CASTLEMAINE SECONDARY COLLEGEMENTOR HANDBOOK

2018

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Building Your Tribe

The places where most of us feel love, compassion, hope and connection is in our families, schools and communities. To increase resilience, we need to powerfully connect people with their family, school and community.

Schools aim to cultivate character as well as academic success. The best ones do it by creating an intensely interactive community that applauds success, forgives mistakes and helps people realise their potential.

Andrew Fuller & Andrew Wicking (Building Resilient Communities)

Table of ContentsOBJECTIVES FOR MENTOR GROUP STRUCTURE....................................................................................................................5

MENTOR TEACHER POSITION DESCRIPTION..........................................................................................................................6

Job Purpose.......................................................................................................................................................................6

Objectives..........................................................................................................................................................................6

Key Tasks...........................................................................................................................................................................6

PRECINCT LEAD TEACHER POSITION DESCRIPTION...............................................................................................................7

PRECINCT MANAGER POSITION DESCRIPTION......................................................................................................................8

Attendance Checking Procedures, Roles and Responsibilities...............................................................................................8

Mentor Teacher.................................................................................................................................................................8

Class Teacher.....................................................................................................................................................................9

Instrumental Music Staff.................................................................................................................................................10

Administration Staff.........................................................................................................................................................10

Student Support Staff (Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Guidance Counsellors and Nurse)....................11

Precinct Lead Teacher......................................................................................................................................................12

Principal Class..................................................................................................................................................................12

Instructions for Checking Mentor Attendance on XUNO.................................................................................................13

Absence Note Request Text Message Template (Available through XUNO)....................................................................14

DAILY MENTOR GROUP SESSIONS.......................................................................................................................................15

EXTENDED MENTOR GROUP SESSIONS (EACH WEDNESDAY)..............................................................................................15

2018 Mentor Group Staffing................................................................................................................................................16

SUPPORT PERSONNEL FOR MENTORS AND STUDENTS.......................................................................................................16

Precinct Lead Teacher......................................................................................................................................................16

Guidance Counsellors– Melissa Laragy-Walker and Shera Blaise (Case Manager responsibility)....................................16

Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) – Lisa Cochrane.....................................................................................17

School Nurse – Alli McMillan...........................................................................................................................................17

Careers Advisor – Ian Cook..............................................................................................................................................17

DET Psychologist..............................................................................................................................................................17

External support..............................................................................................................................................................18

COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS AND GUARDIANS.........................................................................................................18

Positive Call......................................................................................................................................................................18

Been Hurt Call..................................................................................................................................................................19

Uniform Call.....................................................................................................................................................................19

Attendance Call................................................................................................................................................................19

SIX TIPS FOR PROVIDING POSITIVE FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS.............................................................................................19

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MENTOR RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN RESPONDING TO SERIOUS INCIDENTS.........................................................................20

Limits to confidentiality...................................................................................................................................................20

Suicidal Threats................................................................................................................................................................20

Self- Harm (at school)......................................................................................................................................................20

Child Abuse (mandatory report) – police matter/ DHS....................................................................................................20

Neglect............................................................................................................................................................................28

Sexual Assault (police matter).........................................................................................................................................28

Sexting/Pornography.......................................................................................................................................................28

Bullying/Peer Issues.........................................................................................................................................................28

Student seems to be low of mood (possibly depressed).................................................................................................28

Work Related Stress/Anxiety...........................................................................................................................................29

Classroom Behaviour.......................................................................................................................................................29

School Refusal..................................................................................................................................................................29

Any Student Transferring or Leaving school....................................................................................................................30

Suspected Drug Use.........................................................................................................................................................30

VCE Special Consideration...............................................................................................................................................30

Wellbeing referral process..........................................................................................................................................32

.....................................................................................................................................................................................32

STAGED LEVELS OF SUPPORT FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR AT CSC.......................................33

Level 0..............................................................................................................................................................................33

Level One Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College.......................34

Level Two Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College.......................35

Level Three Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College.....................36

Level Four Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College.......................37

CASTLEMAINE SECONDARY COLLEGE ANTI-BULLYING AND HARASSMENT POLICY.............................................................39

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................39

Preventative Approaches to Bullying and Harassment at CSC.........................................................................................40

Recommended responses for students when targeted by bullying and harassment......................................................40

College Responses to Reports of Bullying and Harassment.............................................................................................41

What if I’m not satisfied with how a formal complaint has been dealt with or I have a complaint involving a student and staff member?..........................................................................................................................................................42

Advice to bystanders.......................................................................................................................................................42

Specific advice to students and parents about responding to cyber bullying..................................................................42

Advice about bullying and harassment to parents and guardians...................................................................................43

Further information for students, parents and teachers.................................................................................................43

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Bullying and Harassment:............................................................................................................................................43

Youth mental health support including information about bullying:...........................................................................44

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Safety..................................................................................................................................44

Review, evaluation and communication of this policy.....................................................................................................44

UNIFORM CHECKING PROCEDURE......................................................................................................................................45

SELF CARE FOR STAFF..........................................................................................................................................................46

TUESDAY JANUARY 31ST.....................................................................................................................................................48

.................................................................................................................................................................50

INDIVIDUAL STUDENT LEARNING GOALS FOR 2018............................................................................................................50

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENT INPUT OF LEARNING GOALS VIA XUNO...............................................................................52

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OBJECTIVES FOR MENTOR GROUP STRUCTURE

2011 marked the introduction of our new Mentor Group system at Castlemaine Secondary College. This initiative has been a key strategy for pursuing some of the most common objectives identified by staff in Term 3, 2010 when all staff were asked to envision their ideal Castlemaine Secondary College. Among the most important features of an ideal Castlemaine Secondary College were a more personalised and relationship based approach to working with our students. The Mentor Group system aims to provide an important basis from which to pursue this objective.

All CSC students belong to small Mentor Groups consisting of 8-15 students, and these students have daily contact with their Staff Mentor. The objectives for the Mentor Group system include:

To create smaller staff-student ratios in Mentor Groups, thus allowing the Mentors to take a more personalised approach to their work.

To develop stronger emphases on wellbeing and personalised student learning through these smaller Mentor Groups.

To develop a stronger emphasis on the Mentor as being the most significant staff member in each student’s school life.

To create flatter, less hierarchical and more personalised student management structures.

To create an expectation that all staff will serve as student Mentors, which means that developing relationships with students, communicating with parents and taking an interest in students’ wellbeing become central aspects of every teacher’s role.

To create small teams of staff working together to support each other in their roles as Mentors, with each small team being supported by a Leading Teacher or Assistant Principal (Precinct Lead Teacher).

To provide a structure that will assist and complement the more personalised, relationships focused approaches to teaching being implemented by the Teaching and Learning and Transitions and Pathways teams (e.g. Mentors will be well placed to assist with the development and review of Individual Learning Plans and to assist with subject selections for the following year).

To add to the team-based approach to teaching that has been developed in recent years through the Professional Learning Teams.

To reinforce the school’s commitment to Restorative Practices by replacing our previous hierarchical and under resourced student management system which has supported a “power over” approach to student discipline rather than a relationship focused approach to managing students.

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MENTOR TEACHER POSITION DESCRIPTIONCastlemaine Secondary College

Status: Part of teaching allotment

Job Purpose

The Mentor is integral to the positive engagement of students at the College. It is the Mentor’s responsibility to ‘connect’ with the students in his or her Mentor Group. The Mentor should be the adult who knows the student best and is the prime caring adult for that student at school. Mentors should work towards developing harmonious group dynamics, a good work ethic, and an atmosphere of concern and care amongst the students in the Mentor Group (e.g. If a student has a long-term illness, arranging for the class to send card etc.) The Mentor should also encourage pride and a sense of ownership in the homeroom, and encourage interest and discussion about upcoming events and participation in sports, the Student Representative Council (SRC), special events, and projects.

The Mentor should be the primary link between home and school. Establishing the home/school link is vital. Parents need to be aware of your role and be confident about contacting you in the first instance when they have any concerns.

