Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Northern Territory Council of Government School Organisations President Tabby Fudge

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Northern Territory Council of Government School Organisations President Tabby Fudge · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The school based constables and people wondering exactly when those
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: school based constables are going to be back into our schools.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: There's one here that I read for the Police Minister
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a bit earlier this morning. It said, Hi, Katie, please
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: ask are the police constables back in schools as per.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Pre COVID levels?
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: And well the minister said that, yes, there are some
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: of those constables back in the schools, but by the sounds.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Of a not to the degree that we would hope.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Now joining us on the line to talk a little
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  Speaker 1: further about this, from the Northern Territory Council of Government
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Schools Association President Tabby Fudge.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Tabby.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, and good moning here now.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Tabby.
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  Speaker 1: I know that this is something you and I have
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  Speaker 1: certainly spoken about on numerous occasions, and the well the
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: need for these school based constables. We also caught up
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  Speaker 1: with Jarvis Shrian from the Education Union a little while
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: ago and he had said that at some of the
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: schools to mid min and even in Catherine, there had
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  Speaker 1: been a real push to get those school based constables
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  Speaker 1: back into the schools.
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  Speaker 2: Tabby, where are things at from your perspective? Well, where've.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: Been waiting on some return correspondence from Minutes. For Police
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  Speaker 3: Nicole Manison, we sent her a letter back in March
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  Speaker 3: just asking where the program is at, because there was
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: a commitment to have the program back to school's week
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  Speaker 3: one term two and that hasn't happened. We have across
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  Speaker 3: the top end we have around three offices being shared
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  Speaker 3: on a part time basis through several schools, like we
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: know that at to mid min for instance, they've got
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: one constable for half days, four days a week and
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  Speaker 3: she's being shared over with the Palmerston campuses as well,
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: right and I think there's one or two others perhaps
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: around the Darwin area, but once again I don't think
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  Speaker 3: it's on a full time basis and it's nowhere near
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  Speaker 3: what we had in twenty nineteen. We are hearing that
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  Speaker 3: hopefully by term three there will be officers back into schools.
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  Speaker 3: We do understand that the Department of Ed have been
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: working with MT Police around training and the recommendations that
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: indeed Conso put forward in twenty nineteen around the program.
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  Speaker 3: And you know specifically that there be a memorandum of
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  Speaker 3: understanding between the Department of Ed and NT Police. We
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: understand that there has been a memorandum signed. We haven't
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: sighted that, so we don't know what's.
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  Speaker 2: In that, and it just sounds us.
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  Speaker 1: So it's something that so many people in the community
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: are quite passionate about, passionate about tabby. I did ask
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: the Police Minister or air about this a little bit
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  Speaker 1: earlier this morning. She said she couldn't tell me exactly
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: how many of the school based constables were back in
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: those schools. She said that she knew three had recently
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: headed back into those schools.
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  Speaker 2: I asked, is it more.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Than three, and she said yes, but she would come
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: back to us or hopefully they'd be able to get
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: back to us with that number. I mean, when you
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  Speaker 1: think about there being a school based constable sharing those
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: different roles within the schools, I guess that's fair enough
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  Speaker 1: to some degree, But how many would you like to
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  Speaker 1: actually see in the schools.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: Well, you know, we had a commitment from government that
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: we would see the program, you know, brought back into
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  Speaker 3: schools and we would see it expanded and back in
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  Speaker 3: twenty nineteen across the top end, we had ten offices
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  Speaker 3: in schools across the top end of the Northern Territory,
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: and you know, as a minimum, we would like to
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  Speaker 3: see that back in but you know, we have had
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: that commitment that the program would be expanded, and to
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: date we have not seen that at all. And while
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: we appreciate that, you know, twenty twenty was a difficult
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  Speaker 3: year and you know things changed, but you know, we're
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  Speaker 3: we've got that behind now. We need to move forward.
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  Speaker 3: We need to program re implemented, and we do need
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  Speaker 3: that expansion of the program because every school that had
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: school based police officers in their schools all talk about
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: the incredible positive benefits of having those constables in their school,
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  Speaker 3: you know, and the sad thing about it is too
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  Speaker 3: we had really amazing constables in our schools and they've
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  Speaker 3: done quite a lot of training. You know, the Department
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  Speaker 3: at of It had put them through the Berry Street model,
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  Speaker 3: which was around trauma informed practice, and then there was
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  Speaker 3: also a week of professional development done at the Peter
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  Speaker 3: and the College Center with a Department of Expert consultant. So,
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  Speaker 3: you know, to not have those particular police officers back
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: in school, we're losing that, you know. For one of
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: a better term that Corporate and Legion to have to
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  Speaker 3: start again, would put the program I think, you know,
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  Speaker 3: not quite what we were at you back in nineteen which.
