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Volunteer requirements at Woodend

by | Nov 16, 2017

At Woodend we work to build strong adult partnerships, not only because we want you to feel valued, welcomed, and able to contribute, but also able to learn within our Woodend community. Ultimately this is also about developing you and our school community’s capacity to more effectively support successful learning. We believe that getting to know each other and getting to know what happens in the classroom and school are two strong strategies that are supported by our communications in digital spaces and by volunteering.

Child safety is paramount in our considerations of who may volunteer their services at school.  If you are wanting to volunteer to help in our school such as help in the classroom, canteen, kitchen/garden program or sport, you are required to fulfil the requirements below.

  1. All volunteers must complete a Department for Education and Child Development Responding to Abuse and Neglect , Education and Care (RAN-EC) induction session for volunteers.  These are available online. The address is:

https://www.decd.sa.gov.au/working-decd/ran-ec-training/ran-ec-induction-sessions-volunteers

2.  Parents and legal guardians may accept a volunteering role and work with their child (and in classes, groups and sports teams their child is in) without obtaining a Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) ‘Child-related employment screening’.

If they are not a parent or legal guardian of that class or team they will still need a DCSI screening. Any  adult in a family, who is not a birth parent or legal guardian of the child, must have a DCSI clearance in order to volunteer.

3.  If the volunteer involved in sports coaching is a parent or guardian of a child in that sports team, no DCSI clearance is required. If the volunteer is NOT a parent or guardian of a child in that sports team a DCSI screening is required.

4. The level of volunteering and invitation to volunteer is controlled by the school and therefore a request to volunteer may not be granted. At any time a volunteer’s services may no longer be required.

5. All volunteers must be supervised by a teacher / staff member and not be working with individual students out of sight of a teacher.

6. Any person wishing to volunteer for excursions or camps needs to have a DCSI screening.

7. Any person over 18 involved in homestays needs a DCSI screening.

8. Our Governing Council parents need a DCSI screening.

9. All volunteers that are not parents or legal guardians in that class, group, or team, must have a DCSI screening. This includes grandparents and uncles and aunties.  Any adult in a family, who is not a birth parent or legal guardian of the child, must have a DCSI screening in order to volunteer.

10.  Volunteers must still have a DCSI screening if the volunteer’s services involve close personal contact with children with disabilities.  We believe that regular volunteering in class usually involves being in close proximity to children, however, must not involve close personal contact.

11. DCSI ‘Child-related employment screening’ forms are available from the front office.  There is a cost involved which is subsidised by the school.

If you are considering volunteering at our school in 2018, we recommend you complete all the necessary forms this year.

We thank all our 2017 volunteers who have helped in classrooms, on excursions, committees, working bees, sports, canteen help and our kitchen/garden program. Without you, our many rich and varied school and after-school programs could not occur.   A sincere thank you.