Objectives

Improve student connectedness to peers, to teachers and to the College. Improve students’ wellbeing, engagement and transition from year to year. Improve the College’s ability to respond to each student as a unique individual. Minimize student absenteeism from school. Improve effective communication between school and parents. Ensure high levels of compliance with the College’s uniform and dress policy. Improve student organisational skills.

Key Tasks

1. Lead the Daily Mentor Group sessions, including the extended (30 minute) session each Wednesday.

2. Check daily student attendance and follow up unexplained absences.

3. Communicate persistent and/or unresolved attendance problems to parents and the relevant Precinct Lead

Teacher.

4. Assist with the distribution of information, excursion forms and materials to students.

5. Support students in the development of useful learning strategies, desirable study habits and appropriate

organisational skills. e.g. Punctuality, personal property security, personal tidiness & preparation for class.

6. Encourage students to use a form of organizer and promote its use as an effective organisational tool.

7. Assist students to set learning targets/goals.

8. Monitor and ensure that students wear full school uniform or appropriate clothing for Year 12 students.

9. Follow up with students out of uniform or in inappropriate dress as per Out of Uniform process.

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10. Assist students to adhere with the College’s student Code of Cooperation.

11. Demonstrate interest in the pastoral care and wellbeing of students and arrange appropriate support for students

experiencing difficulty.

12. Publicise and encourage maximum participation in Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences.

13. Support students in being their best and celebrating success.

14. Write End of Semester Mentor’s Report

14. Communicate with parents via XUNO, email, phone or in person and as appropriate.

15. Assist with the development of Career Action Plans and Individual Learning Plans.

16. Support colleagues in managing students via;ABC form (XUNO-incidents) and the staged level of response

document.

17. Mentor teacher is part of the ‘Wellbeing Referral’ process (referral form found in XUNO (bulletin) and Moodle (Staff

Resources).

18. Part of their mentor student’s Student Support Group (SSG) and/or Care Team if these support processes were

found to be necessary for an individual student.

PRECINCT LEAD TEACHER POSITION DESCRIPTIONJob Purpose

The Precinct Lead Teacher is integral to the positive engagement of students at the College. It is the Precinct Lead Teacher’s responsibility to lead a Professional Learning Team (PLT) of staff. They will provide support to individuals and groups of staff in their work with students, families and in developing their craft as classroom and mentor teachers. The Precinct Lead Teacher will communicate with and meet regularly with each teacher in his or her team to support the provision of effective engagement and student learning outcomes.

Key Tasks

1. To build the capacity of Classroom Teacher and support them in implementing Student Learning initiatives through Supporting the development and documentation of a Performance and Development Plan (PDP) for each

member of a PLT. Leading professional learning activities within the PLT Providing individual coaching to support the implementation of PDPs Support teachers to build capacity to implement the teaching strategies that support a “Level Zero” classroom of

the Staged Levels of Response policy

2. To build the capacity of Mentor Teachers and support them in Building the academic success and positive engagement of their mentees through the development of Individual

Learning Plans (ILPs), Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs) and the subject selection process Working with their mentees’ parents/guardians to promote students’ academic success, wellbeing and positive

engagement

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Implementing levels 2 and 3 of the Staged Levels of Response student management policy Implementing the Extended Mentor curriculum to build resilience and promote student wellbeing

3. Other tasks as directed by the Principal.

PRECINCT MANAGER POSITION DESCRIPTION

Allowances: 6 periods per week and $2500 per year

Job Purpose

The Precinct Manager support the Precinct Lead Teacher in the positive engagement of students at the College. It is the Precinct Manager responsibility to support the development of positive relationships and support staff with maintaining consistent behaviour management processes. They will provide support to individuals and groups of staff in their work with students and families.

Key Tasks Develop a positive culture within the precinct (e.g. celebrating the successes of students, co-ordinating assemblies and assisting with care for the precinct’s physical environment)

• Work with Precinct’s Leading Teacher to develop an out-of-class support roster for the Precinct• Support the development of positive relationships within the Precinct• Implement and support staff to follow consistent behaviour management processes• Liaise with mentors and classroom teachers to ensure that parents are kept well informed about any behavioural concerns at school• Support classroom teachers to manage Level 2 and 3 behaviours with a primary focus on using a restorative practices approach• Support staff to develop Individual Learning Plans• Liaise with Leading Teachers, Wellbeing Staff, Assistant Principal and other teachers to help address Level 4 behaviours• Attend case management meetings for students of concern• Ensure that all behaviour concerns and follow-up are well documented on Xuno.

Please note: Consideration is currently being given to changing our learning communities from a precinct structure to a house system. In the event of this occurring the same responsibilities listed above will apply and the House Manager will still assume responsibility for working with a Leading Teacher to lead a similar sized community of staff and students within CSC.

Attendance Checking Procedures, Roles and Responsibilities

Mentor Teacher

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Accurately mark the Mentor Group roll every morning.

Check the Mentor Group’s absence report for the previous day each morning. This is a quick and simple procedure, as shown on page 11.

Unexplained absences must be followed up. This includes:

Seeking absence notes from students and passing them on to the Front Office Staff (Note: the instructions on page 12 explain how Mentors can use XUNO to send a reminder as one way of seeking absence explanations from parents). The Front Office Staff will file absence explanation notes and change the absence reason on XUNO. Mentors may also change absence reasons on XUNO if they have received an absence explanation directly from a parent or guardian themselves (e.g. if a mentor receives a telephone message from a parent or carer explaining an absence, they can then change the unexplained absence on XUNO); however, details of this parent communication must be sent to the Front Office staff for filing.

Following up with parents or carers and students when truancy occurs for more than one class in a day.

Alerting the classroom teacher if a student appears to have truanted from just one specific class. In this case, the classroom teacher must follow-up with the student and parent, but the mentor should check to make sure that the classroom teacher has picked up on the truancy.

Seeking support from the relevant Precinct Lead Teacher, Student wellbeing worker (formerly known as Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain)) or Guidance Counsellor if a pattern of truancy develops (i.e. student truants from the same class more than twice in any term).

Class Teacher

Mark rolls accurately at the start of every lesson and quickly check the previous lesson’s attendance so that you are aware of any students who missed the previous class and that you are satisfied that any absences were legitimate. Note: checking the previous lesson’s attendance is a quick step as shown in instructions on page 11 for checking Mentor Group rolls (the same process can be used to check in class roll).

Mobile Phonesa) Silent and Invisible during all class timesb) Follow the 2018 Mobile Phone policy

Follow-up on students who might have truanted from your previous class.

a) If the student has truanted from multiple classes on the same day, this should be picked up and followed-up by the mentor. Where possible try to confirm with the mentor that this is occurring.

b) If the student only truanted from one class, it is that classroom teacher’s responsibility to follow-up. Such follow-up needs to include:

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Confirming that the reason for the absence was in fact truancy and then recording the absence as “truancy” on the XUNO roll.

Notifying parents or carers in the case of truancy (this should also provide an opportunity to seek information about any underlying reasons for the truancy) and setting catch-up work for the student to complete in the student’s own time. This may include lunchtime or after school detentions.

Seeking support from the Mentor, relevant Precinct Lead Teacher, Guidance Counsellor or Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) if the student truants from your class more than twice in any one term.

At least two weeks before an excursion or incursion you are organising takes place, send an internal XUNO message advising all staff of which students will be participating. The Front Office Staff will then enter this absence information on the students’ XUNO attendance records and teachers will understand how their classes might be affected by the excursion or incursion.

Immediately before departing on an excursion or incursion you have organised, provide the Front Office Staff with an updated list of which students are involved in the excursion.

Instrumental Music Staff

Liaise with the Instrumental Music Co-ordinator to maintain an up-to-date instrumental music lesson timetable on the noticeboards outside the Music Classrooms on each campus.

Remind students that they must look at the timetable regularly to see when their next lesson will occur. (Note: instrumental lesson days and times change every week to ensure that students are rotating through the classes they must leave to attend their instrumental lesson).

Issue every instrumental student with a card at the beginning of the year with spaces for lesson times and teacher signatures on it. Issue replacement cards as required. These cards allow students to leave their classroom, for example science, to attend their 30 minute instrumental lesson.

