Child protection guidelines not the best

By Jennifer Leete

Federation is unhappy with the Ombudsman's Office's new guidelines arising from changes to child protection legislation.

The Ombudsman's Office, apparently based on legal advice they have obtained, is still using an allegations based system. This means that if an allegation of reportable conduct comes forward, even if the principal knows it to be complete nonsense, it must be reported to the Department of Education and Training (DET) and then to the Ombudsman's Office.

While some minor matters would not be required to be passed on to the Ombudsman because they are covered by a "class and kind determination" agreement between the Ombudsman and DET, unless the allegation comes forward in language that demonstrates its minor nature, it must be reported to the Ombudsman's office.

Federation has argued that a principal should be able to make "preliminary enquiries", not an investigation, to determine whether the incident which is the subject of the allegation is reportable conduct.

The Ombudsman's Office, on the other hand, has said that the principal may only seek "clarification" from the person making the allegation.

As indicated, DET has also re-written its procedures, now called "Responding to Allegations against Employees in the Area of Child Protection". While the new procedures are apparently available to schools on DET's intranet, they have not yet been distributed in hard copy. DET is currently preparing a training package and strategy for principals and other appropriate staff. Federation was extensively consulted about the content of the new DET guidelines but they are not an agreed document. Whilst many of Federation's suggestions were accepted, others were rejected.

Federation has received expressions of concern from some members about the document.

Media coverage of the DET procedures began with Education Minister Andrew Refshauge's May 3 press release. The press release is quite a positive statement. It begins: "NSW teachers now have clearer guidelines on acceptable levels of discipline and interaction with students under new child protection laws introduced by the State Government." Unfortunately, the tone of the subsequent media coverage was set by the Daily Telegraph in an article by Bruce McDougall, which focussed on what teachers were not allowed to do. This was then the "angle" taken up by the radio commentary.

Despite this, there is no doubt that Federation has achieved improvements for teachers in the area of child protection. Nevertheless, the advice contained in Federation's welfare leaflet "Advice you may need" remains current.

Jennifer Leete is the Deputy President.

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