child protection and schools legal compliance package

by | Aug 24, 2023

The Uyazi? (Do you know?) Child Protection and Schools Legal Compliance Package for just R1,995-00 (Brand New Product)

With recent amendments to the below legislation, South African Educators and Management have new fiduciary duties and obligation in terms of the law. These obligations are not only applicable to reporting but to training, policy development and staff vetting. Ignorance of the law is certainly no excuse or defence.

  • South African council for educators’ act and SACE Code of Professional Ethics
  • The South African Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020
  • South African Schools Act
  • The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977
  • The Children‘s Act 35 0f 2005 (As amended Act 41 of 2007)
  • The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Amendment Act 32 of 2007
  • Employment of Educators’ Act

Every Governing Body, School Board, Executive Principal and Corporate Board should be able to tick the following boxes should an incident take place at your school. Is your school able to stand up the scrutiny of the media and investigating officials?

  1. Do we have the correct Child Protection Policies in place?
  2. Are our Policies legally compliant with all relevant legislation?
  3. Have our staff received the relevant required training and are they fully aware of their fiduciary duties when it comes to reporting obligations?

For just R1,995-00 (Once off payment), your school will receive the following:

  1. Compliance audit

Our Legal Team will provide a full audit on all of you existing Policy Documents, a legally compliant audit report will be generated with recommendations.

  1. Template Policy Documents in Word format

We will provide you with the following Policy Templates in a Word Format:

  • Child Protection Policy
  • Anti – Bullying Policy (Including all essential Cyber Bullying inclusions)
  • Cyber Safety Policy
  • Drug and Alcohol Policy
  • Staff vetting Policy
  • Policy on Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
  • Code of Conduct Handbook (Manual on conducting a disciplinary hearing at a State or Independent School)
  • ICT Policy for Learners, Staff and Parents
  • Policy on Sexual Assault
  • Policy on reporting Abuse
  • Teen Pregnancy Policy
  1. Access to our Child Protection Legal Helpline

Access to our team of child protection experts for any legal advice, assistance with case management and SAPS liaison.

  1. Child Protection training for all Staff and Management
  • Six X 30 Min Staff Development Workshops on video including workbooks, case studies, memorandums and an easy step by step protocol and procedure guide for each workshop
  • Each member of staff that completes the training will receive 6 SACE Accredited certificates

One of the biggest challenges facing education in South Africa today is the lack of training provided to teachers when it comes to issues of child protection, abuse reporting protocols and the responsibilities that teachers have in their in loco parentis relationship with learners. The sad truth is that teachers are not normally trained to deal with the real issues that they face in the classroom, recent negative media has proven that schools are ill equipped to deal with the real issues at hand, physical and sexual abuse, depression, suicide, self-mutilation, self-made pornography and reporting obligations.

 

A number of teachers have recently faced the might of the criminal justice system due to the fact that they failed to report cases of sexual or physical abuse to the correct authorities after a direct disclosure from a child.

We are thrilled to announce that we have produced a series of short training videos to be utilised for staff development, each workshop is presented by Dr John Buswell and comes with a comprehensive protocol and procedure reference guide that should be made available to each member of staff for future reference when required.

WORKSHOP 1

Dealing with the disclosure of Sexual Assault

  • An insight into the new Sexual Offences Amendment Act
  • Definition of Sexual Assault
  • Obligation to report when an Educator is the first witness
  • Protocols and procedure to follow
  • Parental notification
  • Medical Protocols
  • Case studies for Pre-school, Primary and High Schools

WORKSHOP 2

Dealing with Physical Abuse and Child Neglect

  • An Overview of The Children’s Act and the impact on Schools
  • Definition of Child Abuse
  • Obligations to report as an Educator
  • Protocol and Procedures to follow as an Educator
  • Parental notification
  • Form 22
  •  Case studies for Pre-school, Primary and High Schools

WORKSHOP 3

Dealing with pornography, selfies and distribution within the school environment

  • Understanding the Criminal Procedures and Film and Publications Act
  • Obligations of the school to report the manufacture of child pornography
  • Assisting a child who is a victim of sexual grooming
  • Assisting a learner who is a victim of Cyber Bullying
  • Developing a Cyber protocol within the school environment

WORKSHOP 4

Clinical Depression, Suicidal Ideation and Self-mutilation

  • Understanding clinical depression
  • Symptoms from Gr R – Gr 12
  • Treatment and Classroom Support
  • The stages of Child/Teen suicidal ideation
  • Understanding the different types of Self-mutilation
  • The referral process and the obligation to report

WORKSHOP 5

Sexual harassment within the school environment

  • Definition of Sexual Harassment
  • Types of Sexual Harassment
  • Policy development
  • Reporting structures
  • Legal recourse

Workshop 6

Dealing with Gender Identity and the learner who decides to make a change

  • Understanding Gender change
  • Developing a Gender Change policy at your school
  • Psychological support
  • Parental contact
  • Dealing with Peer Victimisation
  • Accommodating the learner