Ensure students have had their card signed by their classroom teacher prior to attending a music lesson.

Sign card at the end of lesson and remind student to return directly to class and present the card to their teacher.

Administration Staff

Process absence line messages and texts at the start of each day. Enter data from these messages onto XUNO.

Process absence notes passed on by Mentors and enter data onto XUNO (Note: Mentors may also enter this data themselves).

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Send daily text messages to alert parents of unexplained absences at the start of the day.

Process responses to these text messages and enter this information onto XUNO.

Maintain accurate records of absence explanations (e.g. notes relating to text messages, phone messages and actual absence notes).

Maintain the “sign in/out” book at Reception and adjust XUNO rolls accordingly.

Enter attendance data onto XUNO when teachers advise that a group of students will be attending an excursion or incursion. Update this information on the day of the incursion or excursion if any changes occur.

Student Support Staff (Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Guidance Counsellors and Nurse)

If it is essential to meet with students in class time, use XUNO to mark the student as “Other Educational” at the start of your session. In the notes section of XUNO, provide further details about the student’s whereabouts and when they will be returning to class (e.g. “with Guidance Counsellor, will be back in class by 10:30”).

Support Mentors, Precinct Lead Teacheres and Classroom teachers to re-engage students whose attendance is unsatisfactory.

Assist with effective student referrals to health professionals and external wellbeing supports (e.g. Counselling and other CDCH personnel).

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Precinct Lead Teacher

Support Mentors, Wellbeing Staff and classroom teachers with the above. This will include:o Liaising with wellbeing staff, teachers, parents and mentors to develop alternative strategies and

support plans for students who develop patterns of unsatisfactory attendance.o Assisting mentors and teachers to identify “at risk” students and co-ordinating approaches to support

these students.o Ensuring that regular Student Support Group meetings are held for students with unsatisfactory school

attendance.o Assisting with effective student referrals to health professionals and external wellbeing supports.

Principal Class

Support Precinct Lead Teachers, Precinct Managers, Mentors, Classroom Teachers and Student Support Staff with the above.

Ensure accurate and reliable attendance data is available to CSC staff and students.

Ensure the College is compliant with DET attendance requirements.

Ensure that mentors, teachers and attendance officers have the resources to carry out their roles.

The Assistant Principal co-ordinates student referrals to the SSSOs (i.e. DET psychologists, speech pathologists and visiting teachers).

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Instructions for Checking Mentor Attendance on XUNO

1. Click on Attendance link from your XUNO home page

2. Use the drop down menus at the top of the page to select the date and class you wish to check and then the absence report for that day will appear. Attendance for the previous day or lesson can also be easily checked by changing the date (circled in red).

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Absence Note Request Text Message Template (Available through XUNO)

If you have students in your mentor group whose parents have not provided absence explanation messages, a text can be sent via XUNO to remind them of the need to explain their child’s absence. Such a text can be sent to families of multiple students at the same time. Please use the following steps to generate one of these texts:

1. Go to Administration Menu (top).

2. Use Reports/Attendance Student Absences

3. Select date range (ie. this week, this month) or use Custom to select specific dates (ie. if you were doing a previous week or term etc).

4. Select your Mentor Group from second line (Students): Drop down list from All Forms.

5. Click “Show”

6. Report shows students with unexplained absences for that period.

7. Select students to send messages to or click on button next to “Date” to select all.

8. Click on [Send Absence SMS]

9. Select a template: Unexplained Absences SMS

10. Send

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DAILY MENTOR GROUP SESSIONS

The Daily Mentor group meetings take place for the first 10 minutes of each day except for Wednesday. Each Wednesday there is a 30 minute Mentor Group Meeting.

The daily Mentor Group sessions provide opportunities for Mentors and students to communicate with each other regularly. The daily sessions also enable Mentors to perform many of the administrative aspects of their role.

During these daily sessions, Mentors are expected to:

Get to know their students and try to create a sense of belonging in the group. (e.g. learning about each student’s interests through informal discussions; acknowledging students’ birthdays and achievements; planning an annual Mentor Group activity or excursion).

Check with individual students who require extra support.

Mark the roll via XUNO.

Read the daily bulletin notices.

Check school uniform or dress code compliance.

Follow-up any unexplained absences.

Distribute notices to students.

Develop a sense of community within their mentor group, where all members feel safe and supported.

EXTENDED MENTOR GROUP SESSIONS (EACH WEDNESDAY)

The Wednesday meetings provide Mentors with the time to undertake educational activities with their groups. These activities address social, emotional and learning needs relevant to the students’ age group. The resources for these activities will be provided by Alana Wearne (Engagement and Wellbeing Leading Teacher) at least a week prior to the scheduled session. Alana is always keen to receive suggestions and input from all members of staff regarding possible activities and foci for these sessions at each year level.

Occasionally, the Wednesday Mentor Group sessions will also be used for assemblies (see below for more details).

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Ongoing requirements and options: Diary/locker maintenance and use Uniform/dress code Literacy activities Year level/Precinct assemblies as required Attendance follow up Subject progress Environmental responsibility Activity organisation for mentor group or larger group

2018 Mentor Group Staffing

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SUPPORT PERSONNEL FOR MENTORS AND STUDENTS

The following people have important roles in supporting students and Mentors:

Precinct Lead Teacher

Each Leading Teacher and Principal has a responsibility for supporting a team of Mentors in their work. The Precinct Lead Teacher will communicate with and meet regularly with each Mentor in their team. The Staged Levels of Support document published later in this handbook explains in more detail the roles of the Precinct Lead Teacher with regards to student management.

Guidance Counsellors– Melissa Laragy-Walker and Shera Blaise (Case Manager responsibility)

The Guidance Counsellors are available on both campuses between the hours of 8:45AM and 3:00PM five days per week. The Guidance Counsellors play an important role in providing expert support for more complex, time consuming and challenging student wellbeing matters, and are also available to support all staff. Shera will have a ‘Case Manager’ role also. In this role, Shera will manage the students with high level, complex needs; SSG, Care Team Meetings, external support agency coordination and other duties as requested by the Principal.

Students are able to self-refer to the Guidance Counsellor, and all staff members are also able to make student referrals. However, the following processes should assist staff to determine whether a referral to a Guidance Counsellor is appropriate.

Check the “Levels of Staged Support” document later in this handbook to help decide whether a referral is appropriate.

Discuss the appropriateness of the referral with one or more of the following: the student’s Mentor and Precinct Lead Teacher, and/or the Guidance Officer herself.

Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) – Lisa Cochrane

The Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Lisa Cochrane, is full time.

In addition to her experience and expertise as a Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Lisa possesses qualifications in psychology and is currently completing a Masters in Social Work. This combination of skills and qualifications enables Lisa to provide a broad range of wellbeing supports to students, staff and parents. This includes the following:

Providing guidance to students on issues concerning human relationships; Assisting all staff in the provision of student welfare services; Providing support in cases of bereavement, family breakdown or other crisis and loss

situations;

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Being readily available to provide continuity and on-going support for individual students and staff where this is necessary.

Supporting students to explore their spirituality; Providing guidance on religious, values and ethical matters; Facilitating access to the helping agencies in the community, both church-based and

secular.

School Nurse – Alli McMillan

The School Nurse’s role is to reduce risks to young people and promote better health in the school community through health promotion activities and individual health consultations for students.

The School Nurse works two days per week at CSC. The Secondary School Nursing Program is aimed at lower to middle secondary students.

Students are able to refer themselves to the Nurse, and staff are also able to assist in referring students to the School Nurse.

Careers Advisor – Ian Cook

The College’s Careers Advisor is available to provide careers advice to students. Students need to make appointments with Ian. He works at a .6 capacity.

DET Psychologist

CSC is allocated the services of a DET psychologist for a day each week from our District Support Team. This psychologist specializes in educational assessments and is also available to provide professional development to staff. Accessing the services of our DET psychologist can only be managed through a referral process which staff can initiate through the Assistant Principal.

