Biannual Education Law Conference Auckland
Delve into the diverse challenges facing schools and learn to manage them within the confines of your legal requirements. From student discipline to navigating the rights of neurodiverse students, you’ll explore complex terrain. Gain effective strategies for managing reasonable complaints from both parents and students. Tackle the complexities of handling short-term and long-term staff illnesses, dealing with questionable behaviour outside of work and the use of CCTV in your school. 243NZA16
Description
Attend and earn 7 Professional Developmental Hours
Session 1
Balancing Act: Discipline, Neuro Diversity, Court Orders & Parents
Chair: Peter Kaiser, Principal, Tirimoana School
9.00am to 10.00am Student Discipline
- Lawfully suspending or standing a student down under the Education & Training Act
- What constitutes gross misconduct or continual disobedience that is a harmful or dangerous example?
- The Board suspension hearing process
- New suspension and stand down guidelines from the Ministry of Education
- Vaping and the school’s health and safety responsibilities
Presented by Gretchen Stone, Partner, Harrison Stone
10.00am to 11.00am Balancing Rights of Neuro Diverse Students with Rights of Teachers and Rights of Other Students
- What do we mean by neurodiversity?
- The law: The Human Rights Act and the Education and Training Act
- International human rights standards; the NELPs; and the focus on equity, inclusion and adaptability
- Balancing rights and interests
- IEPs and the role of experts
- “Can you keep your child home?” and other things to stop and think about before saying
Presented by David Fleming, Barrister, Fleming Singleton Law
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm Family Law Issues and Your Schools Obligations to Children at Risk or Involved in Family Court Proceedings
Deconstruct your school's responsibilities towards children in vulnerable situations and those entangled in family court proceedings as you unravel the complexities of:
- Parenting or custody/access orders
- Guardianship
- Protection orders
- A child’s involvement in proceedings
- The role of lawyer for child
- Reports of abuse
Presented by Minka Bodde, Partner, Alchemy Law
12.15pm to 1.15pm Managing Reasonable Complaints: Strategies for Dealing with Grievances with Parents and Students
- Understand how incidents escalate
- How to develop genuine awareness
- Avoiding a failure to investigate appropriately: The tools you need to establish what happened
- Strategies around identifying what’s gone wrong
- Picking up the gaps in the system
- Duty on educators to create a physically and emotionally safe space
Presented by Leo Donnelly, ONZM, Barrister, Education Law NZ; Former Ombudsman of New Zealand
Learning Objectives:
- Understand what constitutes as gross misconduct and how to lawfully suspend or stand down a student under the Education & Training Act
- Consider how best to balance the rights of neuro diverse students against the rights of teachers and other students in compliance with the law
- Deconstruct your school's responsibilities towards children in vulnerable situations and those entangled in family court proceedings
- Acquire effective strategies for handling reasonable complaints and grievances raised by parents and student
Session 2
Managing Staff Illnesses, Off-Duty Behaviour, Privacy & CCTV Concerns
Chair: James Crichton, Employment Law Specialist , Three60 Consult
2.00pm to 3.00pm Managing Short Term and Long-Term Illnesses in Your School
- The role of medical certificates
- What to do if you suspect an employee’s sick leave is not genuine
- How to manage an employee who is taking a lot of genuine sick leave
- At what point can a school look to terminate an employee who is away for a long-term injury or illness?
Presented by Fiona McMillan, Partner, Lane Neave
3.00pm to 4.00pm Managing Questionable Behaviour Outside of Work
- Defining misconduct and inappropriate conduct
- Conducting an investigation into misconduct
- Choosing the right and wrong way to deal with the misconduct: understanding your options and using them wisely
- Reviewing case examples and lessons
Presented by Patrick Ikiua, Director Professional Practice, New Zealand School Trustees Association, Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa and Maynard Scott, National Employment Relations Advisor Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa NZ School Trustees Association
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
4.15pm to 5.15pm Privacy and CCTV: Understanding Disclosure and Other Legal Requirements
Schools are the new growth area for CCTV camera installation. In New Zealand and around the world, security systems are popping up in playgrounds, classrooms and, in some countries, even in locker rooms and bathrooms. Ensure your school is compliant with the regulations and latest guidelines, including disclosure requirements, and rules around location, access to and use of footage.
Presented by Hayley Miller, Partner, Dentons
Learning Objectives:
- Receive best practice strategies for managing short- and long-term illnesses in your school
- Gain practical tips for managing questionable behaviour outside of work hours by staff
- Breakdown legislation your schools duty to disclose the use of CCTV including privacy rights
Presenters
Peter Kaiser
Mr Kaiser began his teaching career in 1975 training at Auckland Secondary Teachers College and the University of Auckland. He graduated with a BA in History, and post graduate studies in Education, Psychology and Anthropology. He has taught in a number of schools in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, at Secondary, Intermediate and Primary levels. As well, Mr Kaiser taught in Special Education for 5 years and completed a Diploma in Special Education. Mr Kaiser completed his Master of Education in Professional Studies with 1st class Honours at Auckland University. He has been Principal at Tirimoana School for over 32 years. He established and led the Te Atatu Community of Learning with 8 other West Auckland Schools. Peter was awarded a MNZM for services to Education in the 2023 King's Birthday honours list.
