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Student Protection

Education Queensland is committed to providing safe, supportive learning environments for all students. Everyone who works in a school must look after the best interests of children and protect them from harm.

Harm is:

Any detrimental effect of a significant nature to the child's physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. It doesn't matter how the harm is caused.

This means anything that will have a serious and harmful effect on a student's physical health, or how they think and feel about themselves.

If a school employee suspects that students have been harmed, they must report their concerns to the school principal.

Whenever the school principal hears or sees something that causes him/her to reasonably suspect that a student has been harmed or is at risk of harm, he/she follows specific procedures depending on who caused the harm.

Student Protection Policy:

The Student Protection Policy (SMS-PR-012) outlines the responsibilities and commitment of Education Queensland to providing a safe and supportive learning environment, and preventing and responding to harm or risk of harm for all students. The policy applies to:

all Education Queensland employees
- school staff members
- district, regional and central office personnel

other employees of State schools
- non departmental employees working in a school context (such as Youth Support Coordinators, School-Based Youth Health Nurses and Chaplains)
- volunteers and regular or on-going visitors to the school

What happens when:

a student harms another student? (new window) 41k
a student self-harms? (new window) 40k
a student is harmed by someone not employed at the school? (new window) 39k
a student is harmed by a school employee (not sexual abuse) (new window) 58k
a student is sexually abused by a school employee? (new window) 50k

If you are concerned that a student has been harmed or is at risk of harm, you can share your concerns with the school principal. Alternatively, you can make a report directly to the Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) or the Queensland Police Service.

In situations where you are unhappy about the actions taken by the school you are able to use Education Queensland's complaints process.

Education Queensland is committed to ensuring that all complaints are dealt with in a fair and equitable manner. There are processes and support structures in place to enable students and parents/carers to work through any issues they may have with the implementation of the Student Protection policy in Education Queensland schools. A Making a complaint (new window) fact sheet is available on the department's website.

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