The District School Support Team also plays an important role in helping the school to respond after critical incidents (e.g. debriefing services to staff and students). Please let the Assistant Principal know if you are aware of any critical incidents which might require the support of the District Support Team’s critical response service.

External support

In addition to the College and DET supports outlined above, CSC also works very closely with numerous health and wellbeing services in the community. Members of the Engagement Team are able to help students access these services, which include:

Student counselling appointments and access to other health services through Castlemaine District Community Health (also known as CHIRP).The Guidance Counsellors, School Nurse and Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) can help students to access these appointments.

Youth Mentoring Program. Each year the Mt Alexander Shire and CSC train community members to serve as community mentors for young people. If you are aware of a young person

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who would benefit from adult mentoring, either during or outside school hours, or would like to find out more about the range of skills and experiences existing amongst our current mentors, please check with the Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Guidance Counsellor or Assistant Principal for Engagement.

COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS AND GUARDIANS

With small numbers of students in each group, Mentors are required to get to know the parents of the students in their groups. All parents will be strongly encouraged to attend a meeting with their child’s mentor on January 29. Mentors are also strongly encouraged to make contact with each student’s family at least one more time during the term. Please remember, parents appreciate hearing about their children’s special achievements, so please look out for opportunities to pass on positive news to parents.

Nevertheless, there are times when Mentors will need to call parents to discuss potentially more difficult matters. The “telephone conversation scripts” on the following pages might be useful if you are unsure of how to start a telephone conversation with a parent.

Positive Call

Hello this is ..................... speaking from Castlemaine Secondary College, how are you?

I am calling to make contact and tell you that .............. is doing ok/well/very good (or has completed something of interest) at school.

If you have any future concerns, please do not hesitate to call me. I am his/her Mentor. Please pass on this good comment to .............................

Thank you for your time.

Been Hurt Call

Hello this is ..................... speaking from Castlemaine Secondary College, how are you?

I am calling to let you know there has been an accident at school. Your son/daughter has been injured due to...............................................

She/he is presently having first aid treatment in the office.

(Indicate whether it seems appropriate for the parents to come to school to collect their son or daughter).

Uniform Call

Hello this is ..................... speaking from Castlemaine Secondary College, how are you?

I am calling regarding ...............’s uniform. He/She has been out of uniform for the last .......days. I was wondering if there anything we can do to help you get him/her into uniform?

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Attendance Call

Hello this is ..................... speaking from Castlemaine Secondary College, how are you?

I am calling to let you know that it seems as though ……………….. was absent without explanation from ………. class/es on …………………. .

I was wondering whether you were aware of this absence?

(If you and the parent agree that truancy has occurred) What do you think we need to do stop this from occurring again?

SIX TIPS FOR PROVIDING POSITIVE FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS

1. Make an effort to catch students doing praiseworthy things.

2. Praise must be genuine (students will soon start to mistrust adults who provide empty praise).

3. Positive feedback must be specific – be clear about the specific action, behaviour or achievement you are praising.

4. Provide positive feedback as soon as possible after you have observed the student’s praiseworthy behaviour.

5. Praise should be proportional to what is being is recognized.

6. Try to be sensitive about how the student prefers to be praised. The old saying about “praise is public, criticism is private” holds true for most students, but some people respond more favourably to private praise.

NOTE: The XUNO Database used by the College for recording Student Misdemeanours is also an excellent way to record student achievements. Mentors are encouraged to use XUNO to record significant student achievements.

MENTOR RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN RESPONDING TO SERIOUS INCIDENTS

There will be occasions when mentors and classroom teachers are the first people to become aware of potentially serious matters involving students. Although specialized supports are available to assist students when these matters arise, the mentor or classroom teacher also has an important role to play through his or her initial responses to what has occurred. The following information provides an outline of crucial information for mentors and classroom teachers.20

Limits to confidentiality

It is important that students feel as though they can trust their teachers and mentors, and that personal information about students is always handled sensitively by staff. However, there will be times when staff become aware of matters involving potentially serious harm to a student or other people. On these occasions, confidentiality cannot be maintained.

- Never promise to keep a secret .- Explain why you must pass on this information when it is necessary to do so.- Inform the student that the incident is beyond your expertise.

Suicidal Threats

- Refer to Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), School Nurse, Assistant Principal or Principal immediately.

- Escort student directly to one of the above people.- Do not leave student unsupervised.

Self- Harm (at school)

- Refer to Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Guidance Counsellor, School Nurse, Assistant Principal or Principal.

- Do not leave student unsupervised

Child Abuse (mandatory report) – police matter/ DHS

All teachers are legally mandated to report any concerns of child abuse. Full details of teachers’ mandatory reporting obligations can be found at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/safety/pages/childprotection.aspx#link61

Child Safe Standards - Ministerial order 870 came into effect in August 2016 with the aim to manage the risk of child abuse within schools. There are seven standards by which schools must be compliant with. The standards include the following:

1. Strategies to embed an organizational culture of safety2. A child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety3. A child safety code of conduct4. Screening, supervision, training and other human resources practices that reduce the risk of

child abuse5. Procedures for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse6. Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse7. Strategies to promote child participation and empowerment

This link provides detailed information about the child safe standards http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/protect/Pages/childsafestandards.aspx#4

The following statement of commitment and code of conduct have been ratified by school council:

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Castlemaine Secondary College Child Safe Statement of CommitmentCastlemaine Secondary College is committed to safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making. Castlemaine Secondary has zero tolerance for child abuse. Castlemaine Secondary is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention will be paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.Every person involved in Castlemaine Secondary has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role he/she plays individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.In its planning, decision-making and operations Castlemaine Secondary will

1. Take a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety;2. Value and empower children to participate in decisions which affect their lives;3. Foster a culture of openness that supports all persons to safely disclose risks of

harm to children4. Respect diversity in cultures and child rearing practices while keeping child

safety paramount;5. Provide written guidance on appropriate conduct and behaviour towards

children;6. Engage only the most suitable people to work with children and have high

quality staff and volunteer supervision and professional development;7. Ensure children know who to talk with if they are worried or are feeling unsafe,

and that they are comfortable and encouraged to raise such issues;8. Report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate

authorities;9. Share information appropriately and lawfully with other organisations where the

safety and wellbeing of children is at risk; and10. Value the input of and communicate regularly with families and carers.

Child SafetyCode of ConductNovember 2016

Castlemaine Secondary College is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our school community recognises the importance of, and a responsibility for, ensuring our school is a safe, supportive and enriching environment which respects and

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fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development.

This Code of Conduct aims to protect children and reduce any opportunities for child abuse or harm to occur. It also assists in understanding how to avoid or better manage risky behaviours and situations. It is intended to complement child protection legislation, Department policy, school policies and procedures and professional standards, codes or ethics as these apply to staff and other personnel.

The Principal and school leaders of Castlemaine Secondary College will support implementation and monitoring of the Code of Conduct, and will plan, implement and monitor arrangements to provide inclusive, safe and orderly schools and other learning environments. The Principal and school leaders of Castlemaine Secondary College will also provide information and support to enable the Code of Conduct to operate effectively.

All staff, contractors, volunteers and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work are required to comply with the Code of Conduct by observing expectations for appropriate behaviour below. The Code of Conduct applies in all school situations, including school camps and in the use of digital technology and social media.Acceptable behavioursAs staff, volunteers, contractors, and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work individually, we are responsible for supporting and promoting the safety of children by:

upholding the school’s statement of commitment to child safety at all times treating students and families in the school community with respect both within the

school environment and outside the school environment as part of normal social and community activities.

listening and responding to the views and concerns of students, particularly if they are telling you that they or another child has been abused or that they are worried about their safety/the safety of another child

promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

promoting the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of students with culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds

promoting the safety, participation and empowerment of students with a disability reporting any allegations of child abuse or other child safety concerns to the school’s

leadership

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understanding and complying with all reporting or disclosure obligations (including mandatory reporting) as they relate to protecting children from harm or abuse.

if child abuse is suspected, ensuring as quickly as possible that the student(s) are safe and protected from harm.

