b'FEATURED ARTICLEPoliciesPolicies establish a schools position on significant issues.Policies such as Enrolment Policies, Enrolments Policies (Special Needs), Discipline Polices, Transgender Policies, Anti-Discrimination Policies, Sexual Harassment Policies, Bursary Policies, Privacy Policies, just to name a few, are extremely important in the context of Enrolment Contracts.Enrolment Contracts ought to have a mechanism whereby a school and a parent can rely on these school policies if an issue arises.Of course, a policy is only as good as its contents and the more comprehensive and robust the policy, the more beneficial it is for all parties.The Disability Royal CommissionIt is important that all Admission Offices keep up to date with the progress of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (the Royal Commission).The Royal Commission is examining many aspects of disability including how a persons disability impacts on their access to and participation in schools.As part of its Interim Report published in October 2020, the Royal Commission referred to gatekeeping practices as one of its areas of further inquiry and as being a potential driver of neglect.Gatekeeping practices involve the denial or informal discouragement of students with disability from attending schools or education settings of their or their families choice. Put simply, it is where School A suggests that School B may be better placed to enrol the student because School A does not really wish to proceed with the enrolment.The Royal Commission is due to provide its Final Report on 29 September 2023 (it was originally due in April 2022).While it is obviously too early to say what the Final Report will include, the issues it has raised in its Interim Report are a clear signal that schools should be keeping abreast of its Progress Reports as they are published.NOVEMBER 2021 51'