28 Mar 2019
Safe and Supportive Schools Advisory Committee
On Tuesday 19 March 2019, the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Yvette Berry MLA, established the Safe and Supportive Schools Advisory Committee.
The advisory committee was established in accordance with the ACT Education Act (2004) to provide advice to the Government on opportunities to strengthen safe and supportive school culture in every ACT public school.
ACT public schools are safe places dedicated to learning with more than 49,000 students and nearly 4,000 teachers attending ACT public schools every day, mostly without incident. However, schools are a reflection of the larger community and complex and challenging behaviours are present in all aspects of society.
For this reason, the advisory committee was established to review the current policies, procedures and processes that govern how schools and the Education Directorate manage and respond to incidents.
The advisory committee has been given discretion on how it conducts the review but will consider the findings of the Schools for All Report and other relevant and contemporary reviews and reports.
The advisory committee will also be able to draw on the advice of other experts and stakeholders and will review the implementation of the Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) and other targeted interventions that support the Safe and Supportive Schools policy.
The committee will be chaired by Ms Sue Chapman and will include members from a wide variety of education stakeholder groups.
Sue Chapman
As Chair of the School Education Advisory Committee – Safe and Supportive Schools, Ms Chapman will lead the advisory committee to provide advice to the Minister on opportunities for strengthening safe and supportive school culture in every ACT government school.
Additionally, as Chair, Ms Chapman will lead the advisory committee in advising the Minister on opportunities to strengthen practises in schools and the Education Support Office that give effect to the Safe and Supportive Schools Policy.
Chris Redmond
As Deputy Chair of the School Education Advisory Committee – Safe and Supportive Schools, Mr Redmond will draw on his background and experiences as a leader in the community sector to support the Chair.
Dr Sue Packer
As a member of the advisory committee, Dr Packer will bring her background and experience in child health and wellbeing to support the Chair.
Dennis Yarrington
As a member of the advisory committee, Mr Yarrington will bring his background and experience as an ACT Public School Principal and President of the Australian Principals Association to support the Chair.
Nick Maniatis
As a member of the advisory committee, Mr Maniatis will bring his background and experience as a current ACT Public School teacher to support the Chair in providing advice to the Minister on opportunities for strengthening safe and supportive school culture in every ACT government school.
Kirsty McGovern-Hooley
As a member of the advisory committee, Ms McGovern-Hooley will bring her background and experience as the President of the ACT Council of Parents and Citizen’s Association to support the Chair.
Philippa Godwin
As a member of the advisory committee, Ms Godwin will bring her background and experience in social services to support the Chair
Barbara Causon
As a member of the advisory committee, Ms Causon will bring her experience as a Wiradjuri woman, a parent to a child with intellectual and physical disabilities and her extensive background in Indigenous affairs to support the Chair.
The independent committee will present a status update to the Minister in May, before presenting its final report to the Minister in August.
You can find more information on the Safe and Supportive Schools Advisory Committee, including the Terms of Reference for the committee, here.