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YARRAMAN OAKS PRIMARY SCHOOL
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND
INCLUSION POLICY
This policy reflects the DET Student Engagement
and Inclusion Guidance and was produced in
consultation with the school community in October
2015
Principal: Mr William Liston
School Council President: Mrs Jodie Billings
1.SCHOOL PROFILE
Yarraman Oaks Primary School is located in Noble Park. The approximately 200 students are
representative of a broad range of family structures and cultural backgrounds. Our school
community speaks at least 26 languages other than English at home and our families have come
from all over the globe including Asia, Europe, New Zealand and The Middle East. Yarraman
Oaks supports our indigenous students and providing an environment that caters for our
wonderfully diverse community.
2.School Values, Philosophy and Vision
Our vision, values and philosophy are built around the ethos of Yarraman Oaks being a
community of learners, providing opportunity for all and catering for diversity.
One of three goals in our strategic plan is around engaging community which is directed at a
holistic approach to overall student wellbeing.
Community Diversity Opportunity
We are committed to ongoing learning for our whole community and the provision of a
personalised education for our diverse student needs. We believe that all children have individual
interests, passions and talents and we are dedicated to providing the opportunity for these to be
developed.
Opportunity for All
We believe that all children have individual interests, passions and talents and we are dedicated
to providing the opportunity for these to be developed. We have specialist classes in Computers,
Library, Sport and Physical Education, Visual Arts and Performing Arts. Students have the
opportunity to take part in Drum lessons, choir, guitar lessons, Environment Group, Active After
Schools program, Tennis Australia tennis lessons, A.F.L. football program, Rugby Union
coaching, school performances, school Art Show, Student Leadership program, Peer Mediation
program and Meditation Program.
Community of Learners
We are committed to ongoing learning for our whole community. All students in prep to year 2
are involved in the Walker Learning Approach, which is based on Investigative Learning and 3-6
students use Inquiry Learning. All children have literacy and numeracy every day, where skills
are explicitly taught. We form a partnership with our parents, so we can all continue to learn
how to provide for each individual child's academic, social and emotional needs. We support our
parents in learning how to provide the best for their children through school-based support group
meetings and connecting them with external agencies where appropriate. All Yarraman staff
continue to learn through school-based coaching, the provision of external mentoring, school-
based and external professional development and working within Professional Learning Teams.
Diversity Provided for Learning is personalised to allow each child to reach their potential and experience success.
Individual learning needs are supported and provided for across the curriculum. A statement
about the rights and responsibilities of all students and school staff is included in Appendix 2.
3.Guiding Principles
Yarraman Oaks Primary School encourages all students to be resilient by teaching the principles
of ‘You Can Do It,’ persistence, confidence, getting along and organisation.
Restorative Practices creates the framework within which we manage student behaviours.
Children learn through programs that:
Increase community connectedness
Build on each child’s experiences, interests and needs
Foster communication and cooperation in learning
Encourage them to take increasing responsibility for their learning
Challenge and motivate them, providing opportunities to experience success
Teachers create inviting classrooms where:
Pride is taken in providing effective and flexible teaching strategies to meet student needs
They work as teams to provide the best conditions for learning
Students are valued and supported
Opportunities for active learning are maximised
Parents are valued and involved in their child’s learning
Students are given input into what and how they learn.
At Yarraman Oaks we value community engagement. A key focus of our school is engaging
parents tin their child’s schooling. We understand that the family has far more impact on student
outcomes than the school so we run a range of successful programs to include the whole school
community in education at YOPS. Parents and carers are also invited to be involved in school
council, parent groups, playgroup and special occasions such as harmony day, parenting
activities, sport and music events. The school has also developed partnerships with community
organisations. Information on all school policies are provided to school families on our web site
and weebly. Information is also provided to families through a weekly newsletter.
