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 Practice Manual Prepared by the HENCAST Committee 2013 To be reviewed in 2014 Practice Manual | 2
Who Are We? HENCAST is a network of home educating families based in Canberra and its surrounds. Our members come from all walks of life and educate their children in a myriad of differing ways. HENCAST is not a business, there is no office and HENCAST is run exclusively by volunteer members. HENCAST is an association incorporated under ACT legislation. This gives the group a legal identity, which allows us to do things like take out insurance and hire venues for activities. Although we try to keep things as informal as possible, we do need to meet the requirements of the legislation, including having at least one general meeting each year. This practice manual is a “how to” guide to assist all of our members in gaining an understanding of how HENCAST functions. The manual includes insight into the specific roles we perform both as active members of the group and as home educators. The manual also includes a code of conduct that outlines behaviours we embrace as a community. Table of Contents Purpose 3 Aims 3 HENCAST Code of Conduct 4 General Principals 4 Parental Responsibilities 5 Breaches of the Code of Conduct 6 Events and Activities 7 How to organise events 7 Planning 7 Attending a HENCAST activity: 10 Relationships 10 Difficulties 11 Building the HENCAST Community 11 HENCAST Business 12 Insurance 12 Communication 13 Committee 16 Constitution 16 Practice Manual | 3
Purpose As a community of families that choose to home educate, we are responsible for the education of our children. HENCAST provides a support in this endeavour by facilitating friendships within its community that can be a source of encouragement for one another and a source of mutual advice when it is needed. HENCAST provides an opportunity for group interaction for children and group access to a wide range of educational experiences and activities. Aims The HENCAST community endeavours to achieve its purpose by: 
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Organising activities and excursions on a regular basis that cater to a broad range of age levels and interests. Arranging classes or tutoring that meets the needs of children with particular interests or specific age groups. These may include language, art, craft, vocational, science or sporting classes. Scheduling regular picnics thus connecting families and assisting friendship growth through social interactions. Providing the opportunity for parents to meet with one another socially, outside of organized child activities. Encouraging all parents to play an active role within the HENCAST community, as HENCAST is dependent on the participation of its members. HENCAST families enjoying our Medieval Fair Practice Manual | 4
HENCAST Code of Conduct General Principals We recognise that our group is made up of people from diverse backgrounds and lifestyles. We home‐
educate in many different ways and for many different reasons. Our expectation is that everyone will be tolerant and tactful in their dealings with each other and be aware of, and responsive to, the needs of others in the group. At HENCAST we embrace the general principals of Respect, Integrity and Nurturing. Respect: Respect means honouring other people and treating them with care and courtesy. Respect stems from the belief that other people have as much worth and dignity as you and that harming others or their property is inherently wrong. Respect within the HENCAST community is demonstrated by 
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Treating people with courtesy, politeness, and kindness. Encouraging others to express opinions and ideas. Listening to what others have to say. Never insulting people, name calling, disparaging or putting down people or their ideas. Treating people the same no matter their race, religion, gender, size, age, sexuality, or country of origin. Including all HENCAST members in meetings, discussions, activities, and events. While not every person can participate in every activity, we do not marginalise, exclude or leave any one out. Offering praise, appreciation and constructive feedback. Treating others as you wish to be treated. Integrity: Integrity is the quality of having high moral principles, being reliable and trustworthy. It means consistently matching your thoughts and actions to this value system. Integrity within HENCAST is demonstrated by 
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following through when you volunteer to undertake a task taking responsibility for your actions speaking the truth, being honest and fair Mathematics gets ‘hands on’ during a HENCAST activity day Practice Manual | 5
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trusting and adhering to your intuition being genuine knowing your personal mission statement and making sure that everything you do and say aligns with it apologising when you do something wrong ‐ then, doing everything in your power to make it right Nurturing: As HENCAST exists to support the children and families who educate at home, crucial to this is the ability to create an environment where both the children and families can thrive. Nurturing within HENCAST is demonstrated by 
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Honouring each child as an individual Providing an inclusive environment and celebrating diversity Collaborating with other families to provide an environment that is safe and welcoming. Empowering children by fostering independence and self‐confidence. Creating deep, personal connections Creating Community and a social environment where collaboration amongst peers can propel learning to deeper and deeper levels. Parental Responsibilities Members are responsible for their own children at all times. Unless otherwise stipulated children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult to all HENCAST activities. If you are unable to supervise your own children please arrange for another adult to take direct responsibility for them and ensure that the organiser of the activity is aware of who is taking care of your child. This enables us to keep all children safe. If anything occurs that threatens the well‐being of the child the organiser of the activity can notify the parent or nominated supervisor (NS) immediately. Parents/NS should ensure that interactions between children are safe, respectful and inclusive. If you notice a child behaving in a manner that; 
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threatens their own or someone else's safety, is actively exclusive, disrespectful or mean, or is bullying please alert the parent/NS of that child. If the situation requires immediate intervention all members are expected to step in and stop unsafe behaviour straight away and inform the parent/NS as soon as possible. Practice Manual | 6
While at structured activities please make sure that if your child becomes restless or disruptive that you take them outside so that the rest of the group can get maximum benefit from the activity. If you notice a child making noise or distracting others please alert their parent/NS as soon as possible. If the situation requires immediate action please kindly ask the child to stop what they are doing or to leave the room and let their parent/NS know as soon as possible. 