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  Speaker 1: We're just having a bit of an issue with your
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  Speaker 1: phone line there Tabby. Hopefully we're able to sort it out.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: But have you had specific schools I mean, as I
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: mentioned Jarvis Ryan had said that that the likes of
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Catherine and also to mid Min had raised concerns about
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: not having those school based constables out there. Have you
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  Speaker 1: had a similar situation where some of those schools have
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  Speaker 1: specifically raised this with you and their concerns.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: Absolutely across the board. With the AGM, the Cogito AGM
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  Speaker 3: in November, it was you know, it came up in
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  Speaker 3: several motions from every region across the Northern territory. You know,
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  Speaker 3: schools want their school based police back, you know with
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: Ti Minmin, I sit on the board of comin Min, Timinmin.
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  Speaker 3: You know, we had amazing Ben and Chris there with
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  Speaker 3: us in twenty nineteen and timin Min went from calling
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  Speaker 3: you know, general duties you know, from a couple of
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: times a week down to a couple of times a
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  Speaker 3: year for twenty nineteen. And that was you know, because
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  Speaker 3: Ben and Chris weren't there. They were amazing at what
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  Speaker 3: they were doing with you know, creating those really positive
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  Speaker 3: relationships between children and themselves and you know being that
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  Speaker 3: guiding boys and example when you know both kids needed
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: it and the children really really missed their school based
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  Speaker 3: police officers. They really do.
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  Speaker 2: Yep.
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  Speaker 1: Tabby, Just on another topic, we know that naplan gets
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: underway in our territory schools today. How how are you
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: guys feeling about this and how does nt cogso feel
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: that that NAP plan testing really is going now that
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  Speaker 1: it's back all for this year.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: Net Plan. I don't think that plan actually came up
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  Speaker 3: in any of the AGM conversation last November, but I
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: think you know, as a generalization, net plan has sort
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: of seen as a bit of a blunt instrument. You know,
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  Speaker 3: like in a lot of ways the net plan has
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  Speaker 3: aren't you know, geared towards a lot of our students.
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  Speaker 3: You know, when we're talking about bus time tables and
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: training time tables and things like that. You know how
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: much relevance does that have for a lot of our
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: students alone, our students that in the remote community. You know,
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: it's fair enough, Yeah, I think it's I mean, you've
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: got to have some kind of a yard stick, But
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: I think it's a really you know, it's pretty blunt
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  Speaker 3: and I don't think you know, as you know, an
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  Speaker 3: hour or two snapshot in a child's two year education really,
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  Speaker 3: you know, pick that up like you know, a report
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  Speaker 3: at the end of the semester does with the you know,
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  Speaker 3: with you know, with the child's teach you know, I really,
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: you know, it just it just doesn't do that. You know,
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  Speaker 3: what do we know what happened in that child's life
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: in the last twenty four hours. Have they got a cold,
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: did their dog die? Did? You know? It's just not
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  Speaker 3: an accurate reflection in a lot of time about what
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: that child's learning has been over a two year period.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Tabby, it's always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 2: I'll tell you what.
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  Speaker 1: This situation though, with the school based constables, it's one
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  Speaker 1: that you know that needs to get sorted, particularly given
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  Speaker 1: the fact that the territory government made that commitment to
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: expand the program and you know now that seems to
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: be taking a lot longer than what had been initially flagged.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: It's something we've we've all been keeping a bit of
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: an eye on. But please let us know if there
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: is any movement in this space and we'll keep onto
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: it as well.
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: Oh, I hope you'll be able to bring you up
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  Speaker 3: on you know something really that's what we all want.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, Tabby, always good to catch up with you.
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: I really appreciate your time today.
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Thank you.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: That is the nt COGSO president there, Tabby Fudge and
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: COGSO are of course the Council of Government Schools Organization
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  Speaker 1: and Tabby is the president. So always good to catch
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: up and find out where things are at. And that,
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: like I said, that issue of school based constables, it's
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: something that has been discussed at length.