Wellbeing 

Respectful Relationships and Child Safe Standards creating safer school communities.

Schools play a vital role in building safe, inclusive, and supportive environments where every student can thrive. In Victoria, the Respectful Relationships initiative and the Child Safe Standards are two key frameworks working hand-in-hand to promote the wellbeing and safety of children and young people. While each has its own focus, their alignment provides schools with a powerful, integrated approach to fostering respectful, protective, and empowering school cultures.

Understanding the Frameworks

The Child Safe Standards are a set of mandatory principles introduced to ensure that organisations, including schools, take proactive steps to prevent child abuse and create environments where children feel safe and respected. The updated 11 standards place strong emphasis on child empowerment, equity, cultural safety, and the involvement of families and communities in child safety.

The Respectful Relationships initiative, developed as part of the Victorian Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence, is a whole-school approach to promoting gender equality, social and emotional literacy, and respectful behaviour. It supports schools to embed respect and equality into the school culture, curriculum, policies, and everyday interactions.