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Student Engagement & Inclusion Policy 2019

- Updated 5th December 2018

Tallygaroopna Primary School

School No: 3067

Endorsement by

School Council

Insertion of a tick ( ) in the next

column indicates that the School

Principal, as Executive Officer of

the School Council, verifies that

this Student Engagement Policy was

endorsed at a meeting of School

Council.

David Brodie

Principal

5th December 2018

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Tallygaroopna Primary School with a population of 89 students is situated 17km north of Shepparton. Whilst located in a rural setting, the school’s parent community is mainly comprised of families who work in Shepparton with very few being involved in farming. The school is extremely well equipped mainly due to a healthy injection of locally raised funds over the past ten years or more and a new BER building along with updated existing buildings. The school has vast playing areas comprising two adventure playgrounds, asphalt and court areas and a well grassed oval that has its own watering system. A huge undercover area is available for use on hot or wet days.

Purpose:

Tallygaroopna Primary School is committed to providing the highest quality education for all in an environment that cares for its students, staff and parents. This commitment is demonstrated by encouraging students to :

Reach for full academic, social and physical potential in a fair, positive and consistent environment.

Display a commitment to improving their learning outcomes.

Develop a sense of self-discipline in their work and their play.

Respect the rights of other students, staff and visitors.

Develop a good understanding of all key-learning areas, particularly literacy and numeracy.

Provide equal opportunity for all members of the school community.

Develop in students’ qualities and life skills such as responsibility, independence, inquiring minds, problem solving, team skills and creativity.

Prepare students for their next stage of learning by building on their strengths and experiences.

1-SCHOOL PROFILE STATEMENT

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Our school values are used to support our students, teachers and parents in becoming positive citizens within their community. These values are:

Inclusion: to include others and to not leave anyone out. To understand, respect, welcome, celebrate and honour the diversity of children, families and staff. Diversity comes in many different forms, for example culture, language, religion, lifestyle, family arrangements and circumstances, abilities and disabilities. Respecting diversity is important in creating a sense of belonging. The different backgrounds of the children, families and staff enrich a schools character and identity. Schools that are responsive to individual differences and respect diversity benefit everyone and help to build an inclusive environment.

Respect: to treat others with consideration and regard, to respect another person’s point of view and to treat others how you would like to be treated. A feeling of admiration or deference toward a person, child, non-human animal, group, ideal, or indeed almost any entity or concept, as well as specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected (e.g., "I have great respect for her judgment"). It can also be conduct in accord with a specific ethic of respect (ie: Anzac Day).

Honesty: to tell the truth and own up to things in a mature manner. Being honest means you display positive attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc. Furthermore, honesty means being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere.

Definitions amended in 2017. Relevant Policies on School Website

Inclusion Policy / Child Safe Policy

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New addition in 2017

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LONG TERM AND SHORT TERM GOALS

– STRATEGIC PLAN & ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Our Goals and Targets for 2019 will be based on recommendations from our School Review

which was conducted in November / December 2018. These will be formed in Term 1 (2019)

and this document will be amended to reflect this and the school community will be

informed also.

Below are our past goals which focus on Student Engagement and Wellbeing.

Engagement Goal:

Increase self-efficacy across the school and opportunities for higher levels of student cognitive engagement, challenge, self-directed inquiry and deep thinking.

Engagement Targets:

a. Reduce P-6 student absences from 10 days to less than 8 days annually.

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2018 Goals

10.14 12.30 12.78 10.34 8.08 <8

b. Student Motivation & School Connectedness to be at or above State and Regional Benchmarks.

Student Survey 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2018

Goals

St. Motivation 4.45 4.54 4.66 91.2%

(96%)

67% 4.7

St. Connectedness 4.33 3.95 4.47 46.7%

(82%)

74% 4.5

Engagement Key Improvement Strategy:

Create a culture of high expectations and opportunities to promote student voice and involve students in decision-making about how they can make a difference to their local and global communities.

Wellbeing Goal:

Ensure all members of the school community feel they are in a safe and supportive learning environment.

