A group of grandparents are up in arms after being refused entry to an event at their grandchildren’s school due to not having a working with children check.
The Herald Sun reported the “furious” elderly relatives lashed out at St Joseph’s Primary School in Yarra Junction after they were barred from attending a Grandparents Day event on Friday for its Year 1 and 2 students.
Grandparents were invited to attend the event and asked to bring something old from home, such as an old game or piece of technology, to present to the students.
Photographs of students and their loved ones, holding up old artefacts, pictures, and other knick-knacks, were posted on the school’s Facebook page. Comments on the post have been disabled.
A small group of the relatives told the Herald Sun that they couldn’t be in the classroom unless they has a WWCC, a requirement for anyone in paid or volunteer child-related work.
They claim they were caught off-guard and made to feel like “criminals”.
But school bosses stayed firm on their position.
A spokesperson for Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools said the safety of its schools was a top priority.
“We appreciate there has been confusion regarding what is required from volunteers, visitors, and guests in relation to Grandparents Day at St Joseph’s Primary School, Yarra Junction,” the spokeswoman said in the report.
“Our schools are required to comply with the child safe standards.
“This means that they must mitigate risks to the safety and wellbeing of children. As part of this obligation, schools are free to ask anyone on school grounds to hold a working with children clearance.
“There was advance notice to all St Joseph’s families on this requirement with 29 grandparents signing in on Friday with a working with children clearance.
“We acknowledge the disappointing experience of the four grandparents who couldn’t attend the Grandparents Day and are attempting to call these families this morning.”
One grandmother told the Herald Sun her young relative almost “bursted into tears” when she learnt of the setback.
“When I turned up to the school I was directed to the office so we could sign in,” the grandmother said.
“Someone said ‘make sure you have your Working with Children Check with you’, and I said, ‘I’m sorry I don’t have one’, so they bought my grandchild out (of class).
“Then we sat in the staffroom and we videoed the items with my grandchild talking about what it was about, and then she went back into the classroom, and I went home. It was very disappointing.”
Despite claiming to have attended numerous other events at the school, it was the first she’d heard of such a requirement, explaing that she would now get the check for future events.
Another grandmother, who took the day off work to attend, said she was left feeling “like a criminal and a bit empty”.
“I swapped days to have the Friday off work and there was another couple there who came from Yea (an hour and 20 minutes away) and they couldn’t go in either,” she said.
“I can understand if it’s one-on-one if you’re on an excursion because you’re taking them to the toilet and things but we were in a room full of people … and there were heaps of grandparents there.”
The grandmother reportedly noted that the requirement for a WWCC was included in the invitation, though they still thought the school could have communicated the requirement better.
WWCCs, which indicate whether a person is suitable to work with children, are required and issued in varying ways under state and territory laws and are generally needed in work settings.
The line appears blurry as to whether WWCCs are needed to enter schools solely as visitors, though it’s understood that organisations sometimes mandate this on their own volition.
The Federal Education Department states: “Broadly, anyone who has contact with children at an early childhood education and care service must have a current WWCC.
“This will usually include all educators, persons with management or control (PMCs), (and) persons responsible for the day-to-day operation of a service.”