Child Safety

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.

Induct new staff and volunteers to child safety requirements

• Nominate a child safety champion and support them to facilitate the induction and training programs for staff and volunteers.
• Provide an induction for new staff, volunteers and new school council members on child safety, appropriate to the person’s role that covers:
  • the Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
  • the Child Safety Code of Conduct
  • the Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations (incl. mandatory Reporting) policy and procedures
  • signs of harm and risk factors caused by peers or adults (including grooming and family violence) and the different ways young people express concerns or disclose harm
  • building culturally safe environments
  • privacy, information sharing and recordkeeping obligations
  • how to facilitate child-friendly ways for students to express their views, participate in decision making and raise concerns

Provide ongoing education and training

• Deliver regular child safety briefings for all staff, for example through staff meetings, newsletters, year level briefings.
• Require all staff with Mandatory Reporting obligations to refresh their Protecting Children – Reporting and Other Legal Obligations (Mandatory Reporting) training at least once a year.
• Inform staff and volunteers (as appropriate) of their responsibilities under the information sharing and family violence reforms. These reforms support staff to meet their child safety obligations by enabling them to:
• Maintain records of annual child safety programs including presentation materials, agenda, minutes and list of attendees.
• Identify staff to attend information sharing and family violence reforms training, available as online webinars or eLearning modules.
• Offer further training appropriate to staff and volunteers’ level of involvement in the school community, on topics such as:
  • child safety (including family violence)
  • mandatory reporting
  • responding to student sexual offending
  • human rights and the rights of children
  • diversity and inclusion
  • harassment and bullying
  • cultural safety
  • privacy and information sharing.
• Offer a range of optional and compulsory education and training activities, including:
  • Staffroom briefings and ‘toolbox talks’
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Peer discussions, scenarios and worked examples
  • Presentations, seminars or webinars
  • Training days
  • E-learning modules, for example the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations modules.
• Remind staff regularly that they need to be alert for signs of harm and risk factors and aware of physical and online risks to child safety.
• Provide staff and relevant volunteers with up-to-date contact details for local support services for students and families.
• Consider staff needs when designing training, such as:
  • Cultural safety for the needs of staff and volunteers who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • Cultural sensitivity for staff and volunteers who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Inclusivity of gender diversity and sexuality
  • Accessibility for those with a disability, including individuals mobility, visual or hearing impaired
  • Accessibility to those who are rurally or remotely located or unwilling to attend physically.