In the second full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the management of the outbreak was again a key function of the Safeguarding team working in concert with the Critical Response Team (CIRT) of the CEO.
Cooperation amongst the three education sectors in South Australia was a crucial undertaking given the wide-ranging issues that emerged during the year, which included: the introduction of QR codes for schools, state-wide closure of the education sector in July, the introduction of compulsory mask wearing and then finally a vaccination mandate that impacted on all workers and volunteers in education.
As each of these issues arose there was timely and informed advice provided to schools. Another 74 COVID Principal Updates were issued in the calendar year and these covered response and support in a range of areas including safety, finance, media and communications, industrial relations and human resources. The staff at the CEO were also kept briefed through similar cogent communication pieces targeted for their attention.
The last months of the year proved to be challenging with the news that COVID-19 vaccination was to be a pre-requisite for continued employment in the sector. A number of staff and members of the general community voiced opinions and as such members of the People, Leadership and Culture (PLC) section, and particularly the Intake Officers, had to field and manage expectations concerning this position. Advice concerning industrial matters proved to be crucial in ensuring the information supplied to schools was accurate and provided clear paths for action when difficult personnel matters arose.
The timely and rapid rollout of information via webinars followed by templated letters and other resources enabled leaders to adapt and respond with confidence that kept the schools compliant with legislation and enabled children to continue to learn in a safe environment.
The System Safeguarding Section was responsible for the substantial revamp, re-write and publication of some major SACCS policies and procedures in 2020. These included:
Duty of Care Policy and Procedure; Reporting Harm of Young People Policy and Procedure; Camps, Excursions Sporting and Adventure Activities Policy and Procedure; and Student Overseas Travel Excursions Procedure.
Each of these new documents are important papers for school reference in the conduct of the normal operations of the school. They aim to keep children safe. They also keep staff safe in the knowledge that by adhering to the directions in the policies, schools are compliant with the latest standards.
The management of COVID-19 continued to present a challenge in ensuring a safe workplace for our staff in schools and offices.
CESA staff charged with responsibility for WHS, principals, school leaders, board members and WHS co-ordinators together with Catholic Safety Health and Welfare SA (CSHWSA), stepped up to the challenge, responding to the changing requirements as they emerged, and towards the end of the year, preparing for the impact of the opening of state borders and the implementation of the emergency direction in relation to mandatory vaccination for education staff.
Across the system, all legislative requirements were met and reviewed regularly under instruction from the CESA Manager: System Safeguarding and Development, through the COVID-19 Updates to schools and offices to assist in interpreting and applying SA Health advice in education settings.
CSHWSA continued to review safety management procedures and introduced new ones including Event Management. They also produced new Guidelines, Tools and Generic Risk Assessment templates, available on their website to support the work of local WHS coordinators.
Hazard Alerts were distributed for the following areas:
Learning Manager was maintained as the online training system to enable mandatory WHS training and other identified training for all CESA staff including in relation to Protective Practices and Code of Conduct and Information Security Awareness.
CESA remains committed to providing safe workplaces, keeping our school communities safe and enabling those injured at work to return to the workplace when safe to do so. CESA works with CSHWSA to ensure compliance with WHS and Return to Work legislative requirements resulting in maintenance of our CCES Self-insured Registration, which benefits all our schools.
Child Protection issues remain the core focus of the System Safeguarding portfolio. This small team works closely with a number of external organisations to ensure that all matters concerning child safety receive immediate and high priority. Some of those organisations included: the Adelaide Archdiocesan Screening and Verification Authority, Professional Standards Office, Teacher Registration Board, Department for Human Services (DHS), SA Police, Headspace and other education sectors. As an example of the work of this team, in the 2021 calendar year there were over 21,000 electronic screenings undertaken and 130 critical incidents registered. Additionally, in September, work commenced to prepare the compliance statement that is required to be submitted to DHS every five years in accordance with the relevant sections of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 and the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016.
PLC hosted three Corporate Services Seminars for Senior Leaders in Terms 1, 2 and 3 with the option of online attendance to support the flexibility of leaders following the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of seminars was:
Seminar 1: Leadership and Workforce Development Plan and a significant update on the Enterprise Agreement negotiations.
Seminar 2: Human Capital Management Project led by ICT and a further update on the Enterprise Agreement.
Seminar 3: Final Enterprise Agreement update for the year and invited guest speakers from the Teachers Registration Board to discuss legislation changes to the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 and the impacts on teacher obligations and registration.
Each seminar followed with an opportunity for leaders to provide feedback via a survey, supporting future work of the PLC section.
