Mandatory Reporting

1. Mandatory Reporting

2. Mandatory Reporting There are four areas that teachers may need to report to DHS if they form a belief that the student may be at risk of harm due to: • Child abuse • Physical Abuse • Sexual Abuse • Emotional Abuse • Neglect

3. Physical Abuse • Physical abuse refers to a situation in which a child suffers, or is likely to suffer, significant harm from an injury inflicted by the child’s parents/carers. The injury may be inflicted intentionally, or may be the inadvertent consequence of physical punishment or physically aggressive treatment of a child. • Physical indicators may include: • Bruises or welts, often of different ages • Burns, scalds, sprains, dislocations, bites, cuts • Lacerations or abrasions • Poisoning.

4. Physical Abuse • Behavioural indicators may include: • Wary of adult contacts • Child wears inappropriate clothing in an attempt to cover injuries • Apprehensive when other children cry • Behavioural extremes, for example, aggressiveness/withdrawal • Frightened of parents /carers • Afraid to go home • Reports injury by parents/carers or gives an inappropriate explanation for injury • Excessive compliance • Extreme wariness • Attaches too readily to strangers • Frequent absenteeism/prolonged school refusal.

5. Emotional Abuse • Emotional abuse occurs when a child is repeatedly rejected or subjected to threats, hostility or persistent coldness by parents /carers. The child might be called derogatory names, humiliated, ignored over long periods of time or isolated from social relationships with peers to such an extent that the child’s behaviour is disturbed or the child’s emotional development is at serious risk of being impaired. • There are few physical indicators of physical abuse however behavioural indicators may include: • Extremely low self-esteem • Compliant, passive, withdrawn, tearful • Aggressive, demanding • Depression • Constant high anxiety • Poor social and interpersonal skills • Delayed development (for example, speech) • Persistent habit disorders (for example, sucking, biting, rocking) • Self-destructive behaviour • Unexplained change to academic performance

6. Sexual Abuse • Sexual abuse occurs when an adult or someone bigger and/or older than the child uses their power or authority, either by using force or not, to involve a child in sexual activity or to exploit them for the purpose of sexual gratification. • Physical indicators may include: • Injury to the genital or rectal area, such as bruising or bleeding • Vaginal or anal bleeding or discharge • Discomfort in urinating or defecating • Inflammation and infection of genital area • Sexually transmitted diseases • Frequent urinary tract infections • Pregnancy, especially in very young adolescents • Bruising and other injuries to breasts, buttocks and thighs • Anxiety related illnesses, such as anorexia or bulimia.

7. Sexual Abuse • Behavioural indicators may include: • Constant complaint of headaches or abdominal pains • Experiences problems with schoolwork and has difficulty relating to adults and peers • Displays sexual knowledge and behaviour beyond what is expected for age and environment • Exhibits persistent and age-inappropriate sexual activity • Unusual level of interest in their own or other’s genitals taking into consideration their age and circumstances • Regressive behaviour, for example, soiling or wetting, bedwetting and speech loss • Excessive concern about privacy • Refuses to go home or runs away from home • Frequent absenteeism/prolonged school refusal • Child produces drawings or other expressive activities suggestive of inappropriate knowledge of or involvement in sexual situations and are age-inappropriate.

8. Neglect • Neglect includes a failure to provide the child with an adequate standard of nutrition, medical care, clothing, shelter or supervision to such an extent that the child’s health and development are impaired or placed at serious risk. A child is neglected if they are left uncared for over long periods of time or abandoned. • Physical indicators may include: • Frequent hunger • Failure to thrive or malnutrition - undersized or underweight • Poor hygiene that can result in health problems/ostracism of the child • Inappropriate dress for the climatic conditions • Consistent lack of supervision, especially in dangerous activities or for long periods • Unattended physical problems or medical needs • Abandonment • Health or dietary practices that endanger a child’s health or development.

9. Neglect • Behavioural indicators may include: • Stealing food • Extended stays at school outside school hours • Constant fatigue, listlessness, or falling asleep in class • Alcohol or drug abuse • Child states there is no parents/carers • Prolonged or frequent absenteeism • Isolation from or by their peer group.

10. Handling disclosure and Making a report to DHS • The following slides are based on my own personal experience… • If you are ever unsure about what you should do with the information a student gives you share it with your colleagues – Don’t hold onto it! • Different schools will have different policies and procedures around these things and you should ask about these during your induction at your school.

11. Handling disclosure • When you believe a student is about to disclose any information to you it is vital that you make it clear to them that anything they tell you where you feel they are going to hurt themselves, someone else, or if they are at risk of being hurt by somebody else must be shared with a third party • NEVER promise to keep something secret, it may be a promise you are unable to keep! • Let the student know that you are happy to listen but you are not qualified to advise. Ask permission to involve the School Welfare Coordinator. • If the SWC is not available make use of the Kids Help line.

12. Handling Disclosure • If the student continues to disclose (most will as once they have made the decision to tell someone they generally follow it through) and it becomes apparent that you will have to call DHS let the student know. • At this point you may wish to start taking some notes. Let the student know you are taking notes and why.

13. Handling Disclosure • If at this point you haven’t shared the information with anyone make sure you do: • Principal • SWC • Assistant Principal • Heads of school • Year Level coordinators. • Colleagues • There are a number of DEECD departments that may need to be notified about the incident including • Legal branch • Media Branch • Crictical incident unit Generally it is the responsibility of someone in Principal class to contact the relevant department.

14. Making a report. • You may end up making a report based on a disclosure or a “belief” you have. • You don’t have to make the report on your own. It may be a good idea to make a conference call with someone who can provide you with adequate support. Always let the worker taking the call that this is the case. • To make a report you will need to call the DHS intake line. This number will vary from region to region. When you get through always write down the name of the worker taking your call.

15. Making a report • You will be asked to provide the following information • Your name and where you are from • The students name and contact details • From here DHS generally check to see if there is currently a case open and a DHS worker assigned. • Students DOB • Contact numbers for the parents/guardians • Number and ages of siblings living in the house • Nature of concerns (this is where your notes come in handy)

16. Making a report. • From this point the DHS intake worker will make a decision about what will happen next. They will let you know. Generally it will be one of the following outcomes • DHS will decide there is not enough information for them to act upon and will let you know • DHS will get a member of the Sexual Offenders and Child Abuse (SOCA) Police unit to come and speak to the child From here it depends on the nature of the incident, and the response from the parents

17. What happens after the report has been made? • First and foremost look after yourself • Do you need to speak to someone? • Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed to talk about the way this incident has impacted on you. • Make sure the student is supported. Remember you are not trained in this area and it’s not only ok to let go, it’s important that you do.