Recently a situation occurred where a Year 8 student signed out at our front office and then went outside to wait for their parent.Due to a miscommunication the student was not met by their parent. Whilst the outcome on this occasion was positive, and the confusion clarified, the incident has raised some concerns for students' safety, in particular the risk of them waiting outside the school unsupervised.
As a result we have reviewed our procedures around students being collected from the College during the school day.
Previously, once a student had signed out, they were able to await collection at the College gate, as long as the office staff were informed when the parent arrived.
To ensure the safety of students and that there is no confusion as to whom is collecting them from the College, all students in Years 9 -10 will now have to wait for collection in the front waiting area by the office.
Year 11 - 13 students will still be able to sign out with the appropriate permissions and meet parents/caregivers outside the College.
Variations to this procedure can be made upon specific request by parent or caregiver, prior to the student leaving.
If in writing, the office will confirm these arrangements in a phone call to caregivers prior to the student departing.
These variations will be on the understanding that the arrangement falls outside our Health & Safety procedures and against the advice of the College.
We appreciate that asking parents to come into the College to collect their children is a change in our procedures which will impact on caregivers and whānau, but we feel that the Health and Safety of our students, supported by our processes is paramount in this area.
We appreciate your support in this matter. If you have any concerns regarding this communication, please contact me at the College.
Iain Anderson
Principal