Wellbeing Targets:

Student Distress & Student Morale are both at 6.2 or above in State and Regional Benchmarks. Student Safety is above State and Regional Benchmarks.

Student Survey 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2018 Goals

St. Distress

- sense of inclusion

6.27 6.11 6.14 86%

(95%)

80% 6.3

St. Morale

– learning confidence

6.36 5.65 6.00 40.6

(80%)

67% 6.3

St. Safety

- managing bullying

4.66 4.53 4.73 86.1%

(93%)

84% 4.7

Wellbeing Key Improvement Strategy:

Strengthen the partnership between staff, students and parents to share responsibility for student wellbeing and develop processes and programs that support the mental health and wellbeing of our students.

More specific goals and targets will be identified in our Annual Implementation for 2019.

This will be endorsed in March.

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1. Students are expected to take care of their own personal

property and that of the schools. Damage to school

property and surrounds will not be tolerated.

2. Children are expected to remain on school property

during school hours unless given permission.

3. Students are expected to behave appropriately during

school hours.

4. Students are expected to travel to and from school in the

appropriate manner and with the appropriate gear. Bus

travellers will adhere to the Bus Traveller’s Code of

Conduct.

5. Students will not be permitted to bring expensive articles

of personal property or banned substances to school (as

the Education Department’s insurance policy does not

cover personal belongings).

6. Students are expected to adhere to the dress code as

stated in the Tallygaroopna Information book.

SCHOOL RULES

Our General School Rule is to “CONSIDER THE FEELINGS OF OTHERS AT ALL TIMES.”

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Tallygaroopna Primary School aims to develop socially well adjusted children who perform academically to the best of their ability in a safe, friendly and caring environment and to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to become valued members of the community. We have a clear focus on student attendance with regular updates and reminders of the importance of being at school in the Newsletter, on Tiqbiz and at assemblies. Attendance is a target in our Strategic and Annual implementation Plans.

Students are encouraged to attend every day and parents are encouraged to send their students to school each day unless they are unwell. We encourage parents to make appointments where possible, out of school hours. If students are absent, parents are to write a note or contact the school.

Amendments to the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 in relation to the enforcement of compulsory school enrolment and attendance come into effect this year. This new legislation means that a parent could receive a School Attendance Notice and possibly an Infringement Notice if their child misses five full days of school in a year without a reasonable excuse. It also means a parent could receive a School Enrolment Notice and possibly an Infringement Notice if their child is not enrolled in school or registered for home schooling. Importantly however, new procedures for enforcing attendance are articulated as a strategy of last resort, when other interventions to improve attendance have failed.

2-WHOLE SCHOOL PREVENTION STATEMENT

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Tallygaroopna Primary School aims to: -develop in each of our students a desire for lifelong learning so that they become valuable members of society -place an emphasis on teaching the students how to live with others and encourage their creativity - endorse the philosophy of “Consider the feelings of others at all times.”

To achieve these three aims we:

Provide highly motivated and qualified staff to facilitate the education of our students.

Provide physical facilities and grounds that enhance learning.

Have high but realistic expectations of students and encourage students to “be their best.”

Provide programs that are innovative, challenging and relevant to the needs of our students.

Give constant positive reinforcement to improve self-esteem.

Acknowledge student achievement in the newsletter and at assemblies through student of the week awards.

Encourage friendship, sharing, tolerance and compassion amongst all children.

Encourage and Support children to accept responsibility for their actions.

Provide adequate supervision in the school grounds, making a special effort to observe, assist and involve children with problems.

Develop a whole staff approach to the resolution of problems occurring both in and out of the classroom.

Be consistent and fair in applying logical consequences.

Encourage understanding and awareness of the school rules.

Provide intervention and extension assistance for students.

Employ Education Support Staff to assist with the needs of children.

