High priority for schools reporting concerns to CYF

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has asked Child Youth and Family to strengthen processes to respond better to school reports of abuse. “Teachers and principals know the children they teach, they know what’s normal for each child and what’s not,” says Ms Bennett. “I felt we could strengthen the priority process, so if teachers have genuine concerns about a child’s welfare, they get a rapid response.” “The feedback loop also means if CYF are asking a school for information they should wherever possible tell the school why and then follow up.” A new ‘Education Assist’ package will make it easier and faster for teachers to contact CYF, get guidance and advice, report concerns and get follow up. The Education Assist package includes: • Dedicated ‘Ed Assist’ phone line and online contact team • Outbound calling service from CYF contact centre to schools • Timely feedback loop from CYF to schools following reports of concern “This package will facilitate the link between schools and CYF, ensuring concerns are dealt with appropriately and that schools are kept informed.” The majority of notifications about children come from Police, followed by health professionals and then teachers. In the 2010/11 financial year just over 8,300 notifications were made by teachers and social workers in schools out of a total 150,747 notifications.