We ask that parents explain to their children that disruptive behaviour (sand‐throwing, spitting, hitting, biting, swearing, name‐calling, teasing, taunting, bullying etc.) by any child will be taken as a sign that the child is ready to leave, and that if the behaviour continues, the parent will remove the child from the group. In the event that a conflict situation arises between children at a HENCAST event it is expected that the parents or nominated supervisors of those children deal with the issue directly and quickly. If you are not the parent/NS of the children involved, please alert the parent/NS immediately and then allow them to resolve the situation. Obviously, if the situation requires immediate intervention all members are expected to step in and straight away and inform the parent/NS as soon as possible. 
We understand that no two families parent in exactly the same manner, however: hitting, yelling at or shaming children are not considered acceptable disciplinary techniques. It is neither expected nor desirable that parents should discipline children other than their own, except in emergency situations. Illness If your child has, is showing any signs of ‐ or has been exposed to ‐ an infectious disease, please follow exclusion procedures set out in the Infectious Diseases ‐ Outbreak Procedures and Exclusion Periods document for ACT schools. http://www.det.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pd
f_file/0008/19457/outbreak.pdf Breaches of the Code of Conduct HENCAST reserves the right, as stipulated in its constitution, to revoke membership where there have been extreme or repeated breaches of this code. A great HENCAST craft project Practice Manual | 7
Events and Activities How to organise events HENCAST members are encouraged to organise an activity or event for the rest of the group, the more diverse the better. All HENCAST activities are advertised prior to their commencement through the HENCAST email list or newsletter. They are open to as many members as possible. Some activities have limited spaces and age restrictions so cannot accommodate all those interested but should always be advertised prior to their commencement to give everyone the opportunity to indicate their interest. All activities, whether a one‐off or regular, should be cleared and confirmed with the newsletter editorial team. Planning You may consider the following when planning your event: Venue & venue hire HENCAST has several venues that are used regularly. They are: 
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O'Connor Scout Hall, Humpy Hall in Scullin, and the Girl Guide Hall in Clianthus Street, Lyneham. Some of these venues may charge a fee for venue hire. Please keep this in mind when selecting your venue. You may also use other suitable venues such as museums and parks. Transportation to and from the venue, availability of parking spots Make sure that people can easily access the venue by car and/or public transport. Free parking is always a welcome bonus! Health & Safety Ensure that the venue is suitable for children of all ages (the above‐mentioned venues will be fine). Also, think about how to minimise risks and how to deal with problems if they occur. Consider various health and safety issues such as safety with equipment and materials (for example use of scissors at a craft activity), access for disabled people and toilet facilities, to name a few. In the event of an accident, a HENCAST Accident Report form (copy attached) is to be completed and forwarded to the Committee Secretary (email: [email protected]). Practice Manual | 8
Insurance Most activities are covered by HENCAST’s insurance policy (See Insurance Section). However, the policy does not cover certain ‘dangerous’ activities or overnight excursions. If in doubt, please contact the HENCAST Secretary (email: [email protected]). Note: Small group activities by invitation only are not considered HENCAST activities and thus not covered by HENCAST insurance. Help and support HENCAST kids learning about the human heart and circulatory system at Questacon Should you organise a large event, you may require help from other members. Consider contacting people that you know have an interest in your activity and ask them to assist with the organisation of the event. You could also ask for volunteers through the HENCAST mailing list. Also, do not hesitate to ask people for help on the day of the event if you require any support in running your activity. Date and Time Finding a suitable date and time can be difficult. Your event may clash with other HENCAST or home education related events so try to find out as much as you can about what is happening in the HENCAST community. If you are also a member of CHEC, you may wish to consider monitoring CHEC activities as well. The newsletter editors and the Secretary will be of assistance in this regard. Please note though that Thursdays are reserved for regular HENCAST large group activities and excursions. Additional activities may be offered on other days of the week or at a later time on Thursday afternoons so as not to interfere with the scheduled activity. Also, activities are usually run from 10.30am to 12.30pm leaving the afternoon free for a picnic and/or play. Occasionally, it may be necessary to schedule an activity later in the afternoon if it is the only time available. Cost Some events may require payment. If possible, an attendance fee should be charged per family rather than per child. Any fees are to be paid directly to the event organiser. The organiser should also select the payment options, i.e. cash on the day, bank transfer etc. Practice Manual | 9
