies. These policies apply to school activities on and off the school grounds.
On overnight trips, we ensure a male and a female staff member or volunteer is available at all times for overnight supervision if the event includes both male and female students.
EOTC volunteers
At St Joseph's School, our EOTC events may be supported by volunteers ranging from those helping with supervision to those leading an activity. We inform parents about planned EOTC activities as early as possible and we ensure volunteers complete any forms relevant to their involvement. We reserve the right to decline offers of help at any time. Volunteers are not required by law to be safety checked but the board or management may choose to do so. At our school, we police vet parent volunteers for camps and overnight activities.
Before helping with an EOTC activity, we inform volunteers about:
Volunteers transporting students must comply with relevant transport procedures. See EOTC Transport.
For safety reasons, it is not usually possible for volunteers to bring extra children (e.g. siblings) to EOTC activities.
Volunteers supervising students when school staff are not present
Volunteers (e.g. parents/caregivers, coaches) can take their own child or a student/small group of students to an approved, school-related event without a staff member. We discuss arrangements with the volunteer(s) before the event, including responsibilities and expectations, and ensure each volunteer accepts full responsibility for any students in their care. If a volunteer will be looking after students other than their own child, we inform other parents/caregivers of the arrangement and seek their consent.
(see "Effective Supervision", paras 206–214) (search EOTC for training modules – "Staffing and Supervision") (see relevant resources)Release history: Term 1 2024, Term 3 2020, Term 1 2019
