1. A New Way of Thinking The building blocks of a safer learning environment

2. Aims
We will discuss:
the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 and Children’s Action Plan
education setting requirements
your child protection policy
the importance of professional boundaries
case studies: were there warning signs?
your professional responsibility
reporting concerning or questionable behaviour 2

3. Vulnerable Children Act 2015
to protect and improve the wellbeing of vulnerable children and strengthen our child protection system
the changes provide a framework for professionals to work better together to help children by breaking down the barriers to information sharing
the Act introduces new requirements to ensure children are safe with the people who work with them by implementing several measures, including restrictions preventing people with certain serious convictions from roles that involve working alone with, or with primary responsibility for, children 3

4. Education sector requirements
All schools and centres must:
Safety check workers, and
Have a child protection policy 4

5. Safety Checking The safety checking regulations include:
Confirmation of the identity of the worker, for example sighting the required documents
Collection and consideration of a range of information about the candidate, including a work history, a referee check, and an interview of the candidate, and third party checks as appropriate
Police vet
Evaluation of the risk the person would pose to the safety of children if employed
Organisations are not legally obligated to safety check volunteers, but are still encouraged to do so 5

6. Your Child Protection Policy
Develop a process of transparency and openness in approach
Create an environment where asking questions is considered routine e.g. at staff meetings
Make a robust process of reporting a normal occurrence
Enable a culture of “speaking up”
Provide professional development about professional boundaries
Address potential risk in a proactive manner. In particular, patterns of concerning or questionable behaviour
Raise awareness about behaviours that may blur the boundaries of the teacher-student relationship, despite the best of intentions e.g. special attention 6

7. Teacher-Student Relationship
The literature on professional responsibilities always makes the following points:
the teacher-student relationship is not equal
teachers are in a unique position of trust, care, authority and influence with their students
there is always an inherent power imbalance between teachers and students
professional boundaries need to be maintained for the protection of the student and their educational wellbeing, as well as the reputation of, and the public’s trust in, the profession 7

8. Professional Boundaries
A key Australian* source frames professional responsibilities in the following way:
Emotional boundaries
Treating all students equally (e.g. not having “favourites”)
Recognising the role of a teacher is not to be a ‘friend’, ‘counsellor’ or ‘parent’
Relationship boundaries
Remaining professional in behaviour (e.g. no flirting, teasing)
Any meetings outside of school should be for a valid reason, and with the authorisation of the professional leader and/or parent
Power boundaries
Not abusing authority (e.g. rewarding/punishing a student, etc) 8

9. Continued… Financial boundaries
Gifts or rewards given to students are authorised
Gifts received from students are reported
Communication boundaries
Do not participate in discussions with students about personal and/or sexual matters
Only use social media to interact with students about relevant subject or school matters
* “Managing Professional Boundaries”, Teacher Registration Board, Northern Territory Government, September 2015 9

10. Maintaining professional boundaries
Sector groups are telling us that a professional relationship can be put at risk for teachers who:
may be just a few years older than their students (e.g. common interests, musical tastes, possibly even an overlapping circle of friends)
work in a close-knit regional or rural community and may unavoidably interact with students outside of school
spend less time with family and friends, and consequently begin to see students as a support system
incorporate social media as part of their professional practice 10

11. Social Media
Social media can be an essential tool for some teachers (e.g. links to resources, posting assignments, online discussion forums, etc)
Some ideas from the literature:
Set up a professional account to mitigate ambiguity between professional and personal life
Focus communication with students on subject or school matters
Check your privacy settings to ensure students cannot access any personal information, including photographs 11

12. Clarity around professional boundaries
A review of Education Council cases found that a teacher may be at risk of crossing professional boundaries if they:
engage in more than one of the following behaviours, and/or
repeat the behaviour when they have been advised to stop:
using social media to communicate, e.g. texting and Facebook
alone with child outside the classroom
special attention
transporting a learner
making friends with learner’s parents
being learner’s listening ear
giving gifts 12

13. Review of Education Council Cases13

14. Keeping yourself safe Make it public Make it authorised
Make the right call 14

15. Case Study (2016) Persistently crossed professional boundaries:
Child received special attention, including being given a nickname
High level of contact with the child via social media, including “Facetime” and text messaging
Frequently spent unauthorised time alone with the child outside of classroom hours e.g. taking the child to lunch
The teacher received several warnings from her Principal about the need to maintain professional boundaries
Nevertheless, the teacher continued her behaviour
The School conducted an investigation and found that the teacher had engaged in a high level of unauthorised and inappropriate contact with the child
Teacher was dismissed for serious misconduct 15

