01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

SAFE, CHALLENGING AND CREATIVE SCHOOLSCombating Violence• $70m anti-violence and student welfare• penalties doubled for school intrudersand offensive behaviour on schoolproperty• students taught non-violent conflictresolutionAustralian Violence PreventionAwardsThe DSE’s South Coast WildernessEnhanced Program won the AustralianViolence Prevention Awards. The Ministerof Police, Paul Whelan applauded the DSEat the ceremony for its dedication inbreaking entrenched patterns of violencein young people who had provedunresponsive to previous interventionstrategies.Examples of Excellence in SchoolStudent Welfare ProgramsThe following schools won the Director-General’s School Achievement Award fortheir innovative student welfare programs:Belmont Languages High School:❝Emphasis is on the development ofpositive student lifestyles, values andattitudes appropriate to each stage ofstudent development.❞Canterbury Boys High School: ❝Staff,students and parents have worked togetherto plan, implement and refine programswhich have resulted in harmonious racerelations in a multicultural community.❞Deniliquin South Primary School: ❝Thewelfare programs give opportunity forchoice, recognition and citizenshipdevelopment in a happy, caring school.❞Emu Heights Public School:❝…implemented a holistic approach tostudent welfare that features an emphasison student centred conflict resolution.❞Nambucca Heads High School:❝…provides a particularly caringenvironment for students and staff.❞Whalan High School: ❝The programWe Don’t Have Bullies Here is acomprehensive resource to increaseunderstanding of bullying, harassment andintimidation.❞Windang Public School: ❝A significantimprovement in behaviour and a reductionin playground and classroom problems ...ahappier and safer environment for studentsand staff.❞The aim of the program is to createa break in the students’ behaviourpattern and to develop changes inthe individual’s attitude so that theymove away from aggressive orother inappropriate interactions. InFebruary the Department’s SouthCoast Wilderness EnhancedProgram received an AustralianViolence Prevention Award.Several staff retraining programsensure a supply of highly qualifiedsupport staff. In 1997, twentyteachers were involved in a onesemester Graduate Certificate inEducation Studies targetedspecifically at the support ofstudents with behavioural andemotional disorders. The program,in distance education mode throughthe University of Newcastle,operated at a cost of $400,000.A further $1.5m was allocated tofund school counsellor training for33 teachers in programs throughCharles Sturt University and theUniversity of Western Sydney. Afurther eight teachers, four ofwhom were of Aboriginal descent,were funded to upgrade theirqualifications to enable them toaccess school counsellor training.The suspension of studentscontinued to play a role in studentwelfare and discipline. The dailyrate of short suspension in 1997was 160.0, of long suspensions24.5, of exclusions 1.9 and placesdeclared vacant 1.8 students froma total student population of764,000.Suspensions increased in 1997reflecting the adoption of theMinister’s stand on good disciplineand effective learning in schools.The increases are not indicative ofdeterioration of student behaviour,but of the determination of schoolsto be firm but fair with unrulybehaviour.Reported Incidents inSchoolsThe Department has a wellestablishedsystem of reportingincidents which impact on schoolroutine. Such incidents can include,for example, accidents, fire,intruders in the school or the deathof a student or staff member.In 1997, some 1900 incidents werereported. Many of these incidentsare not related to schoolmanagement and cannot beprevented by the school. Of allincidents reported, nearly one thirddid not occur within the confinesof the school but nevertheless hadan impact on the school’soperation.Immediate reporting of incidents tothe Director-General and theMinister ensures statewide supportresources can be utilised promptlyand effectively.In response to a growing incidenceof intruders entering schools duringschool hours, the penalties forschool intruders and any offensivebehaviour on school property weredoubled. The Inclosed LandsProtection Act 1901 was amendedto allow for a penalty of $1000 foranyone who enters inclosed landswithout a lawful excuse. The newpenalty for intruders behaving in anoffensive manner is now $2000.70 DSE Annual Report 1997