The new Application to Enrol in a NSW Government School has been developed in response to a small number of cases brought against DET for failure to meet its obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Under the new process, parents are required to:
- provide information about ‘anything’ in the student’s history or circumstance which might pose a risk of any type to the student, other students or staff or any past history of violent behaviour, at school or out of school
- provide consent to DET gaining access to relevant information about the student to be enrolled held by previous schools, health care professionals or other government agencies; and
- acknowledge that decisions made as a result of this application to enrol can be reversed should statements on the application form later prove to be false or misleading.
DET believes it can reconcile this collection of information with the requirements of Privacy legislation because the Privacy legislation does not prevent the collection, use and disclosure of information if it is necessary to ensure health and safety.
In guidance to schools, DET has indicated that:
- When a student seeks to transfer from another DET school, enrolment is not permitted to be finalized and the student is not allowed to attend until relevant school records from the other school have been received, any risk assessment considered necessary is completed and appropriate solutions, including control strategies have been commenced.
- When a student is transferring from a non government school or from interstate, DET is not currently able to compel the giving of consent by parents or the provision of records from non government or inter state schools. HOWEVER, DET indicates that enrolment should not proceed until these matters are resolved and issues concerning the safety of staff and students are addressed. The section concludes with Ultimately, if the information is not obtained, an appropriate Departmental educational placement for the student must be found.
- Where a student seeks enrolment and ‘there are reasonable grounds to believe that DCS, Juvenile Justice, Health or other agency possess information relevant to safety, the Learning Support Team / Principal should seek written permission from the parent to obtain relevant records. Where consent is NOT given, the Learning Support Team/ Principal should advise the student/ parent/ caregiver that the records will still be sought. If the agency declines to provide records, the regional office of DET must be notified so that negotiations can take place between regional office staff and the other agency with the view of obtaining the records. Pending those negotiations, enrolment must not be finalized.
- Staff, but not parents must be consulted as to decisions concerning risks and how the risks are to be managed.
- The records of School Counsellors that indicate a risk of harm must be provided to the Principal of the school at which the student is seeking enrolment. DET believes that this does not constitute a breach of privacy or of the professional ethics of psychologists.
Family Advocacy is treating this issue as a most significant threat to the education of all students with disability.
We have commenced discussions with legal centres, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care and internally within DET to seek avenues to overturn the new process and to improve safeguards for students until that has occurred.
For more information call Belinda on 9869 0866 or 1800 620 588