Child Safety

Child Safety Standard 6: Ensuring Effective Complaints and Reporting Processes

At St Peter’s College, the safety and wellbeing of every child is our highest priority. Child Safety Standard 6 requires schools to have processes in place that enable concerns, complaints, allegations and disclosures relating to child safety to be taken seriously and acted upon promptly. It also ensures that children, families and staff understand how to raise concerns and what will happen when they do. This approach is embedded within our Child Safety and Wellbeing frameworks and daily practice. 

We are committed to fostering a culture where students, parents, carers, staff, and members of our wider community feel safe and supported to speak up if they have concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing. Creating an environment in which concerns can be raised openly helps prevent inappropriate behaviour from remaining hidden and strengthens our collective responsibility to protect children. 

The College maintains clear and accessible pathways for reporting concerns. Families and students can raise concerns with members of the leadership team, our Child Safety Champions, the Pastoral Care Team (Pastoral Care and House Leaders) or the Counselling Team, who coordinate and support responses to child safety matters. Our complaints and reporting processes are aligned with the DOSCEL complaints and child protection policies and are published through our child safety resources and school policies.

When a concern, disclosure, allegation or suspicion of child abuse is raised, staff follow established reporting requirements and child protection procedures. This includes responding immediately to any safety risks, meeting mandatory reporting obligations and following the Victorian Government’s Four Critical Actions for responding to incidents, disclosures and suspicions of child abuse. These processes ensure that concerns are investigated appropriately and that the safety of the child remains the central focus. 

We also recognise the important role families play in promoting child safety. Information about our child safety policies, reporting processes and wellbeing initiatives is regularly communicated through newsletters, the SPACE parent portal, parent information evenings and our college website. Families are encouraged to provide feedback and contribute to the ongoing development and review of our child safety practices.

As a Catholic learning community, we believe that every child is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated with dignity, care and respect. Through strong reporting processes, transparent communication and a culture of listening, St Peter’s College continues to work in partnership with families to ensure every young person feels safe, valued and heard.