Click to edit Master title style Update of The Suspension and Expulsion of School Students – Procedures 2011 Student Welfare DirectorateUpdate of The Suspension and Expulsion of School Students – Procedures Suspension and Expulsion of School Students – Procedures

The Suspension and Expulsion of School Students – Procedures have been updated and uploaded on the Department’s policies website. The update has been due to:  changes to the school leaving age  revisions to the Department’s child protection policy and related procedures  changes to legislation relating to prohibited weapons.

The school discipline code, and therefore the Suspension and Expulsion of School Students – Procedures have application outside of school grounds and outside of school hours where there is a clear and close relationship between the behaviour of students and the school. This includes the use by a student of social networking sites, mobile phones and/or other technology to threaten, bully or harasses another student or a departmental staff member for school related issues. Clarification of this matter is provided in paragraphs 5.0.7, and 6.3.2

Context  Suspension is only one strategy within a schools student welfare and discipline policies.  In general it is used in cases of serious misbehaviour, or when other strategies have failed to resolve the issue of misbehaviour.  The Suspension and Expulsion of School Students – Procedures is an implementation document of the Student Discipline in Government Schools policy.

It may be necessary to report an incident at a school to the Police, Community Services, Safety and Security and/or the Child Wellbeing Unit. All incidents involving violence, illegal drugs, weapons or major criminal activity must be reported on the School Safety and Response hotline ( ). Incident Reporting

Social Networking...

In recent years cyberbullying has emerged as an issue. Bullying is managed through the schools Anti-bullying plan. In some cases it may be necessary for principals to impose a suspension to manage a disciplinary issue involving bullying or cyberbullying. The revised procedures provide specific powers to impose a suspension, where necessary, in these circumstances. Refer to paragraphs 5.0.7, and Cyberbullying

The Education Act defines "parent" as anyone who has the care or custody of a child - it is thus very wide in its application. In these procedures, the term parent or carer has been replaced with the term parent. The term "parent" or "parents" includes any person or persons having the custody or care or a child. Parents and Carers

A new Appendix 14 “Formal Written Caution is included from the Suspension and Expulsion – A Good Practice Guide to inform parents of ongoing behaviour concerns that may lead to suspension. The Suspension Expulsion Leaflet to be provided to parents with every suspension/expulsion has been reduced in size (from 8 pages to 4) with agreement of the Ombudsman’s Office. It now provides the major points in the procedures and a link to the whole document. Structure and New Inclusions

Procedural Fairness  At a formal disciplinary meeting conducted by the principal procedural fairness requires the principal to explain to the student: o Why he or she is facing suspension and expulsion o Information which will be taken into account and the way the issues will be determined.  The student must be given an opportunity to consider and respond to any allegations prior to the decision being made.

Changes SectionParagraphChangePage Applicability2Insertion of ‘In these procedures, the term "parent" or "parents" includes any person or persons having the custody or care of a child.’ The term ‘or carer’ has been removed from the rest of the document 2 Context4.0.6New paragraph making mention of the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education New Paragraph mentioning record keeping3

Changes – Policy Statement Policy Statement 5.0.1Minor changes to the wording on the purpose of suspension Changes to wording strengthening the use of suspension as a means of managing safety issues Applicability of procedures outside of school hours and school grounds and use of social networking sites, mobile phones or other technology to bully, harass etc. 4 SectionParagraphChangePage

Policy Statement 5.08New Paragraph. Guidance on use of the procedures where another agency such as NSW Police are involved New Paragraphs. Guidance on risk management. Guidance on mandatory child protection reporting. 4 Changes – Policy Statement

SectionParagraphChangePage Changes – General Principles Suspension General Principles 6.1.4Immediate Suspension - all such incidents must be reported through the School Safety and Response hotline. Clarification on when students should be immediately suspended for use, supply, or possession of a suspected illegal substance 5

Suspension General Principles 6.1.6Consideration to be given when communication difficulties arise due to cultural issues and intellectual capacity of parent to understand what is happening Consideration for parents who may require a support person and/or need their disability taken into account. 6 Changes – General Principles

Short Suspension 6.2.1Includes specific mention of bullying and cyberbullying in the short suspension category “Aggressive Behaviour” 7 Changes – Short Suspension SectionParagraphChangePage

Changes – Long Suspension Adjustment to the descriptors on long suspension categories  Physical Violence o Now includes sexual or indecent assault

Changes – Long Suspension  Use of possession of a prohibited weapon, firearm or knife o Clarifies that that harmless children’s toys are not prohibited weapons (amendment made to the Weapons Prohibition Act) o Links possession of a knife to the Summary Offences Act (and notes that Kirpans carried by Sikhs for religious purposes are excluded) o Now includes live ammunition and laser pointers of more than 1 milliwatt

Changes – Long Suspension  Serious Criminal Behaviour Related to the school o Descriptor is more specific and has been moved into the “will” impose a long suspension from the “may” impose section due to safety considerations o The matter must be reported to the NSW Police Force and the School Safety and Response Hotline.

 Persistent or Serious Misbehaviour o The word “Serious” has been added to the title o Bullying, harassment and victimisation have been added to the descriptor Changes – Long Suspension

SectionParagraphChangePage Changes – Expulsion Expulsion8.2.5Includes a new option (due to changes in the education act) for the school education director when considering options that may be available to resolve an expulsion for misbehaviour. This is:  Participation in other education or training approved by the Minister Expulsion for Unsatisfactory Participation  Title of this section has been amended to clarify the student must be over 17 years of age.  Wording has been adjusted to reflect changes to the school leaving age. 15

SectionParagraphChangePage Changes – Appeals Appeals10.0.6Provides guidance for the decision maker (usually the School Education Director) in determining suspension/expulsion appeals 17

SectionParagraphChangePage Changes – Appendices AppendicesProvides a link to the Suspension and Expulsion – A Good Practice Guide 21 Appendix 1Adjustment to the definitions and terms to reflect changes to the school leaving age 22 Appendix 3Support Person and Observer. Expanded to include the advice published in Memorandum DN/09/00164 following the Ombudsman’s investigation into the implementation of the procedures. 25,26 Appendix 6 and 7 Changes to the suspension notification letters regarding the purpose of suspension to make them more inclusive of all students, including those with disabilities. 29,30

A Good Practice Guide  Available at udiscipline/index.htm udiscipline/index.htm  Checklists for procedures  Attachments o Formal caution letter o Formal disciplinary logs (short and long suspensions) o Suspension Resolution Meeting - Action Plan o Post Suspension Readmission Agreement o ‘I can work it out’ worksheet o Bloom’s Taxonomy & Multiple Intelligence Grid o Behaviour Plan o Individual Learning Plan o Personalised Learning Plan