1.   Purpose and Scope

Christ Church Grammar School (the School) is committed to ensuring the safety, health and wellbeing of all students. The School is dedicated to protecting students from abuse and harm, to minimising exposure to infection, ill-health and injury and to professionally responding and managing students’ physical and psychological issues which may arise while they are in the care of the School. All parents/guardians are expected to share this commitment.

The policy is based on the values outlined in the School’s Code of Ethics which requires all members to:

Act with integrity, respect, care and compassion and demonstrate a commitment to excellence

The policy is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying procedures and

• Sets out the ethical and statutory obligations and expectations of all parents to:
  • submit immunisation records, specifically, an Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register;
  • complete and submit an accurate and up to date Consent2Go for their son as a condition of entry to the School; and
  • respond to requests and requirements to check and regularly update these records.
• Sets out the responsibilities of the School, its Health Centre staff, teachers and support staff in:
  • responding to medical emergencies;
  • managing and reporting incidents of student illness and injury to parents/guardians;
  • administering prescription and non-prescription medications to students;
  • conducting risk assessments for self-harm or suicidal ideation (undertaken by psychological services), or where a student may have a safety plan in place, providing approvals for participation in sport, various co-curricular activities, outdoor education camps and excursions;
  • undertaking necessary training and professional development to acquire and maintain the competencies required to fulfil the above responsibilities.
• Promotes confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the staff and the services offered by the School.
• Demonstrates the School’s commitment to providing a child safe environment.

2.  Definitions

Abuse  is defined as actual or threatened physical abuse or neglect; emotional abuse or neglect; or sexual abuse, each of which has the potential to adversely affect a child’s physical, psychological or emotional health and development.

Australian Immunisation Register  is a national register that records vaccines given to all people in Australia in any of the following circumstances:

• Under the National Immunisation Program including seasonal and public health-based immunisations (e.g.Influenza, COVID-19);
• Through school programs; or
• Privately, such as travel vaccinations.

Consent2Go  is an online platform which enables parents/guardians to provide the School with initial health information relating to their son at the time of enrolment and to keep this information updated.

Duty of Care  is a legal concept that defines the duty a person has to use reasonable care towards others in order to protect them from known or reasonably foreseeable risk of harm and/or injury.

Nurse  means a person registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

Parent/Guardian  a person(s) who at law has responsibility:

• for the long-term care, welfare and development of the child; or
• for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the child.

Responsible Person  –  A person:

• who is a parent of the student;
• who in the case of a student who has turned 18 or is a prescribed child, the student; or
• who is an adult, responsible for the child and whose details have been provided on enrolment.

Safety Plan  is a collaborative document created by the student and a clinician in the context of psychological or other mental health services to identify potential risk to the student and provide strategies to support their safety in the school learning environment.

School Activity  is an activity that is organised or managed by a member of the teaching staff or support staff as part of his or her duties. School activities may take place either on or away from Christ Church Grammar School premises and either during or outside of school hours.

Support Staff  are Christ Church Grammar School employees who are employed at the premises and/or in association with a School activity who are not members of the teaching staff.

Teaching Staff  consists of individuals who are:

• registered with the Teachers Registration Board of WA (TRBWA); and
• employed to teach.

3.  Policy Principles

Responsibilities of Parents/Guardians

• The School has implemented an online platform, Consent 2 Go  for both initial entry of information by parents and subsequent updating of records on a needs basis.
• As a condition of enrolment at the School, parents are required to submit an accurate and up to date Consent 2 Go for their son(s) including a complete immunisation history extracted from the Australian Immunisation Register.
• To enable staff to effectively discharge their duty of care to students, parents must also respond to periodic requests from the School to check and update Health Records. These requests are generally issued prior to the students going on camp, tours, when transitioning from Year 6 to the Senior School and when embarking on outdoor education programs and excursions.
• As a condition of entry to boarding , parents must also complete and return the Boarders’ Medical Form and Local Carer Nomination. The medical form requires some fields to be completed and signed by a medical practitioner.
• Parents not residing in the Perth metropolitan area are required to appoint a responsible person (over the age of 25 years, related to the student or a family friend) to act as a local carer. In addition to other responsibilities, the local carer must provide a safe environment for the student when he is unable to remain at school due to illness, infection or injury. The Local Carer must also assist with medical, dental and other appointments when necessary.
• Parents/guardians are expected to advise the School when illness or injury necessitates absence from classes and advise the Health Centre should ongoing management be required when the student returns to school.
• Parents/guardians are expected to exercise sound judgment about their son’s attendance at school if unwell, in the best interests of the student and his fellow students.
• Parents/guardians must undertake close liaison with Health Centre nurses in relation to the administration of medication to their sons whilst at school. Parents/guardians are referred to the Student Health Care Procedures, Section relating to the Administration of Medication.

