Department for Education & Child Development (DECD)

1. Department for Education & Child Development (DECD) • South Australian State Schools Administration Officers Association Inc. • Wednesday 13 November , 2013 • Mandy Betts • Manager, HR Improvement and Recruitment

2. DECD CHS Policy Site leaders are obliged to ensure Criminal History Screening requirements are undertaken for people at their site including: non-teaching employees volunteers tertiary students (student teachers etc) third party providers (including non government organisations, private music providers, contractors, sub-contractors, vendors and agents) adult re-entry students and new students over 18 years of age who have had a break in schooling 2

3. Approved CHS clearances • 2013 - Current clearances provided by the following registered CrimTrac screening agencies are acceptable for non-teaching staff in DECD:  • DFEEST • Catholic Police Check Unit (or Catholic Education Office) • Current interstate "working with children" clearances e.g. Queensland blue card • Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) • SAPOL for SAPOL staff  • Teachers Registration Board of SA 3

4. Approved CHS clearances DECD Policy will change from 2014. The ONLY approved Criminal History Screenings which all new employees must have to meet minimum requirements for employment will be: Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) Children-Related Employment Screening check. Teacher Registration with the South Australian Teacher registration Board 4

5. Approved CHS clearances Adult re-entry students and new students over 18 years of age who have had a break in schooling DCSI vulnerable person-related employment screening Current employees, volunteers etc must re-new their clearance when the current clearance expires with a DCSI Children-Related Employment Screening 5

6. Approved CHS clearances DECD will accept a Visas for employees, students or volunteers from over seas for their first 6 months, however, after this time they will be required to apply for and gain a DCSI Children-Related Employment Screening 6

7. Prescribed Position The definition of a prescribed position under the Children’s Protection Act 1993 (includes one or more of the following prescribed functions): regular contact with children or working in close proximity to children on a regular basis, unless the contact or work is directly supervised at all times; or supervision or management of persons in positions requiring or involving regular contact with children or working in close proximity to children on a regular basis; or access to records of a kind prescribed by regulation relating to children. 7

8. Prescribed Position Definitions: Regular - anything which is programed, organised and not just a once off occurrence, contact that has a constant or a definite pattern or which recurs at uniform intervals or on several occasions over shorter periods. For the purposes of criminal history screening, contact will be regarded as regular if it involves 11 or more consecutive days of contact or more than one day per week or month per year. Close proximity - situations or roles, in which persons can touch either formally or informally, converse with or observe children when they are close together and/or in a close relationship 8

9. Volunteers • The following groups of volunteer parents, care givers and others have been identified for criminal history screening, those: • attending any overnight camps/school sleep-overs or billeting programs • working one to one with children or working in close proximity to children on a regular basis eg LAP, music, drama, coordination skills etc (this includes a parent working regularly with only their own child but in proximity to other children)

10. Volunteers • acting as a coach or manager of teams or groups of children and young people • working in resource centres, offices, managing canteens etc • accepting a position on governing/school councils, boards or committees. • (This is to protect against people adversely influencing the protective climate of an education/care environment through the decisions of committees or boards. The organisation shall determine the screening requirements for each committee.)

11. When is a CHS check not required? • Criminal history screening checks are not required for: • tradesmen / workmen coming in for a day to fix something, • one-off guest presentations such as guest speakers, • concert performers, • for attendance at one-off events such as sports days, • working bees and • whole of school/centre events.

12. When is a CHS check not required? There may be volunteers that provide services other than those identified in the previous list. It is the responsibility of site managers to assess the requirement for a criminal history screening check based on legislation and the risks, including the regularity and proximity of contact with children.

13. Community Events and The School Where the school is advertising opportunities (through Newsletters, handing out pamphlets etc.) for students to take up activities outside of school hours it is recommend the school makes it clear that the activity/event is outside of the school’s curriculum and that the school cannot guarantee the safety of the students attending these external programs. If parents allow their children to attend the responsibility of the child’s safety is with the parent.

14. Completing the DCSI Application Form How to Apply This link provides information about completion requirements http://www.dcsi.sa.gov.au/services/screening/how-to-apply Applicants must fill out one of the following consent forms: Applying through a DECD site http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/CriminalHistoryScreeningI.pdf (completed form to be sent to DCSI and DCSI will invoice site) Applying through Employable Ancillary Register (EAR), or paying for their own screening shouldaccess the correct form at http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/CriminalHistoryScreenin-2.pdf(Australia Post Lodgement Only-Section D pre-populated).

15. On payment of the DCSI Screening Unit invoice, sites can claim reimbursement (relative to the invoice) using ED161 General Purpose Claim Form for: Full cost of permanent employees (include name and ID) Balance after first $15 for volunteers Send completed forms (and copy of invoice) to Criminal History Screening Liaison Officer R11/10. Reimbursements

16. Non-teaching Employees Principals and preschool directors are required to maintain records for all DECD non-teaching employees at their site in the department’s online Human Resource System on the Eduportal. Information on how to use and access this system is located at: http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/maintaining1.pdf. Recording CHS Clearances

17. Volunteers and third party providers Requirements for schools To ensure that all volunteers and third party providers undertaking prescribed functions working at your site have an up to date screening check in place, principals are requested to: enter and update records for parent volunteers in schools in the EDSAS Family Table enter and update records for all other volunteers and third party providers in the EDSAS Staff Information Table in the EDSAS Staff Information Table maintain records of which third party providers to which you have issued the required CHS information letter. Recording CHS Clearances

18. Requirements for preschools and OSHC services Preschool and OSHC directors are required to ensure that copies of criminal history screening clearance certificates are stored and recorded on site for all volunteers and third party providers and that they maintain records of which third party providers to which you have issued the required CHS information letter. If your site does not use Valeo or EDSAS, you need to record information locally using an alternative process. Recording CHS Clearances

19. Any Other Questions?

20. CHS Liaison Officer 8226 0430  DECDHR@sa.gov.au