Executive Director’s Update to Principals #59 - 12 December 2022
Internet Filtering Issues
Following our technology alert on Friday 9th December 2022; Please be advised that Catholic Education Ballarat has been made aware of a current issue in relation to student’s filtered access to the internet.
Status Update: Monday, December 12th; The internet filtering issue appears to be isolated to a certain number of schools in the Diocese. Catholic Education Ballarat ICT Team are actively working with technology partner ORRO and ICT counterparts at Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools to resolve this issue.
Further to our previous advice, if members of your school’s team identify any filtering discrepancies, please:
- Alert the DOBCEL ICT Helpdesk via emailing helpdesk@dobcel.catholic.edu.au,
- Include any supplementary material such as screenshots and timestamps,
- Specify what hardware and software is being used (for example, an iPad and Safari),
- If possible, list the steps taken by the user to encounter the discrepancy.
In the interim, Catholic Education Ballarat will determine remedial action with additional information in a forthcoming Executive Director's Update to Principals.
Terry Brennan
I am writing to advise that Principal, Terry Brennan of St Augustine's Primary School, Creswick has fallen ill over the weekend.
He is currently in hospital recovering after experiencing a heart attack and surgery to repair his heart. Our understanding is that he is stable and making good progress but is not yet well enough for phone calls or visits.
Terry will not be able to return to school this year.
Jess Reynolds - Deputy Principal, with support from Jo-Anne Bond, Catholic Education Ballarat - Education Consultant: Central Zone, will lead the school for the rest of the year.
I ask you to keep this information confidential.
I know that you will join me in praying for Terry at this challenging time for him.
Occupational Health & Safety Update
The OHS Coordinator Role.
Leah Crough commenced in the role in mid-October and can assist schools with the following OHS related functions:
- Injury Management, Return to Work and Workers’ Compensation Claims,
- Incident reporting and investigation including the HINT platform,
- OHS Committee and Health and Safety Representatives support,
- Notifiable Incident Reporting and management of WorkSafe queries/entries,
- Provide advice and interpretation on OHS legislative requirements, policies, and procedures,
- OHS initiatives and engagement opportunities,
- Support with general health and safety queries and concerns,
- Completion of OHS inspections/audits for schools (2023),
- Chemical management requirements (Chemwatch),
- Support for manual handling, ergonomics,
- Risk Assessment creation and support.
Chemwatch Update.
Chemical Management has been identified as an area of concern in schools with a Chemwatch subscription purchased in 2022.
The Chemwatch implementation was put on hold and recently raised again for viability. A survey on chemical management and Chemwatch was undertaken, capturing 53 schools, showing continued pockets of noncompliance coupled with recent facility audits confirming these concerns. The consultation survey showed a favorable balance for Chemwatch therefore the informed decision has been made to renew our subscription and implement Chemwatch across all schools in 2023.
Schools will be reimbursed the cost of the 2022 subscription fee with further information regarding implementation shared in early 2023.
Notifiable Incidents Reporting (WorkSafe) Update.
Following a recent Diocesan Leadership Gathering, a discussion occurred regarding notifiable incident management and reporting within our schools and clarity sought. Confirmation of the process is outlined below:
- Notifications from HINT that are deemed serious (this can be a manual selection or certain injuries are automatically defined as serious in the backend, for example, concussion, electrical shock, fractures) prompt an alert to an inbox monitored by the OHS Coordinator and the Manager Human Resources. If in doubt ALWAYS select serious.
- Primary Schools – DOBCEL receives the serious incident alert and completes the notification to WorkSafe. The written form will be sent back to the school to confirm completion and to attach to the respective HINT record.
- Secondary Schools – Schools complete their own notifications to WorkSafe and attach the written notification form to the HINT record under documents. Support can be provided by the OHS Coordinator.
Please see attached two flowcharts explaining this process with guidance and examples on notifiable incident reporting criteria.
OHS Committee Nominations 2023 – Primary School Principal Representative Required.
The OHS Committee has a current vacancy for the Primary School Principal Representative.
If you are interested in joining the Committee, please see attached HSR election guide and nomination form. Please email this completed form through to OHS notifications by the 3rd of February 2023.