4.Engaging Students
Our whole pedagogy is directed at engaging our students in their school life and learning. All
staff teach in a way that is Personalised, Investigative and Structured
This means we teach in a way that is personalised, that enables students to approach their
education from their own individualised point of need, interest and engagement.
Students approach part of their learning in an investigative, inquiry manner, allowing them more
say in their learning. Our approach is structured throughout the school and within each
individual classroom and lesson. This leads to continuity of learning throughout the school and
clear expectations and instructions within each class.
What does this look like?
A teacher instructing and questioning a whole class, small group or an individual child.
Students working in small groups.
One or more teachers moving around the room working with individuals or groups.
Individual students conferencing with a teacher or another student.
Small groups working around a computer or individuals on laptops.
Students presenting their work to the class or small groups using video or electronic
whiteboards.
Literacy or Numeracy aides supporting individuals or small groups in understanding their
work.
A teacher or students helping a child assess their work.
5.Identifying students in need of extra support
Our school will utilise the following information and tools to identify students in need of extra support
using the following strategies
Personal information gathered upon enrolment
Attendance rates
Academic performance, particularly in literacy and numeracy assessments
Behaviour observed by classroom teachers
SMART student data base
Engagement with student families
6. Implementation
The school will support student wellbeing and positive behaviours through:
Promoting positive behaviours -
Buddies
Student Awards
Programs across the school to develop resilience, social skills, conflict
resolution and problem solving e.g.: - ‘You Can Do It’, ‘Restorative
Practices and Five Finger Strategy, Stop – Think – Do.
Transition programs into and throughout the school.
The school will -
Identify vulnerable children and their families.
Monitor student attendance.
Create Student Support Group’s for children in need
Provide peer mediation
Survey students in grades 5 and 6 about bullying in the school
environment.
Issue student postcards to provide parents positive feedback about their
children.
Adhere to department guidelines for mandatory reporting
The school will also access outside services to provide support for students and staff
which include: -
Psychologist for psychological and academic assessment
Mentors – providing support for ‘at risk’ children
Department of Human Services case managers and support workers
Social Workers to provide services such as counselling, social skills and
anger management programs.
Local support groups
Relevant DET support staff
Relevant local support agencies
Providing various ways to support the You Can Do It values. These can include:
Verbal recognition
An award/certificate
A positive note home
Class wide reinforcement
Recognition in the newsletter
Individual classroom recognition programs/incentives/reward time
Awards given at assembly
Incidental and informal feedback to parents
‘Personal Points’ may be awarded
STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR
The school maintains a fair discipline system that is based on natural justice, procedural fairness
and restorative practices. Central to this system is the establishment of preventative strategies
and systems in the classroom and playground. Some of these systems include ‘The Five Finger
Strategy,’ peer mediation, SRC, social skills program, circle time and circle conferencing.
There are four school rules at Yarraman Oaks Primary School. These are:
Use respectful language at all times.
Keep your hands and feet to ourselves
Do what we are told by all staff at all times.
Respect all property at all times.
When the school rules are broken, Yarraman Oaks Primary School has adopted a Restorative
Practices approach. Appendix.1. While still providing limits and consequences, it looks for ways
to repair the damaged relationships and improve existing relationships.. In line with Department
Of Education Guidelines Yarraman Oaks Primary School strictly prohibits the use of corporal
punishment.
Behaviour incidences of a serious nature are recorded in the schools data program called
SMART. These records are an important source of documentation for discussions with students,
teachers and parents and for obtaining support from outside agencies.
Yarraman Oaks Primary School also acknowledges that there are key points to make a difference
in improving student behaviour, and that these are:
Creating an engaging environment that is personalized
Build a positive relationships with all students
Be consistent with expectations
Communicate expectations often
Take individual and shared responsibility for managing student behavior
Students repeatedly breaking the rules and are placing others at risk are referred to the principal
or assistant principal. They will put in place strategies that ensure other students and the teacher
are safe and able to work without distraction.
