The policy requirements for Registration and Accreditation from NESA are quite extensive. As we prepared for Registration and Accreditation early in 2020, we had a significant uplift in the number of policies we have within the organisation. The management of these new policies were being handled in Google Drive however, there were several repositories being maintained resulting in issues with version control.

We have recently purchased CHALK, which is a system that is designed to help us with policy access and management, staff induction, quizzes, annual data collection, on-boarding, and off-boarding staff across Illawarra Christian Education.

There are many benefits to our new system CHALK:

1. All policies, and their relevant documents, can now be found in one place. Anytime you need to re-read or review a policy, you can simply visit CHALK to find it. Once there, you will also be able to access all related links, procedures, and forms.

2. The review and ratification process, which is done by the executive staff at both schools, can be done completely within this system. Staff who are needed to review and update a policy, will be sent an automated email, and can access the policy to make changes within CHALK.

3. We have set up a system that only gives staff access to the policies relevant to their job. Staff will then have to mark off when they have read a policy and will be able to complete all revision quizzes in in CHALK.

4. When changes are made to a policy, this policy will automatically be sent to all staff who need to review it.

This system greatly streamlines the process of policy revision and ratification process. It is also greatly convenient for all staff members, as everything can be found in the one place accessing the same version of the policy.

As it is a website, CHALK is very intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to use. We have created this user guide on how to use CHALK and navigate the website, depending on what you need to do.

Layout:

The screenshot below is what you will see when you first log in to CHALK – My Tasks and Activities think of this as your dashboard. If you have tasks or activities that need to be completed (such as reading a new policy, policy changes, or completing a quiz), they will be displayed in the Personal Task List.

NB: Depending on your role, and position of responsibility, you may have a slightly different display with some additional tabs. This is the default view for the majority of users of CHALK.

Open

The next tab – Professional and Personal – is your profile. This has your information, and a list of any completed forms and applications you have previously completed. For the most part, many of these functions are not yet in use, so the professional and personal is one you can mostly ignore at this stage.

Open

 The final tab is the Staff Handbook. This is where you can access all our policies, procedures, forms, and related links, and can do so at any time. It is your new go to when you want to access anything policy related.

The following link with show you how to navigate the staff handbook:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EUMe1wcrMTcjyT_DdUlJGBs-C2NM1UYe/view

Completing Actions:

Aside from becoming our database for all policies and related documents, our other main purpose in using CHALK is to distribute new policies, policy changes and our annual quizzes through to all staff in the form of tasks and actions.

As mentioned above, all actions that you are required to complete will appear on your dashboard after you log in. You will also receive an email notifying you that you have tasks in your dashboard to complete.

Actions that all staff members will be required to complete include:

·         Our annual quizzes (Child Protection, WHS, Staff Code of Conduct etc.)

·         Reading policy updates

·         Reading new policies

·         Uploading forms such as the Statement of Recommitment

NB: exec staff may also have actions for reviewing and updating policies and procedures.

To complete an action, click on the drop down arrow and select update this task.

1. If the action requires you to read an updated or new policy, you will be taken to this page, where you can access the policy to the right – there are options to download or print the policy if you prefer to read the policy in paper form or in full screen mode, and then tick to declare that you have read it and agree to abide by it.

2. If the action requires you to complete a quiz, you will be taken to the following page and must complete the quiz. You can also the policy by selecting the link to the right. Please note that you will not be able to submit the quiz until you have gotten all questions correct.

3. If the action requires you to submit a form, you will be taken to the following page, and must do the following actions.

If you have any questions on how to use CHALK, please speak to Sami Lowcock, Rob Thomas or Carrie Moss.