Unacceptable behavioursAs staff, volunteers, contractors, and any other member of the school community involved in child-related work we must not:

ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse develop a relationship with any student that could be seen as favouritism or amount

to ‘grooming’ behaviour (for example, offering gifts) exhibit behaviours or engage in activities with students which may be interpreted as

abusive and not justified by the educational, therapeutic, or service delivery context ignore behaviours by other adults towards students when they appear to be overly

familiar or inappropriate discuss content of an intimate nature or use sexual innuendo with students, except

where it occurs relevantly in the context of parental guidance, delivering the education curriculum or a therapeutic setting

treat a child unfavourably because of their disability, age, gender, race, culture, vulnerability, sexuality or ethnicity.

communicate directly with a student through personal or private contact channels (including by social media, email, instant messaging, texting etc) except where that communication is reasonable in all the circumstances, related to school work or extra-curricular activities or where there is a safety concern or other urgent matter

photograph or video a child in a school environment except in accordance with school policy or where required for duty of care purposes1

in the school environment or at other school events where students are present, consume alcohol contrary to school policy 2 or take illicit drugs under any circumstances.

This Code of Conduct was endorsed/approved by the Castlemaine Secondary College school council on November 9 for review if legislative or other changes require in the interim or no later than December 2018. 1 SPAG: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/safety/pages/photoandfilm.aspx . The policy says the school should get consent before taking and publishing photos of a student. This applies every time a photo is taken. The same policy applies for excursions and school activities.2 SPAG: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/safety/pages/alcohol.aspx . The policy says the school must obtain school council approval before alcohol can be consumed on school grounds or at a school activity. The policy says staff members should not consume alcohol during camps and excursions. It is silent on whether they can consume alcohol at other school events where students are present, this is a matter that the school needs to decide upon – draft text is provided in the guidance fact sheet

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The following diagram also outlines how and why a mandatory report might be made:

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Link to standard 5 (above) here: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/protect/ChildSafeStandard5_SchoolsGuide.pdf

Please follow this link to update Mandatory reporting and other obligations training: http://www.elearn.com.au/det/protectingchildren/

At CSC, the Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) and Principal Class would prefer to make mandatory reports on behalf of teachers. However, teachers must be satisfied that the report has been made in a timely manner since the teacher has a legal obligation to either make the report themselves or ensure that it has been done.

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- Report any suspected abuse to the Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Assistant Principal or Principal immediately.- If risk is still present, you must act immediately, no delay

Neglect

- Indicators of neglect include: poor hygiene, poor-fitting clothes, no food, never goes on school excursions, marks, cuts, bruises, grime or incorrect school equipment

- Refer in a timely manner to the Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), School Nurse or Precinct Lead Teacher.

Sexual Assault (police matter)

- Inform Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Assistant Principal or Principal (immediately if assault occurred at the school that day). These people will in turn be required to contact the police immediately.

- Do not question accused.- Only get enough information to establish the basics of the incident.- Family based assault must be dealt with before the child leaves at end of day.

Sexting/Pornography

- Report to Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), School Nurse, Assistant Principal or Principal immediately. May be a police matter.

Bullying/Peer Issues

- Refer to the School’s updated Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy at the end of this booklet (electronic version on CSC Website).- Students must be given the option of making a formal complaint.

Student seems to be low of mood (possibly depressed)

Discuss with student, tell them you are worried about them and you feel you either need to discuss it with their guardian or they can speak to a member of the welfare team

Offer them the choice of Guidance Counsellor, School Nurse, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Precinct Lead Teacheres.

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Work Related Stress/Anxiety

- Discuss work load.- Offer Support.- Discuss options for tutoring, extra classes.- Stress management tools (discuss with Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or School Nurse)- Relaxation/ study tools (discuss with Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or School Nurse)

If it seems the student is overwhelmed consult Welfare Team for extra support

Classroom Behaviour

- Check Levels of Staged Support document (later in this booklet)- If on- going, discuss with parent after discussion with Precinct Lead Teacher.- Seek advice or support from: Precinct Lead Teacheres, Guidance Counsellor or Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain).- Design Individual Behaviour Contract in consultation with all involved parties.- Strategies in contract could include :

Time Out Card Use of time out room Exclusion from yard Discussion with Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Guidance Counsellor.

If a student is suspended for conflict with staff or peer then a suspension re-entry meeting should be arranged to ensure all involved parties can resume learning positively

School Refusal

Any student who is absent for more than a week or only attends irregularly over four weeks should have parent contact from the Mentor to enquire about reasons for the extended or frequent absences. The Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Guidance Counsellor may need to investigate. Any student with multiple sick bay visits, or ringing home to be picked up frequently should be referred to the Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Guidance Counsellor.

Common reasons for poor attendance include:- Anxiety/ stress- Caring for siblings or parent

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- Peer conflict- Poor academic performance- Depression- Not feeling safe at school- Difficult transition from primary to Year 7- Difficult transition from Year 9 to Year 10

Any Student Transferring or Leaving school

If a mentor becomes aware a student is leaving school, please contact parent to enquire:- Is it a school based issue?- Friendships/ Bullying/subject choice?- Can it be resolved?- Are the reasons for leaving based in fact?

A meeting can be arranged that may include:- Mentor- Precinct Lead Teacher- Guidance Counsellor - Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain)- Assistant Principal- Careers Advisor.

Suspected Drug Use

- Refer immediately to Precinct Lead Teacher, Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), School Nurse or Assistant Principal if there is any belief that the student is affected by drugs at school.

- Discuss longer term support with School Nurse.- Referral to Drug Counselling can be arranged with assistance of School Nurse, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Guidance

Counsellor.

VCE Special Consideration

Special Consideration is available for students undergoing serious medical or mental health issues during VCE. Please refer to David Watson (Precinct Lead Teacher – VCE) for assistance with this process. If it is deemed appropriate to submit an application for Special Consideration,

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David Watson will co-ordinate this process, which will require the student and his or her family documenting time missed and a obtaining a letter of support from their GP, or other relevant health professional. Any serious family issue should be discussed with the wellbeing team to establish if we can assist.

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Wellbeing referral process

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The most up-to-date and active referral form can be found on CSC Moodle/Staff/Staff Processes /Wellbeing Processes (http://8824-moodle.csc.vic.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=2557)

Behaviour Descriptor(These are general descriptions of the types of behaviour that students may exhibit. They are not exhaustive or comprehensive. “The Developmental Management Approach to Classroom Behaviour” by Ramon Lewis, ACER press, is a supportive reference.)

Who manages the behaviour and level of support?

Behaviour Intervention StrategiesStaged Response by Teacher, Mentor, Precinct Lead Teacher and Principal(Intervention should be based on a “Restorative Practice Model” that allows students the opportunity to consider the impact of their actions, have consequences applied that are appropriate, re-engage them in their work and restore their place in the College Community.)NOTE-All interventions in Response to Levels 2, 3 and 4 behaviours should be recorded on XUNO.

Level 0Students are:

Completing their work and engaged.

Feeling safe and secure in the classroom.

Demonstrating respect for the rights of other students to learn and the right of the teacher to teach.

Classroom Teacher Year Level Charters are routinely discussed and reflected upon at least a few times each term (not just when “things go wrong”).

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are displayed and discussed at the start of each class.

Teacher is always working to establish positive relationships with students and their parents.

Teacher finds ways to provide genuine positive feedback to students (see “Six Principles for Providing Positive Feedback to Students” later in this Handbook).

All students are provided with work which is appropriate to their level of ability. Work is modified to accommodate students’ abilities.

Classes are well prepared. Plans have been made for possible minor interruptions (e.g. students not having necessary equipment).

Teacher uses calm and respectful language.

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STAGED LEVELS OF SUPPORT FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR AT CSC

Level 0

Behaviour Descriptor Who manages the behaviour and level of support?

Behaviour Intervention Strategies

Level 1These are usually “one off” incidents that occur in the classroom (or in the yard) and should be dealt with immediately by the classroom teacher or yard duty teacher. They often cause minor disruption to the student’s or other students’ learning and may result from disengagement with the lesson or activity.

