FYI
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 21:53:00 -0400
From: Adriaan J. W. Mak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@unspecified-domain
Subject: Sanity Prevails : NZ Teachers Reverse "Touching" Policy
The New Zealand Herald,
Tuesday 26 September 2006, Page A3.
Teachers can touch children, says union
Tuesday September 26, 2006
By Claire Trevett
The primary teachers' union will tell its members it is all right to touch
children to comfort or praise them, in a major shift in its advice about
physical contact.
The New Zealand Educational Institute, which represents staff at primary
schools, early childcare centres and special education centres, will launch
its new guidelines on physical contact at its annual conference in
Wellington today.
The guidelines encourage "positive and affirming" contact to provide
emotional support or to praise a child.
Tell us your views
The guidelines are more liberal than the 1998 code, which was introduced
following widespread community concern after Peter Ellis was convicted for
sexually abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre.
The 1998 code warned touching could be misconstrued and placed staff at the
risk of assault or indecency allegations. It said staff and teachers should
explain to children why a teacher withdrew from them.
In contrast, the new document notes contact is important to build a caring
community and says staff who withdraw or are guarded in interacting with
students "may not be acting as positive role models".
The code says teachers must use common sense, but touching was acceptable
when "carried out in a professional and responsible manner that is age
appropriate".
Examples of appropriate touching included "hugging or placing a supportive
arm across a child's shoulders but only when and where needed".
The union began revising its guide in 2003 after research by Auckland
University professor of education Alison Jones showed the anti-touching
policy was causing anxiety for teachers.
NZEI chairwoman Irene Cooper said staff still needed to be mindful that
they did not put themselves at risk of allegations, but the new guidelines
better reflected the realities of the school community.
The old code was a response to the high level of anxiety in the community
in the 1990s.
"Thankfully, most of the community have learned some lessons from what
happened at that time."
She said it was important for schools and centres to develop specific
policies about physical contact, after asking parents from the various
cultures at a school what they considered appropriate.
The guidelines say school policies should include ways to protect staff
from untrue allegations. They advise enlisting witnesses to any physical
contact when possible and for rooms to have high visibility, such as with
windows.
Yesterday, Professor Jones welcomed the new guidelines.
"The old code of conduct really turned all teachers into potential
paedophiles and just reinforced social anxieties. This does not do that, so
I'm delighted at the shift."
School Trustees Association head Chris Haines expected schools to consult
on the guidelines and said if parents liked it, schools should go ahead.
"There has always got to be protection for children, but sometimes we have
got tied up with some of this PC stuff.
"It is unfortunate that there were high-profile cases which saw everyone
withdraw from things which can be quite a natural part of teaching."
The guidelines cover all 45,000 members of NZEI, including teachers,
principals, support staff and special education workers.
Men avoided 'hysteria'
An early-childhood education advocate says "the paedophile hysteria" of the
1990s is the reason just 1 per cent of early education workers are male.
Early Childhood Council chief executive Sue Thorne said the shortage of men
working in the sector was a "national disgrace" and New Zealand compared
badly with other well-developed countries.
Her comments follow the release of a paper by researcher Sarah Farquhar,
who said a 1 per cent male workforce made early childhood education the
"pinkest" in New Zealand - compared with nursing which was 6.5 per cent
male and flight attendants, 33 per cent of whom are male.
Men at Work: Sexism in Early Childhood Education calls for a debate on the
need for men in the sector and says initiatives such as publicity campaigns
and higher teacher salaries had not attracted men to the sector.
Ms Thorne said men no longer felt welcome in childcare because they feared
they would be treated with suspicion. A concerted effort was needed to get
more men into the workforce.
Tau Henare, National's spokesman on early childhood education, said the
best way for boys to develop learning skills was from men.
Author
More by Claire Trevett
Email Claire Trevett
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