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Supporting Students in Need To achieve this we aim to utilise the following: Individual Learning Plans The purpose of an ILP is to describe a set of strategies to address the particular educational needs of the child or young person. The ILP should: Outline a meaningful educational program

Be age appropriate, holistic in its approach, flexible and future

orientated Consider key long-term goals that reflect learning outcomes in social,

academic and life skills development Establish short-term goals that will lead sequentially to the

achievement of long-term goals Ensure that the goals are measurable, achievable, supported, time-

framed and aim to retain the student at school Clearly articulate individual and shared responsibilities Provide guidance for the student support group (SSG) Contain a record of important decisions, actions, student behaviour

and progress Be a useful transition tool Be reviewed every six months at minimum, or as regularly as needed. Behaviour Management / Safety Plans

This is a school-based document designed to assist individual students who have experienced harm, are at risk of harm, or have caused harm to others.

This may include students who have been diagnosed with severe behaviour disorders, students who have bullied others, students who have been bullied, students who require additional assistance because they display difficult, challenging or disruptive behaviours, as well as students who can benefit from additional wellbeing support. A Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) can help ensure that students and staff feel safe, valued and connected to their school community. An effective BSP contributes to building respectful relationships, resilience, and well-adjusted students who are able to learn effectively.

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School Support Group – PSD students

Student Support Groups support your child if they have a disability or additional needs.

A Student Support Group is mandatory for all students in the Program for Students with Disabilities, and is strongly encouraged for any student with additional learning needs.

When enrolling a child with a disability in a school, the principal will give you information about the specific support available to help your child take part in the school’s education program.

The focus of the Student Support Group is on educational planning for your child and monitoring their progress.

It is the responsibility of the principal to set up and run the Student Support Group and make sure all members of the group take part and work together.

Parent Support Group This may be set up for any student or family in the school who is having particular issues whether at school or at home. These are not mandated and are generally at the discretion of the Principal along with other key stakeholders at the school. The aim of a PSG is to offer support or assistance to a student or family in need. Specific guidelines are similar to a SSG.

Adequate Supervision at School We support the needs of our students by providing supervision in the following ways After 8.30am until the beginning of school

Supervision at school at the front of the school (playground area)

and the back of the school (oval area) Offering an alternative play area – generally in the Multi Purpose

Room with a variety of indoor activities

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Student Rights and Responsibilities

Rights Responsibilities

All students have the right to be valued and treated with respect. Students have a right to work, learn and play in a secure environment where they are able to develop their talents, interests and ambitions without interference.

Students have the right to be treated and spoken to fairly and respectfully by teachers, students and parents. Students have the rights to ask questions and share ideas.

A responsibility to respect others. A responsibility to be courteous and respectful to all people involved in school programs, including all visitors to our school. A responsibility to take care of all property including school, personal and others. A responsibility to allow others to work without being bothered. A responsibility to complete your classroom activities. A responsibility to come to school and to be on time. A responsibility to obey school rules. A responsibility to be cooperative and fair at sport and play. A responsibility when on school activities/excursions to continue to obey school rules. A responsibility to take messages home. To treat everyone in the school in a friendly and respectful manner.

A responsibility to listen and respond in a positive manner. To contribute to the best of their abilities in all school activities.

STUDENT, TEACHER & PARENT RIGHTS

3-RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITES

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Teacher Rights and Responsibilities

Rights Responsibilities

Teachers have the right to teach in an atmosphere of order and cooperation. Teachers have the right to be treated with respect by students, parents and colleagues. Teachers have the right to feel safe in the school environment. Principal and Staff have an obligation to implement the Student Engagement Policy fairly, reasonably and consistently.

A responsibility to ensure that all students are safe and happy in their school environment. Discuss and reinforce school rules and high expectations. Arrive at school on time, prepared for effective teaching. Contribute to the development of units of work through effective planning and sharing. A responsibility to treat all children, parents and colleagues fairly and respectfully regardless of gender, race or religion. Provide opportunities for all students to experience personal success A responsibility to promote an environment, which maximises the opportunity of all students to strive for excellence. A responsibility to provide and promote positive role models for students at all times. A responsibility to inform parents of their child’s performance at school. Display consistency when dealing with student management issues both in and out of the classroom.