Classroom Teacher Action should be quick and not significantly disrupt the flow of the lesson.

Use non-verbal cues to redirect students

The teacher quickly makes it clear to student what they have done or are doing and what the impact of this is.

The consequence(if required) may include: being spoken to after class by the teacher to clarify class expectations,

being moved to another part of the room,

demonstrating an understanding of the impact of the misbehaviour and delivering an apology.

making a genuine commitment around a change in behaviour for the future

yard duty, room tidy up, brief detention or other immediately applied appropriate consequence appropriate to the behaviour.

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Level One Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College

Behaviour Descriptor Who manages the behaviour and level of support?

Behaviour Intervention Strategies

Level 2These fall into two general categories

1. Repeated low level behaviour that has been addressed with the student but has shown little if any improvement.

2. Less frequent behaviour that is nevertheless significantly disruptive to the learning of others or is deliberate and is sometimes vindictive. This behaviour often challenges the teacher’s capacity to teach the rest of the group effectively. (Note: More frequent behaviour of this nature would be classified as Level 3 behaviour).

Classroom Teacher

Teacher might consult Mentor for input and advice. Even if the direct support of the Mentor is not required, it is important that the Mentor is kept informed about any Level Two concerns being dealt with by classroom teachers.

The Classroom Teacher (with the support of the Mentor and/or Precinct Lead Teacher) should engage parents in discussions regarding solutions and consequences.

Parents contacted by classroom teacher and record of incident and parent contact noted on XUNO. Classroom teacher makes parents aware of what is occurring and what strategies have been put in place.

Check with Precinct Lead Teacher and/or other teachers of this student to determine whether there is a pattern to this behavior (e.g. is it occurring in other classes?) and if so, whether there are other successful strategies that have been employed.

Student should be engaged in restorative conversations regarding his or her behaviour and its consequences (for them and others).

The student may be withdrawn from class for a brief period of time to facilitate a conversation about his or her behaviour and/or put in place a strategy/plan/commitment for a return to class.

Student may need to make up “lost learning time”.

The student may need to undertake some actions that demonstrate his or her commitment to accepting responsibility for what has occurred. This may include detention, yard duty, class clean up, removal of some school privileges etc.

The student may need to be monitored for some period of time to prove that he or she has made a genuine commitment to change. This may be by all or some classroom teachers or the Mentor. This should be reported back to the student and the parent.

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Level Two Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College

Behaviour Descriptor Who co-ordinates the behaviour and level of support?

Behaviour Intervention Strategies

Level 3This behaviour is characterised by

1. A significant lack of respect for self and the rights of others to learn in a collaborative environment. It is often repeated and escalates when confronted. Students in this category may be “abusive” toward other students or to the teacher managing the class or the situation.

2. An understanding of what is “right and wrong” but an (often repeated) unwillingness to comply with request around the negative behaviour.

3. Aggressive, threatening or violent behaviour (including repeated or escalating bullying including “cyber bullying”) that displays little respect for the rights and safety of others in the school community.

4. Actions that show little respect for the rights of others including their possessions.

5. Behaviour by students that has not responded to other interventions.

6. Chronic or high level disengagement or lack of attendance at school that has not responded

Precinct Lead Teacher

Mentor provides information to the Precinct Lead Teacher who will co-ordinate appropriate responses (see next column). The Assistant Principals will be available to support the Precinct Lead Teacher.Parents should always be contacted and engaged in the solutions and/or consequences for these actions.A “referral” may be made to enlist additional support from the Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Guidance Counsellor, DET psychologist, Careers Advisor, or other personnel external to the College.

Precinct Lead Teacher ensures information about strategies implemented is recorded and reported

Parents must be contacted and a formal meeting put in place to address strategies and consequences as result of the behaviour. The Precinct Lead Teacher will decide with the Mentor about the appropriateness of their attendance. An Assistant Principal may also be involved. Precinct Lead Teacher ensures that the incident/s and parent contact are recorded on XUNO.

Where there is an act of violent or aggressive behaviour a student may immediately need to be sent home following contact with parents.

A formal suspension from school may be appropriate following this.

Students should be provided with the opportunity to “put things right” using the “restorative practice model” both in their relationships and with the school.

The Guidance Counsellor or Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) should be involved to establish a supportive relationship with the parents and the student that assists them to identify and reduce barriers that are preventing success at school.

A formal Learning Plan and/or Behaviour Management plan should be established (and reviewed regularly) that provides a support structure and includes a framework for the student’s short and medium term education. The Careers Advisor may be involved in this. The Precinct Lead Teacher will co-ordinate this process.

A student’s timetable, teachers or class may be modified to support the student to achieve better success at school. The Precinct Lead Teacher will co-ordinate this process.

Where appropriate, an internal or external support will be provided, which might include counselling or anger management (or other program)that supports the student to achieve success at school.

Alternative programs such as a Doxa School placement may be considered as an option through the referral processes established in the College.

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Level Three Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College

to other interventions. back to mentor, classroom teachers and any other relevant staff.

A student may have significant school privileges revoked including excursions, participation in sporting and other College teams, camps and school functions such as socials, the “formal” or other events.

Behaviour Descriptor Who co-ordinates the behaviour and level of support?

Behaviour Intervention Strategies

Level 4This behaviour is

1. Repeated behaviour that has not responded to any of the behaviour intervention strategies (listed above in Levels 1, 2 or 3) and continues to significantly disrupt the learning of others or the student involved.

2. High level threatening, violent or aggressive behaviour that is directed toward an individual (including staff).

3. Behaviour that encourages or supports other students in undertaking activities that show significant disrespect to the College Community. This includes behaviour that is

Assistant Principal or Principal

The Mentor will provide support information to the Precinct Lead Teacher who will work with one of the Assistant Principals or Principal and the student and their parents. The processes in the next column will be co-ordinated by an Assistant Principal or Principal.

Co-ordinating Principal ensures information about strategies implemented is recorded and reported back to Precinct Lead Teacher, mentor, classroom teachers and any other relevant

The Precinct Lead Teacher and the Assistant Principal (or Principal) will work together through this process with support from the Mentor. They will meet formally with parents and following “The School Engagement Guidelines” there may be need for other parties to be involved.

A formal suspension should be put in place.

Appropriate support staff should be involved dependent on the nature of the incident.

Consideration should be made of the student’s history at the College and his or her success in working with the school community. (This should include any plans that have been implemented prior).

Alternative school programs may be considered as an appropriate short/medium term option whilst a full assessment of the student’s individual situation is undertaken.

A representative from DET Regional Office may need to be involved to consider future school options for the student. This may include exclusion from school, other schooling or education options.

If the student is to resume at school there should be a formal Behaviour Management Plan and Individual Learning Plan (ILP) developed to set a clear framework of expectations for their behaviour and educational success at school. The Precinct Lead Teacher will monitor this plan.

NOTE-In certain circumstances it may be appropriate for the College to involve Police or other services dependent on the nature of the incident or the behaviour involved. The

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Level Four Support for Student Engagement and Positive Behaviour at Castlemaine Secondary College

considered to be unlawful. staff. College Administration should be informed prior to this occurring.

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CASTLEMAINE SECONDARY COLLEGE ANTI-BULLYING AND HARASSMENT POLICY

Introduction

Bullying and harassment will not be tolerated at Castlemaine Secondary College. Bullying and harassment occur when one or more people abuse the power that they have to hurt, embarrass or humiliate others. This hurtful behaviour is usually, but necessarily, repeated over time.

When a person is bullied or harassed, they can be negatively affected by:

feelings of anger, embarrassment, loss of self-confidence or humiliation not wanting to come to school becoming depressed experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide

Examples of behaviours that could constitute bullying and harassment are:

threatening a person; working with a gang or group in order to frighten, embarrass or humiliate a person; hitting, punching, pushing or employing other unwanted aggressive physical contact against another person; hiding or destroying a person’s property; making rude or unpleasant notes or drawings about another person; name calling or other put downs; racially offensive insults; deliberate and hurtful exclusion of others from groups; spreading rumours about another person or their family; “cyber” bullying (using Facebook, other social networking services, email, text messages etc to bully or harass).

