Advice about revised workplace learning policy

DET's new Workplace Learning Policy is an improvement on the old, but concerns remain. WENDY CURRIE reports.

Federation's advice about DET's new Workplace Learning Policy follows around 18 months of intense consultation with the DET.

As a result of this consultation, the new policy is a vast improvement on previous handbooks, particularly in relation to risk assessments and minimisation strategies which are now clearly identified as being the responsibility of the host employer, not teachers.

The new policy and documents are being progressively updated on the DET website.

Ambiguities about emergency contacts for year 9 and 10 students in the parent permission section of the version of the Placement Record on the DET website as at October 18 have been solved in the past few days. Changes will be made to that version.

There remains the issue of teachers being expected to be the emergency contact during "normal business hours", and these are not defined. Teachers are advised to be very careful when filling in the section of the Placement Record about what those "business hours" are. While this is a huge improvement on expectations in previous Workplace Learning Handbooks, the Federation reissues the advice to teachers not to agree to be the contact out of school hours.

Wendy Currie is a Research Officer.

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