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Parent Rights and Responsibilities

Rights Responsibilities

Parents have a right to expect that their children will be educated in a secure environment in which care, courtesy and respect for the rights of others are encouraged. Parents have a right to support the Principal and Staff in their efforts to maintain a productive teaching and learning environment.

A responsibility to ensure your child attends school and is punctual. A responsibility to support the School Discipline and Uniform Policy. A responsibility to support the school in its efforts to maintain a positive teaching and learning environment. Ensuring your child has enough sleep at night and that they are provided with breakfast before attending school each day. Being aware of school rules and encouraging acceptable social behaviour. Provide the school with current up to date contact information. Support the school’s homework and reading at home philosophy. Ensuring your child wears correct school uniform unless there is a valid reason. A responsibility to communicate all matters that may affect your child’s learning. Provide your child with lunch (preferably healthy) and snack each day.

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Attendance Policy – Tallygaroopna PS

Rationale:

The Education Act requires that children of school age (six to seventeen years) resident in

Victoria are required to be in full-time attendance at a government or registered non-

government school unless they are receiving approved home tuition, correspondence

education, or have been granted an exemption by the Regional Director.

Aims:

To maximise student learning opportunities and performance by ensuring that children

required to attend school do so regularly, and without unnecessary or frivolous absences.

Implementation:

Education is a sequential process. Absences often mean students miss important stages in

the development of topics, causing them to find ‘catching up’ difficult.

Absenteeism contributes significantly to student failure at school.

All enrolled students are required to attend school unless reasonable and valid grounds

exist for them to be absent.

Illness is reasonable grounds for an absence - shopping excursions or birthday parties are

not.

Parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children attend school regularly, and are

only absent if ill or if absolutely necessary.

Parents have a further responsibility to provide a written note or return a completed

absence form to the school explaining why an absence has occurred.

The principal has a responsibility to ensure that attendance records are maintained and

monitored at school.

All student absences are recorded in both the morning and the afternoon by teachers, are

aggregated onto our Grade Expert Database and imported into CASES21 database and

communicated to the Department of Education.

The Department of Education and enrolment auditors may seek student attendance

records.

The principal has a further responsibility to ensure that unexplained absences are

investigated, and that high levels of absenteeism are adequately explained.

The principal will ensure parents of students with high levels of unexplained or

unapproved absences are contacted, with the view to developing and implementing

strategies to minimise absences.

Ongoing unexplained absences, or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance may

result in a formal attendance school support group being organised. Unresolved

attendance issues may be reported to the Department of Human Services.

Students with excellent attendance records will receive certificates of achievement. This

focuses on 95% attendance and are awarded each term, semester and year

Posters encouraging school attendance will feature prominently, as well as newsletter

articles.

Student attendance and absence figures will appear on student half year and end of year

reports.

Aggregated student attendance data is reported to the Department of Education and the

wider community each year as part of the annual report.

Evaluation:

This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s three-year review cycle.

This policy was endorsed by School Council on Wed 22nd February 2017

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/behaviour/Pages/attendance.aspx

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Bullying & Harassment Policy – Tallygaroopna PS

Purpose

Tallygaroopna Primary School aims to provide a safe and inclusive environment

free from all types of bullying behaviour. This policy is to be a positive message to

staff, parents and children, to ensure that the whole school community is working together to eliminate

bullying.

Policy

Schools must include a statement about bullying and cyberbullying behaviours in the Rights and

Responsibilities section of their Student Engagement Policy.

A Student Engagement Policy should include a positive statement about the school’s values and

philosophy, and the related programs and strategies being implemented by the school to promote

student engagement, high attendance and positive behaviours.

Definition

Bullying is when someone, or a group of people, deliberately upset or hurt another person or damage

their property, reputation or social acceptance on more than one occasion. There is an imbalance of

power in incidents of bullying with the bully or bullies having more power at the time due to age, size,

status or other reasons.

This table describes the categories of bullying.

Category Includes

Direct physical bullying hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching and pushing or damaging

property

Direct verbal bullying name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or

racist remarks, or verbal abuse.

