Broadbeach State School

Children must turn five by 31 December in their Preschool Year, or six in the first year of school to be eligible for enrolment.

Enrolment forms are distributed during Orientation Day for intending Year 1 pupils during the last few weeks of the child’s preschool year or obtained from the school office on request. Birth Certificates must accompany the enrolment form for Year 1 pupils and students from interstate and overseas. The school’s Deputy Principal will assist with class placement and orientation.

If you wish to see your son/daughter during school hours, then you will need to go to the office first to obtain authorization. The child will then be called to the office.

Arrival at school before 8.30am is discouraged. Before School Care is available for those who arrive at school prior to this time. This is aimed at reducing the risk of injury before school in unsupervised play. Teachers are not on duty before school, allowing them valuable time to prepare their day’s program without interruption.

Please notify the school if you are unable to pick your child up by 3:15. Students are advised that after this time, for safety reasons, they need to come to the school office or go to after school care.

Children requesting a lunch pass must provide a written letter from parent/guardian addressed to the Principal, requesting permission to leave the School grounds during the lunch period.

A School Assembly is held each Tuesday afternoon commencing at 2.30pm in the James Centre. Parents are invited to be part of these assemblies, especially if their children are involved in its presentation. At assembly school activities and events are promoted and celebrated and student awards are presented. From time to time other special assemblies are held e.g. ANZAC Day, notification of which will be in the school newsletter or on the school information sign.

Money for a variety of activities such as Arts Council, swimming, book club, excursions, regularly comes into the School via the permission note and envelope sent home for the activity. The money is given to the class teacher. It is processed through the office under strict guidelines where it is receipted and marked off on the class cash book. Because of the time involved, two days have been set aside for money to be collected; these days being Tuesday and Friday.

For protection of property, valuables including MP3 players, hand computer games, toys, popular craze items and large amounts of money should not be brought to school and if done so, is at the owners risk. Show and tell items need to be left with the teacher.

Mobile phones must be kept turned off and in the student’s bag. They may be left at the office if the student prefers. Parents are to contact the school office in school hours if a message is to be given.

A lost property trolley is located under the steps near the office. All clothing and belongings found in the School grounds are placed into this trolley. The contents are displayed regularly and property left unclaimed at the end of the term is donated to local charities.

It is strongly recommend that all clothing and belongings are conspicuously marked with your child’s name, particularly School uniform items (e.g. hats and jumpers and lunchboxes).

For safety, health and allergy issues dogs / pets are not permitted without the Principal’s permission. Owners of dogs will be asked to remove the animal from the school grounds. The facilities officer will take charge of unleashed or stray dogs and contact the relevant authorities.

Limited parking is provided requiring surrounding streets to be used for this purpose. Please obey road and parking signs. The streets are regularly patrolled by both the Police and Gold Coast City Traffic patrollers.

The administration car park is not available for parent parking or pedestrian access. Please use the side gate by the library.

It is essential that parents set a good example for pupils. Encourage your child to use the supervised pedestrian crossings if it is necessary in moving to where your car is parked.All Pedestrian Crossings - Old Burleigh Road, Alexandra Avenue, and Mary Avenue - are patrolled morning and afternoon at peak times by Crossing Supervisors. Please obey their direction.

For the safety of students and traffic flow, please do not double park. Pull into the curb and ensure exit / entry is from curb side.

Bicycle riders MUST wear an approved helmet as standard riding equipment. A staff member will redirect anyone without a helmet to the school office, where contact with a parent will be made.

Bicycles are not to be ridden inside the school grounds. Children are to walk bikes to and from the bicycle racks when arriving and departing the School. Bicycles must be walked across the pedestrian crossing under the guidance of the Crossing Supervisor if crossing at this point.

Unless otherwise directed, if a serious accident occurs to a pupil either on the School premises or premises being used by the School, the Principal or teacher on duty will take the following actions:

1. Render First Aid as far as he/she is able, or move the child if possible to the sick bay for first aid to be administered by the designated staff member.

4. If the accident is serious, the ambulance will be contacted and/or the child will be transported to the hospital.

5. The accident register will be completed and a report, if necessary, forwarded to the Workplace, Health and Safety section of Education Queensland.

Please always keep up to date all home, work and mobile contact numbers for both parent / caregivers and other emergency carers.

The School sick bay located in the Administration Building caters for children feeling ill through the day. If, in the opinion of the class teacher/administrative staff, the child is uncomfortably sick, the parents/guardians will be telephoned to collect them.