Engagement with the student teacher and parents may take place where necessary. Where
needed a staged response may be developed in consultation with all stake holders. This is set out
in appendix.3. Suspension/ expulsion may be considered where the behaviour is severe.
Department of education guidelines must be followed strictly Should parents have a grievance
they are to follow the grievance procedures set out in appendix 5
Time out completed and restorative conference held
STUDENT COMPLIES STUDENT DOES NOT COMPLY
THE BELOW STRATEGY SHOULD BE EMPLOYED WHEN A STUDENT:
Uses deliberate and severe inappropriate language
Physically assaults another student by wrestling, punching, kicking, biting, or
manhandling
Refuses to comply with a staff’s reasonable request
Ask the student who misbehaved to come over and walk with you while you do yard duty. During this time, discuss the situation with the student:
What happened?
How can we avoid that situation happening again?
Are you ok or is something worrying you?
Discuss with the student that by misbehaving they have made our school yard unpleasant. Once the student is calm and able to discuss the incident follow up with a restorative conference. Detention will be given for any of these behaviours and the students are to contact their parents and inform them of the situation
Follow Severe Behaviour Response Procedure in appendix 4
Do a safety assessment of the student to try and prevent future incidents. Do they need support, behaviour management plan, referral to SWC, GO, intervention in the yard…?
Time out completed and restorative conference held
Student does not comply
Student complies
BULLYING
Rationale:
At Yarraman Oaks Primary School we believe everyone has the right to be respected and
experience happiness, confidence, feelings of security and belonging at school. All members of
our school community are committed to ensuring a safe and supportive learning environment
where children feel secure, successful and happy.
Our aim is to foster a healthy and positive school culture in which children, teachers and parents
will be treated fairly, individual differences will be respected and everyone will feel safe from
bullying. We believe students need to be empowered to positively deal with and resolve social
group issues through developing skills such as assertiveness, confidence, resilience and problem
solving skills.
WHOLE-SCHOOL COMMUNITY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO
BULLYING
Students, staff, parents, caregivers and the wider community have the right to a safe and
supportive learning environment in schools. For this to occur all school community members
have a responsibility to prevent and respond to reports and observations of bullying.
Whole School Community
Everyone has a right to feel safe, respected and supported in the school environment
We all have the responsibility to establish positive relationships and respect individual
differences
Students
Have the right to feel safe and supported in the school environment
Have a right to be informed of the school bullying plan and be supported in stopping
bullying
Have the responsibility to treat others with respect and care and to identify and respond
appropriately to bullying incidents
Staff
Have the right to feel safe, respected and supported in the workplace
Have the responsibility to teach pro-social behaviours and implement the school bullying
policy and management plan
Parents
Have the right to expect children to be safe and provided with a supportive school
environment and treated with respect
Have the responsibility to be aware of and support the school plan in effectively
managing bullying
COMMON UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT BULLYING
Definition of Bullying
Bullying is an unjustified and frequently repeated act of power the physically or psychologically
hurts someone for the gratification of the bully.
This may involve verbal, physical, relational and psychological forms of bullying.
Types of Bullying
Bullying takes many forms and can include:
Verbal Bullying: The repeated use of words to hurt or humiliate another individual or group.
Verbal bullying includes using put-downs, insulting language, name-calling, swearing, nasty
notes, telephone calls and homophobic, racist or sexist comments.
Psychological Bullying: Includes repeated stalking, threats or implied threats, unwanted email
or text messaging, abusive websites, threatening gestures, manipulation, emotional blackmail,
and threats to an individual’s reputation and sense of safety.
Exclusion Bullying: Usually involves repeatedly ostracising others by leaving them out or
convincing others to exclude or reject another individual or group from their social
connections, making up or spreading rumours and sharing or threatening to share another’s
personal information.
Physical Bullying: Includes repetitive low level hitting, kicking, pinching, pushing, tripping,
“ganging up”, unwanted physical or sexual touching, and damage to personal property.