Indirect bullying action designed to harm someone’s social reputation and/or

cause humiliation. Indirect bullying includes:

- lying and spreading rumours

- playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate

- mimicking

- encouraging others to socially exclude someone

- damaging someone’s social reputation or social acceptance

Cyberbullying direct verbal or indirect bullying behaviours using digital

technologies. This includes harassment via a mobile phone,

setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately

excluding someone from social networking spaces.

Many distressing behaviours are not examples of bullying even though they are unpleasant and often

require teacher intervention and management.

Mutual conflict: involves an argument or disagreement between people but not an imbalance of power.

Both parties are upset and usually both want a resolution. Unresolved mutual conflict can develop into

bullying if one of the parties targets the other repeatedly in retaliation.

Social rejection or dislike: is not bullying unless it involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause

distress, exclude or create dislike by others.

Single-episode acts: of nastiness or physical aggression are not the same as bullying. If someone is

verbally abused or pushed on one occasion they are not being bullied. Nastiness or physical aggression

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that is directed towards many different people is not the same as bullying. However, this does not mean

that single episodes of nastiness or physical aggression should be ignored or condoned as these are

unacceptable behaviours.

Approaches

Schools should:

promote and support safe and respectful learning environments where bullying is not

tolerated

put in place whole-school strategies and initiatives such as Bounce Back and others as

outlined in the Department’s anti-bullying policy

develop a Student Engagement Policy that includes processes and strategies to prevent and

respond to incidents of bullying and other forms of unacceptable behaviour.

involve students, staff and parents in updating the Student Engagement Policy.

work in partnership with parents to reduce and manage bullying.

take a whole-school approach focusing on safety and wellbeing by utilising any resources /

funding which may be available (ie: School Chaplain Program, Cluster Mental Health Day,

Kidsmatter..etc).

Related Policies

Student Support Services

Department Resources

Student Engagement Policy Guidelines

Building Safe and Respectful Schools: providing guidance to schools about creating safe

and respectful learning environments

Sexuality Education:

Respecting Diversity: for teacher resources to support the inclusion of sexual

diversity in the school’s sexuality education program

For Principals: for a copy of Supporting Sexual Diversity in Schools (2008).

Other Resources

Bullying. NoWay! – the joint Australian Education Authorities website

Safe Schools, National Safe Schools Framework providing a set of nationally agreed

principles for safe and supportive school environments and includes appropriate responses

that schools can use to address the issues of bullying, harassment, violence, and child abuse

and neglect.

Evaluation:

This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s three year review cycle.

This policy was last ratified by School Council in....

Endorsed by School Council

Wednesday 28th October 2015

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Student Expectations

We expect that students will be safe at school and demonstrate consistent and positive behaviour in and out of the classroom and have a good approach to their learning. They should attend school on a regular basis and always be punctual to school and show an awareness of personal hygiene. They can expect to be engaged in their learning and receive support for managing their learning in school and at home. Students at the school should also have respect for themselves, the community and the rights of others and they should be acknowledged and praised for their efforts at school. Students can expect the school to not tolerate bullying behaviour and support for this will be offered instead of constant punishment.

Teacher and Principal Expectations

Staff at school support students to effectively engage in their learning by providing a number of experiences which are relevant to the interests and backgrounds of the children.

Inclusive practices occur in class and children are able to focus on areas of strength when completing set work.

Teachers are beginning to have a common language in class and pedagogy focuses on e5 and Placemats (whole / small / whole approach). We ensure that students regularly experience success and this is celebrated along with diversity.

4-SHARED EXPECTATIONS

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Roles of Principal Class

Ensure the delivery of a comprehensive, high quality education program to all students.

Be executive officer of the school council.

Implement decisions of the school council.

Establish and manage financial systems in accordance with the Department and school council requirements.

Represent the Department in the school and the local community.

Contribute to system‐wide activities, including policy and

strategic planning and development.

Effectively manage and integrate the resources available to the school.

Appropriately involve staff, students and the community in the development, implementation and review of school policies, programs and operations.

Report to the Department, school community, parents and students on the achievements of the school and of individual students as appropriate.

Comply with regulatory processes from DET.

