Student Wellbeing
Child Safety in our School Community
St Joseph's College holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility.
This includes promoting the inherent dignity of children and young people, and their fundamental right to be respected, nurtured and safeguarded by all.
St Joseph’s College Commitment to Child Safeguarding affirms our commitment to:
- embed a culture of 'no tolerance' for child abuse
- listen to and empower children and young people
- keep children and young people safe
Victorian Child Safe Standards
St Joseph's College is committed to the wellbeing and protection of all children, this includes:
- complying with Ministerial Order 1359 - Implementing the Child Safe Standard
- managing the risk of child abuse in schools and school boarding premises, and
- following the Victorian Child Safe Standards.
Child Safety also considers the diversity of all children, including (but not limited to) Aboriginal children, children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, children with a disability, children who are unable to live at home, international students and students of diverse sexuality.
Prevention and Response
Preventing and responding to child abuse requires a whole of community response to bring about broad cultural change. To this end, the Victorian Child Safe Standards apply to a broad range of organisations that provide services for children, including schools, churches, sporting clubs and youth services.
Ensuring we have child safe communities goes to the heart of our faith and core purpose. Therefore, we are dedicated to upholding the values and practices that create safe learning environments for students.
Students have multiple pathways to make a complaint, including child safeguarding- related complaints at the College. These include:
- Disclosing child safety incidents or concerns, including the abuse or other harm of themselves or any other child, young person or student aged 18 or over, to any staff member. This might be done: verbally, in writing, through electronic means (such as email); or indirectly (such as written assignments, in artworks or in any other way).
- Disclosing child safety incidents or concerns, including the abuse or other harm of themselves or of any other child, young person or student aged 18 or over, anonymously using the Anonymous Feedback Box, which is located in the Front Office waiting room at Kildare and Brigidine campuses
- By contacting Child FIRST, the Orange Door.
For more information please visit: https://www.sje.vic.edu.au/child-safeguarding
Brekky with Ben Welch
We look forward to warmly welcoming our students and their parents/carers/special person to the Father’s Day breakfast on Thursday 4 September 7:30am - 8:30am at Brigidine Campus.
It is with much gratitude that we will also share the morning with Ben 'Mino' Welch.
Our Year 11 cohort had the privilege of attending the screening of Push - the 444 Run documentary in July. We were deeply moved by Ben and his family’s story - a powerful reminder that vulnerability is strength, and that reaching out for support is a courageous step toward healing.
Lunchtime activities
We are pleased to announce we are running a 3v3 Basketball competition at Kildare and Brigidine Campus.
Students can enter via the google form on compass. Entries close on Friday 29 August.
The Resilience Project
GEM Chats are questions and prompts designed to start a conversation or encourage students to reflect on their GEM+EL habits. They provide a great opportunity to build connections between members of the school community.
The goal is for the practice of GEM to become a habit, and by engaging in these activities daily, we can support students in developing this habit.
Shari Gotch
College Leader - Student Wellbeing