Cyber Bullying: Involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-
mail, text messages, instant messaging and websites to engage in the bullying of other
individuals or groups. This technology provides an alternative means for verbal, relational
and psychological forms of bullying.
Extortion Bullying: Involves being forced or threatened to hand over possessions, food,
money or do work for the bully to avoid punishment.
Bystanders to Bullying: Bullying also involves the concept of “bystanders”. A bystander may
be someone who sees bullying or knows about it but he or she is not usually directly
involved. Everyone at the school can have a role in supporting those who are being bullied.
All members of the whole school community at Yarraman Oaks Primary School need to be
aware of their role in supporting those who are being bullied and their responsibility to
discourage bullying behaviours when they observe them. Any member of the school
community can be a bystander and can act successfully to prevent or stop bullying.
Sometimes it is difficult to act at the time of the bullying incident but reporting bullying
behaviour is also important. Bystanders are encouraged to report to someone who can help,
such as a member of the school staff.
Effects of Bullying
Students who are bullied may:
Feel unhappier at school
View school as a negative and unsafe place
Feel lonely
Dislike and avoid school
Demonstrate lower academic performance
Have higher rates of absenteeism
Complain of physical illness
Have lower self-esteem
Suffer from interpersonal difficulties
Experience depression or higher levels of anxiety and worry
Have a lack of friends or involvement in social activities
Possible Signs of Bullying:
Decreased interest and reluctance to go to school
Frequent complaints of headaches or stomach aches
Appearance of being withdrawn and a reluctance to say why
Difficulty sleeping
Strategies for Students and Parents
What Can I Do if I am Being Bullied?
Try to stand up for myself if I am being bullied
Try to talk with the person I am having the problem with in an assertive way
Walk away and ignore the person completely
Get help from a teacher or someone I trust
Don’t react and ignore the situation and keep working or playing
Talk to a friend to get some ideas to help me make a decision
Try coming to an agreement with the other person
Breathe deeply and look confident
Respond in a confident way asking the other person to stop
Report the incident to a teacher or the principal
Don’t fight back or retaliate with physical or verbal bullying yourself
DO something and SAY something
Go to a safe place
What should I do if I know about or see someone being bullied?
Care enough to do something about it whether it affects you personally or not
Support the person being bullied through encouragement and a listening ear
Don’t be a bystander – don’t stand by and watch, get help
Show that you and your friends disapprove of bullying
Report the bullying to a teacher, counsellor or the principal
Don’t use fighting or aggression to defend or stick up for your friends
What Can Parents Do? If your child is being bullied, they need your confidence, understanding and support.
You can:
Encourage talking; this may be difficult but be patient and don’t use pressure
Try not to overreact, listen calmly and try to work out the facts
Give assurances that the situation will be changed
Assure the child that it happens to most people at some time and we learn to
avoid it, cope with it or confront it
Reassure your child that it is not happening because there is something wrong
with him or her
Identify reasons why bullying is hurtful and explain that not responding helps
to stop the behaviour
Report the matter to a staff member even if you are unsure of the extent of the
bullying
Do not try to resolve the issue by becoming involved with the child or the
child’s parents who is accused of the bullying
Tell and model to your child that physical and verbal retaliation is NOT the
answer
Always try to work through the school, but talk with your child about what you
are doing and why
School strategies to prevent and manage bullying:
Our policy aims to address bullying at the following levels:
Whole School Prevention Strategies
Targeted Early Intervention Strategies
Intervention for Bullying Incidents
Our response plan aims to not label students as ‘bullies’ or ‘victims’. This will ensure
that the unacceptable behaviours are separated from the students involved. This
allows the behaviours to be addressed in a manner that remains respectful of the
individuals. We believe that bullying is set of behaviours that can be changed,
focusing on restorative practices and empowering students to find solutions to make
things right.