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Roles of Teachers

Engage in ongoing professional learning to improve their practice

Draw on resources and frameworks provided by the system to inform their work and classroom practice

Work collaboratively with professional colleagues to improve teaching and learning within the school

Use multiple sources of feedback on their classroom practice to inform their professional learning goals.

Parent Expectations

Parents support school by modelling positive behaviours in and out of the school environment. They ensure that regular attendance and punctuality occurs and they have an active role in their child’s education. There is an agreed expectation that parents assist and support students at home with any school work and they communicate with teachers relevant to a range of matters in an orderly fashion. Parents show respect for the learning environment at school and support the schools discipline and uniform policy.

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Before actions and consequences occur, Tallygaroopna Primary School has a responsibility to make sure that positive behaviours are supported through relationship-based whole school and classroom practices. We recognise that some students require additional support in the development of pro social, positive behaviours and this requires reinforcement and acknowledgement to support children towards positive improvement. We also appreciate how important engagement is to children at school and are committed to supporting children in calm, consistent and predictable school classrooms and environments that recognise individual needs and provide appropriate support.

Supportive and Preventative Procedures

These strategies provide students the opportunity to be responsible in the school environment and to have ownership on the values and climate of the school. We believe that it is important that supportive and preventative procedures are applied consistently in the school environment.

School rules are condensed into only a few school rules.

School Captains and S.R.C. are responsible for this.

Positive rewards for desired behaviour at assembly.

Social skills Programs- Bounce Back, Secret Agency

Values Vault, Random Acts of Kindness

Support from School Chaplain (Student Wellbeing Worker)

Cybersafety – Esmart

Collegial Support - to diffuse a potential problem a child may

be placed with another staff member for a specific period of

time.

Involvement of outside agencies to support children and

families. Eg. GV Family Care, SCOPE / IMPACT.

5-ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES

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Liaison with Regional Student Support Staff

Consequences are what happen as a result of behaviour. They can be positive or negative depending on the type of behaviour. Consequences should be fair, predictable and they should be related to the rule that has been broken. When a staff member finds that a student has been in breach of the school rules teachers will work through the stages of the student engagement plan.

Positive Consequences – common procedures

1. Verbal praise

2. Awards / certificates / stickers

3. Public recognition at assemblies and in the newsletter.

Breach of rules inside the classroom.

1. Verbal reminder/s of appropriate behaviours and

consequences if the behaviour continues.

2. Time-in classroom during recess or lunch. (completing

unfinished work or filling in the Behaviour Improvement Plan)

3. Sent to school office/principal. (may result in detention during recess or lunch)

Breach of rules in the school yard.

1. Verbal reminder of appropriate behaviours and

consequences if the behaviour continues.

2. Will accompany the yard duty teacher.

3. Removed from yard to school office/principal. (may result in detention during recess or lunch)

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Intentional damage must be repaired or replaced.

Accompanying the yard duty teacher may involve

picking up papers.

The Sun Smart Policy is strictly adhered to and the

“no hat, no play” rule is applied in Terms 1 and 4 (from

September to the end of April).

Severe behaviour will result with children being exited from the room or yard immediately.

All breaches of rules that require a consequence will be recorded in a formal program (ie: Grade Expert).

Parents will be notified through either a phone call (priority) or letter if their child has been removed from class or the yard and any incident that warrants parent notification.

Detention should be used when all natural consequential

discipline methods have been exhausted or are not

appropriate.

Students will be supervised at all times.

Detention should only last for half of the student’s lunchtime

or recess.

Students may be asked to complete work that has been

unfinished due to their behaviour and depending on the

student’s age or skill; they may be asked to complete a

Behaviour Reflection Sheet (student improvement plan).

At Tallygaroopna Primary School we work closely with

students in a positive and supportive manner. Staff use

strategies in a staged response, however, in certain

circumstances a suspension or expulsion may be

required. This would be a last resort as identified in the

School Policy and Advisory Guide on the DET Website.

