Navigating Recent Legislative Changes & Challenging Scenarios and Implementing Best Practice
Date | 20 March 2024 |
Time | 9.00am-12.30pm AEDT (Sydney time) |
Venue | Live Online with recording - recording access expires 20 April 2024 |
Pricing | $440 Prices includes gst. |
Sector | NSW State Schools |
CPD | Addresses 7.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers NSW: Provides Elective PD towards NESA Registration Requirements |
9.00 LawSense Welcome
9.05 Chairperson’s Introduction
Lila Mularczyk OAM, Education Consultant; former Director, Secondary Education, NSW Department of Education; Immediate Past President, NSW Secondary Principals’ Council
9.10 Psychosocial Hazards and Difficult Parents: Examining the Impacts of Recent Legislative Change on Rights, Obligations and Management of Difficult Parents
Recent Changes in the Law and Interaction with Other Laws
- Outlining the recent changes to WHS legislation affecting schools including:
- examining definitions or psychosocial hazard and how this can include parent behaviours
- examining interactions with other laws, including laws regarding bullying and sexual harassment – what has changed in responding to these issues?
- understanding obligations to identify reasonably foreseeable psychosocial hazards arising from interaction with parents
Examining Impacts on Schools and Updating Policies Regarding Parents
- Examining how the new laws affect management by the school of parent interactions
- Dealing with regulators:
- understanding the role and current focus of regulators in investigating and enforcing a school’s requirements regarding psycho-social hazards
- how are regulators responding to complaints from parents?
- Meeting you obligation to introduce, maintain and review control measures to eliminate (or minimise) psychosocial risks arising from the conduct of parents
- Updating policies and practices to meet your obligations and expectations regarding psycho-social hazards and parents
John Makris, Partner, Kingston Reid
10.10 Break
10.20 Dealing with Challenging Scenarios: Vexatious Parents, Online Criticism, Breach of DVO’s, Bad Parent Behaviour Towards Other Parents or Students
Examining Obligations and Options – Limiting Communication, Restricting Parents Access, Banning
- Exploring inappropriate parent behaviours encountered by schools
- Outlining duty of care and other obligations in dealing with difficult parents
- Understanding options in responding to parent behaviour, including:
- restricting or limiting communication with the parent
- restricting the parent from involvement in school activities
- banning a parent from a school
Effectively Using Code of Conduct Policies/Charters
- Optimising Parent Code of Conduct policies to manage parent behaviour and protect your legal position
Managing Particular Scenarios:
Online Criticism
- Responding to posts or messages online:
- understanding the legal position of the school and/or staff targeted and potential pitfalls
- approaching websites, blogs, Google, or Facebook to have material removed. What are your options where material is hosted offshore?
- staff commencing defamation action – what are a school’s legal obligations and risks?
Conflict Between Parents, Including Breach of DVO’s/AVOs
- Managing conflict between parents on or outside school grounds
- Parents breaching Family Court orders or domestic violence related orders
- understanding the extent of the school’s obligation to be aware of Family Court orders or Domestic Violence Orders, including interim orders
- examining the extent of your obligations to prevent a parent attending school grounds or school activities to ensure an order is not breached. What sort of practical “work-arounds” can be implemented?
Conflict Between Families, Parent Behaviour Towards Other Students
- Responding to conflict between families which is affecting student relationships within the school
- Dealing with parents behaving inappropriately towards or bullying other students outside the school, including on social media
Warring Ex-Spouses, New Partners, and Blended Families
- Understanding the “rights” of a parent’s new partner and dealing with difficult behaviours
Leighton Hawkes, Principal, McCabes Lawyers
11.20 Break
11.30 Implementing Best Practice Policies, Communications and Record-Keeping to Optimise Complaints Management and Your Legal Position
- Examining effective polices in receiving, triaging, and escalating parent complaints
- Managing communications:
- when to phone, email or meet
- dealing with requests by parents to record communications or meetings
- taking and distributing notes of meetings or other interactions
- managing meetings or communications where the parent is using or wishes to include a lawyer or barrister
- Understanding the role of and managing the “support person” in meetings or interviews
- Using “Without Prejudice” communications to try and negotiate an outcome without prejudicing your legal position
- Complaints to the Ombudsman – navigating your rights and obligations and how you should respond
- Implementing effective record keeping protecting your legal position – understanding what you should record and who should be keeping notes of records
Christa Lenard, Partner, Kingston Reid
12.25 Chairperson’s Conclusion
12.30 Event Close
Presenters / panelists include: