STANDARD 7

Being a part of the staff and an intern at my current school means that I was able to attend the staff development day at the beginning of the year. During this day, we received and read through the school’s code of professional conduct document together as a group (7.1.1). This document was derived from the Sydney Catholic Schools website, and was summarised so that we could have a physical copy of the expected ‘codes of ethics and conduct’ for teachers at our school (7.1.1). Some of the ‘key principles’ outlined were professional dress, which has been ‘applied’ by wearing professional attire and flat and enclosed shoes, and appropriate use of social media, which has been respected by ensuring accounts are private and Twitter is used responsibly (7.1.1). Since we live in “an information and technology rich society”, teachers must be mindful of what they post on social media and also set an example to students on how to be responsible users of technology (Department of Education, 2019).

 

Some of the ‘legislative’ policies I have adhered to while completing my internship include reporting incidents from playground duty, addressing any concerns in staff meetings and keeping all records and data (7.2.1). In regards to ‘administrative and organisational processes’, I send emails between 8am and 5pm, attend staff meetings on Wednesday afternoons, sign in and out at the office each day to record my attendance and promote Catholic values through daily prayers like the Angelus (7.2.1). Through reading the professional code of conduct I became aware of “both prohibitions against certain behaviours and a set of decision rules for action when certain underlying principles appear to be in conflict” for my school (Barrett, Casey, Visser & Headley, 2012, p. 891). For my remaining time at this school, I will always have this document to know my responsibilities as a staff member and necessary actions to take when incidents occur.

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