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Complaints Policy – Tallygaroopna PS

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to:

provide an outline of the complaints process at Tallygaroopna Primary School so that parents

and members of the community are informed of how they can raise complaints or concerns

about issues arising at our school

ensure that all complaints regarding Tallygaroopna Primary School are managed in a timely,

effective, fair and respectful manner.

SCOPE

This policy relates to complaints brought by parents, carers, students or members of our school

community and applies to all matters relating to our school. In some limited instances, we may need to

refer the complainant to another Department of Education and Training process where there are

different mechanisms in place to review certain decisions, for example, expulsion appeals.

POLICY

Tallygaroopna Primary School welcomes feedback, both positive and negative, and is committed to

continuous improvement. We value open communication with our families and are committed to

understanding complaints and addressing them appropriately. We recognise that the complaints process

provides an important opportunity for reflection and learning.

We value and encourage open and positive relationships with our school community. We understand

that it is in the best interests of students for there to be a trusting relationship between families and our

school.

When addressing a complaint, it is expected that all parties will:

raise and discuss issues in a courteous and respectful manner

acknowledge that the goal is to achieve an outcome that is in the affected student’s best

interests and acceptable to all parties

act in good faith and respect the privacy and confidentiality of those involved, as appropriate

recognise that all parties, including the broader school community, have rights and

responsibilities that must be balanced

recognise that schools and the Department may be subject to legal constraints on their ability

to act or disclose information in some circumstances.

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Preparation for raising a concern or complaint

Tallygaroopna Primary School encourages parents, carers or members of the community who may wish

to submit a complaint to:

carefully consider the issues you would like to discuss

remember you may not have all the facts relating to the issues that you want to raise

think about how the matter could be resolved

be informed by checking the policies and guidelines set by the Department and Tallygaroopna

Primary School (see “Further Information and Resources” section below).

Complaints process

Tallygaroopna Primary School is always happy to discuss with parents/carers and community members

any concerns that they may have. Concerns in the first instance should be directed to your child’s

teacher or the Principal. Where possible, school staff will work with you to ensure that your concerns

are appropriately addressed.

Where concerns cannot be resolved in this way, parents or community members may wish to make a

formal complaint to the Principal. Families are encouraged to make an initial formal complaint in

writing which can be sent via mail or email directly to the Principal. This will allow for appropriate

documentation to fully understand the issue at hand.

If you would like to make a formal complaint, in most cases, depending on the nature of the complaint

raised, our school will first seek to understand the issues and will then convene a resolution meeting

with the aim of resolving the complaint together. The following process will apply:

1. Complaint received: Please either email, telephone or arrange a meeting through the front

office with the Principal, to outline your complaint so that we can fully understand what the

issues are. We can discuss your complaint in a way that is convenient for you, whether in

writing, in person or over the phone.

2. Information gathering: Depending on the issues raised in the complaint, the Principal may

need to gather further information to properly understand the situation. This process may also

involve speaking to others to obtain details about the situation or the concerns raised.

3. Response: Where possible, a resolution meeting will be arranged with the Principal to discuss

the complaint with the objective of reaching a resolution satisfactory to all parties. If after the

resolution meeting we are unable to resolve the complaint together, we will work with you to

produce a written summary of the complaint in the event you would like to take further action

about it. In some circumstances, the Principal may determine that a resolution meeting would

not appropriate. In this situation, a response to the complaint will be provided in writing.

Note – DET recommends including the above procedures for a resolution meeting to take

place as part of your complaints process. A face-to-face resolution meeting provides the best

opportunity to repair relationships between complainants and the school. Preparing a written

summary of a complaint together with the complainant can be a useful strategy for ensuring

that all parties understand the issues in dispute, and reach an agreement about the most

important issues that need to be addressed further. However, this process is not compulsory

and may be amended to reflect how you would like to manage complaints at your school. You

may prefer, for example, to respond to complaints in writing.

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4. Timelines: Tallygaroopna Primary School will acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon

as possible (usually within 48 hours) and will seek to resolve complaints in a timely manner.

Depending on the complexity of the complaint, Tallygaroopna Primary School may need some

time to gather enough information to fully understand the circumstances of your complaint.

