These procedures aim to maximise the flexibility available to school communities in the configuration of the school day within the constraints of legislation and industrial agreements. The Director General determines the days in each year on which government schools are to be open for educational instruction of students.

This policy ensures that employees are aware of their obligations under the Working With Children Check (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 (the Act) and ensures that the Department maintains compliance with the Act.

Access to Department online services and Department owned devices is provided to assist the Department in achieving its goals. The Department expects employees to use these resources in an ethical, legal, appropriate and acceptable manner.

The Department of Education undertakes advertising in schools in accordance with the mandatory requirements for Western Australian Government agencies.

This policy explains what ‘duty of care’ means, how teaching staff may discharge their duty of care to students, and circumstances in which non-teaching staff, external providers and volunteers may owe students a duty of care.

The Employee Performance and Development policy and procedures are directed at building a high performance, high care culture across the Department through a focus on improvement. The procedures specify, for all groups of employees, a procedurally fair approach that balances development requirements with accountability, in accordance with the role being performed.

Animals can enrich students’ learning experiences, however schools must adhere to consistent and high quality practices for the care and use of animals. Staff are to adhere to the processes of the Schools Animal Ethics Committee for the use of animals for any scientific teaching activity and/or adhere to the processes of Agricultural Education for the use of animals on school farms.

The procedures outline the requirements for staff in residential facilities to ensure the safety and well-being of students during leisure activities.

The Department of Education manages a breach of Standards claims in accordance with the Public Sector Management (Breaches of Public Sector Standards) Regulations 2005 and in compliance with the requirements of the Commissioner's Instructions: Employment Standard and Filling a Public Sector Vacancy.

Schools and residential facilities need to have appropriate security measures in place to protect school property and ensure a safe and secure environment for staff and students. A variety of approaches are needed for implementation of effective security.