Child protection

Our Child Protection policy, along with supporting policies and procedures, applies to any student at Maheno School who is defined as a child under the Children's Act 2014 (Part 1, s. 5). Where this policy refers to "students" to maintain consistency with other school documentation, child protection requirements apply, with the exception of those outside the Children's Act definition.

Child protection framework

As required by the Children's Act 2014 (s. 14), we have adopted this Child Protection policy as our framework for student safety at Maheno School. This policy contains provisions for identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect, with further detail provided in Abuse Recognition and Reporting.

Guidance provided by Maheno School for the safety and wellbeing of students aligns with the principles of partnership/mahi tahi, protection/kaitiakitanga, and participation/whai wāhi; and the rights and responsibilities of all members of our school community as outlined by te Tiriti o Waitangi. We recognise the importance of involving family/whānau in decision-making, and we involve students in decision-making about themselves in age-appropriate ways.

Our child protection policy, along with supporting documentation, ensures we maintain student welfare as our primary concern, and keep the student at the centre of decision-making. We aim to safeguard our students from abuse and neglect by encouraging concerns to be recognised and shared, and having systems to respond when concerns are raised.

See Student Wellbeing and Safety for a list of policies and procedures supporting child protection at Maheno School.

Supporting student safety and responding to concerns

We support the wellbeing/hauora of our students by establishing positive learning environments, and promoting respectful relationships between students and staff. We have a designated child protection person, who is the primary point of contact for concerns about students, including concerns about abuse or neglect. At Maheno School, this person is the principal. In situations of concern, we aim to work together and intervene early to support student safety and wellbeing.

We foster a safe atmosphere for our students to speak up if they feel that something is wrong or that they are being mistreated. We may use programmes to help students identify healthy and unhealthy relationships. Our school uses the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme.

• For further information about our whole-school approach to wellbeing, see Supporting Student Wellbeing.

• If a wellbeing concern is raised, or staff think that a student may require extra support, we follow procedures for Responding to Student Wellbeing Concerns.

• If there is a concern or disclosure of abuse or neglect, we follow procedures for Abuse Recognition and Reporting.

Concern response overview

For information specific to the situations listed above, see the corresponding topic. Our response overview is provided here.

If there is immediate danger:

• Phone the police on 111.

• If possible, protect the immediate safety of the student.

• Following the incident, inform the designated child protection person.

• Record any actions taken.

If there is no immediate danger:

• Record a factual account of any concerns that have come up, or any disclosures that are made.

• For any concerns, consult the designated child protection person, who works with relevant school staff and external agencies as necessary.

• The designated child protection person may consult with the principal and board to decide whether to share information externally.

• Where a concern does not warrant notifying Oranga Tamariki, the school may partner with social service providers to identify and address the needs of the student.

• If necessary, Oranga Tamariki investigates and advises relevant staff about any action that should be taken to support students.

• Decisions about informing parents or caregivers about suspected or actual child abuse or neglect are made after consultation between the school and Oranga Tamariki.

• All decisions are recorded in writing and kept in a secure child protection file, with any decision-making processes explained.

Child protection roles and responsibilities

The board is responsible for ensuring all children's workers (core and non-core) employed or engaged by the school are safety checked before their appointment. This includes bus drivers employed by our contracted transport service provider. Existing children’s workers are safety checked every three years after the last safety check was completed.

If the school employs a staff member that is not considered a children's worker, they are police vetted if their role includes unsupervised access to students. The school also ensures all volunteers who regularly work with students are safety checked.

Staff, including contracted bus employees, have a professional responsibility to report any concerns about student wellbeing and safety, particularly in regard to abuse, neglect, or professional misconduct of other staff to the designated child protection person. For more information about staff training, responsibilities, and conduct expectations, see Staff Responsibilities for Child Protection.

At Maheno School, our designated child protection person is the principal, who is the primary point of contact for concerns about students, including concerns about abuse or neglect. The designated child protection person is available and accessible to all other staff, and has experience and training in responding to child protection concerns.

Child protection partnerships

Staff members work with relevant contacts within the school to best support students, and seek guidance from external agencies as appropriate. Unless there is immediate danger, staff members do not act alone on their concerns.

Maheno School works with Oranga Tamariki and the New Zealand Police where appropriate, and liaises with partner agencies and community organisations to support early interventions with the goal of safe and effective abuse response. We share information if it is in the best interests of a student, as per information sharing provisions. In all circumstances, Maheno School is carefully guided by these provisions as well as privacy considerations.

For further detail about information sharing processes, see Sharing Student Personal Information with External Agencies.

External agency interviews

If an external agency such as the police or Oranga Tamariki asks to interview a student on school grounds, the school ensures the rights of the student are upheld. If Oranga Tamariki contacts the school to interview a student, that student has the right to a support person if they wish. This support person (e.g. member of support staff, teacher, or principal) focuses on the safety and wellbeing of the student.

The police may contact the school to question a student. Students in this situation have the right to remain silent, and the right to a lawyer. If a student who is under 18 is interviewed by police, a nominated adult can support them. See Youth Law: Rights with the Police.