Selected ACT Public Servants are to be brought together to form a new taskforce to improve the safety and wellbeing of the Territory’s students, school staff and Education Directorate staff.
Announced by the Education Directorate, the new Safe@School Taskforce is to include representatives from the Directorate itself, ACT Policing as well as health and safety experts from the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, amongst others.
The Directorate said the Taskforce would provide subject-matter expertise to lead a system-wide transformation.
“A key element of the work of the Taskforce will be to operationalise new safe systems of work, using lessons from a system-wide review of safety practices across ACT public schools and a desktop review of systems and processes related to early intervention and reporting,” the Directorate said.
“Initially, the Safe@School Taskforce will coordinate a series of reviews across our public school system to provide a snapshot of how the processes and practices that support safe systems are operating in ACT public schools,” it said.
“These reviews will inform and support the rollout of improved safety systems across all ACT public schools, and coordinate data analysis and reporting to assist with the delivery of appropriate safety supports for schools and students.”
The Directorate said the Taskforce would also build staff’s knowledge and skills while implementing a safety-first culture across the Directorate and supporting change management in schools and the Education Support Office.
It said more professional learning would be delivered to ensure both school and Directorate staff were well-equipped to support and promote a safety culture and respond to negative incidents proactively.
“It will include Safety Culture Workshops to explore topics such as occupational violence, psychosocial impacts, safe systems and emergency management planning,” the Directorate said.
It said the Safe@School Taskforce would also include representatives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, the Australian Education Union (ACT Branch), ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations, and ACT Principals’ Association.
