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Wellington Public School

Wellington Public School

Where every child is known, valued and cared for.

Telephone02 6845 4080

Emailwellington-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Volunteers, Visitors and Students Procedure

Aim

Maintaining links and exposing children to people in their community is a major aspect of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) but ensuring that these people will not cause harm to any child, is of utmost importance.

This document outlines the procedure to be followed when visitors, volunteers, students on practicum or work experience students attend Wellington Public School Preschool.

Legislative Requirements

            Education & Care Services National Law

            Education & Care Services National Regulations 2011

Links to the National Quality Standard

            Standard 2.2 – Safety – Each child is protected

Standard 7.1 – Governance – Governance supports the operation of a quality service

Who is affected by this Procedure?

Volunteers, visitors and students attending WPS Preschool

 

Implementation

·         A staff record must be kept which contains information about all staff members, including the educational leader, volunteers and students, including working with children checks. Regulation 149 states that "The staff record must include the full name, address and date of birth of each student or volunteer who participates in the centre-based service." and "The approved provider of a centre-based service must also keep a record for each day on which the student or volunteer participates in the service, the date and the hours of participation."

  • Any adult who enters the preschool grounds, who is not usually in the preschool at any given time throughout the day, must sign in and out of the visitor’s book.
  • All visitors who enter the school’s premises through the school front office will be required to sign the visitor’s register, in addition to signing the preschool’s visitor register on arrival at Preschool.
  • Upon entry to the preschool, all visitors must sign in to the Preschool Visitor’s register, located in the foyer of the preschool.
  • Visitors, volunteers or students are not permitted to be left alone with any child or be asked to supervise or manage the behaviours of children on behalf of a qualified educator at any time.
  • Teachers and SLSO's from the primary school who come to the preschool for relief at morning tea and lunch breaks are not required to sign the visitor’s book but are required to complete the attendance register for RFF, Lunch Duty & Casual staff.
  • Parents and close relatives volunteering in the preschool do not require a WWCC clearance, but must provide 100 points of proof of identity and complete the Declaration for volunteers and non-child related contractors (attached to this procedure).  The exception to this is if they are providing personal are to a child or are part of a formal mentoring program, in which case they must provide, and have verified, a Working with Children Check. 
  • The school principal must use information provided by a volunteer to confirm that the person is not on the Department’s Not to BE Employed (NTBE) database via EcPC.  It is suggested that a copy of the completed declaration be kept in the preschool staff folder to meet the requirement of collecting any volunteer’s full name, date of birth and address.  
  • Early childhood or teacher education students completing practical training or undertaking an internship within a preschool must have a WWCC clearance and provide 100 points of proof of identity.
  • Volunteers or work experience students under the age of 18 do not need to obtain a WWCC clearance, however their full name, date of birth and address should be recorded (regulation 149).  As for all visitors to the preschool, volunteers, work experience and education students must record the dates and times of their visits in the preschool visitor’s sign-in book.
  • Student teachers, work experience students and volunteers must be given a copy of the centre philosophy and provided with important information such as medical conditions, WH&S procedures, allergies, evacuation and lock down procedures etc to ensure a thorough understanding.

 

Related Policies/Procedures

·         Child Safe Environment

·         Protecting Children & Young People

Review

This procedure will be reviewed annually.  Review will be conducted by School Principal, Preschool Staff, parents/carers and any interested parties.