NSW Department of Family and Community Services
The Department of Family and Community Service's (2012) mission is to deliver services to the most disadvantaged individuals, families and communities in NSW. Schools work with the Department to ensure students’ safety.
Teachers are mandatory reporters in NSW. As a professional worker delivering education, to children teachers have a duty of care to report- when there is ‘reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at risk of significant harm’ - incidence of physical, sexual or emotional/psychological abuse, neglect or exposure to family violence, under Sections 23 & 27 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW). To determine whether a concern reaches the threshold of significant harm, there is an online tool, the Mandatroy Reporters Guide, which assists in determining whether a concern reaches the threshold of significant risk of harm.
Teachers are not required to make judgements on what will happen as a result of reporting. It is extremely important to each student’s well-being that teachers pass on relevant information to the relative person (i.e. Principal).
The NSW Government has developed the Keep them Safe policy to address child welfare issues. If a teacher in NSW has concerns about a student the child well-being unit are trained professionals who can help deal with situations regarding child welfare. In the past mandatory reporters were required to report any concerns of risk.
For information regarding your role as a mandatory reporter in NSW, visit:
http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a141787/index.html
http://www.keepthemsafe.nsw.gov.au/.
References:
Australian Institute of Family Studies (2012), Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect, accessed electronically 21/10/2012, http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a141787/index.html.
New South Wales Government (2012), Family and Community Services, accessed electronically 21/10/2012, http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docs_menu/about_us.html.
New South Wales Government (2012), Keep Them Safe, accessed electronically 21/10/2012, http://www.keepthemsafe.nsw.gov.au/.
Teachers are mandatory reporters in NSW. As a professional worker delivering education, to children teachers have a duty of care to report- when there is ‘reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at risk of significant harm’ - incidence of physical, sexual or emotional/psychological abuse, neglect or exposure to family violence, under Sections 23 & 27 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW). To determine whether a concern reaches the threshold of significant harm, there is an online tool, the Mandatroy Reporters Guide, which assists in determining whether a concern reaches the threshold of significant risk of harm.
Teachers are not required to make judgements on what will happen as a result of reporting. It is extremely important to each student’s well-being that teachers pass on relevant information to the relative person (i.e. Principal).
The NSW Government has developed the Keep them Safe policy to address child welfare issues. If a teacher in NSW has concerns about a student the child well-being unit are trained professionals who can help deal with situations regarding child welfare. In the past mandatory reporters were required to report any concerns of risk.
For information regarding your role as a mandatory reporter in NSW, visit:
http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a141787/index.html
http://www.keepthemsafe.nsw.gov.au/.
References:
Australian Institute of Family Studies (2012), Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect, accessed electronically 21/10/2012, http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a141787/index.html.
New South Wales Government (2012), Family and Community Services, accessed electronically 21/10/2012, http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docs_menu/about_us.html.
New South Wales Government (2012), Keep Them Safe, accessed electronically 21/10/2012, http://www.keepthemsafe.nsw.gov.au/.