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 Department of Education (the Department) supports high quality, ethical research where the findings have the potential to inform decision making and contribute to improvements in school education policy, staff competency, operational practices, student and staff wellbeing or student achievement and progress.

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 Conflicts of Interest policy and procedures apply to all employees and contractors of the Department of Education and describes the reporting and management obligations related to actual, perceived and potential conflicts of interest.

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.

The Staff Conduct and Discipline policy applies to all employees of the Department of Education and describes the expectations the Department has of its employees and outlines the processes that will be implemented should an allegation of a breach be made.

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.

The Staff Conduct and Discipline policy applies to all employees of the Department of Education and describes the expectations the Department has of its employees and outlines the processes that will be implemented should an allegation of a breach be made.

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.

This policy details the procedures to be undertaken by a school in order to address the management of health care or medical matters during school hours.