Safeguarding Children and Young People…

Northern Christian School considers the health, safety and wellbeing of all children and young people our highest priority. We strive to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, in particular, through our Safeguarding Children & Young People Policy. The school seeks to create and maintain a caring environment where Christian values inspire and affirm the highest standards of ethical conduct regarding the care, support, and welfare of the students entrusted to it.

We, as a staff, acknowledge our responsibility to God and have a duty to care for all students to protect their safety. In Matthew 18:1-5, Jesus speaks about how precious children are to Him:

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’

Every day, we continue to work hard to review our policies and practices to ensure that our learning environments are safe and healthy for our students, staff and parents. Recently, Christian Schools Tasmania’s Compliance Manager, Angela Gurney, met with a group of parents, students, Mr Samuel Whittle and myself as we reviewed our Statement for Children and Young People. We were encouraged by the constructive feedback we received and have made amendments to the Statement, which now includes ‘peer to peer’ relationships, for example, “It is okay for you to say NO to an adult or child if they ask you to do something that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable.” Our full statement reads:

At Northern Christian School, we state that our students should:

• feel comfortable;

• be cared for; and

• feel safe, and be safe.

Everyone who works here does their best to make sure children here are protected from any harm.

It is not okay for anyone to hurt your feelings or your body.

It is okay for you to say NO to an adult or child if they ask you to do something that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

If you ever feel unsafe, uncomfortable or upset, we will listen to you and act to help you.

Anything that makes you feel unsafe, upset or uncomfortable will be taken seriously by us.

It is always okay to tell someone if you are not feeling comfortable or safe or if you have been hurt.

If you are unhappy with the way you are being treated, please tell someone who you feel comfortable and safe with from Northern Christian School or a parent.

We have been discussing our Statement with students at Line-Up each week this year. We are so encouraged that our students are articulating that they need to feel comfortable; be cared for; and feel safe and be safe.

We have also introduced the ‘Who do I talk to when…” and ‘If I ever feel unsafe, uncomfortable, upset or have a problem...” posters throughout the school which are written in child-friendly language with a clear outline of options if they have a problem, including submitting concerns via an online complaint form.

I would like to thank you everyone for the way that you continue to give us feedback and for your support and help in maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment for our students, staff and families.

Bethany Armstrong - Principal

eSafety…

At Northern, we equip our students to be safe online and wise with technologies. Each year, all students learn and explore internet safety and participate in a range of cyber safety sessions, such as the 'Be an eSafe kid: Be safe, be supportive' webinar in September for National Child Protection Week organised by the eSafety Commissioner. eSafety provides a wide range of online safety programs and resources. Their purpose is to help safeguard all Australians from online harm and to promote safer, more positive online experiences. They state their role as follows:

• We use research, evidence and experience to lead and advise on online safety issues. This is how we deliver comprehensive services that are compassionate and focused on people.

• We approach our work through three lenses – prevention, protection, and proactive change.

• We prevent online harm by developing resources and programs based on robust evidence.

• We protect Australians and alleviate harm with our regulatory and reporting schemes.

• And we are proactive in minimising harms with initiatives that make our digital environments safer and more inclusive.

• We have substantial powers to protect all Australians – adults now as well as children – across most online platforms and forums where people experience abuse or harm.

• We move quickly to protect people from online abuse and act as a safety net across our four reporting schemes:
  - a new Adult Cyber Abuse Scheme
  - a Cyberbullying Scheme for Australian children
  - an Image-Based Abuse Scheme
  - an Online Content Scheme for illegal and restricted content

Last week, staff had the privilege to listen to Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety, Susan McClean, who was a member of Victoria Police for 27 years. Staff were grateful for Susan's famous 'no nonsense' approach as she covered the positive benefits of technology and what we need to be aware of. Susan challenged us all "not to be afraid of technology, instead to learn about it and embrace it as our children do. Accept that they will access content that might upset them, often not because they went looking for it, and make sure that they are comfortable coming to you when this happens. Spend time online with them. Cyberspace can be a lot of fun." 

I want to take this opportunity to share some resources for parents to help children have safe online experiences:

• Australian Government Esafety Webinars

• Internet Safety Tips For Parents, Teachers & Carers from San McClean.

We will continue working with parents to teach our students to be wise with technology. If you need further advice on cyber safety, please speak with your child’s teacher.

Digital Parenting

Come and hear guest speaker Daniel Sih provide insights on raising healthy tweens and teens in the digital age. Daniel will be answering questions like:

• When should I get my child a smartphone?

• How do I guide their digital habits?

• What can I do to help them enjoy life away from a screen?

and lots more….

Daniel has 15 years of experience working in senior leadership and strategic consulting roles across Australia and the UK. The event will be held in the Performing Arts Centre. Supper will be provided. We'd love to see you there! Tickets are FREE and available via Eventbrite. Please feel free to invite interested families and friends to this informative evening. To find out more about Daniel Shi and what to expect during the evening please visit his website.

Bethany Armstrong - Principal

Poster Competition
Winners Announced

At Northern Christian School, we believe our students should:

• Feel comfortable;

• Be cared for; and

• Feel safe and be safe.

This is outlined in our Statement for Children and Young People, so to involve and create opportunities for discussion with our students, we invited Years 5 and 6 students to design a poster. The winning posters have been placed around the school and are a valuable tool to support our ongoing commitment to educating our students on feeling comfortable, cared for and safe at Northern.

Our winning posters were designed by Samuel and Ali. These students both received a Banjos voucher and award for their winning designs.

Samuel Whittle - Pastoral Care Coordinator

Mobile Phone and Smart Device Usage

Students with mobile phones are to hand them into their teacher before the commencement of the school day and collect them at the end of the school day. iPads and phones are not to be used before school once students are on the school grounds. After school, phones are only to be used for communicating with parents and carers.

Students who have smart watches must have them on ‘Airplane’ mode. The use of smart watches is the same as for mobile phones:

• when using a mobile device, courtesy, consideration, and respect for others are always paramount.

• mobile devices are brought and kept at school entirely at their owner’s risk.

• any student who is feeling unwell at school and needs to go home must arrange this through their teacher and the office staff.

• students who need to call their parents/carers during the day on urgent matters must report to the teacher and admin staff for assistance.

• students are not permitted to have mobile phones on an excursion or at camp.

• parents and carers needing to contact students during school hours must call the office staff, who will deliver the messages to the students.

For more information regarding device usage, refer to our Device and Internet Policy on our Parents Page.

Prep and Year 3 Parent / Teacher Interviews will be held on:
Tuesday 16 August from 3.20pm - 6.00pm
Wednesday 17 August from 3.20pm - 6.00pm

Please use our online booking system to book an interview with your child’s teacher.

From the Office