This holiday break I was fortunate enough to attend the International Boarding Schools Conference, 'Making Boarders’ Lives Safer' over three days in Hobart. It was a wonderful conference and I learnt a great deal from the keynote speakers and from networking with like-minded boarding leaders. It was reassuring to know that Girls Grammar is definitely on the right track regarding our policies and day-to-day running with regard to keeping our boarders safe. Policies for the most part are written to guide us and the keynote speakers reminded us why robust policies and procedures are vital in operating a safe and transparent boarding program.
The keynote speakers were:
Hetty Johnson AM – founder of Bravehearts and creator of Safeguarding People Australia. These organisations are to support schools and other institutions protect children and vulnerable adults. Her inspiration to devote her life to this was founded in the abuse of her young daughter by a family member 30 years ago. Her message was moving and hopeful.
Adair Donaldson, a lawyer based in Toowoomba, works mostly with clients in a wide variety of ways, but the most prevalent are the areas of consent and alcohol fueled violence. He believes there are two choices - Safe or Sorry. Adair said everyone, including young people, need to know where the line is with regard to conduct. Ultimately the line being the law. His advice to parents included, ringing and checking with hosts of their children, whether that be for leave or for parties. He recommended the use of the Party Safe Website where he urges parents to register parties with the police through this site. He has used this site himself with his 15 year old twin boys, much to their horror.
The next speaker was ex-police woman and cyber-safety expert Susan McLeod. She believes school policy should reflect minimising the use of devices as much as possible due to the sleep and duty of care issues they cause. Susan also recommends that parents use parental controls on their children’s devices. Susan has worked all over the world and shares her knowledge and experiences with teens and parents.
These first three keynote speakers were not present for each other’s addresses but all said the same thing - that devices should not be allowed in bathrooms or bedrooms ever. As a school that enforces the bathroom rule, we are on the right track but the implications for the use of devices in bedrooms is something to consider. Our senior girls currently study in their bedrooms using their laptops.
The final keynote speaker was Mitch McPherson, a young Tasmanian who has started ‘SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY to raise awareness after his 18 year old brother Ty committed suicide. Mitch wants us all to connect with others to help prevent suicide. Mitch carries a great deal of guilt that he didn’t pick up on his brother’s state of mind. He wants no-one to feel how he and his family have felt for the past 10 years.
The conference was inspiring and educational and I appreciated the opportunity. One of the highlights were the Torres Strait students who danced at the conference. I found out that they knew many of our girls and they are related to Beryl, Shorna, Norah and Tahlya.
This term is packed with activities and events and we are excited for our Year 12 students as they finish their secondary school journey.
Bring on the next 7 weeks!
Stacey McCarthy
Head of Boarding