Helping out at school is a great way to get involved in your child’s education and get to know the local school community. The department always welcomes volunteers. Research shows that children benefit when their parents or carers are actively involved in their education and school life.
As a parent, carer or close relative of a student, you likely enter schools regularly. Depending on the reason for your visit, you may need to check-in and be screened by school staff.
Read the information below to understand what you need to do and when you need to do it.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Parents and carers |
Biological parents, legal guardians or any other person who has custody or care of a child. |
Close relatives |
Includes:
|
Digital declaration |
An online form which is sent via a link in an email. The form asks individuals to provide details or upload certificates that are relevant to the type of access or activities that they will undertake in a school. The information that is requested changes based on the type of activities that a person will be involved in when entering a school. |
School Visitor Check-In |
A digital sign-in system within the Service NSW app to replace paper-based log books. Used for volunteers, contractors and casual employees. Keeps track of the people who enter NSW public schools and assists the department in keeping schools safe. |
Working With Children Check (WWCC) |
A clearance issued by the Office of the Children’s Guardian. A screening mechanism used to prevent certain persons from participating in child-related work. The process involves a national criminal history check (including convictions, charges and juvenile records) and a review of findings of workplace misconduct. Valid for 5 years. |
Ensuring the safety and well-being of our students is our utmost priority. Knowing who is on school grounds and checking to make sure there are no reasons why they can’t be on school grounds is an essential part of the department’s child protection strategy. In an emergency, it’s also important to know who is physically at the school, so staff can ensure everyone is safe and accounted for.
As a parent or carer, you might need to check in at the front office, or complete a screening declaration as a visitor or volunteer, depending on the reason for your visit:
Scheduled visitors need to check-in.
Includes:
Parent and carer volunteers need a declaration (no WWCC) and are required to check-in.
Includes:
Special volunteers (including parents and carers) need a declaration, WWCC and are required to check-in.
Includes:
If you enter the school when dropping off or picking up your child, you do not need to sign in using School Visitor Check-In, or complete any declaration forms.
Other common visitor scenarios where you do not need to sign in or be screened include:
attending parent-teacher nights
attending school fetes or activities open to the public
watching presentations and performances
being a spectator for school sport carnivals.
If you are visiting a school for a meeting during school hours, you may need to check-in at the office through the School Visitor Check-In app, so that staff can keep a record of who is on school grounds for work, health and safety purposes.
As part of the screening process, members of the community working or volunteering in our schools must complete a declaration form that provides their basic name and contact details. They must also consent to the department’s privacy policy and declare that there is no relevant reason (such as a serious criminal conviction) why they should not be granted access to school grounds during school hours.
If you would like to volunteer for activities involving your child or family member, you usually will not need a Working With Children Check (WWCC).
Listening to children read in the classroom.
Volunteering on sports days.
Helping supervise excursions.
Getting involved in fundraising activities.
Joining school committees.
Helping with canteen duty.
Participating in the school’s P&C.
Providing personal care services to children with disabilities.
Transporting students other than your children or family member to excursions, school sport competitions and other school-sanctioned events.
Providing mentoring services, including as part of a formal mentoring program, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme or special religious or ethical education programs.
Attending an overnight excursion.
If needed, you can apply for a volunteer Working With Children Check through the Office of the Children’s Guardian. You will need to provide four forms of ID such as a birth certificate, driver’s licence, Medicare card and utility bill.
Before you arrive at school, office staff will confirm you have been sent an email with a link to complete a Digital declaration, and have been granted access as either a:
parent, carer, or close relative volunteer; or
child-related volunteer or contractor.
Is the link safe? The email will reference the school, and what the screening is for (e.g. parent, carer or close relative volunteer, child related volunteer or contractor, etc). If you are unsure if the email you received is legitimate or from the department, the school’s details have been included in the email – you can always give them a call to confirm.
As part of the digital declaration for parents, carers and close relatives, you will need to:
provide basic personal details and contact information
complete a legal declaration and consent to the department’s privacy statement.
If you have a NSW WWCC number, you are encouraged to provide this, even when you might not need one to volunteer as a parent, carer or close relative. Providing details of a WWCC allows you to volunteer between schools without needing to submit a second declaration form (for example, if you have children at multiple schools), and increases the types of activities you can assist with.
Why do you need to show a photo ID or tell office staff your birthdate?
School Office staff need to see a photo ID to confirm that you are who you say you are and match you (where relevant) to a Digital Declaration or cleared screening record.
A date of birth might be needed if there are multiple people with the same name in our systems.
Being sure of who is on school grounds is one of the ways the department keeps your children safe.
You will need to do a digital declaration at each school. This is because you’re only cleared for child-related activities at a specific school where you have a child attending.
However, if you have a valid volunteer WWCC, you will only need to complete the digital declaration once. That’s the benefit of always providing your WWCC number if you have one.
No. You will need to wait until the Office of the Children’s Guardian officially grants you a WWCC.
The WWCC can take a few weeks to process. It’s therefore best to apply well in advance for when you want to do specific volunteer activities at NSW public schools.
There are many reasons why a school might need to revoke your access as a parent, carer or close relative volunteer.
The most common reason is that your child or close relative no longer attends the school.
Another reason is if you do not renew your Working With Children Check. You will still be able to volunteer with the P&C, perform canteen duties and help out with reading activities. But you will not be able to do certain volunteer activities like providing personal care services to children with disabilities.
Yes. If you want to increase your access to include working as a paid contractor at schools, you will need to get a WWCC for paid employment. A volunteer WWCC is for unpaid activities only.
Apply for a WWCC for paid employment at the Office of the Children’s Guardian.
You will need to check whether you need to provide your WWCC for paid employment to your employer or to the department in the digital declaration.