Whole School Prevention Strategies
The strategies we will use to prevent bullying include:
Increasing awareness of bullying in the school community through brochures,
programs and newsletters
Implementing a whole school management strategy of responding to bullying
outlined in this policy
Consistently using behaviour management methods that encourage empathy,
problem solving and positive action such as the no put down agreement
Pro-social skills training programs will be implemented and maintained as part of
the P-6 school curriculum
Classroom teachers will clarify and promote the anti-bullying policy with students
and will reinforce values, norms and rules throughout the year through the ‘You
Can Do It’ and ‘Stop, Think, Do’ Programs.
Professional development for staff relating to bullying.
All members of the wider school community will promote a safe school
environment by being aware of school anti-bullying campaign.
Maintaining a school culture that seeks to be proactive and restore relationships
damaged through conflict by employing interventions such as restorative practices.
Increasing opportunities for students to be involved in activities that encourage
positive peer relationships like PALS and Buddy Programs.
Recognising, promoting and providing incentives for respectful, pro-social
behaviours and positive social relationships in the playground
Proactive playground supervision
Reinforcing good examples of communication and conflict resolution;
Advertising safe places for students feeling at risk
Recording and managing playground or classroom bullying incidents
Targeted Early Intervention Strategies
Early identification of bullying behaviours is vital if schools are to be most effective in
managing bullying. It is important that schools respond in a timely fashion when
issues are identified as it is understood that those who are engaged in bullying and are
bullied can experience long term effects. In responding to unacceptable behaviour we
will adopt the following targeted early intervention strategies:
Encourage children to report bullying incidents involving themselves or others to
teachers
Teachers will reinforce the message that reporting is not the same as ‘dobbing’
Parents are encouraged to contact classroom teachers, Assistant Principal or
Principal as soon as they become aware of an issue
Identifying early signs of relationship issues within year groups that require
targeted programs (e.g. through class meetings)
Proactive teaching of pro-social behaviour to identified students;
Actively providing options for students experiencing unsafe areas or times at the
school such as the quiet area, buddy programs or a safe place to play.
Referring identified students to appropriate specialist support staff;
Assisting in rebuilding trust and relationships between identified students and
others;
Providing students at risk or those who demonstrate bullying behaviour with
access to specialist/pastoral care staff;
Setting up buddy systems for vulnerable students;
Reinforcing whole school behaviour management strategy methods for identified
students
Public recognition and reward for positive behaviour and resolution of problems
Intervention for Incidents of Bullying.
At Yarraman Oaks Primary School we have an agreed process for identifying,
reporting, recording and responding to bullying incidents. We believe that bullying is
effectively managed by practices that resolve conflicts, restores relationships and
promotes tolerance. Our approach is restorative and solution-focused in nature with
the intention of restoring relationships.
It is vitally important that all staff, students and parents are aware of the correct
process if they become aware that a student is being bullied. This plan outlines what
actions teachers are to take if a bullying incident is reported to them or if they witness
an incident and all staff need to be confident in their ability to deal with bullying
situations as they occur.
The school will ensure specific case management and student/situation monitoring
processes in are in place, especially for students with ongoing high support needs.
These processes will often involve the relevant school staff, parents, the student/s and
external agency services where needed.
Intervention Process:
Any bullying incident must be recorded on the SMART Program.
Action will be taken and all students will be followed up. Follow up will be
dealt with by either the teacher involved, the Student Wellbeing Coordinator,
the Assistant Principal and/or the Principal.
The incident is to be investigated and documented by speaking with the
students involved (both the student alleged of bullying and the student who
feels bullied)
Parents are to be contacted and informed of the incident.
Consequences:
Severe bullying such as verbal abuse or physical bullying may progress beyond
the first consequence at the discretion of the Principal or Assistant Principal.
Discretion is needed in responding to incidents of bullying; it is essential that students’
individual situation is taken into account. Students involved in bullying will be
disciplined under the procedure for inappropriate behaviour as outlined above.
Student records and files are to be reviewed annually with the view to starting afresh
at the beginning of each year.
