Policy
The purpose of this policy is to ensure schools have appropriate processes in place for the safe collection of students during normal school hours and to support schools to manage situations in which the students are not collected at the normal collection time, without notice from the parent or carer.
Summary
- Schools must ensure only a parent/carer or authorised person can collect a child from school during school hours.
- Schools must record the details of the person collecting a student during school hours.
- Where a student is considered to be sufficiently mature to leave the school grounds independently (for example secondary students and/or mature minors) they can do so with a valid reason and the knowledge and consent of their parents/carers.
- Schools have a duty of care to ensure the safe collection of students from school or a school activity.
Details
Parents/carers are responsible for the collection of students from school.
Schools must:
- have procedures in place for the safe collection of students from school, during normal school hours
- ensure parents/carers are aware of the procedures to collect students during school hours and are advised of the school’s supervision times after school while students wait to be collected.
During school hours
Where a student is considered to be sufficiently mature to leave the school grounds independently (for example secondary students and/or mature minors) they are able to do so with a valid reason and the knowledge and consent of their parents/carers. Parental consent must be recorded by the school.
Refer to Mature Minors and Decision Making on when and how to assess a student as being mature enough to make their own decision about a particular issue.
For all other students the following applies.
Schools must:
- ensure all student collections during school hours are directly supervised by school staff to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students at all times
- only allow students to be collected by their parents/carers or by a person who has been authorised by the parents/carers to pick up their child, subject to any specific court orders such as parenting orders or family violence intervention orders. If the authorised person collecting the student is not known to the school, verification of identity using suitable photo identification (such as a driver’s licence) must be sighted (but no copy should be retained) by school personnel. Any concerns about an individual’s authorisation must be escalated by following the Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies) policy and the Protecting Children – Reporting and Other Legal Obligations policy
- ensure the school has clearly communicated with students the ways that they can raise concerns if they are feeling unsafe in any situation at school, as required by Child Safe Standard 3. In circumstances where there are concerns about any authorised person collecting the student, remind students of how to notify staff if they feel unsafe
- record the details of when a student has been collected early from school including the:
- date and time
- reason for the collection
- name of the person who collected the child. The sample Student early collection form can be used for this purpose
- either use the sample Student early collection form or ensure all elements of the sample form are incorporated in any school-developed template or third party system.
Records management
Records that document early collection of students, such as Student early collection forms or Student sign-in/sign-out registers, must be retained for a minimum of 30 years.
For further information on records management in schools refer to Records Management. The School records retention guide (XLSX) (staff login provides information on common school records and their minimum retention periods.
Schools must minimise taking photographs of the person collecting the student. Unlike visitors in schools, people collecting students are more likely to be known to the school and photo collection can therefore constitute overcollection of personal information or be considered intrusive when only identity verification by school staff is needed.
In a small handful of cases where photographs may be required for further identity verification (for example, validating secondary students’ ID), photographs must only be retained for a maximum of one month. If a third party system with a photography function is used, the school must ensure images are deleted on that system after one month. Refer to the School records retention guide (XLSX) (staff login for further information on deletion of identity verification records.
People who do not wish to be photographed must be provided an alternative option to prove identity (for example, school personnel sighting driver’s licence).
If a school wishes to use a device or system to record collection of students, the following must be undertaken:
- staff are still required to supervise and check the collection and cannot rely on the device alone
- ensure a visible collection notice is attached to the device that says, 'Data and images collected for the purpose of identity verification will be deleted in accordance with the department’s Records Management policy'.
After school hours
If a student is normally collected from school but is still at school beyond normal collection time, particularly primary students, schools must:
- ensure staff supervise the student until they are safely collected by a responsible adult or other appropriate arrangements are made
- attempt to contact:
- the parents/carers
- the emergency contact person identified in the school records
- other known contacts
- consider contacting the police or Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) to arrange care and protection if:
- it is well beyond reasonable collection time
- all reasonable attempts to locate the appropriate responsible adults, as per above, fail
- if DFFH or Victoria Police have taken action to facilitate care for the child:
- follow the Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies) policy and contact the Incident Support and Operations Centre (ISOC) to lodge an incident report on 1800 126 126
- leave details of the student’s whereabouts with the school office.
Related policies
Reviewed 12 May 2025