Examples of what could constitute sexual harassment are:

unwanted touching or brushing up against another person; calling another person rude names or making sexually suggestive comments or gestures; commenting on the size or shape of another’s body; sexually oriented comments; comments about another’s sexual preference or alleged sexual behaviours; displaying or passing on sexually graphic material.

Although much of this policy focuses on bullying and harassment that exists between students, it is acknowledged that bullying and harassment sometimes occurs between staff and students. There is advice later in this policy about processes for reporting examples of bullying and harassment between staff and students.

Preventative Approaches to Bullying and Harassment at CSC

The primary preventative approaches the College takes to minimize bullying and harassment are to:

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Create an environment where students are actively involved in a wide range of positive classroom and co-curricular activities which require students to work co-operatively and solve problems together.

Insist that all staff members model respectful behaviours and positive strategies for resolving any conflicts that occur.

The College also strives to minimise bullying and harassment by developing students’:

(1) Knowledge about bullying, its effects and how to respond as a victim or bystander to bullying

(2) Positive Attitudes e.g. being unprejudiced, empathetic and self-accepting

(3) Skills e.g. assertiveness and conflict resolution abilities

Examples of how this preventative education is achieved are: reminders to staff, students and parents about the contents of this policy every term; guest speakers and drama performances; activities in the weekly extended Mentor Group sessions; targeted small group programs (e.g. “Go Boys, Go”, “Go Girls, Go” and “Respect Yourself”); and exploration of themes such as prejudice and empathy in various other parts of the curriculum (e.g. English, Humanities and History).

Other ways that the College aims to prevent or minimize harassment at CSC include:

Ongoing professional development for staff (e.g. since 2010, many CSC staff have attended anti-bullying professional development delivered by Solving the Jigsaw and Mind Matters, as well as training in Restorative Justice).

An annual Student Bullying Survey which helps staff to understand and act upon information such as the areas of the school students feel most unsafe and the names of specific students who are repeatedly being reported as bullying others.

Provision of a Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) and Guidance Counsellor during school hours five days per week.

Accreditation as a Mind Matters (www.mindmatters.edu.au) and working towards accreditation as an eSmart (www.esmartschools.org.au) school.

Recommended responses for students when targeted by bullying and harassment

Depending on the circumstances of the bullying or harassment that has occurred, the following strategies can be helpful. However, it is not suggested that you have to follow these strategies in order (e.g. often it might be appropriate to go straight to Strategy D). Any of these four strategies can be used as a starting point for addressing the problem.

A. Try to ignore the problem – sometimes low-level bullying will stop if it is ignored. However, this approach is not recommended if: (a) the target of the bullying is particularly humiliated, upset or hurt; or (b) this tactic has been tried for some time, but the bullying has continued.

B. Stick up for yourself assertively. Tell the offender firmly but respectfully that their actions are unwanted and you expect them to stop.

C. Discuss the problem with your parent, guardian or another trusted adult.

C. Approach a teacher or other staff member that you trust. This may be your Mentor Teacher, another teacher, School Nurse, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Guidance Counsellor. The staff member will not talk to others about your problem or take any action without your permission (except in the case of child abuse or if they believe you are at serious risk of harm), although you will be given the option to lodge a formal bullying complaint. With your permission

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the staff member will enlist the support of a Leading Teacher, Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Assistant Principal to:

Speak with the accused person or people and investigate what has occurred. Take action to try to stop the bullying happening again and to repair any harm that has been done. Continue to monitor the situation to check whether the action taken has worked.

College Responses to Reports of Bullying and Harassment

Although there might be occasions when low-level examples of bullying and harassment can be addressed relatively quickly and informally by staff, those who report bullying must always be given the option of making a formal complaint. Reports of bullying and harassment must not be “fobbed off” by staff members who receive such complaints.

The process for dealing with formal complaints of bullying and harassment are as follows:

(1) The staff member receiving the complaint must make a written record of the report, or seek the support of the Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), a Leading Teacher, an Assistant Principal or Principal to do so. The written record needs to contain specific details of what has occurred, where and when it occurred, who was involved and who witnessed what occurred.

(2) The written complaint must he passed on to the Guidance Counsellor, Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), a Leading Teacher, an Assistant Principal or the Principal, who will interview other people involved and witnesses. Such interviews must be conducted fairly and with an open mind.

(3) If bullying or harassment is deemed to have occurred, the investigating staff member must take action to address the problem. The action that the investigating staff member takes will depend on the circumstances and severity of the bullying that has occurred. Follow-up actions may include:

Cautioning those involved Restorative conferences or mediation Counselling for those involved Disciplinary measures including detentions and suspensions

(4) Specific arrangements for following up regularly with the victim and perpetrator must be made and documented.

(4) The parents of the victim and perpetrator/s will be contacted unless there are exceptional circumstances approved by an Assistant Principal or the Principal for not doing so. (5) The notes and follow-up actions relating to all formal bullying complaints must be forwarded to the Assistant Principal – Student Engagement and Wellbeing.

What if I’m not satisfied with how a formal complaint has been dealt with or I have a complaint involving a student and staff member?

If parents or students are not satisfied with how a formal complaint of bullying or harassment has been dealt with, they are urged to raise this concern with the Principal or one of the Assistant Principals, who must review the follow-up that has occurred.

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If students wish to lodge complaints of bullying by staff, or staff wish to lodge complaints of bullying by students, they should also report their concerns directly to the Principal or an Assistant Principal.

If any student, parent of staff member wishes to make a complaint of bullying or harassment by the Principal, or has concerns about the manner in which the Principal has handled a bullying complaint, they are encouraged to contact the DET Regional Office in Bendigo to discuss their concern.

Advice to bystanders

Research about bullying tells us that (a) bullying almost always occurs in front of other student bystanders, and (b) the actions of these bystanders can have a very powerful influence on whether the bullying stops or gets worse.

Most students feel uncomfortable about witnessing bullying. Specific ways that bystanders are encouraged to respond when bullying occurs are:

1. Not join in or offer any form of encouragement to the bullies – being seen to offer any form of encouragement for the bullying behaviour will make the situation much worse for the target of the bullying.

2. Directly support the victim – e.g. assertively tell the bullies to stop or offer comfort to the victim.

3. Report and seek help from a staff member.

Specific advice to students and parents about responding to cyber bullying

Cyber-bullying is a particularly hurtful form of bullying because it can occur anywhere and at anytime. Offensive forms of electronic communication are able to be viewed and passed on to a wide audience of people. This material can also be later used against those who have produced or sent it (e.g. by the police or by future employees who might use your electronic trail to make judgements about you).

Those people who experience cyber-bullying are urged to:

1. Not respond to the offensive material.

2. Keep a copy of what has been sent.

3. Block the sender from making any further contact with you.

4. Report what has occurred to one or more of the following: (a) the administrators of the electronic space where the bullying has occurred (e.g. report abuse to Facebook); (b) the Police (if the messages are particularly threatening or sexually explicit); (c) a trusted adult; (d) the Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) or Guidance Counsellor.

Advice about bullying and harassment to parents and guardians

CSC values our relationship with the parents and guardians of our students. Specifically, we welcome suggestions about making the College a safer place for our students, as well as feedback about particular incidents of bullying. Through this policy, the web links at the end of the policy and various parent information evenings that we run, we aim to provide parents with detailed information about bullying.

Parents who wish to discuss specific bullying concerns with the College are encouraged to follow the advice (below) provided by one of Australia’s foremost experts about bullying in schools - Ken Rigby (Children and Bullying, How Parents and Educators Can Reduce Bullying at School):

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Make an appointment to discuss the concern – specific people who can assist are: the Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), Guidance Counsellor, the student’s Mentor Teacher, or one of the Assistant Principals.

Gather the facts about what you believe has taken place – Calmly present this information to the College and listen to any further information which might be presented during your meeting (quite often, each of the adults in a meeting such as this will only have part of the picture each).

Be firm, but refrain from angry threats or denouncing the school – Often the College will be unaware of what has occurred. Working together calmly to address the problem is essential.

