D15/0048859
ALL PRINCIPALS
RECRUITMENT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOR ADVISORY PANELS
The Department’s Focus 2015 document states that schools will ensure parents of all students in the severe non-attendance category are offered, and are supported to participate in, Student Attendance Panels involving family and the community. This is a continuation of Focus 2014 which stated schools actively use Attendance Advisory Panels and Responsible Parenting Agreements where there is persistent student absence following extensive intervention.
All schools are encouraged to actively use Attendance Advisory Panels to help restore student attendance and to provide advice and assistance to the family and school from an external point of view.
Principals of Independent Public Schools have been delegated the authority to convene Attendance Advisory Panels and all other schools in the region may refer a student to a panel through the Regional Executive Director. The region will be providing a consultation and support role however all schools will need to be able to access suitable panel members.
Advisory Panels are chaired by community representatives and require at least two community members to sit on the panel. These community representatives cannot be parents of a student at the school who is convening the panel.
It is highly recommended and encouraged that all schools recruit suitable people from their school community to become approved panellists. Recruitment of panellists will ensure that all schools will have access topanel members when required.
The role of community members on advisory panels is voluntary and a panellist needs to have appropriate experience, skills, attributes or qualifications necessary for the case. It is therefore important to have a wide range of community members approved as panellists so appropriate people can be accessed to meet the specific needs of each case.
The region will be providing two training sessions (morning and afternoon) for community member panellists on Wednesday 25 February 2015to be held in Conference Room 1 at the South Metropolitan Education Regional Office, 184 Hampton Road, Beaconsfield.The training will be free of charge and morning tea will be provided. Taxi vouchers can be offered to community people to attend.
Please forward the community member/s you would like to nominate to attend the Advisory Panel training and their preference to the morning or afternoon session to
SUE ROWE
MANAGER ATTENDANCE, BEHAVIOUR AND WELLBEING
Att.
1
APPLICATION FOR PANEL MEMBERSHIP
Please be assured that the information you provide will be treated confidentially. It will only be used to establish panels under theSchool Education Act 1999. Your detailswill be placed on a database from which panelists will be selected on a case by case basis. Access to the database will be restricted to the regional officers responsible for establishing advisory panels.
Please see the attached Advisory Panels Information Guide for additional details about this form.
- Details
Title: Mr Mrs Miss Ms Other _____
Family Name:
Given Names:
Address (Hm):
Postcode
Postal Address:
Postcode
Date of Birth: / Sex: M F
Work telephone: / Home telephone:
Mobile telephone: / Fax #:
E-mail:
- Referees (complete and sign section 2)
Please provide the contact details of two referees (who have known you for 2 years or more and are not related). Referees may be contacted by regional staff.
a)Name Signature ___
Occupation
Address
Tel:
b)Name Signature
Occupation
Address ______
Tel: ______
- Panels
Please indicate the panel or panels for which you would like to apply with a in the relevant box. The attachedAdvisory Panels Information Guide provides detailed information about each panel.
School Discipline Advisory Panel
School Attendance Panel
Disabilities Advisory Panel
- Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?
Yes
No
- Do you speak a language (or languages) other than English? If so, please list:
______
Panels arranged by regional education office staff may occasionally be held in regional centres rather than at the Regional Education Office. It would help us when establishinga panel to know whether you are prepared to travel and if so, how far.
- Please indicate the area/s in which you are prepared to serve on a panel:
Please refer toAdvisory Panel Information Guide
Metro area
Narrogin
Albany
Bunbury
Esperance
Mandurah
I would be prepared to travel:YesNo
If Yes, please indicate distance –
Up to 50 km
50 - 100 km
100 - 200 km
200 - 300 km
Over 300 km
- Please indicate if there is any time when you are not available
______
- Please attach a brief statement (not more than one page) outlining what experience, skills, attributes or qualifications you would bring to a panel.
- Do you have a Working with Children Check?[1]
YesNo
I understand that inclusion on the panel database does not mean that I will automatically be appointed to any Department of Education, Western Australia Advisory Panel.
______
Signature Date
Send completed ApplicationForm and Confidential Declaration Form to:
CONFIDENTIAL: Advisory Panels
Melanie Couzens
Senior Consultant, Attendance and Behaviour
South Metropolitan Education Region Office
PO Box 63
SOUTH FREMANTLE WA 6162
Phone:9336 9572
Fax:9336 8913
CONFIDENTIAL DECLARATION
Have you ever been convicted of any criminal offence?
YesNo
If ‘Yes’, please provide detailsof the date and nature of the conviction, the penalty imposed and a brief statement of the facts relating to the conviction.
______
Are you currently the subject of any charge pending before a court?
YesNo
If ‘Yes’, please provide details of the nature of the charge and a brief statement of the facts relating to the charge.