16. Warning signs present in the Case Study
Used social media to communicate 
Alone with child outside of the classroom
Special attention
Transporting a child
Making friends with child’s parents
Being child’s listening ear  
Giving gifts
Warned but repeated 16

17. Sam Back (2016) Naively crossed professional boundaries:
Vulnerable student with long standing mental health issues
Teacher began to counsel student, without knowledge or consent of his professional leader or parents
High level of personal exchanges and text messages
Student stayed overnight at teacher’s home on four occasions
Teacher ignored advice from professionals to maintain professional boundaries
Student formed an unhealthy attachment to the teacher
Report from Psychiatrist stated that the teacher/student relationship created an impediment to treatment
The Disciplinary Tribunal cancelled his registration 17

18. Warning signs present in the Back case
Used social media to communicate 
Alone with child outside of the classroom
Special attention
Transporting a child
Making friends with child’s parents
Being child’s listening ear  
Giving gifts
Warned but repeated 18

19. James Parker 74 charges Over 300 offences Offences occurred 1999-2012
All victims were boys he taught 19

20. Warning signs present in the Parker case
Used social media to communicate
Alone with child outside of the classroom 
Special attention
Transporting a child
Making friends with child’s parents
Being child’s listening ear  
Giving gifts
Warned but repeated   20

21. Professional boundaries are essential
The environment he created masked unacceptable behaviour e.g. boys playing rugby in their underwear
A pattern of events where the relationship of trust played a pivotal role e.g. boys staying over at his house
Opportunity to freely cross professional boundaries enabled him to offend undetected 21

22. Principal found to have engaged in serious misconduct
Failure to provide a safe environment for students
“It is a responsibility of all teachers, but particularly the head teacher, to secure a safe environment for pupils and this is a well established and fundamental requirement” Hood, TA Reference No UK case 22

23. Professional responsibility
As professionals teachers should:
understand that tolerance of the behaviour by others is not relevant
be aware of the teacher who may be too close to one student, or who shows too much attention towards a student
be prepared to consult a trusted supervisor or colleague about concerning conduct /behaviour of colleagues
maintain an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of, implement and comply with, student protection policies as they apply in their workplace
be prepared to report any professional boundary violations of teachers to their professional leader 23

24. Ongoing employer obligations
Every three years, safety checks must be completed for each person you continue to employ (1. identity check; 2. checks with relevant professional body; 3. Police Vet; 4. risk assessment)
Safety checking is about using professional judgement to identify patterns of concerning attitudes or behaviours.
An indicator of possible risk may be as small as an innocent deviation from expected behaviour or norms, or even a complaint from a parent that may be unsubstantiated or withdrawn
An indicator of risk is behaviour that is repeated despite warnings from a professional leader to stop that behaviour
The safety of children is always the primary consideration 24

25. What to do if a conduct issue is reported
Refer to the terms of the employment agreement and/or complaints and disciplinary procedures
NZSTA is available to advise, assist and provide an advocacy service (helpline )
Other third party support (Police, CYFs, MOE, Education Council)
The final decision about whether a person is safe to continue to work with children, or whether disciplinary action is required for possible professional misconduct, remains the sole responsibility of the employer
Complaints received about former employees should be referred to the Education Council
It is mandatory to notify the Education Council in certain circumstances (as follows) 25

26. When to report to the Education Council
A Mandatory Report is required in all cases where a teacher:
is dismissed
resigns and within the preceding 12 months the employer advised the teacher there was dissatisfaction with, or an intention to investigate, conduct (or competence) issues
reaches the end of a fixed term position, even if it is for only one day as a relief teacher, and the employer was dissatisfied with, or intended to investigate, conduct (or competence) issues
engages in serious misconduct
*Regardless of confidentiality agreements* 26

27. A new way of thinking Vulnerable Children Act
Your Child Protection Policy: multi level approach
Clarity around professional boundaries
Your professional responsibility (e.g. Sam Back, James Parker)
Changing the culture of reporting concerning or questionable behaviour
Complaints and disciplinary procedures that take into consideration the reporting of softer warning signs
Clarity around third party support (including when to report to the Education Council) 27

28. Further Information
The Vulnerable Children Act
The Children’s Action Plan
Children’s Action Plan Fact Sheet Uploads/childrens-workforce/ Safety-checking-factsheet-and-QnAs.pdf
Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers
Conduct and Competence Overview
Practising Teacher Criteria criteria-1 28