Page 148 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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MS BERRY: There are procedures in place in schools around incidents and around notification of families should incidents arise, and if they are known to the school. If there are particular instances in mind where that has occurred, and the member wants to raise those with me privately, I would be happy to find out what happened in those situations.
But if an incident occurs in a school where a child is injured, it should be the case that the family will be notified. It might be the case that during a session where a student is getting support from a counsellor or a psychologist, they might want to keep that information private for the moment, while they are working through how they are going to get supported and how they are going to resolve that situation. But if it is reported to the school and the child has been injured, and it is not during a confidential session as I have described, one would expect that the family should be notified, along with the action that the school is taking to address the issue.
MR MILLIGAN: Minister, what protocols are in place in ACT schools to notify parents that their child has bullied another child in their school?
MS BERRY: There is information available on the website around processes and what parents can do to support children, and also on what the school would be doing under the circumstances where a child might be affected by bullying in a school community. I can direct the member to the website. If there is any further information required, if he could contact my office I can try to get that to them. Generally it will be a decision by, and contact will be made by, a senior officer or by the principal in the school.
MS LEE: Minister, what actions have you taken to satisfy yourself that ACT schools are complying with the protocols that you have just outlined?
MS BERRY: I have faith in our schoolteachers and the profession that they understand what their roles are, that they have been provided with all the policies and procedures and that they have done the personal development and learning to ensure that they know and understand the policies that exist in ACT schools and how they respond to them. Personally, I speak to educators, school professionals and school leaders to assure myself that they are appropriately supported and have the appropriate skills and knowledge to be able to react in all kinds of different situations in our schools, and react appropriately. I have to have faith in our school teachers, and I do. I do not know why the Canberra Liberals seem not to.
Education—violence in schools
MISS C BURCH: My question is to the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development. As minister for education, are you ultimately responsible for providing a safe environment for students in our schools? If not, who is?
MS BERRY: Of course I am. Of course, I am responsible; I am the minister, and I am responsible for ensuring that our schools are safe and positive places in which to learn. I do that by making sure that when situations like this arise, I personally get in
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