Gretchen Stone
Gretchen Stone specialises in employment and education law. She advises secondary principals through the Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand and with primary principals as the Honorary Solicitor for Auckland Primary Principals Association. Gretchen has extensive experience advising Principals and Board of Trustees in relation to employment and disciplinary issues, governance and management, student discipline issues, social media, and all areas of legal liability within the education sector.
David Fleming
David is barrister at Fleming Singleton Law. He has over 25 years’ experience specialising in employment, human rights and education issues. As well as providing legal advice and representation, he conducts mediations and employment investigations for schools and other clients. David has considerable experience in dealing with educational issues relating to people with disabilities or neurological conditions, both as a legal adviser to parents, schools, and when in a previous role the Human Rights Commission, and as a parent of two children with Autism.
Minka Bodde
Minka is a Partner at Alchemy Law, a predominantly Family Law practise. While starting out as a general litigation Solicitor, following 8 years away from law raising her own four children, she returned to specialise in Family Law in 2009. Minka represents both parties and children in the Family Court. She provides Mediation privately or through FDR and provides conflict coaching for families experiencing separation. She is committed to assisting clients, children and their families to move through the separation process with the least amount of trauma and damage possible, while ensuring safe outcomes for children. With extensive relevant experience both personally and professionally, Minka dreams of a Family Court system that assists families in maintaining a level of relatedness and co-operation that supports and educates both children and adults to deal with the fracture of their family in an holistic and empowering way.
Leo Donnelly
Leo Donnelly ONZM is a former Ombudsman of New Zealand and is one of New Zealand’s leading experts in official information and privacy law. As an Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman and a senior investigator at the Office of the Ombudsman, Leo spent 3 decades investigating and reviewing complaints about the administrative actions and procedures of state sector organisations and recommending resolutions to promote fair, just and transparent delivery of services to the public. This involved assessing individual actions and omissions in the context of an organisations systems and culture and statutory responsibilities. Leo brings governance and strategy expertise and wide experience in complaint handling and dispute resolution.
Fiona McMillan
Fiona is the Auckland Partner of the Employment Law team and commenced her career with Lane Neave in 2007. Fiona and her team act for both employees and employers in matters involving employment relations, health and safety, human rights, privacy and ACC. Fiona advises on all aspects of termination including performance management, misconduct, serious misconduct, medical incapacity, restructurings and redundancies and negotiated exits. She also specialises in collective bargaining, human rights commission matter and independent external investigations. In 2019, Fiona undertook the certification from the Association of Workplace Investigators in Vail, Colorado, USA. Fiona regularly represents employers in Mediations, Employment Relations Authority Investigation meetings and the Employment Court. She acted as counsel in the leading case on penalties – Borsboom v PVT Limited and the leading case on union discrimination – Lamont and Others v Ritchies Transport Holdings Limited. Fiona was nominated for Young Lawyer of the Year at the 2016 Law Awards. In 2022, she was recognised as an Elite Woman in NZ Lawyer’s annual rankings. Also in 2022, Fiona was named in the Doyle’s Guide as a recommended Employment Lawyer. Fiona has also been recognised in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a leading employment and health and safety practitioner in New Zealand.
Patrick Ikiua
Patrick Ikiua is the Tamaki Makaurau & Te Tai Tokerau Regional Director for Te Whakaroputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa (NZSTA). In this role, he oversees the delivery of governance and employment support and guidance to school boards in the northern region. He is married to the beautiful Lily and they are blessed with six children.
Maynard Scott
Maynard Scott is National Employment Relations Advisor at the Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa - New Zealand School Trustees Association, providing in-house counsel, overseeing and developing the best practice and employment advice that is provided to schools in New Zealand through the NZSTA advisory network and undertaking collective bargaining. Alongside employment and education law, his interest is in the intersection between tino rangatiratanga, tikanga and the operations of schools in New Zealand and the legal and political implications of this. He has also undertaken research in focussed on fixed term employment agreements. Before practice, Maynard served two terms on his school’s board, tutored in Criminal Law and night-managed a university hall of residence home to 300 students.
Hayley Miller
Hayley is a commercial lawyer with a particular focus on technology and innovation. She has developed a multi-disciplinary practice which is often at the intersection of technology, privacy and consumer law. She has extensive experience working collaboratively with developers, suppliers and purchasers of technology hardware, software, infrastructure, products and services, including licensing, development, commercialisation, supply and acquisition and various "as a service" offerings. Hayley is an expert on New Zealand privacy law, regularly advising on regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, data sovereignty and other considerations to the use of cloud based technology. She assists clients utilising big data within their organisations or as the base for new ventures utilising big data analytics.
Venue
Rydges Auckland
59 Federal St
Auckland 1010
New Zealand
Valet Parking
Rydges Auckland offers Valet Parking for all guests. Daily charges are NZ$38.00. Guests can valet their car unlimited amounts of time for the one daily flat fee. The maximum height of the car park is 1.9m. Limited spaces are available.
Self Parking
Guests can self-park NZ$30.00 on a per exit basis per 24 hours. The reduced parking tickets require being validated from reception.