Calliope State School has tailored school discipline policies designed to ensure students, staff and visitors work cooperatively to create and maintain a supportive and safe learning environment.  Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the responsibilities for students, staff and visitors outlined in the following policies:

• temporary removal of student property;
• use of mobile phones and other devices by students;
• preventing and responding to bullying;
• appropriate use of social media.

Temporary removal of student property

 The removal of any property in a student’s possession may be necessary to promote the caring, safe and supportive learning environment of the school, to maintain and foster mutual respect between all state school staff and students.  The Temporary removal of student property by school staff procedure outlines the processes, conditions and responsibilities for state school principals and school staff when temporarily removing student property.

In determining what constitutes a reasonable time to retain student property, the principal or state school staff will consider:

• the condition, nature or value of the property;
• the circumstances in which the property was removed;
• the safety of the student from whom the property was removed, other students or staff members;
• good management, administration and control of the school.

The principal or state school staff determine when the temporarily removed student property can be returned, unless the property has been handed to the Queensland Police Service.

The following items are explicitly prohibited at Calliope State School and will be removed if found in a student’s possession:

• illegal items or weapons (e.g. guns, knives*, throwing stars, brass knuckles, chains);
• imitation guns or weapons;
• potentially dangerous items (e.g. blades, rope);
• drugs** (including tobacco);
• alcohol;
• aerosol deodorants or cans (including spray paint);
• explosives (e.g. fireworks, flares, sparklers);
• flammable solids or liquids (e.g. fire starters, mothballs, lighters);
• poisons (e.g. weed killer, insecticides);
• inappropriate or offensive material (e.g. racist literature, pornography, extremist propaganda).

* No knives of any type are allowed at school, including flick knives, ballistic knives, sheath knives, push daggers, trench knives, butterfly knives, star knives, butter knives, fruit knives or craft knives, or any item that can be used as a weapon, for example a chisel.  Knives needed for school activities will be provided by the school, and the use of them will be supervised by school staff.

** The administration of medications to students by school staff is only considered when a prescribing health practitioner has determined that it is necessary or when there is no other alternative in relation to the treatment of a specific health need.  Schools require medical authorisation to administer any medication to students (including over-the-counter medications such as paracetamol or alternative medicines).

Responsibilities

State school staff at Calliope State School:

• do not require the student’s consent to search school property such as lockers, desks or laptops that are supplied to the student through the school;
• may seize a student’s bag where there is suspicion that the student has a dangerous item (for example, a knife) in their school bag, prior to seeking consent to search from a parent or calling the police;
• consent from the student or parent is required to examine or otherwise deal with the temporarily removed student property. For example, staff who temporarily remove a mobile phone from a student are not authorised to unlock the phone or to read, copy or delete messages stored on the phone;
• there may, however, be emergency circumstances where it is necessary to search a student’s property without the student’s consent or the consent of the student’s parents (e.g. to access an EpiPen for an anaphylactic emergency);
• consent from the student or parent is required to search the person of a student (e.g. pockets or shoes). If consent is not provided and a search is considered necessary, the police and the student’s parents should be called to make such a determination.

Parents of students at Calliope State School:

• ensure your children do not bring property onto schools grounds or other settings used by the school (e.g. camp, sporting venues) that:
  • is prohibited according to the Calliope State School Student Code of Conduct;
  • is illegal;
  • puts the safety or wellbeing of others at risk;
  • does not preserve a caring, safe, supportive or productive learning environment;
  • does not maintain and foster mutual respect.
• collect temporarily removed student property as soon as possible after they have been notified by the principal or state school staff that the property is available for collection.

Students of Calliope State School:

• do not bring property onto school grounds or other settings used by the school (e.g. camp, sporting venues) that:
  • is prohibited according to the Calliope State School Code of Conduct;
  • is illegal;
  • puts the safety or wellbeing of others at risk;
  • does not preserve a caring, safe, supportive or productive learning environment;
  • does not maintain and foster mutual respect.
• collect their property as soon as possible when advised by the Principal or state school staff it is available for collection.

 INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

2. Why include? (With links to research evidence)

School is the gateway to society and inclusive communities start with inclusive neighbourhood schools that  value diversity and respect the right of ALL students to be welcomed and to belong – they benefit not only students with disabilities but ALL students.

An inclusive school …

• Welcomes ALL children, regardless of background ability or other “difference”
• Recognizes that ALL children are capable of learning
• Respects the diversity among children: age, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, social status, health
• Adopts structures, systems and methodologies for education that respond to the diverse needs of ALL children
• Embraces its role in promoting an inclusive society
• Understands that education is a dynamic process that continues to evolve to respond to the needs of today’s children – tomorrow’s citizens

Inclusion matters because …

RIGHTS!

• Inclusion is a right.
  • Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesrecognises the right to an inclusive education as a human right of people with disability. The General Comment No. 4 issued by the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities on 26 August 2016, gives guidance to governments, including the Australian government, about what is meant by “inclusive education” and what they need to do under Article 24. It is an important document that every parent, educator and school administrator should read.
  • In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992ensures equal access by people with a disability to education by making it against the law for an educational authority to discriminate because of disability.
  • State Equal Opportunity Laws also offer discrimination protections.

RESEARCH!

• Inclusion is best evidence practice for students with disability.
• The case for inclusive education over “special education” models (“special schools” or “education support units”) is overwhelming.  Over 40 years of research shows that when students with disability are included, all students learn and achieve more.  A  comprehensive review of all studies over a 40-year period that compared education outcomes for students with disability in segregated “special” versus regular education environments found that NO study supported better outcomes in “special” settings.
• Research also shows that when they are included, students with disability have:
  • greater access to the general education curriculum
  • more time “on task”
  • more academic gains
  • more progress on literacy skills
  • increased communication skills
  • improved social skills
  • more friendships.
• Inclusion is better for ALL students.
• The research has also shown consistently that children who share inclusive schools with children with disabilities have more positive attitudes towards difference, better social skills and awareness, less disruptive behaviours and more developed personal values and ethics.
• Inclusive learning environments have also been shown to have no detrimental impact, and some positive impact on the academic performance of non-disabled students, as confirmed by a 2017 meta-analysiscovering a total sample of almost 4,800,000 students.
• A systematic review of 280 studies from 25 countriesestablished clearly and consistently that inclusive educational settings can "confer substantial short- and long-term benefits for students with and without disabilities".
• This includes research that shows consistently that children who share inclusive schools with children with disabilities have more positive attitudes towards difference, better social skills and awareness, less disruptive behaviours and more developed personal values and ethics.

REAL FUTURES!

• Inclusion at school is the foundation of inclusive futures and welcoming communities.In inclusive schools, ALL students of ALL abilities, learn the skills they need to live full lives as part of their communities and to build the communities of the future.

Regards,

Coralie Ditchmen

Acting Principal