Child Safety Standards

Child Safe standard

Description

Policies

Child Safe Standard 1:
Establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.

This standard requires schools to make sure Aboriginal children and young people feel safe.

The term ‘Aboriginal’ includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is important to be respectful of how individual children, students, their families and community refer to themselves, and use appropriate language.

Cultural safety includes being provided with a safe, nurturing and positive environment where Aboriginal children:

• feel comfortable being themselves
• feel comfortable expressing their culture, including their spiritual and belief systems
• are supported by carers who respect their Aboriginality and encourage their sense of self and identity.

School policies:

• Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy
• Aboriginal Learning, Wellbeing and Safety Action Plan 
• Bullying Prevention Policy
• Inclusion and Diversity Policy

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• Cultural Safety of Aboriginal Children (Tip Sheet)
• Community Understanding and Safety (CUS) training

Child Safe Standard 2:
Ensure that child safety and wellbeing are embedded in school leadership, governance and culture.

This standard emphasises the vital role that school leaders and governing authorities have in establishing:

• a culture where child abuse and harm is not tolerated
• effective systems and processes to implement child safe policies and practices and manage child abuse risks.

Schools must take deliberate steps to promote child safety and wellbeing and protect children by

• embedding and promoting a child safety culture at all levels of the organisation
• school leaders actively modelling such a culture
• ensuring transparent governance arrangements.

School policies:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Code of Conduct
• Volunteers Policy
• Child Safety Risk Register

Department policies and resources:

• Records Management – School Records
• Guidance for child safety champions

Child Safe Standard 3:
Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

This standard supports schools to create a culture that values and promotes student participation. This includes:

• informing students about their rights and responsibilities in an age-appropriate way
• recognising the importance of friendships and peer support
• enabling students to actively participate in creating a culture that is safe for them and their peers.

School policies:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy
• Complaints Policy

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• PROTECT: Identify child abuse
• Empowerment & Participation of Children (Tip Sheet)
• Resilience Rights and Respectful Relationships
• eSmart and Cyber safety

Child Safe Standard 4:
Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

This standard highlights the importance of an open and transparent child safe culture for families and communities.

Schools must provide families and communities with accessible information about their child safe policies and practices and involve them in their approach to child safety and wellbeing.

School policies

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• How to Keep Children Safe (Easy English)

Child Safe Standard 6:
People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

This standard focuses on ensuring that people who work with children and young people are suitable and supported to act in a child safe way. Schools should make child safety and wellbeing a key consideration when recruiting staff and volunteers.

As part of this standard, schools must:

• develop robust procedures to ensure only suitable people work with children
• supervise staff and volunteers to ensure they prioritise the safety of children
• support staff and volunteers to understand their responsibilities.

School policies:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Volunteers Policy
• Visitors Policy

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• Suitability for Employment Checks
• Recruitment in Schools
• Visitors in Schools
• Volunteers in Schools

Child Safe Standard 7:
Ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.

This standard focuses on ensuring that schools have complaints processes that are child-focused, culturally safe and accessible to everyone.

Schools must have policies, procedures and practices to

• have a complaints handling process focused on students and their safety needs
• take complaints and concerns seriously
• respond promptly and thoroughly
• identify and respond to all forms of child abuse
• report child abuse to relevant authorities, whether or not there is a legal obligation to report it.

School policies:

• Complaints Policy
• Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures
• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• PROTECT Identifying and responding to all forms of abuse in Victorian Schools
• PROTECT Identify child abuse
• PROTECT Identify and respond to student sexual offending

Child Safe Standard 8:

Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.

This standard focuses on building child safety knowledge, skills and awareness in staff, volunteers and school governing authorities.

All schools should deliver training to new and existing staff and volunteers. The training must be tailored to the needs of the school and the role the person performs at the school.

School policies:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Volunteers Policy

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• Guidance for child safety champions

Child Safe Standard 9:
Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.

This standard focuses on child safety and wellbeing in physical and online environments and ensuring that procurement also reflects child safety.

Schools need to have policies and strategies:

• for identifying and responding to risk and reducing or removing the risk of harm
• for online conduct and online safety
• ensuring that procurement policies for facilities and services ensure the safety of children and students

Schools must analyse and understand potential risks to students. It is important to think about risks created by school structure and culture, activities and physical and online environments.

Online technologies are constantly changing which presents significant challenges for schools, parents and carers. Online behaviour needs to be addressed in the Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy and Codes of Conduct to promote child safety.

Arrangements with external agencies also create child safety risks. They create opportunities for unknown people to have contact with students.

School policies:

• Yard Duty and Supervision of Students Policy
• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Code of Conduct
• Volunteers Policy
• Digital Learning Policy
• Camps and Excursions Policy
• Child Safety Risk Register

Department resources, programs and initiatives implemented at the school:

• Procurement – Schools Policy
• NDIS Funded Therapy in Schools
• Acceptable Use Agreement

Child Safe Standard 10:
Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.

This standard focuses on continuous improvement in child-safe policies, procedures and practices.

Schools must:

• regularly review and evaluate policies and strategies
• analyse child safety incident data
• share review findings with the school community.

School policies:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Volunteers Policy

Child Safe Standard 11:
Policies and procedures that document how schools are safe for children, young people and students.

This standard focuses on incorporating the 11 Child Safe Standards into school policies, procedures and practices, which work together to create a child-safe culture.

Schools should ensure these policies and procedures are:

• informed by community consultations so they are relevant to the school
• accessible to all
• informed by best practice
• championed by leaders
• well understood by those they apply to
• implemented effectively.