I ______(insert name) declare that the information I have provided is true and correct.
______
Signature Date
1
ATTACHMENT ONE:
D13/0383776
Advisory Panels
Information Guide
School Discipline Advisory Panels
Disability Advisory Panels
Student Attendance Advisory Panels
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Advisory Panels
Roles and responsibilities
Panel members
Executive Officer
Chairperson
How do Panels run?
School Discipline Advisory Panels
What is a School Discipline Advisory Panel?
Lines of Inquiry by Panel Members
Considerations and Deliberations
Timeline for School Discipline Advisory Panels
The Director General’s Orders
Disability Advisory Panels
Student Attendance Advisory Panel
Frequently Asked Questions about Advisory Panels
Glossary of Terms
Advisory Panels
It is a legislative requirement for the Department of Education to convene Advisory Panels to review decisions, provide comments, recommendations, advice and assistance in relation to school discipline, placement of student’s with disabilities and students with attendance concerns.
Each advisory panel is comprised of panel members with such skills, experience, attributes or qualification as appropriate to the case. Advisory panels normally include one Department of Education employee and two voluntary community members. For certain panels they are required to be comprised completely of community members. The chairperson is required to be a volunteer community member whose role is to chair the panel meeting and facilitate panel decision making. Panel members cannot be a parent of a child attending the same school as the student for which the panel is being formed, or a member of the teaching staff of the school.
Suitable panellists are people who are willing to work with others as part of a team, prepared to understand relevant Department of Education school policies, are objective and open-minded, have an understanding of fairness and equity issues, are willing to declare any conflict of interest and have an ability to maintain confidentiality.
If the advisory panel is convened for a student from a culturally and/or linguistically diverse background, the Panel should include a person from that background or someone who has relevant knowledge, experience of understanding of that culture. Alternatively the panel should make every reasonable effort to accommodate and address the cultural and/or linguistic needs of the student and/or parent.
An advisory panel meeting usually takes between two and five hours during which panellists interview relevant parties, discuss the information presented to them and make relevant recommendations. It is not anticipated that the time commitment will be regular or onerous.
An Executive Officer from the Department of Education arranges the meeting, contacts all panellists and prepares a report of the meeting on behalf of the chairperson. Panel members are provided with all of the information and support necessary to ensure their participation in a panel process is a positive experience.
A panels’ database has been established to ensure that there is a pool of people from all walks of life with a wide range of experience, skills, knowledge and attributes from which to draw members of panels on a case by case basis. Entry on the database does not guarantee appointment to a panel. At any stage a panellist can be removed from the database at their request. On return of the application form and after referee checks, the information will be recorded on a database. Access to the database is restricted. The application form will be kept on a confidential file for the period during which panel member information remains on the database. No information on the database will be provided to a third party for any purpose.
Composition of Advisory Panels
Type of Advisory Panel / Chairperson(voluntary community member) / Community Representative / Education Representative
School Discipline Advisory Panel / / /
Disabilities Advisory Panel / /
Attendance Advisory Panel / / /
Roles and responsibilities
Panel members
Panelists are required to:
- Consider all relevant information
- Explore the perspectives presented by all parties
- Ask appropriate questions of all parties
- Adhere to procedural fairness
- Provide reasons for the recommendation they are making
- Provide a recommendation for the Director General’s consideration
Executive Officer
The Executive Officer (EO) is appointed by the Regional Executive Director to support the operations of the Panel. The EO will seek any additional information or clarification Panel members might require in order to make a recommendation to the Director General.
The EO keeps an accurate and comprehensive record of Panel discussions. Following the Panel meeting, the EO writes a report which is provided to the Regional Executive Director and the Director General on behalf of Panel members.
The EO may ask questions of the Panel to clarify points of discussion and in order to provide an accurate report. However, the EO does not provide opinions about the recommendation of the Panel.
Chairperson
The Chairperson is one of the community members on the Panel and is appointed by the Regional Executive Director or his/her representative. It is the Chairperson’s role to lead and limit the discussion to the incident/s and behaviour of the student and to facilitate the Panel’s decision making.
The Chairperson (or Executive Officer) should ensure the parents understand the reason for the Panel by restating the grounds for the school’s recommendation (in accord with s.91 of the School Education Act 1999).
The Chairperson is to ensure that Panel members are aware of their roles and responsibilities, and the requirements of the School Education Act 1999 are followed.
How do Panels run?
Procedures
The Panel can determine its own procedures, which may include:
- Where and when the matter will be considered
- Seeking additional evidence from appropriate sources
The Department of Education’s Exclusion policy requires that for School Discipline Advisory Panels, the entire process be completed in ten days (paralleling the ten-day suspension period imposed by the school principal).