Responsibilities of the School

• The School has established and will regularly review protocols and processes to ensure strict compliance with Work, Health and Safety legislation. The Council oversees the identification of risks to safety and health including the mental health and wellbeing of students, the identification of mitigation strategies and monitors the effectiveness of risk management initiatives.
• School premises, facilities and equipment are required to meet building and industry standards, be regularly cleaned, maintained and upgraded as necessary.
• Systems and processes are in place for the safe handling and disposal of hazardous materials.
• All Physical Education and Outdoor Education Staff are required to attend CPR training arranged and funded by the School and maintain the currency of their qualifications. There will also be training in procedures for responding to anaphylaxis and asthma emergencies and managing head and concussion injuries.
• The School has established and regularly reviews the effectiveness of its pastoral care systems, protocols and strategies to ensure that safety plans, where these are necessary for individual students, are communicated to staff on a “need to know” basis.
• Dedicated pastoral care services including access to Psychologists, support teachers and Chaplain are also available with procedures for debriefing students and/or parents in the event of critical incidents.

The School has a well-established Health Centre  staffed during term time by a team of registered nurses.

The nurses perform a range of roles including:

• Nursing assessments and the provision of nursing care where students become unwell or develop symptoms or sustain injuries during school hours or during school activities which take place on Christ Church Grammar premises. These activities could be either during or outside of school hours.
• Nursing care and ongoing management to boarders 24 hours a day during term time if required. Outside of Health Centre opening hours, a registered nurse is on call.
• Referral to other health professionals. They provide assistance to the WA Department of Health with their school immunisation program.
• Liaise with parents/guardians to manage/co-ordinate boarding student appointments with external health care providers.
• Determination of health protocols for the School as and when required.
• Accident and emergency management.
• The safe storage and administration of medication to students while they are at school, including liaison with parents/guardians in relation to both prescription and over the counter medications and Boarding/Residential Community staff about dispensing medication to boarders.
• Communication with parents/guardians to report student illness or injuries sustained at school and to arrange for the student to be collected and cared for by the parent/guardian.

Responsibilities of Teachers and Support Staff including Residential Community Staff

• Ensure they have identified the students in their classes/care who have been diagnosed with serious medical or life-threatening conditions and/or psychological issues.
• Be aware of the process/s to follow should a student in your care become unwell or sustain an injury
• Attend compulsory First Aid training and maintain the currency of these qualifications.
• Be familiar with the location of first aid and other equipment and consistently adhere to established School protocols for reducing risk, administering medication to students, responding to emergencies and any potentially life-threatening situations.

Responsibilities of Students

• Students must follow all school protocols in relation to hand hygiene and refrain from sharing food, food containers and water bottles.
• Students with severe allergies should wear their medic alert bracelet if one has been issued.
• Report illness symptoms and injuries sustained at School to their classroom teachers (in Preparatory School), subject teachers in the Senior School and Residential Staff in the Boarding Houses.
• Follow all instructions from Health Centre staff.
• Where required, report to the Health Centre for administration of medications at the required time.
• Students with permission to self-administer medications must ensure these are safely stored in their lockers until required.
• Where appropriate, Senior School students are to at all times carry or have easy access to their adrenaline autoinjector, action plan, and other medications, such as antihistamine or asthma reliever, including taking the kits with them when off campus.

4.  Related Policies and Resources

Privacy Act 1988
School Education Act 1999
School Education Regulations 2000
Medicines and Poisons Act 2014
Medicines and Poisons Regulations 2016

Admission and Enrolments Policy
Code of Ethics
Code of Conduct Staff, Volunteers, Contractors
Code of Conduct for all Students
Disputes and Complaints Policy
Duty of Care Policy
Child Protection and Mandatory Reporting Policy
Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Parents Code of Conduct
Privacy Policy
Risk Management Policy
Work Health and Safety Policy
Student Health Care Procedures