Child Safe Champion

Dear Families,

We hope that our first newsletter for the year finds you well and enjoying a positive start to the term. 

We wanted to share what’s been happening at Glen Education in relation to new child‑safe legislation that has recently come into effect across Australia. These changes strengthen the expectations placed on organisations working with children—including kindergartens—and are designed to create safer, more transparent environments for every young person.

The updated legislation introduces clearer, stronger requirements for how organisations prevent, identify, and respond to risks of harm. Glen Education has always prioritised child safety; these new laws formalise practices and introduce additional safeguards, including:

• Stronger accountability for staff and leadership in maintaining child‑safe environments
• More robust reporting processes for concerns or incidents
• Greater transparency around how risks are identified and managed
• Enhanced participation and voice for children, ensuring they feel heard and respected

• Clearer expectations for engaging volunteers, contractors, and external providers

   

These changes align with the Victorian Child Safe Standards and National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and reinforce the shared responsibility we all have in protecting children.

We are reviewing and updating our policies, procedures, and training to ensure full compliance with the new requirements.

All people (staff, students and volunteers) working with children must complete comprehensive and nationally approved training by 27 August, 2026. 

We’ve also been conducting safety and wellbeing audits of all Glen Education kindergartens to ensure that all our services provide clean, safe, well-resourced spaces for your children. From our audits we can identify areas that are working wonderfully and find opportunities for improvement.

Creating a child‑safe community is a partnership. 

You can support this work by:

• Reading our updated policies when they are shared
• Talking with your child about safety, boundaries, and help‑seeking

• Reaching out if you ever have concerns or questions

   

Your thoughts, feedback and involvement are invaluable as we continue strengthening our culture of safety and trust.

We’d like to welcome a new member to the Child Safe and Compliance team – Nicole Brunhierl, Nicole joins us with 30 years’ experience in the Early Childhood Education and Care Sector.