Student Wellbeing – Student Safety
As part of St Catherine’s commitment to being a Child Safe Organisation, a number of regulations are in place to protect our students. The securing of the School’s perimeters has been a focus in recent years, as well as adherence to a number of child safe practices. The decision to close the back gate until further notice has been made with the safety of our students and staff in mind. The current construction site on the corner of St Georges Road and St Catherine’s Lane has posed potential risk for pedestrians entering the lane. In the interest of ensuring safe entry to School, students will be entering from the Heyington Place gates only. Arrangements for bus transport will be communicated to the students accordingly.
Another key element of protecting children is to ensure that they do not come into contact with anyone without a ‘Working With Children Check’ (WWCC) during the school day. “The Working With Children Check assists in protecting children from sexual or physical harm by ensuring that people who work with, or care for them are subject to a screening process.”[1] All teaching staff, coaches and volunteers are required to hold a current WWCC as part of their registration, employment or volunteering requirements.
I have reminded the students this week that they are not permitted to order take-away food deliveries to School as this practice poses a child safety issue. Communicating with a member of the public who has not met the WWCC check requirements is not appropriate, and unauthorised deliveries can jeopardise the security of the School boundary. Your support of these Child Safety requirements is much appreciated and will assist us in our endeavours to continue to provide an environment where your daughter feels safe and secure.
Parent Operoo Consent Request
Maintaining safety online requires ongoing vigilance and the School has a number of processes and policies to guide student online behaviours. In the first weeks of term, students were asked to read, acknowledge and agree to abide by the School’s expectations and rules regarding use of online platforms, including MS Teams.
Parents have been asked to acknowledge their awareness of three important documents this week via Operoo. Please ensure that you read the St Catherine’s Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement, the Remote Learning Student Code of Conduct and the Community Code of Conduct and sign as requested. Please feel welcome to contact me for any queries about these documents.
In the upcoming weeks, I will be presenting a session on Child Safety to each Year Level. This presentation includes how to report a concern to a staff member or one of the Child Safety Officers. Age appropriate posters and flowcharts are positioned around the school to ensure that students have a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities.