Promotion Promote your event through the HENCAST newsletter, mailing list and website. Please ensure that all relevant information, such as age range, location, parking, any fees, required materials etc, is clearly listed in your advertisement. Registration Please note clearly in the advertisement how people should register for your event, i.e. via phone or email. Also provide a deadline for registrations and note whether the number of registrations is limited. Please acknowledge all registrations and, should you receive more registrations than you can accommodate, please keep a waiting list so that places that become available again can be filled. Prospective members, who have registered their interest in joining HENCAST with a member of the Committee, are welcome to attend up to three events before committing to membership. Other non‐
members are able to attend HENCAST events if places are still available. On the Day Make sure you are at the venue well before the activity is due to commence to set up and welcome attendees. You may also consider keeping a list of attendees. After the conclusion of the event, please make sure that the venue is returned to the state in which it was found. Other things to consider When organising an on‐going activity first email the group to gauge interest. If there are limited spaces in the activity or age restrictions make sure you include this in the email. Once all of the places are taken please notify those who indicated their interest that the activity is full. The person who organises the activity also organises the picnic for that week unless other arrangements are made. Picnics are held after the activity in a nearby location, usually a park. They may occasionally need to be prior to the activity when the activity needs to be held in the afternoon. Picnics are outside, even in the winter, unless it is raining or under other exceptional circumstances. Picnics should always be free. Please be aware of cultural/religious sensitivities when organising cultural or religious events. HENCAST members are encouraged to voluntarily share their knowledge, skills and interests with other members, particularly with the children. However they may offer, for reasonable remuneration, on‐
going classes or individual workshops, at times other than those designated for our regular Thursday activities. Practice Manual | 10
Attending a HENCAST activity: 
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Please ensure that you reply to advertised events in accordance with the deadline and mark the events in your calendar. Please keep in mind that some events, even free ones, require certain numbers to go ahead. Please wait a few days before contacting the organiser if you do not receive a confirmation of your registration immediately. Please advise the organiser at your earliest convenience should you be unable to attend an event after registering for it. This also includes last minute withdrawals in the case of an emergency. Also, please note that, in some cases, you may still be required to pay for the activity as some fees are non‐refundable. The organiser will be able to advise you accordingly. Please adhere to any age restrictions and do not attend an event without registering unless the advertisement specifically notes that this is acceptable. Please remember you are responsible for your children at all times. Should your children require special care then please advise the organiser accordingly. If you really enjoyed the event then please feel free to leave positive feedback for the organisers in person or via the HENCAST mailing list. Relationships Relationship with each other is an important aspect of the HENCAST network. Our fostered relationships can create an environment where our children feel valued and respected and parents feel encouraged and supported. As home educating Mums and Dads, we are busy people. We are first and foremost responsible for our children's education, we balance this with work outside the home and family life. Home education has its rewards and challenges. It is good to connect with other families who home educate and HENCAST provides one very good avenue for this. Park days provide a great opportunity for HENCAST kids to get back to nature. Essentially we are a group of Mums and Dads who don't send our children to school. We home educate in a variety of ways, we come from a diverse range of backgrounds, we hold a variety of belief systems. Some members come along very regularly and others less often. No one group can ever meet every member's needs. We will at times Practice Manual | 11
agree whole heartedly with each other and at other times disagree. Working with diversity can be challenging. Our common goal is to meet the needs of our children and develop a supportive network for parents. Focusing on these common goals helps us to best meet the needs of all the children and work together cohesively. Most of us move towards families with whom we have things in common and whose children have made a connection with ours. HENCAST provides an avenue to meet other families. We have an opportunity to get together with the larger group each Thursday when the activity is of interest or just arrive for the picnic. There are also lots of other opportunities during the week to meet in smaller groups for activities of interest. Positive group relationships can be achieved through the development of friendships fostered by participation in regular weekly activities, picnics or small gatherings and casual get‐togethers with other families. It is assumed that these relationships will encourage us to work through any problems we may have with mutual respect. Difficulties We all feel disgruntled sometimes and benefit from having a quiet word with a close friend. However, it is important not to allow these conversations to become negative and judgmental. If you have an issue with an individual it is best addressed directly and quickly with the person in question. Please avoid gossip ‐ we are a small group in a small town and rumours can be very destructive. In the unlikely event a situation arises that cannot be dealt with by the people involved, it may be necessary to enlist the support of a neutral third party. The ACT Conflict Resolution Service offers free or low cost mediation services for the Canberra