Student Wellbeing

Child Safe Standards

In Victoria, children are protected in organisations not just by the criminal law, but by other laws, including the Reportable Conduct Scheme and the Child Safe Standards. These laws make it more difficult for risks to children’s safety to be hidden and left without an appropriate response. They apply not just to schools, but to a broad range of organisations that work with children.

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. Ministerial Order 1359 – Implementing the Child Safe Standards – Managing the risk of child abuse in schools (PDF) provides the framework for child safety in schools.

Victorian schools can continue to build on their existing child safety strategies, policies and practices to strengthen their culture of child safety and protect children and young people from abuse.

The Child Safe Standards include requirements to keep children, young people and students safe, including:

• involvement of families and students in child safety
• schools’ focus on safety for Aboriginal students
• better management of child abuse risks in online environments
• governance, systems and processes for keeping students safe.

The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority is responsible for regulating the compliance of schools with the Standards. Schools are required to comply with the Standards as part of the prescribed minimum standards for registration.

There are 11 Child Safe Standards:

• Standard 1: Culturally safe environments – Establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
• Standard 2: Leadership, governance, and culture – Ensure that child safety and wellbeing are embedded in school leadership, governance and culture.
• Standard 3: Child and student empowerment – Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
• Standard 4: Family engagement – Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
• Standard 5: Diversity and equity – Equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice.
• Standard 6: Suitable staff and volunteers – People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
• Standard 7: Child-focused complaints processes – Ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.
• Standard 8: Child safety knowledge, skills and awareness – Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
• Standard 9: Physical and online environments – Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
• Standard 10: Review of child safety practices - Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
• Standard 11: Implementation of child safety practices – Policies and procedures that document how schools are safe for children, young people and students.

Park Orchards Primary School is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe. Our child safety framework can be found on the schools website and explains how we support and maintain child safety and wellbeing at Park Orchards Primary School. It includes our:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Child Safety Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedures, and
• Child Safety Code of Conduct, which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for all staff and volunteers at our school.

Our students and families are important partners in providing a child safe environment. These regular newsletter reminders are one of the ways we ensure our school community is aware of:

• our commitment to child safety, and
• how to provide feedback or raise child safety concerns.

If you have any concerns about child safety at any time, please contact either Ms Garrity (Principal) or Mrs Bullen (Assistant Principal) on 9876 1249. Any child safety complaints or concerns are treated seriously. For more information about our school’s complaints process, see our Complaints Policy.

We also welcome your ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing. If you have any suggestions or comments please contact Ms Garrity (Principal- brownyn.garrity@education.vic.gov.au) or Mrs Bullen (Assistant Principal- cornelia.bullen@education.vic.gov.au) on 9876 1249.