9.Evaluation
Data collection and analysis
Data will be collected regarding frequency and types of wellbeing issues, so as to
measure the success or otherwise of school-based strategies and approaches.
Some of sources of data used are:
the Attitudes to School Survey data
school level report data
parent survey data
data from case management work with students
data extracted from software such as CASES21 or SOCS
Review of this policy
This policy will be reviewed annually or more often if necessary due to changes in
regulations or circumstances.
This policy was last ratified by school council in 2015
Appendix 1
Three principles form the foundation for restorative justice:
Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been injured or harmed.
Those most directly involved and affected by inappropriate behaviour should have
the opportunity to participate fully in the response if they wish.
The role of a community is to build and maintain a just peace.
Restorative programmes are characterised by four key values:
Encounter: Create opportunities for victims, offenders and community members
who want to do so to meet to discuss the inappropriate behaviour and its aftermath
Amends: Expect offenders to take steps to repair the harm they have caused
Reintegration: Seek to restore victims and offenders to whole, contributing
members of society
Inclusion: Provide opportunities for parties with a stake in a specific inappropriate
behaviour to participate in its resolution
Appendix.2.
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Students have the right to: Students have the responsibility to:
Feel safe and secure at school which is enhanced
by an anti-bullying policy and strategies to
enhance student engagement
Behave in way that ensures the school is a bully
free zone and support members of the school
community to feel safe and secure at school.
Have their feelings, rights, thoughts and
possessions treated with respect.
Act honestly and show consideration for the
feelings, rights thoughts and possessions of others
Be spoken to courteously and treated with fairness
and consistency
Co-operate with school staff and treat them
courteously and with respect
Curriculum which is appropriate to individual and
collective needs
Take full advantage of learning opportunities and
to allow others to do the same
Regular scheduled classes, equal access to
teachers’ time and updates on their progress
Attend classes punctually and regularly and ask
for help and assistance when required
A clean, safe, smoke-free and attractive school
environment where all property is respected
Maintain and keep a safe, clean and attractive
environment and appear neat and in clean in
school uniform
Staff have the right to: Staff have the responsibility to:
To be treated as individuals with courtesy, respect
without discrimination
To treat with respect and courtesy all members of
the school community; to promote such attitudes
in their children
Teach without interference and be supported by
students, colleagues, parents, School Council and
appropriate Government Departments.
To provide a full range of learning activities
across AusVELS and to provide support to
students, colleagues, parents, School Council and
appropriate Government Departments.
To have access to information and be part of the
collaborative decision making process in the areas
of curriculum and organisation; to have on-going
funded professional development; to have
decision making structures in place; to have
representation and collaboration on School
Council and Sub-Committees.
To contribute to decision making processes (e.g.:
School Council) and actively participate in the
areas of curriculum and Strategic Plan
development, organisation and administration; to
participate in professional development activities.
Access ongoing training and professional
development opportunities
To ensure their teaching reflects current and
effective teaching practices
To work in an aesthetically pleasing, clean,
orderly, safe (safety of belonging) and
comfortable environment and to have access to
sufficient equipment and resources
To help create an aesthetically pleasing, clean,
orderly, safe (safety of belonging) and
comfortable environment; to select, order and
maintain equipment
Parents have the right to: Parents have the responsibility to:
To participate in all aspects of their children’s
learning, to be informed and to be listened to
To take an active interest in their children’s
learning and school activities. To convey concerns
and inform teachers of any circumstances which
could affect the learning of their children
To be treated as individuals with courtesy, respect
without discrimination
To treat with respect and courtesy all other
members of the school community; to promote
such attitudes in their children
To have ready access to information and be part
of the decision-making process where appropriate
To contribute to the best of their ability and to
respect the contribution of other members of the
school community
To have their children educated in a secure
environment where care, courtesy and respect are
encouraged and valued
To help create and maintain a safe environment
and encourage their children to do the same and to
support the school in its efforts to maintain a
positive teaching, learning environment
Access to Support Services is available when
required
To assist students with the establishment of goals
and plans which build their confidence and
competence in social and academic areas.