region including dispute counselling, mediation, facilitation and information and referral. Details can be found on their website http://www.crs.org.au. Resolving disputes swiftly will ensure that HENCAST maintains an encouraging, supportive and welcoming environment for home educating families. If required, members of the committee are available to assist both parties to access this service and will do this impartially and maintain confidentiality in doing so. Building the HENCAST Community All members are encouraged to contribute to the group in some way each year. The more members contributing to HENCAST's activities and culture the greater will be its vibrancy and relevance to our home education journeys. Diverse educational and social activities are only possible when members devote their time and enthusiasm towards organising and participating in HENCAST events as and when they are able. Practice Manual | 12
Contributing You may wish to contribute to the HENCAST community by: 
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volunteering to help on the Committee (voted members with official roles) volunteering as the rotating editor for the bi‐monthly newsletter co‐ordinating a regular class or study of some sort (art, language, writing, etc.), either long or short term, for a particular age group or to meet a particular need, run by a HENCAST member, or someone from the community; organising a one‐off excursion or activity for HENCAST's Thursday activities calendar planning a one‐off afternoon tea, discussion group, talk (parent focus) or arranging a family outing at a time when working parents can join in (weekend picnic, bushwalk, camping trip, etc.) working with one or two other members if you have an idea, but don’t feel you could facilitate it alone (for whatever reason) participating in the planning picnic at the start of each year is a great way to exchange ideas, put forward needs which could be met, or suggest activities which might be used later on. HENCAST Business Insurance HENCAST currently has two Insurance policies that relate to members. The first is a general, public liability policy covering all sums we become legally liable to pay as compensation in respect to either personal injury or property damage in connection with any HENCAST activity. 
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The limit of liability is $10,000,000 (Per Claim / Per Insurance Period). There is a $50,000 criminal defence expense insurance option also included in this policy. The policy covers anyone who is a member of HENCSAST, or who is acting on behalf of HENCAST in a voluntary (i.e. unpaid) capacity in connection with a HENCAST activity. This is not an accident policy which would cover death, injury or disability occurring during an activity or in transit to or from an activity. If there are trees around, the HENCAST kids are never too far away… Practice Manual | 13
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A public liability policy only becomes relevant when an injury or damage occurs as the result of negligence. In such a case, the onus is on the complainant to establish that someone covered by the policy has been negligent. Some venues that we use require us to have public liability insurance. A certificate of currency is available from the Secretary if required. Notes about Excursions and exclusions: o Limited Liability cover includes events and outings that do not exceed one day and do not require overnight stay. o Exclusions include any activity relating to aircraft/hovercraft and the use of any watercraft over 10m in length (unless it is a vessel [owned and operated by another] that is ‘hired’ by HENCAST for entertainment) The second is a group personal accident insurance policy. 
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This policy covers all voluntary workers of HENCAST, including President, Vice President, committee members and other volunteers. Cover only applies to those engaged in authorised HENCAST volunteer work and including direct uninterrupted travel to and from such volunteer work. Number of volunteers insured is 10. Schedule of benefits o Death & Capital benefits $50,000 o Temp total disablement caused by injury 85% of gross salary to maximum of $500 per week for between 26 and 104 weeks according to age. Communication HomeWork – The HENCAST Newsletter HomeWork is the HENCAST Bi‐Monthly newsletter. The organising function of the Newsletter rotates between members each edition. HENCAST members are encouraged to assist by organising activities and events to benefit all members. HomeWork includes HENCAST news and activities – both regular and calendar events. It also includes contributions from the children and parents of HENCAST who share stories, articles of interest and poetry. There is also a section that covers online and local community resources. Our bi‐monthly newsletter “HomeWork” Practice Manual | 14
HomeWork is available to all members and sent to those considering joining HENCAST. If you would like to contribute to the newsletter contact the rotating editor or email [email protected]. HENCAST Contact List Only HENCAST members who have provided a Membership Form indicating their preference to participate in the Contact List will be included. Participation in the contact list is optional, but you must state your preference on the Membership Form or provide a written update to the Hencast Secretary. Remember if you have changed your contact details please advise the Secretary. The Contact List exists to assist families in developing a network of supportive home educating families around them. Any other use is a violation of privacy. All communication with other members is expected to be respectful in tone. The Contact List is only forwarded to families who have chosen to participate. It is not circulated to the group as a whole. It is never provided to anyone outside the group. Do not under any circumstances forward anyone's contact details without the