St Joseph's School
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At St Joseph's School, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our students under the Children's Act 2014, Education and Training Act 2020, and Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. One of the ways we meet this responsibility is by safety checking people to limit the risk of harm to students. Safety checking involves gathering information and doing a risk assessment of a person's suitability to have contact with students.
Under the Children's Act 2014, the board of St Joseph's School is responsible for ensuring all children's workers employed or engaged by the school are safety checked before their employment or engagement begins, and then every three years. We also safety check others as appropriate.
Who we safety check
At St Joseph's School we safety check all 
children's workers (core and non-core) as required by the Children's Act. The Children's Act (s 23) defines children's workers as those working in, or providing, a regulated service that may involve regular or overnight access to a child/children without a parent/guardian present.
We may use our safety checking procedures for others employed or engaged by the school (even if not required by the Children's Act), including those we are required to police vet under the Education and Training Act 2020 (Schedule 4). See Police Vetting.
Volunteers are not children's workers and are not legally required to be safety checked, although the school may choose to do this as we determine necessary.
When deciding who to safety check, we are guided by the Ministry of Education – see What checks do I need to undertake for adults coming into my school or kura? 
.
How we safety check
The board or their delegate is responsible for completing the following safety checking within the required timeframes and before the person starts work at the school. The board remains accountable for decisions made about access and supervision.
When safety checking a person we explain the process (including how long their information will be kept for and why), and obtain their consent. We are mindful of potential or perceived conflicts of interest when carrying out safety checking. See Conflicts of Interest.
Identity confirmation
We confirm identity according to the Children's (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children's Workers) Regulations 2015 (s 5). For a list of approved identity documents see Confirmation of identity 
(Schedule).
Police vetting
We receive information from the police that they consider relevant. This may include previous criminal convictions. We may also seek police certificates from other countries if the person has lived overseas. See Police Vetting.
Collecting other information
We gather details about work history and professional organisation membership, and verify licences, registrations, and qualifications. We interview the person and assess their working experiences and relationships with children, and carry out referee checks for children's workers.
Risk assessment
We evaluate all information gathered as part of safety checking to make a professional judgement about whether the person would pose any risk to the safety of students if they were employed as a children's worker. We consider relevant indicators in context and seek further evidence if necessary.
When assessing risk, we take into account Ministry of Education guidelines on conducting risk assessments as required by the Education and Training Act 2020 and Children's (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children's Workers) Regulations 2015.
Our risk assessment takes into account:
See Risk assessments after a Police vet (Ministry of Education).
Our risk assessments may involve further investigation and/or discussing any concerns with the person we have safety checked. For people currently employed or engaged by the school, any concerns raised in the police vet and risk assessment process are addressed using our concerns and complaints processes, and we may seek external advice (e.g. legal, NZSBA). See Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints.
If the police vet shows that a core worker has been convicted of an offence specified in Schedule 2 of the Children's Act 2014, we follow the process as required by the Act (s 28), rather than our usual concerns and complaints process.
Safety checks by others
Teaching staff are police vetted by the Teaching Council as part of registered teachers gaining a practising certificate, or unregistered and uncertificated teachers gaining a limited authority to teach (LAT). We conduct a safety check of all teaching staff before they are engaged or employed, and every three years (see the steps above).
In some instances, the school may choose to accept some or all of the components of a safety check carried out by other organisations (e.g. relieving agencies, teacher training providers, transport service providers) on behalf of the school, or as part of that organisation's own certifying, enrolment, or employment processes.
If we choose to rely on safety checking done by another organisation, we ask permission from the person being safety checked first. We agree in writing with the other organisation which parts of the safety check they will do and that their safety checks for that person are done to the standard set out in the Children's Act 2014. The other organisation's safety checking may include police vetting. We complete our own identity checks and risk assessments.
We may choose not to rely on safety checking done by another organisation. We do not accept safety checks supplied by individuals.
Keeping safety checks up to date
As required by the Children's Act, we safety check existing children's workers within three years of their last safety check. This includes confirmation of any name changes, police vetting, and registration checks with professional organisations and authorities. The board or their delegate completes a risk assessment at the end of this process to determine whether the worker poses a risk to the safety of children.
If we accept safety checks from other organisations we confirm in writing that their safety checking is done every three years.
If any concerns are raised within the three-year review period (outside of the safety checking process), we follow our concerns and complaints processes, which may include doing a further risk assessment. We seek external advice in these circumstances (e.g. legal advice, NZSBA). See Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints.
Record keeping
The school maintains a detailed record of all safety checks. All safety checking information is kept confidential and managed according to our privacy and records retention policies. See Privacy Policy and School Records Retention and Disposal.
We keep the following information according to the Ministry of Education's School Records Retention and Disposal Schedule:
Safety checking records are kept securely for audit purposes for seven years from the date of the last action before being destroyed with permission from the board. If unsure, we consult NZSBA or seek legal advice before destroying records.
The principal assures the board that all children’s workers employed or engaged by the school have been safety checked before their appointment. The principal confirms that all children’s workers have been safety checked as required within 3 years of the previous check. See Review Schedule and Board Assurances.
Hei mihi | Acknowledgement SchoolDocs appreciates the professional advice of the Anderson Lloyd legal team (Dunedin) in reviewing this policy. |
Release history: Term 4 2024, Term 1 2024, Term 4 2022, Term 4 2021