Disabilities Advisory Panels are intended to be completed in ten days (paralleling the ten-day suspension period imposed by the school principal) however these process may be extended to allow for additional expert advice to be sought.
Student Attendance Advisory Panels do not have the same time restriction as the student discussed in the advisory panel is not on suspension.
School Discipline Advisory Panels
If a school principal believes that a student has committed a serious breach of school discipline, the principal may suspend the student for ten days and recommend that the student be excluded from attending the school. When this occurs, the matter is referred to a panel for consideration. .
A principal can only recommend exclusion on one or more of the grounds provided in s.91 of the School Education Act 1999:
…a student may be excluded from attendance at a government school if –
(a)he or she has committed a breach of school discipline in circumstances that –
(i)have adversely affected or threaten the safety of any person who is on the school premises or participating in an educational programme of the school; or
(ii)have caused or are likely to result in damage to property;
or
(b)his or her behaviour has disrupted the educational instruction of other students.
What is a School Discipline Advisory Panel?
A School Discipline Advisory Panel is a representative and impartial group of people who meet together to consider evidence in regard to a student’s alleged breach of school discipline. In particular, the Panel makes a recommendation about whether a student should be excluded from attending a particular school.
A School Discipline Advisory Panel must consist of:
- at least two community representatives
- a Department of Education representative
If the recommendation for exclusion relates to a student who has a disability or implied disability, and the grounds for exclusion are s.91(a)(i) or (ii), the Panel must include a person who has relevant knowledge or expertise.
The panel is provided with a school report outlining both the student’s behaviour and the school’s strategies to address the behaviour. The report is also provided to the student’s family. During the panel meeting, the panel are briefed and then interview the school representatives and the student and their family representatives. The panel then deliberate and make a recommendation that the student is excluded or not excluded.
Lines of Inquiry by Panel Members
What questions should be asked by the Panel?
- Any questions relating to the student’s behaviour at the school
- Questions about what the school has done to modify or attempt to modify the student’s behaviour at school. This may include questions about the involvement of such personnel as the School Psychologist, or of other agencies/service providers.
- What is the student’s and family’s view of the situation?
- In the student’s and family’s view, what supports have they been offered by the school or have they accessed?
- If the student is excluded, where do the school / the student / the family believe he or she should go?
- If the student is not excluded, what will the school do? What will the student do?
The parents and student must have the opportunity to respond to any adverse comments made by school representatives and to any new information provided by them.
What questions should not be asked? What information should not be sought?
- Information that is not relevant to the student’s behaviour at that particular school (Panels are to only consider information from the current school)
- Avoid questions that may antagonise the parent or student
Panel members are advised to avoid lecturing or giving advice to the student as this is not the purpose of the Panel. It is worth remembering that the student has probably had many “lectures” and received lots of advice.
Considerations and Deliberations
The Panel must specifically consider the particular grounds for exclusion cited by the school principal, in accord with s91 of the School Education Act 1999 (see p.3 of this document). It must make a determination as to whether the evidence presented satisfies these grounds.
The Panel will consider:
- Any social, cultural, lingual, economic, geographic and learning factors that may be relevant to the student’s behaviour and the alleged breach of school discipline.
- The student’s behaviour and the school’s efforts to support the student to modify his / her behaviour. An exclusion recommendation is based on a student’s behaviour at school. This may be an isolated event or over a period of time.
Timeline for School Discipline Advisory Panels
Day 1The School makes a recommendation for exclusion to the Regional Executive Director
Day 2-3The Executive Officer (EO) arranges Panel members, the location for the Panel meeting and other requirements
Day 3 or 4The school provides the EO with the school exclusion report. The EO provides the school’s report to the panel members and the student’s family, along with other relevant documentation
Day 5 or 6The Panel meets
Day 7The Panel’s report is provided to the Regional Executive Director
Day 8The Panel’s report is provided to the Director General
Day 10The Director General informs the student, his/her family and the school of the orders made
The Director General’s Orders
The Director General may:
- exclude the student from normal attendance at the school but direct him or her to attend the school for particular purposes
- completely exclude the student from attending the school
- direct the student to attend a specified government school or to participate in a specified educational program
- determine the educational instruction that the student is to be given, or a combination of two or more of the above.
The Director General is not bound by recommendations made by a School Discipline Advisory Panel.
Disability Advisory Panels
If a student with a disability or imputed disability is has committed a serious breach of school discipline under s.91(b), the evidence will be considered by a Disability Advisory Panel. Disability Advisory Panels are also formed when a written request to review a decision of the Regional Executive Director about the placement of a student with a disability is received or when the adjustments and/or the educational program being provided for a student with disabilities are disputed by the parents.
What is a Disabilities Advisory Panel?