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NZPA A comforting hug has been deemed
acceptable contact between teachers and students, under new guidelines
launched today. The new guidelines for physical
contact between teachers and children were outlined at the annual meeting of
the New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa this morning. They cover NZEI's 45,000 members
who educate around 860,000 children, from infants to adults at pre-schools
and schools. The guidelines call for teachers
to use "common sense" in situations that require physical contact
with children. Comforting an upset or injured child,
a congratulatory pat on the back or helping with toileting were all
situations where contact may be appropriate. The new guidelines replaced the
stringent 1998 Code of Conduct, which was adopted after the high-profile
child abuse conviction of Christchurch creche worker Peter Ellis in the early
90s. Raetihi Primary School principal
Brian Laing said the code came out of a context of social concern about male
teachers. It was time for a more realistic
approach, he said at the launch. Somerfield School teacher Chris
Eccersall-Panther, who teaches year one and two students, said the new
guidelines reflected what was actually happening in schools. He did not anticipate many changes
at his school, he told NZPA. "I feel the change perhaps
will be more in the mind set of the teachers and hopefully a mind shift in
our community of what it is happening." The best thing about the
guidelines was they would encourage more awareness and discussion within the
school and the wider community, Mr Eccersall-Panther said. Massey University early childhood
development facilitator Hayley Whitaker said the guidelines were more in line
with cultural and social New Zealand. "The new guidelines are
all-encompassing and I think that is a good thing, to bring us back to review
the policies that we already had in place." It was imperative for teachers to
have physical contact with small children, but precautions were important, Ms
Whitaker, a former pre-school teacher said. "We need to be really aware
of being on our own, especially in changing rooms and sleeping rooms. You
should have viewing windows so anybody can see you." Shunning physical contact with
small children could even be damaging to the child's well-being, she said. "Some of these kids, as young
as four weeks old, are with us for up to 50 hours a week. You need to pick up
a child and give them a cuddle when they're upset." Ms Whitaker frequently visited
pre-schools from Gisbourne to Manawatu and said she would discuss with them
how they were using the guidelines. |
