Unfortunately DESWA has not provided a marked up copy of the 2013 Standards which would have allowed for easy comparison of the changes from the 2012 Standards. Also the references to new “best practice” requirements make it difficult to determine whether changes are considered mandatory, or simply a matter of aspirational best practice.

The 2013 Standards have immediate effect and governing bodies of schools must be able to demonstrate they have policies and procedures in place that will enable them to meet the new requirements.

To assist Principals and Business Managers within non-government schools to clearly communicate these changes to their boards and executive CompliSpace has put together a detailed Briefing Paper which can be downloaded for free from our public website.

Download the 2013 WA Registration Guidelines Briefing Paper

This briefing paper references specific evidence guidelines within the 2013 Standards and covers:

• The rationale for changes to the 2013 Standards
• An outline of the structure and revision of the 2013 Standards
• A summary of key changes contained within the 2013 Standards
• Recommendations to ensure compliance with the 2013 Standards

We have also updated our online WA Non-Government Schools Registration Standards Self Risk-Assessment tool to include the latest changes to the Standards. This Self Risk-Assessment is designed to enable independent schools in Western Australia to undertake an informal and high level assessment of their current level of compliance against the 2013 Standards.

Access our WA Non-Government Schools Registration Standards Self Risk-Assessment 

Summary of Key Changes to the Standards

While the 2013 Standards reflect changes in legislation and minor changes in language and text, the key operative changes can be summarised as follows:  

1. Increased Background Checks for Board Members

The previous process for conducting background checks on members of the governing body only required National Police Checks. Working with Children Checks (WCC) were only required where the particular board member’s usual duties involved, or were likely to involve them in “child related work”.

The 2013 Standards now refers to it being “best practice” for all members of a school governing body (including ex-officio members) to undertake both National Police Checks and WCCs.

2. Annual Self Review (Risk Assessment)

The 2013 Standards create a new requirement for a governing body to undertake an annual self review (risk assessment) relating to the provision of Level of Care in the school. The evidence guideline makes it clear that this risk assessment must include a review of policies, procedures and their implementation in light of legislative requirements and the 2013 Standards.

3. Training Opportunities for Members of the Governing Body

Schools are now required to provide evidence of training opportunities provided to, and undertaken by, members of the governing body. The 2013 Standards make specific reference to the training that should be undertaken by board members which includes accountable and ethical decision making, complaint handling, duty of care, and protective behaviours.

4. Strengthened Critical Incident Procedures

• A new evidence guideline  covers notification of Critical Incidents so that the Principal must provide immediate notification of any Critical Incidents to the Chair of the governing body and DESWA.
• Minutes of governing body meetings should indicate the date and the time DESWA was notified.
• Details of any Critical Incidents must be included in a written annual report to the governing body as part of Level of Care matters (Criteria 4).

Critical Incident procedures have been strengthened with the 2013 Standards through inclusion of:

•  A new “Critical Incident Report Form”.
•  New DESWA Critical Incident benchmarks that must be referenced in a school’s policy documentation.
• A clear statement that individual teachers are personally responsible for making written reports to the Department of Child Protection.
• A clear statement that staff members within boarding facilities need to be trained in Critical Incident management on a regular basis.

All of these requirements must now also be considered when reviewing student engagement in learning (Criteria 2).

5. Greater Focus On Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement has been a major agenda item within many areas of the education sector for the past few years and this focus has found its way into the 2013 Standards.

In line with the National School Improvement Tool and the National Quality Standard, the 2013 Standards require the school’s improvement plan to include evidence of progress towards implementation of the Australian Curriculum and the school’s Protective Behaviours Program.

6. Background Checks for Non-Teaching Staff and Volunteers

The “teacher registration declaration” has been replaced by a “staff declaration”, which has been expanded to include:

• non-teaching staff,
• volunteers who are not parents, and
• volunteers who are parents, but undertake a professional role within the school.

WWCs must be conducted for these individuals.

If a volunteer is “exempt” from a WWC, as a matter of best practice the school should conduct a National Police Check.

Schools are also required to have a documented procedure for non-teaching staff to report all forms of suspected child abuse through to the governing body.