Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards (the Standards) are compulsory minimum standards for all Victorian schools to ensure they are well prepared to keep children and young people safe and protect them from abuse.  

Child Safe Standards aim to: 

• promote the safety of children 
• prevent child abuse 
• ensure effective processes are in place to respond to and report all allegations of child abuse. 

Child Safe Standards work by: 

• driving changes in culture – embedding child safety in everyday thinking and practice 
• providing a minimum standard of child safety 
• highlighting we all have a role in keeping children safe from abuse. 

At Box Hill High School, we are committed to ensuring that matters related to protecting all children from child abuse, managing the risk of child abuse, providing support to a child at risk of child abuse, and responding to suspicions, incidents, disclosures or allegations of child abuse are responded to and managed accordingly.  

Box Hill High School is fully committed to providing a safe and respectful learning environment for all, and to keep our young people safe, we ensure that whole-school processes and practices are in place. These include, and are not limited to: 

• All staff complete the annual Mandatory Reporting e-module 
• We have school policies that are reviewed and ratified by School Council as required. For example: Child Safe Code of Conduct Policy, Child Safety (Child Safe Standards) Policy, Child Safety Reporting and Responding Policy. These policies and more are available on our website 
• We sight, verify and record Working with Children clearances where required under the Worker Screening Act 2020 or any equivalent background check, for example Victorian Institute of Teaching registration 
• Where a person will be engaged in child-related work, we collect and record proof of identify, essential or relevant qualifications, history of work involving children and references addressing suitability for the job and working with children 
• Our school council ensures that Department of Education and Training recruitment policies and practices are followed and appropriate records kept 
• We ensure complaints are taken seriously and responded to promptly and thoroughly, guided by clear processes and procedures 
• We ensure at least annually, the school council receives appropriate guidance and training about the Standards 
• We actively promote inclusion and diversity, and educate our students through the implementation of The Department of Education and Training Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program. 

Families play a crucial role in monitoring children’s safety and wellbeing and helping children to disclose concerns. In ensuring we promote an open and transparent culture, we encourage our students and their families to raise concerns or ideas for improvement when it comes to child safety.