CHILD SAFETY IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY 

Child Safe Standard 9 – Creating Safe Physical and Online Environments at Ripponlea Primary School

At Ripponlea Primary School, child safety is an everyday priority. Whether students are learning in the classroom, playing outside, or engaging online, our staff are committed to ensuring every child feels secure, supported, and protected.

Safe and Supervised Physical Environments

Our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy provides a clear framework for ensuring that every area of the school is well monitored, visible, and safe. Staff are rostered daily across all key play and transition areas, wearing bright high-visibility vests to make them easily identifiable to students. Supervision begins at 8:45am and continues until 3:45pm, ensuring that before and after school, as well as during recess and lunch, students are cared for in well-defined zones.

Our supervision zones are carefully planned to cover every section of the school:

• Zone 1 – Ball Court Zone: Covers the basketball court, Japanese Garden, senior playground, and mini pitch.
• Zone 2 – Mid-Zone: Includes the area outside the Library and Performing Arts Room, the Junior Playground, and student toilets, ensuring active supervision in key movement spaces.
• Zone 3 – Oval Zone: Encompasses the oval, inclusive learning deck, and surrounding play spaces.

These zones are continuously patrolled by teachers who remain mobile and attentive, monitoring play equipment, toilets, fence lines, and all student gathering areas. Staff also carry yard duty backpacks containing first aid kits and student health information, ensuring quick responses when support is needed.

For additional safety, CCTV cameras have been installed across key areas of the school including all entrances and outdoor spaces. This system enhances visibility, supports incident management, and strengthens our commitment to a safe and secure environment.

Visitors and contractors are also closely monitored: all must sign in at the Administration Office, wear identification stickers, and comply with our Child Safety Code of Conduct. Gates and storage areas remain locked during learning time to prevent unsupervised access.

Online Safety and Responsible Digital Citizenship

Beyond the physical environment, Ripponlea Primary School is equally committed to ensuring students are safe and responsible digital citizens. Our Digital Learning Policy and the Department’s Responsible Use of Digital Technologies guidelines shape how technology is used across the school.

All students and families sign an Acceptable Use Agreement, which outlines safe, respectful and responsible online behaviour. The school’s EduSTAR filtering system provides robust protection, blocking inappropriate content and ensuring that digital platforms are used safely for learning.

Our teaching of online safety aligns with the Victorian Curriculum, specifically within the Health and Physical Education and Personal and Social Capability strands. These include explicit lessons on privacy, respectful relationships, digital decision-making, and social media awareness.

This year, students have participated in several targeted learning experiences, including:

• Victoria Police “Think U Know” Presentations – learning about online privacy, gaming, and image sharing.
• Bully Zero Education Workshops – developing confidence to recognise and respond to bullying and cyberbullying.
• Vanessa Hamilton’s Body Safety Education Program – teaching students about body autonomy, consent, and respectful online communication.

Teachers integrate videos, images, and real-life examples to prompt thoughtful discussion about the challenges of cybersafety and the importance of seeking help. These guided conversations build student confidence to talk about difficult topics such as bullying, image sharing, and digital boundaries.

Families are also supported through newsletters and workshops, with links to trusted resources like the eSafety Commissioner and E-Commissioner websites. We maintain strict social media restrictions, ensuring all school communication occurs through secure and approved platforms like Compass.

Social media bans for under-16-year-old children. 

Supervising Students Using Digital Technologies

At Ripponlea Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that all students use digital technologies safely and responsibly. In line with our duty of care, staff ensure students are adequately supervised when using devices in the classroom and during any form of online learning.

Supervision measures include:

• Regularly moving around the room to monitor student screens
• Implementing technical alerts or restrictions to prevent inappropriate behaviour, such as blocking unsuitable websites or automatically flagging inappropriate language
• Actively reinforcing learning and behavioural expectations throughout all digital activities

In addition, supervision responsibilities extend to students participating in flexible or remote learning environments while on site. When students access virtual classrooms from home, parents and carers are responsible for supervision, while schools continue to monitor student attendance, safety, and wellbeing.

Our Ongoing Commitment

Ripponlea Primary School’s commitment to child safety extends to every aspect of school life, from structured yard supervision to secure digital practices. Through clear policies, visible staff, active education programs, and community partnerships, we ensure that every child can thrive in an environment that is safe, inclusive, and protective every day, everywhere.