Policies around teacher protection
Dear Department of Education,
What policies/procedures are in place to ensure Principals and administration people are accountable for their actions?
Is there a written requirement that they must follow? What evidence do they need to provide to prove themselves ? (or is it just based on their word?)
With regards to policies and procedures, is it enough for them just to have the policy documents - are there no other, evidence based, requirements?
Can teachers record meetings, rather than allow just minutes taken? What safety measures are in place for teachers when minutes are subjective and based on the person writing them?
If they are informed prior to the meeting that it will be recorded - is this enough? What are the policies and procedures to protect cold face staff?
What is the policy for the department to keep emails and communications – are they allowed to delete communications from servers? What protocols are in place to prevent the ‘adjustment’ of information?
What policies /procedures are in place for the support and protection of teachers, in relation to the above?
Who can teachers go to for assistance? (The union includes administration so it does not support teaching staff and Fair Work do not deal with public sector!)
Do you have a policy and procedure document for teachers to communicate with people outside of the department for assistance?
Yours faithfully,
C Harris
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Commonwealth Department of Education and Training
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1. https://www.education.gov.au/node/2600
Dear C Harris
Thank you for your email below which you have sent to the Commonwealth
Department of Education and Training. To assist you to make a valid FOI
request, we advise that the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) provides
a right of access to documents in the possession of the department, rather
than answers to questions. Your request is currently in the form of a
series of questions seeking various pieces of information. If you wish to
proceed with an FOI request, please rephrase it as a request for access to
documents.
We note that most of your questions concern policies and procedures in
relation to teachers. The administration and operation of schools is a
state or territory responsibility, and any policies and procedures in
relation to teachers would be the responsibility of the various State and
Territory Departments of Education rather than the Commonwealth Department
of Education and Training. As such, you may wish to direct your enquiry
to the relevant State or Territory Department of Education that is of
particular interest to you. Information regarding how to make a freedom
of information request is available on the various State and Territory
Department of Education websites.
You have also asked about departmental policies regarding keeping emails
and communications, and the deletion of communications from servers.
Extensive information regarding Commonwealth departmental record keeping
requirements is available on the National Archives of Australia website at
[1]http://www.naa.gov.au/information-manage...
If you wish to make an FOI request for particular documents held by the
department in relation to record keeping requirements, please rephrase
your current enquiry as a request for access to documents.
As you have not currently made a valid FOI request, we will not be
processing your request any further. However, if you wish to proceed with
an FOI request to the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training,
please provide your revised request, seeking access to documents, to the
following address: [2][email address].
If you have any questions in relation to this matter, please send your
query to [3][email address].
Kind regards
FOI Team
Department of Education and Training