Internal review updates

Classroom Release Time

• Updated classroom release time allocations to reflect Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement provisions from term 3 2024.

Inclusive School Culture

(previously Inclusive Education)

Inclusive School Culture – State-integrated (non-Catholic)

Inclusive School Culture - State-integrated (Catholic)

• Highlighted the legislative and regulatory basis of the policy with relevant references to the Education and Training Act, NELP, Employment Relations Act, and board code of conduct.
• The "Promoting inclusion" section has a range of optional content.
• The "Raising and responding to concerns" section makes it clear how concerns can be raised and how the school will respond.
• For all state-integrated schools, added information about special character.
• For state-integrated Catholic schools, added content from the Catholic Bishops Conference, including additional resources.

Bullying and Harassment

• Previously the Bullying policy was for students and the Harassment policy for staff. These are now combined to show that bullying and harassment can involve students, staff, and other members of the school community.
• Added policy definitions for bullying and harassment. This includes content from previous Racial Harassment and Sexual Harassment topics.
• This policy contains information about preventing bullying and harassment at school and outlines how to manage bullying and harassment concerns and incidents depending on whether these involve students, staff, or others.
• Clarified privacy and record-keeping procedures in relation to bullying and harassment.

Responding to Student Bullying and Harassment

(previously Bullying)

• Information about preventing bullying is now in Bullying and Harassment.
• Added definitions of bullying, harassment, and natural justice.
• Outlined possible steps that may be required to resolve concerns or incidents of bullying between students.

Racial Harassment

(retired)

Sexual Harassment

(retired)

• Retired these topics (removed from sites). Relevant content is now covered in Bullying and Harassment.

Victimisation

(retired)

• Retired this topic (removed from sites). Relevant content is now covered in the Concerns and Complaints Policy.

Harassment Complaints Procedure

(retired)

• Retired this topic (removed from sites). Based on legal advice, concerns and complaints about harassment should now be managed through the Concerns and Complaints Policy.
• Relevant content is now covered in Bullying and Harassment and the Concerns and Complaints Policy.

Defamation

(retired)

• Retired this topic (removed from sites) based on legal advice that this topic is not needed.

Concerns and Complaints Policy

• Based on legal advice, updated this policy and its associated procedures to emphasise the school's assessment and response to concerns and complaints.
• The policy no longer includes a concerns and complaints flowchart as the process has been simplified.

Raising Concerns and Complaints

(previously Raising Concerns)

• This topic now covers raising both concerns and complaints. We no longer refer to formal complaints – instead, concerns and complaints can be raised with an appropriate person as needed and the school will assess them.
• Rather than being prescriptive about who to contact in various situations, people with a concern or complaint are now directed to contact an appropriate person.

Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints

• This new topic outlines the procedure for how the school will assess and respond to concerns and complaints according to the nature and seriousness of the matter, and who is involved (i.e. students, staff, board, other members of the school community).

Making a Formal Complaint or Serious Allegations

(retired)

• Retired this topic (removed from sites). Relevant content is now covered in Raising Concerns and Complaints and Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints.

Investigating a Formal Complaint or Serious Allegation

(retired)

• Retired this topic (removed from sites) based on legal advice. Relevant content is covered in Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints.

Student Concerns and Complaints

(retired)

• Retired this topic (removed from sites) based on legal advice. Students can raise concerns and complaints by using the same process as any other member of the school community.
• Moved school-specific information regarding student concerns about safety, general issues, subject concerns, etc. to Supporting Student Wellbeing.

Student Attendance

• Updated resources and related topics to align with Ministry of Education resources.
• Clarified that attendance expectations are shared with students and their parents/guardians and caregivers.

Attendance Procedures

• Added wording about the type of attendance information that is shared with the Ministry of Education.
• Added new wording about how parents/caregivers should notify the school if their child is going to be absent.
• Added a section about following up unexplained absences.
• Updated resources for this topic.
• As part of this update, we have made a minor update to Allergies to clarify that student allergy information may be included as part of teacher's attendance information.

International Learner Attendance

• Aligned information in this topic with updates to Attendance Procedures.

Stand-down, Suspension, and Exclusion Procedures

• For clarity, updated the section about convening a meeting of the board for suspensions to include: "A quorum of the board is required for a suspension meeting, or the board may delegate the power to make suspension decisions to a committee of at least two board members."

Medicines

• Clarified wording about how school supplies of medication are kept (removed "in pack sizes that are available when purchased over the counter").

School Houses

• Clarified wording about all houses built for principals being core houses.