direct permission of the person. HENCAST Group Email The HENCAST group email is available and can be used for discussions, information sharing or for arranging meetings or HENCAST activities. It is a private group so you will only receive emails through this group from fellow members. Emails sent to the HENCAST group email are for the group's information and use only. Please note that HENCAST has an expectation of privacy and we appreciate everyone respecting this by keeping these emails within the group. If you would like to forward, copy, distribute or communicate one of our emails to someone outside the group, you must get the original email author's permission first. If you are not sure about something, or you can't get an answer from the author, please email [email protected] with your question and someone from the Committee will be happy to answer your query as soon as they can. If you want to organise an activity, the group email list is a very good forum to check for interest. Before activities are advertised as HENCAST events, they need to be cleared with the newsletter editorial team or the Committee. Everyone is welcome to post emails to the list. There is no need to have your email approved or checked by anyone before you send it out to the group ‐ just email it ‐ and we thank you for participating! Remember, if you have more than one email address, you must use the email address you are subscribed with or the email won't be accepted. Practice Manual | 15
People have also posted information and feedback about non‐HENCAST activities, information or support wanted, articles and websites of interest, and occasional wanted and for sale ads. By all means, please share information and links to things that you think might be of interest to members of the group. Please, put "OT" or "Off‐Topic" at the beginning of the subject line for anything that is, indeed, off‐topic. The use of the HENCAST email for sharing information about a product or service that may be of interest to our home educating community is welcomed. Many HENCAST members also have private businesses that offer enrichment opportunities to the home educating community. Whilst we encourage the sharing of information, activities and opportunities that will benefit the members, the Email list should not be used for aggressive market advertising. Should advertising become excessive you will be advised and any inappropriate posts will be removed by the administrator. Members of the HENCAST Committee can help you if you are unsure as to whether your email is appropriate to go out over the list. Please send your enquiries to ‐ [email protected]. Remember HENCAST is a diverse group with members from all walks of life, with varying beliefs, who home educate their children in a variety of ways. This diversity is an enduring characteristic of HENCAST and one that is cherished by its members. Therefore, if you see a post that you are not interested in, please exercise your right to use the “delete” button. The HENCAST list is not to be utilised to debate a specific ideology or philosophy as comments may cause division in the group. If you have comments to make about an activity listed in the newsletter or on the Yahoo list, or an activity you have attended, please approach the organiser of the activity privately in the first instance. If, between you, you decide that your discussion on the subject is to the group's benefit, then proceed to a public discussion. The Yahoo group has up to 60 members at any one time so is a very public forum. The email address for the list is [email protected]. When you send an email to this address, it is automatically sent to all HENCAST list members. When you reply to a HENCAST group email, it will go only to the author, not to the whole group. To reply to the whole group, you need to press your “Reply All” button for your email reply. When using the HENCAST group email, members are reminded that they are bound by the HENCAST Code of Conduct. If you have any questions regarding Email access or administration, please contact the Hencast Committee. Practice Manual | 16
HENCAST Kid’s Forum HENCAST kids take an active role in their own education. In 2013, they implemented – from their own initiative – the HENCAST kid’s forum. The forum is open to all children and provides an opportunity to collectively focus on HENCAST activities and other issues that impact them and their education. The kid’s forum meetings generally run bi‐monthly and the host of the forum attends the committee meeting to present the kid’s report. The Host position is regularly alternated amongst the children so the opportunity to chair the meeting and attend the committee is shared. Educationally, the kid’s forum provides an opportunity to explore formal meeting structures, preparing agendas and minutes and delivering a verbal report to the Committee. Additionally the children share their ideas for HENCAST activities, plan official Kids Forum events and help build strong supportive relationships. This initiative has seen the HENCAST kids get excited about having a formal say in the HENCAST community. Committee At the 2012 AGM, HENCAST formalised the committee as it was determined that the informal processes that had been undertaken to manage HENCAST activities were no longer sufficient The Committee’s functions are outlined in the HENCAST Constitution. The Committee consists of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and four General Members. The Committee meets up to four times each year to discuss a range of matters that impact HENCAST. The committee can be contacted by emailing [email protected]. Constitution As an incorporated association, HENCAST is legally required to have a constitution. This written set of rules outlines: how HENCAST operates; membership fees; member’s rights; how the management committee works; and how meetings run. A copy of the HENCAST constitution is available from the HENCAST Secretary or online at www.hencast.org.au.