CHILD SAFE STANDARDS AT ST AGNES'

Child Safe Standards at St Agnes’

At St Agnes’, the safety, wellbeing and dignity of every child are central to all that we do. We are committed to creating a school environment where every student feels safe, valued, respected and empowered. As part of this ongoing commitment, each month we are highlighting one of the Victorian Child Safe Standards with our community.

The Victorian Child Safe Standards are a set of eleven standards designed to help schools create and maintain child safe environments through strong policies, practices and partnerships with families. They support schools in building cultures where children’s voices are heard, their wellbeing is prioritised, and safeguarding is embedded into everyday school life.

This week, we focus on Child Safe Standard Two, which highlights the importance of embedding child safety and wellbeing in school leadership, governance and culture. At St Agnes’, this means ensuring that child safety is not treated as a separate responsibility, but is reflected in our decision-making, policies, procedures, staff practices and daily interactions with students. It also means that all members of our school community understand their role in creating and maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive environment for children.

We encourage all families to take a moment to read the information provided and continue partnering with us in this important work, as together we strengthen a culture of safety, inclusion and care across our St Agnes’ community.

What this looks like at St Agnes'

At St Agnes’, we are deeply committed to ensuring that child safety and wellbeing are embedded in all aspects of school leadership, governance and daily practice. Creating a safe, supportive and respectful environment for every child is central to all decision-making at our school and remains a shared responsibility across our entire community.

As a staff, we continue to engage in ongoing professional learning focused on the Victorian Child Safe Standards, mandatory reporting obligations, respectful relationships, student wellbeing and culturally safe practices. Child safety is also a standing agenda item within leadership and staff meetings, ensuring that safeguarding children remains an ongoing focus in school planning, reflection and decision-making.

Alongside this, we regularly review and refine our policies, procedures and risk management practices to ensure they reflect best practice. This includes clear processes around visitor sign-ins, yard supervision, student wellbeing support, online safety, excursion risk assessments and responding to any child safety concerns in a timely and appropriate manner.

At St Agnes’, child safety is embedded into everyday school life. Through classroom wellbeing lessons, our respectful behaviour expectations, student voice opportunities and strong staff-student relationships, we work to create an environment where students feel safe to speak up, seek help and know they will be listened to. Programs such as our buddy initiatives, wellbeing check-ins and support structures through our wellbeing and learning diversity teams all help strengthen students’ sense of belonging and connectedness at school.

We also recognise the vital role families play in maintaining a strong culture of child safety. By working in partnership with parents and carers, we can continue to build a school environment where every child feels known, valued, respected and protected.

Most importantly, we strive to ensure every student at St Agnes’ feels safe, supported and empowered to thrive both socially and academically.