We will endeavour to complete any necessary information gathering and hold a resolution

meeting where appropriate within 10 working days of the complaint being raised. In situations

where further time is required, Tallygaroopna Primary School will consult with you and

discuss any interim solutions to the dispute that can be put in place.

Resolution

Where appropriate, Tallygaroopna Primary School may seek to resolve a complaint by:

an apology or expression of regret

a change of decision

a change of policy, procedure or practice

offering the opportunity for student counselling or other support

other actions consistent with school values that are intended to support the student, parent and

school relationship, engagement, and participation in the school community.

In some circumstances, Tallygaroopna Primary School may also ask you to attend a meeting with an

independent third party, or participate in a mediation with an accredited mediator to assist in the

resolution of the dispute.

Escalation

If a parent or community member is not satisfied that their complaint has been resolved by the school,

or if their complaint is about the Principal, then the complaint should be referred to the North Eastern

Victoria Regional Office by contacting the Community Liaison Officer (Email:

nevr@edumail.vic.gov.au / Phone: 1300 333 231).

Tallygaroopna Primary School may also refer a complaint to the North Eastern Victoria Regional

Office if we believe that we have done all we can to address the complaint.

For more information about the Department’s Parent Complaints policy, including the role of the

Regional Office, please see: Parent complaints policy.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

Tallygaroopna Primary School’s Statement of Values and Communication with School Staff Policies

can be found here - http://www.tally-ps-3067.vic.edu.au/page/168/Policies

DET – Parent Complaints

REVIEW PERIOD

This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s three year review cycle and feedback will be

sought from the School Community.

This policy was endorsed by School Council on Wed 24th October 2018.

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Mediation / Resolution Process – common procedure

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STUDENT ENGAGEMENT PLAN – LOGICAL CONSEQUENCES

SOS LIST – Protocols

SOS should occur for 30 minutes at lunch time, beginning at 1.15pm until 1.45pm. If SOS behaviour occurs at lunch time, then SOS will roll over to the next day. Students will still be removed from the yard after 1.15pm for a time to be decided on by staff on SOS duty. Forms will be sent home and must be signed and returned by teachers, students and parents. If 3 SOS’s occur, leading up to a School Excursion, invitation rights may be removed. In line with our Student Engagement Policy, we should follow the guidelines below. 4 Strikes (warnings) and the consequence is an SOS. Warnings

One strike - warning * Disruption to class activities or play outside * Swearing heard by students

Two strikes – double warning * Direct verbal bullying – name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation or verbal abuse * Direct verbal or indirect bullying behaviours using digital technologies – mobile phones, facebook, snapchat, Instagram…etc. Evidence should be provided. * Unsafe play – climbing high trees, climbing on the cubby, running up slides, student under grade 3 using the high yellow slide.

Four strikes – SOS (no warning) * Swearing – heard by teachers * Fighting – hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching, pushing or damaging property Consequences for inappropriate behaviour in the school yard may involve students sitting out on the steps of the main building, walking around with staff on yard duty or being removed from this area to the Multi-Purpose Room (if available)

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TALLYGAROOPNA PRIMARY SCHOOL

EARLY YEARS: REFLECTION SHEET - DETENTION

NAME: __________________ CLASS: ________DATE:____________

Behaviour that took place:

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

REFLECTION STUDENT COMMENT

Draw what

happened

Circle the face that

shows how you

were thinking.

Happy Sad Angry Scared

Draw others

affected by your

behaviour.

Was your behaviour

fair or unfair?

Fair Unfair

Tell me what you

need to do to make

things better.

“I need to…..

X

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TALLYGAROOPNA PRIMARY SCHOOL

REFLECTION SHEET - DETENTION

NAME____________________ CLASS_______ Date: ____________

Behaviour that took place:

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

REFLECTION STUDENT COMMENT

Tell me what happened?

What were you thinking

and feeling at the time?

Who has been affected

by your behaviour?

How have they been

affected by your

behaviour?

Was your behaviour fair

or unfair?

What could you have

done differently?

What do you need to do

to fix things?

Is there anything else

you would like to say?

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