Recognize that the school may need time to investigate and respond to what has occurred – Negotiate a reasonable timeline for action with the College.

Be prepared to work with the College to address the problem in a way that is consistent with this policy.

Make sure that you develop with the school representative a clear understanding of how and when you will be informed of the follow-up that has occurred and how the situation will be monitored afterwards.

Let the College know if there is any further harassment after action has been taken.

Further information for students, parents and teachers

The following websites are highly recommended:

Bullying and Harassment:

Bullying – No Way! (www.bullyingnoway.com.au) Plenty of useful information and fun resources for young people and adults can be found on this site.

Evelyn Field’s site (www.bullying.com.au) This site contains valuable information for parents, teachers and students.

Youth mental health support including information about bullying:

Kid’s Help Line website (www.kidshelpline.com.au)This site provides information about the Kids’ Help Line free 24 hour telephone and online counselling service. Other useful information can also accessed through this site, including an informative Bullying Fact sheet and strategies to help children and parents deal with bullying.

Beyond Blue website (www.beyondblue.org.au)This site provides contact details and professional advice for people who feel as though they may be suffering from depression.

The Reachout Foundation’s site (www.reachout.com.au) An excellent site which provides advice about a range of youth related issues including bullying.

Cyber Bullying and Cyber Safety

Cybersmart Online (www.cybersmart.gov.au)A great site with plenty of fun links for young people, as well as a section for parents and teachers.

eSmart (www.esmartschools.org.au)

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The College is currently undergoing the accreditation process for becoming an eSmart school. The eSmart website contains information for schools, parents and students.

Kidsmart (www.kidsmart.org.uk) This is an award winning website providing practical advice about internet safety. Specific sections for students, teachers and parents are included on this site.

Review, evaluation and communication of this policy

This policy will be shared and/or discussed with students once each term.

This policy will be next reviewed in 2017-2018. 2017 has seen the re-instating of the Behaviour Action Team (BAT) who are collaborating with staff in developing of clear behaviour management policy/process for all members of the CSC community.

Feedback about this policy is still welcome before the time of the official review. Feedback should be delivered to the Assistant Principal.

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UNIFORM CHECKING PROCEDURE

1. Checking Uniform: Mentors to check uniform during morning Mentor Group Session.

2. Issuing Green Slips and recording details: All students out of uniform to be issued with a Green Slip* and to be sent to General Office to see if a replacement item of uniform can be issued for the day.

* Green Slips are available from the General Office.

3. Consequences for students who are consistently out of uniform or out of uniform without a parental note: Depending on the circumstances for the student being out of uniform, the types of follow-up actions that can be implemented are:

Student sent to General Office for spare item of uniform (this is also reasonable for students who are out of uniform with a note).

Discussion with student – asked to rectify problem and report back in full uniform tomorrow.

Request for a standard letter to be sent home via General Office. (Note: This works for most students, but if the student has already received several of these letters, then another strategy is probably needed).

Mentor to phone home to discuss the situation and seek assistance from parents to help fix the problem.

If a parent is experiencing financial difficulty, family assistance is available and the mentor should inform the College Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain), who will contact the parent to arrange the purchase of uniform.

Lunch time detention or yard duty.

NOTE: If students are found to be out of uniform and without a Green Slip after the Morning Mentor Group session, they should be sent to the General Office to be issued with a Green Slip and, if possible, to be given a spare item of uniform for the day.

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SELF CARE FOR STAFF

Providing effective pastoral care and promoting positive mental health is not just about our students. To best serve our students, we also need to look after ourselves, which isn’t always easy when the work that we do can be complex and stressful.

The Staff Matters Professional Development provided for all staff in 2011 and the Headspace professional development undertaken in 2014 delivered excellent advice about self-care for all staff. Much of the information covered in these sessions, as well as other valuable resources, can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/management/pages/emergenciesstaff.aspx

All CSC staff members are also reminded that the services of the College’s Guidance Counsellor and Student Wellbeing worker (formerly Chaplain) are available to them.

The DET Employee Assistance Program (Phone 1800 337 068) is a further source of support to all DET employees. This program enables DET employees to access short term solution focused confidential counselling services consisting of up to four sessions for any work related or personal issue for individuals.

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PARENT / STUDENT / MENTOR MEETINGS – TUESDAY JANUARY 31ST

Venues:

Large learning space (Wellbeing Building)Large learning space (Engineers Building)

Moodle and Xuno information and help desk presentations in the LibraryPhotos Lawson Hall.

20 minutes per interview

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Format for interview:

1. Introduce self and explain role and purpose of Mentor (5 min)

a. Explain to parents how you can be best contactedb. Explain that teachers will be using email, Xuno and Moodle to improve our contact with

home and ensure that prompt communication is established when students fall behind in work or are at risk in their subjects and request an email address from the parent.

c. Ask parents if they have any preferences about when and how they would like to be contacted.

d. Explain other support personnel at the College (pages 12-13 of Mentor Handbook).

2. Discuss student’s learning goals and needs for 2017 (10 min)

a. This discussion should be based on the Individual Student Learning Goals and Objectives sheet (see next two pages of this Handbook), copies of which will be available for each mentor the day before the interviews and have also been emailed home to students. After discussing these goals at the mentor interviews, the student should use his or her XUNO portal to record the final copy of this information as a homework task within the first week of term (see instructions on page 41).

b. Inform parents that these goals will be referred to in end-of-semester reports and parent teacher interviews.

3. Administrative tasks (5 min)

a. Remind parents that the College will be using email, Xuno and Moodle to keep them informed about students’ progress this year and check that email contact details (as well as other student and family details) are correct on the students’ personal information sheets.

b. Explain the various permission forms and ask parents to sign. (A package of forms will be provided to each Mentor the day before the interviews. These forms will include: local excursion forms, ICT Users form etc.). Provide parents with a choice of signing on the day or taking these forms home and returning them next week.

c. Allocate locker (Check with your year level Precinct Lead Teacheres for specific information relating to this process).

d. Direct students to Lawson Hall to have their School Photograph taken.

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INDIVIDUAL STUDENT LEARNING GOALS FOR 2018Name_______________________________________Mentor Group___________

What I achieved at School in 2016*What subjects did I do well in...

*What subjects could I improve in...

*The achievements/activities I was proud of were...

My attendance at school in 2015 was: Excellent Pretty Good Not good

I am looking forward to...

I would like to improve...

I am concerned about...

My friends are...

I am/am not organised because...

If I have a problem/issue at school, I think I would be able to talk about it with...

Things I would like to improve this year are (tick as many boxes below as is appropriate):

Time management Being organisedGetting my work in on time Helping othersConcentrating in class Listening to othersFeeling OK about myself Studying for examsKeeping my organiser up to date Being responsibleBeing respected by others Being trustedBeing motivated at school Making friends

Other things (not listed) where I would like to develop my skills in are...

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MY PERSONAL LEARING GOALS FOR 2017 (3 goals - what I would like to achieve...)

1.___________________________________________________________________________________I will achieve this personal learning goal by..._____________________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________________I will achieve this personal learning goal by...__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________________________________I will achieve this personal learning goal by...__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Activities that I would like to be involved in at school this year include:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PARENT COMMENTSWhat I can do at home to assist with the achievements of the above listed Personal Learning Goals:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MENTOR TEACHER COMMENTSWhat I can do at school to assist with the achievements of the above listed Personal Learning Goals:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENT INPUT OF LEARNING GOALS VIA XUNO

1. Students log on to their XUNO portal and use the drop down “Learning” menu to click on Career Plans (highlighted in yellow below).

2. Student then selects “Learning Goals for 2017” from the Career Plans options. If “Learning Goals for 2106” does not immediately appear in the list of options, click “Add” and then use the drop down menu to select the “Student Learning Goals for 2017” template.

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3. Student can then start entering data into the plan.

4. At the end of the plan student must press “Save.”

5. Student can then scroll back to the top of the plan to “Print” (if necessary).

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6. The document will merge into a “Print” version of the document, which is the same view that parents will see when they log on to their parent XUNO portal.

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