LawSense Dealing With Difficult Parents – NSW State Schools

Navigating Recent Legislative Changes & Challenging Scenarios and Implementing Best Practice

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:

	With over 20 years’ experience working in regulatory workplace health and safety, dealing with regulators, and providing advice and representation on numerous issues, John is regarded as a notable senior leader in the industry. John has been recognised as a leading lawyer in his field for many years running, including recognition as a Leading individual for Workplace Health And Safety in The Legal 500, 2023 and a listing in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023 for Health & Safety.
	Leighton Hawkes commenced his career in claims management and other technical roles with a major Australian insurance, working on claims for the NSW Treasury Managed Fund (TMF). Leighton has acted for the NSW Department of Education for a significant number of years. Presently he acts in a diverse range of matters, including claims arising from public liability, property damage to NSW schools, historical sexual abuse, discrimination (employee and disability), and Coronial enquiries.
	Christa Lenard is a workplace relations and employment lawyer with extensive experience in advising public sector departments and agencies at both Commonwealth and state level, as well as large and medium private sector companies.

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