Law for School Guidance Counsellors
Issues covered include: Online challenges, bullying, harassment claims, #MeToo, pastoral care, confidentiality
Description
Are you feeling anxious about the professional obligations and legal responsibilities you must adhere to when supporting your school’s students? This webcast offers you the opportunity to cement your understanding of some key legal issues that you confront daily while supporting student wellbeing. This webinar is led by legal experts in education law and will help clarify the legal framework in which you operate.
Attend and earn 4 CPD hours
Chair: Paul Cutler, Guidance Counsellor, Rongotai College
9.00am to 10.00am: Supporting Young People as they Navigate Challenges Online
The online space is an exciting and rapidly evolving place and young people are more connected than ever. Despite every effort to keep safe however, sometimes things don't go to plan, and often it’s the school pastoral or guidance team that are called in to support. What are some of the challenges our young people face? What is the research telling us? How can we deal with issues that arise online? What precautions do we need to take when providing support for students remotely? This session will unpack:
- Netsafe's most recent online safety research into how young people are interacting and using online spaces
- The nature of online relationships: challenges and risks
- The Harmful Digital Communications Act and revisit how it supports NZers who are harmed online
- A school's duty of care when online harm occurs and how schools can support
- The privacy and security challenges to be considered when ongoing support services need to be provided online or remotely.
Presented by Pauline Spence, Education Advisor, Netsafe
10.00am to 11.00am: Approaching Bullying and Harassment Claims in a #Metoo Era
- Exploring current trends and issues
- The current legal landscape including the effect post Covid-19
- #metoo misused?
- Bullying prevention: proactive strategies for schools
- Responding to claims of bullying and/or harassment
Presented by Rachael Judge, Senior Associate, Simpson Grierson
11.00am to 11.15am: Break
11.15m to 12.15pm: Pastoral Care: Understanding Your Legal Requirements in Today’s Remote World
Join Gretchen as she takes a deep dive into the law relating to pastoral care and how it applies to school guidance counsellors. The presentation will include a dedicated Q&A section so make sure you bring your questions for discussion.
Presented by Gretchen Stone, Partner, Harrison Stone; Honorary Solicitor for Auckland Primary Principals’ Association
12.15pm to 1.15pm: Counselling and Confidentiality: Privacy vs Protection
A review of the responsibilities and legal obligations for the pastoral care of students and the provision of confidential counselling services. The session will cover the responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of a student where there is purported conflict between:
- counsellor/student privilege
- a student’s right to privacy
- the pastoral care responsibilities of the school
Scenarios and the consequential learnings will be shared when a student is receiving counselling but the counsellor objects to disclosing sensitive information on the basis of professional privilege.
Presented by Patrick Ikiua, Regional Director (Northern), New Zealand School Trustees Association