Safety

School Statement

A deep and continuing commitment to child safety is at the very core of The Friends’ School. Respect and concern for each individual in the School’s care is driven by a foundational belief that there is that of God in everyone. This is fundamental to Quakerism and The Friends’ School. We strive to develop a culture which promotes child safety and the prevention of harm, where all members of the community feel comfortable speaking up. We commit to seeking and listening to the voices of children and cultivating an environment which is nurturing, open and aware. All forms of abuse and neglect are in opposition to the School’s Purpose and Concerns. The School has an enduring moral and legal obligation to report and act upon any concern counter to the wellbeing of children.

To find out how The Friends’ School manages Child Safeguarding, visit this page.

If you wish to volunteer (e.g. coaching), you will need to read the information on this page and complete all sections of this form to register your interest.

Rowing regattas are not school-supervised events. The Head of Friends’ Rowing, along with the coaching staff, are responsible for the organisation and running of the Friends’ Rowing program at school regattas. It is not possible to supervise all students at regattas at all times. For this reason, parents or minders must maintain a duty of care (supervision) for their child/ren at all times. The Head of Friends’ Rowing will be on hand to assist with any issues that may arise at a regatta. Whilst on-the-water students will be supervised by a host of boat race officials and boat rescue personnel, these volunteers are provided and organised by Rowing Tasmania. A St John ambulance will be onsite during a regatta.

School staff who attend rowing regattas are not onsite overnight and are only available as a secondary contact in the event of emergencies.

It is important to note that Rowing Tasmania do not provide any supervision around the Lake Barrington campground across the duration of the weekend, meaning there is no supervision in place for those who choose to camp (this includes no overnight supervision).

Child Safeguarding measures at Regattas:

• Parents are required to accept the Child Safeguarding measures provided by the Friends’ Rowing program at the beginning of each season
• Prior to each overnight regatta, parents are required to notify the School of the supervising parent for the entire regatta duration (includes transport to/from, the regatta event & any overnight accommodation arrangement)
• If the supervision is not being provided by the parent of the child, then it is expected that the supervising adult will hold a Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) card. The School may request for this WWVP card to be provided.
• Attending students, family members and friends are to uphold the School’s commitment to child safety and prevention of harm.

Friends’ Rowing Camp:

Our annual Rowing Camp is coordinated by the School through the Head of Rowing. The School provides appropriate supervision coverage for the students across the duration of the camp.

National Rowing Championships:

Opens rowers (Years 11 & 12) have an opportunity to attend the National Championship. All safety and safeguarding measures are prepared by the School for this event.

Information on supervision roles is communicated to parents prior to these camps and over events.

Rowing is an outdoor sport that is subject to variations in the weather. There is a need to maintain aquatic safety standards at all times. All training held from the Friends’ Boatshed is conducted under supervision. All navigation rules imposed by MAST (Marine and Safety Tasmania) must be followed. This means that the appropriate navigation safety lights must be adhered to on all rowing boats, and on the accompanying motorboat.

Safety Guidelines:

Friends’ Rowing has a duty of care for all members. It is therefore the policy of Friends’ Rowing that:

• All rowers must be able to swim 50m in their rowing gear
• Everyone in a motor boat must wear a PFD
• Only licensed drivers (coaches) are permitted to drive a motorboat – students are not to drive coaches boats
• Rowers MUST require on-water supervision at all times (no matter how experienced they are).
• All rowing boats & motorboats must have navigation lights (during dim light or darkness)
• Coaches will ALWAYS make the safe decision to determine if the water is safe enough for training to proceed (eg, they will check the weather reports prior to training as a safety measure)
• The use of ergometers and other exercise equipment in the sheds must be done under supervision