Other Medications: Should a child require a medication to be administered during school hours, a written note asking for the School’s co-operation should be supplied, together with clear instructions supplied by the doctor on the prescription, stating the exact dosage and times for administering the medication. This information will then be recorded in the Official Register of Drugs Administered, held in the Office.

Asthmatics who require Ventolin puffers may have their puffers on their person or in their bag. A note is required notifying of their condition and advising use of medication.

Head lice are a recurring problem. Please refer to the enclosed brochure and keep for ready reference and make the checking of hair for head lice a part of weekly routine.

Combing normal hair conditioner through the hair is one of the most effective treatments. The lice find it difficult to breathe and tend to come to the top of the hair. Lice eggs hatch in 7-10 days. Young lice need to be detected before they are mature enough to lay eggs.

A table of other infectious diseases with the period of exclusion from school is listed for your reference at the end of this book. Please advise the school if a child contracts an infectious condition.

It is the policy of Education Queensland that all staff are trained in and abide by its Code of Conduct and Student Protection policies and guidelines.

While parents / caregivers and community members are welcome in our school, appropriate standards of behaviour are expected to ensure that our school is a safe place.

All persons, other than parents, who work in the school, both as an employee or volunteer, have undertaken a criminal history check and be issued with a Blue Card which authorizes them to work with children.

All visitors to the school, including parents who come to school during school hours, must come to the school office to sign in and be issued with a visitor’s badge.

The Principal can direct disruptive individuals to cease their behavior or restrict their movement on school premises or ban a person from school premises for 24 hours. The Director General of Education can prohibit a person from entering a school for up to 60 days or apply to a Magistrate for an order prohibiting a person who poses as an unacceptable risk from entering a school for a period of up to 12 months.

Emergency evacuation and lock down procedures are practiced each term so that procedures are known in the event of fire or in the extreme instance when children, staff and visitors need to be protected in a secured classroom. All persons on site must follow procedures in the event of an evacuation or lockdown.

The Principal, Deputy Principal and teachers invite open communication between the home and the school. The school newsletter, the school assembly and the P&C meeting are major sources of communication.

For your convenience the school’s web site and that of Education Queensland provide comprehensive information on many matters.

From time to time you may have concerns about your child at school or the operations of the school. These concerns may grow into bigger issues if you don’t talk to the school staff about them.

Education Queensland is committed to ensuring that all parents have their concerns dealt with in a fair and equitable manner and there are processes and support structures in place to enable parents to work through any issues they may have.

Concerns should initially be directly to the teacher involved or lodged directly with Mark Henderson as principal, on 55708444

At no stage should a teacher be approached while the teacher is in control of a class or group of children in school time.

If the problem cannot be resolved within the school, you should contact the South Coast Regional office at 5562 4888.

Regional offices also provide access to a community participation officer or an officer responsible for parent liaison.

Parents or caregivers may also wish to contact the Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens’ Associations (QCPCA) on 3352 3900 or visit their website www.qcpca.org.au for help and support.

Both the QCPCA and District Office have access to the Office of State Schooling, which administers the operation of all Queensland State Schools, to further resolve issues if required.

Some areas listed are: general school issues, events, health and safety, parent resources, programs and policies, new initiatives, safe internet use, student resources, student welfare.

To enable Education Queensland to provide education services to students, the Department collects and manages personal information from students, parents and guardians and other third parties e.g. during the enrolment process, permission forms, special needs referrals etc.

Education Queensland recognizes that an essential part of the school family relationship is the responsibility to protect the personal information entrusted and ensure that its use and disclosure is carried out in an ethical and lawful way.

In all your dealings with Education Queensland, staff will make sure that your privacy is protected. Any personal information collected must be:

Generally, your personal information must be used only for the purpose for which it was collected or a directly related purpose, unless you otherwise have given permission or when required or authorized to allow, limit or refuse access under the applicable provisions of the law as in particular cases essential for law enforcement or believed to be necessary to prevent or lessen an imminent threat to health or life. The agencies EQ may give relevant personal information to where needed or authorized by law are under strict guidelines of release and disclosure. Such agencies are:

Queensland Health and its nominated health providers, Queensland Transport, Queensland Police Service, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, Department of Employment and Training, Department of Families, Disability Services of Queensland, Department of Housing, Department of Justice and Attorney General, Sport and Recreation Queensland, Centrelink and research organizations under contract to Education Queensland.

Individuals have right of access to personal information. Generally, the Principal of the school, on written request, will provide you with administrative access to your personal information or advise you when an application under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 is required.

http://www.iie.qld.gov.au/informationstandards or by accessing Education Queenslands website www.education.qld.gov.au/home/privacy.htm or contact Education Queensland's Privacy Contact Officer.