Welcome

Hi, my name is Stephen Bevan and I am Principal at Madeley Primary School in Perth, Western Australia. Research shows that open and clear communication between home and school is important which is why I have created this blog. As Principal of Madeley Primary School I value your opinions and encourage your comments. Feel free to comment on any of the posts. Comments are moderated prior to going live on the blog.

I will endeavour to provide you with regular and informative posts about our school and its activities. I ask that your comments be constructive and positive with any concerns or complaints directed to me personally at school.

Madeley Primary School prides itself on the positive, open and friendly culture that has been established. Our core values of Curriculum, Community and Care are guiding principles that shape our school.

Thursday 26 March 2015

More Cyber Safety Information for parents






Cyber Safety Information for Parents

We all see the benefits of being online. But we also know that the world wide web is a big place with many dangers for users - especially children. Below are a few fact/advice sheets that may be of use to parents seeking to keep their kids safe.





Tuesday 17 March 2015

Student Leaders at Work

Nazma
The Student Leadership team have been hard at work around our school. So far this term they have organised a successful Crazy Hair/Wacky Wig Day to raise funds for a child sponsorship. They have also been active organising assemblies, recycling, lost property and planning for Easter on the Green.

The Student Leaders are focusing on modelling our school's golden rule of "Treat others the way you want them to treat you." Fundraising they do in 2015 will reflect this focus.

The Student Leaders chose an 11 year old girl from Bangladesh as their sponsorship Child. Her name is Nazma.

The Leaders have also organised a stall for our Easter on the Green event on March 27. They will be running an Easter Hat Parade, Hair Painting and Guess the Number of Eggs in a Jar competition. We are very proud of the proactive way our Student Leaders have approached their role in 2015!




Office of Road Safety Resources for Parents

The school has a very strong focus on creating a safe and nurturing environment for our students. For this reason we promote resources that help spread the 'safety' message.

Children are vulnerable road users. Road trauma is the leading cause of death and the second most frequent cause of hospitalisation for children aged under 14. The Office of Road Safety have an excellent website which contains resources, information, games and quizzes which promote safety around roads and driveways. Parents are encouraged to use the website and share safety messages with their children.
http://www.ors.wa.gov.au/Road-Safety-Topics/Road-Users/Children

Sunday 15 March 2015

Mobile Phones at School



My mobile phone and iPad have become an essential part of my work. I use these devices every day to communicate and to find and record information. Students need the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills which allow for the safe use of mobile devices. However, these opportunities need to be managed in order to reduce the misuse of devices and to protect the safety of everyone on the school site.

The school has a mobile phone policy which every student is required to follow. Students need to have a specific reason for bringing a mobile phone to school. This reason needs to be communicated with us via the application form contained in the policy. There are no exceptions to this and students who do not comply will have their phone taken away until a parent comes and retrieves it. Please check out the schools mobile phone policy and complete the application form if you want your child to bring a phone to school.




Tuesday 10 March 2015

The Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN)

The following information has been given to schools to share with parents. We are committed to ensuring that our students are protected from cybercrime.




The Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN)
The Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) is a secure reporting and referral service for cybercrime and online incidents which may be in breach of Australian law. Certain reports will be directed to Australian law enforcement and government agencies for further investigation.  The ACORN is an online reporting facility for cybercrime. The ACORN will make it easier for the public to report cybercrime, get the information they need to protect themselves online and ensure agencies can respond more quickly. The ACORN will also provide a clearer picture of the cybercrime affecting Australians. This will help improve our operational and policy responses.
Further Advice on Protection against crime http://www.acorn.gov.au/protection-prevention/ Lifeline (13 11 14), beyondblue (1300 224 636)

If your child sees illegal or inappropriate online content please report this to ACMA’s online content complaint form.
If you suspect an adult has engaged in inappropriate activity involving a child, call the police immediately on Triple Zero 000 (if it is an emergency) or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
If you are being bullied or harassed or have seen abusive or inappropriate content on social media, you can report this to the relevant social media provider. The process for doing this is slightly different for each site:
·         Facebook – You can report abusive content on Facebook by using the Report link that appears near the content itself. Facebook’s How to Report Things page has instructions on how to report abusive content for the different features.
·         Twitter – You can file a report that someone is posting abusive messages by going to Twitter’s forms page. More information on Twitter’s policy on abusive behaviour is available at the How to Report Abusive Behaviour page.
·         LinkedIn – You can report inappropriate content that violates LinkedIn’s Community Guidelines or User Agreement by flagging it directly from the site. Your identity will not be shared if you flag an item. You can also report spam, phishing and other suspicious messages. After reviewing reported items, LinkedIn will take them down if necessary.
·         YouTube – You can report content that violates YouTube’s Community Guidelines by flagging it. Flagging videos does not take them down straight away, but sends a report back to YouTube staff to review the flagged video. More information on flagging videos is available at YouTube’s Community Guidelines Violations page. To report a case of harassment, privacy or bullying, you can visit YouTube’s Help and Safety Tool page.
·         Instagram – You can report inappropriate photos, comments, or users that are in violation of Instagram’s Community Guidelines or directly to Instagram with the built-in flagging feature.
You can also report serious cyber-bullying or stalking behaviour to the ACORN if the conduct is intended to make you (or the victim you are reporting on behalf of) feel fearful, uncomfortable, offended or harassed.
Support for children
Children can be particularly vulnerable online. They may become victims of cyber-bullying, targets of online grooming or be exposed to inappropriate online content which involves concepts they are not developmentally ready to manage.
Children often do not tell their parents about online incidents, in fear that it will make the situation worse. This may be damaging to a young person’s health and wellbeing, particularly if they have already experienced mental illness or trauma.
If you know or suspect that your child has been a victim of cyber-bullying or any other type of cybercrime, it is important that he or she feels comfortable to speak about the incident with you, a teacher or another trusted adult.
Your child may also benefit from contacting Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. Kids Helpline is a free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25. It is available 24 hours a day to help with all sorts of problems, big and small.

You and your child may also find it useful to access the Cybersmart Online Helpline Service or consider the following resources:
·         Socialising online
·         Dealing with cyber-bullying
·         Cybersafety help – Information and Cybersafety help button.
·         Secure your mobile devices
If you or your child has seen material online depicting sexual conduct involving children or you suspect an adult has engaged in any inappropriate activity involving a child, there are well-established processes in place for the reporting and investigation of online offences against children. Given the seriousness of these offences and the need to act immediately, the ACORN does not accept reports on online offences against children.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority accepts reports of offensive and illegal online content including child sexual abuse material.
If you suspect an adult has engaged in inappropriate activity involving a child, call the police immediately on Triple Zero 000 (if it is an emergency) or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
Can I file a complaint via phone? No. The ACORN will only accept reports via the online reporting facility. Reports via telephone, mail, fax, or email will not be accepted.

GRIP Student Leadership Conference 2015

Today Mr Taddei, Mrs Miller and I took our student leadership team to the GRIP Conference at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre. GRIP stands for Generosity, Responsibility, Integrity and People (focussed) which are all strong characteristics of effective leaders. When student's have developed their understanding of these areas they will have a strong GRIP on what it means to be a leader. Sessions helped to develop student learning in areas such as:
  • Making the most of leadership opportunities
  • Looking for opportunities to lead
  • Developing a Leadership Plan
Activities were of high interest, engaging and interactive. Over 1400 students attended this year's conference with opportunities provided for students to meet other leaders. Our student leaders had a wonderful time and learned a lot about how to improve their own leadership capabilities. I look forward to seeing our student leaders flourish over the year.