As per Department of Education guidelines and expectations this school prohibits the
use of corporal punishment when dealing with any disciplinary matters.
The rights and responsibilities charter was developed with staff, student and
community input. As well as these rights and responsibilities, members of our school
community are also protected by the following legislation:
Equal Opportunity Act 1995
Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
Disability Discrimination Act 1992
Disability Standards for Education Act 2005
Education and Training Reform Act 2006
Appendix.3.
Staged response checklist for student behaviour issues
Stage 1: Promoting positive behaviour and preventing behavioural issues
Suggested strategies School actions
Define and teach school-wide expectations for all.
Establish whole school positive behaviour
programs.
Establish consistent school-wide processes to
identify and support students at risk of
disengagement from learning.
Stage 2: Responding to individual students exhibiting challenging behaviour
Suggested strategies School actions
Assess the behaviour and its functions, influences,
and triggers (include student, parents and school
wellbeing staff as appropriate).
Develop Behaviour Support Plan and/or Individual
Education Plan (involve parent or carer)
Consider if any environmental changes need to be
made.
Teach replacement behaviors.
Engage Student Support Services and/or
community services to undertake assessments
and/or provide specialist support
Establish a student support group
Implement appropriate disciplinary measures that
are proportionate to problem behaviours
Consider out-of-school behaviour management
options such as Student Development Centres (if
available)
Appendix .4.
SEVERE BEHAVIOUR RESPONSE
STUDENT DISTRESSED Don’t try to physically restrain a student, it is dangerous for you and may escalate the situation.
Offer the student the opportunity to have some time out in a safe place and say to the student “I can see you are upset/angry. When you are ready, then we’ll talk.” Give the student space but keep an eye on them. One staff member only should manage situation, first Principal Class or S.W.C, then staff person with most experience dealing with the student.
Student calms and then indicates they are ready to talk. Find out what caused the student’s distress and discuss how they issue can be resolved.
If the student does not approach you within 10 mins, check in with them every 5 – 10 mins and ask if they are ready to talk. When they indicate they are, find out what caused the student’s distress and discuss how they issue can be resolved.
Give the student 3 specific options using an assertive but calm tone; “(Student’s name), I can see something has upset you. You have 3 choices, (for eg) you can stay where you are and when you’re ready we’ll talk, you can come with me to the office and have chat over there or I’ll give Mum/Dad a call and they can come up to the school. Repeat choices, then ask which option the student would prefer. Keep the options short and simple.
STUDENT COMPLIES STUDENT DOES NOT COMPLY
STUDENT DOES NOT COMPLY
Ask another staff member (preferably office staff) to contact the students parent/guardian and say “There has been an incident at school and your child is ok but distressed. We need you to support us by coming up to the school as soon as possible.” (If a parent/guardian is abusive on the phone, stay calm and say “I can hear you’re upset at the moment. Please call me back when you are calm so we can work through this. I am now going to hang up.”
If the student leaves the school or the parent/ guardians are unable to assist, contact the police.
When the student is ready to participate, hold a restorative session. This should happen as soon after the event as possible but not before the child is ready. You may need to wait a day or 2.
Appendix.5.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE: PARENTS/CARE GIVERS
At all times during the grievance procedure, all parties are expected to be fair, calm, honest
and respectful.
Resolved Not resolved
Approach the Principal and arrange a
mutually convenient time to discuss
your concern
You will be asked what discussions
you have had with the teacher.
Resolved Not resolved
Contact the Senior Education Officer
to discuss the concern.
(Southern Metropolitan Area)
You will be asked what discussions
you have had with the Principal.
At a mutually convenient time speak with a relevant staff member to discuss your concern.
The Regional Office will contact the
school to discuss the concerns.
Discussion between school and parent/
caregiver re the issue.
Issue Resolved