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Teachers and education experts are
welcoming new guidelines which allow them to have physical contact with
children when providing emotional support and encouraging learning. The New Zealand Educational
Institute (NZEI) has published new guidelines for physical contact between
teachers and children that relax the previous code of practice, which
advocated no contact. The code was drawn up in 1998 when
public anxiety about child sex abuse was high in the wake of cases like that
of Peter Ellis, who was accused of sexually abusing children at the
Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre. Ellis is still battling to clear his
name, arguing he was wrongfully convicted. New guidelines tell teachers and
early childhood educators that interactions "are important for building
caring, inclusive and cohesive learning communities", and warn that
staff who withdraw from physical contact could be negative role models. Staff have been given the go-ahead
to hug children to provide emotional support and to pat them on the back to
congratulate them. Physical contact to help after an
accident, when the child goes to the toilet or to lift or move a child is
also now deemed appropriate. Barry Brooker, the director of the
school of primary teacher education at the Christchurch College of Education,
hoped the change would encourage more people into teaching. "I hope one of the positive
things that will come out of this will be that more people – particularly
male – will come to teaching," he said. "Although it is not quite
such an issue now, there is still an anxiety there about abuse and I think
these guidelines, which seem to be based on common sense, could play a
positive role in reducing that." Cary Mohlmann, from AngelCare
preschool in Christchurch, said teachers knew what was appropriate. "You get a lot of it in
training both at college and when you start the job, so you know what's right
and wrong," she said. "There are safeguards here at the centre, so
I feel OK having contact with the children. It is good the guidelines allow
physical contact. The children really benefit from it, especially here at the
pre-school where it is almost an extension of their home." The guidelines have also been
welcomed by groups representing parents. "We are really pleased they
(NZEI) have looked into this issue and welcome the new guidelines,"
Margaret Mooney, deputy president of the Parent Teacher Association, said.
"Parents know teachers have common sense and I think they will welcome
this move." |
