Child Safe Standards
Nossal's Commitment to Child Safety: Understanding the Child Safe Standards
At Nossal High School, the safety and wellbeing of every student is our highest priority. All organisations in Victoria are mandated to comply with the Child Safe Standards, which came into effect in July 2022. As a school, we are required to share this information with our students and community annually.
What are the Child Safe Standards?
The Child Safe Standards were introduced in response to recommendations from the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse. In 2012, the Victorian Parliament led the 'Betrayal of Trust Inquiry' into the handling of child abuse by institutions. Since then, we have seen how the Standards have improved safety for children and young people. Sadly, abuse still occurs within our community, which is why the Standards have been continuously strengthened.
On 1 July 2022, eleven new, strengthened Child Safe Standards took effect in Victoria, replacing the original seven Standards. These new Standards set out minimum requirements and outline the actions organisations must take to keep children and young people safe. The updated Standards provide greater clarity for organisations and are more consistent with child safety frameworks across Australia, ensuring Victoria leads the way in protecting children and young people.
Key Focus Areas
The 11 Child Safe Standards include specific requirements:
- To involve families and communities in organisations' efforts to keep children and young people safe
- For a greater focus on safety for Indigenous (Aboriginal) children and young people
- To manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
- In relation to governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe
Importantly, the Standards also require organisations to ensure that young people are empowered to understand their rights, participate in decisions that affect them, and be taken seriously.
Everyone Has a Right to Be Safe
Everyone has the right to be safe and be protected from abuse. No one should behave in a way that makes young people feel unsafe or afraid, including anyone in their family, anyone at school, or anywhere else in the community.
All staff working with students or in schools have a moral and legal obligation and a duty of care to protect any child under their care from reasonably foreseeable harm — not just staff who are classified as mandatory reporters. Staff members must respond to any reasonable suspicion or belief that a child has been, or is at risk of being abused, following the Four Critical Actions.
Failure to report some forms of child abuse can constitute a criminal offence in Victoria, including where:
- An adult forms a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed by another adult against a child under the age of 16 years
It is known that a person associated with their organisation poses a substantial risk of sexually abusing children
For All Members of Our Community: As members of this community, we all have a moral and legal obligation to protect any child under our care and supervision from reasonably foreseeable harm. We have clear guidelines for identifying, reporting, and providing ongoing support to members of this community.
How We Support Child Safety at Nossal
Meeting these Standards is an ongoing process at our school. We have several strategies in place to ensure that the health and wellbeing of our community is a top priority.
Our Wellbeing Team: At Nossal, we have a strong Wellbeing team comprising our Heads of House and the Counselling team. All structures within the school have been carefully designed to enable students to engage with and communicate openly with adults. Students are encouraged to talk with a trusted adult at any time.
Reporting a Concern: To ensure that everyone in our community is safe, we have developed clear reporting strategies. Students can access the 'Report a Concern' tab on the Nossal Staff and Students Microsoft Teams page to send a message directly to the Heads of House and Wellbeing team. These messages are treated as a matter of great urgency.
While messages can be anonymous, providing names helps us follow up more effectively. We encourage students to provide as much information as possible so we can respond immediately and ensure everyone's safety.
Our Policies and Transparency
Our Child Safe policies have been updated in accordance with the new Child Safe Standards and have been ratified by the School Council. These policies are prominently displayed on our school website and in Microsoft Teams for easy access by all members of our community.
Student Voice Matters
Students are regularly asked to complete an anonymous survey on Nossal's culture. This survey gives students a voice in shaping our school community, and we encourage all students to be open and honest in their responses. This is part of our commitment to ensuring that young people participate in decisions that affect them and are taken seriously.
At Nossal High School, we are committed to working together as a community to uphold every child's right to safety and protection. We will continue to strengthen our practices, listen to our students, and ensure that child safety remains at the heart of everything we do.
If anyone in our community has any questions about the Child Safe Standards, our reporting processes, or Nossal's child safety policies, please do not hesitate to contact the school or Fiona.deZylva@Nossalhs.vic.edu.au