Child Safety

Approved at School Council Meeting 20th August 2018

Policy: Statement of Commitment: Child Safety Code: M

Date: 20th August, 2018 Review: 2020 _______________________________________________________________________________

Numurkah Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision-making. Our school has zero tolerance for child abuse.Our school is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention will be paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.

Every person involved in Numurkah Primary School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role he/she plays individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

In its planning, decision-making and operations Numurkah Primary School will:

Take a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety;

Value and empower children to participate in decisions which affect their lives;

Foster a culture of openness that supports all persons to safely disclose risks of harm to children

Respect diversity in cultures and child rearing practices while keeping child safety paramount;

Provide written guidance on appropriate conduct and behaviour towards children;

Engage only the most suitable people to work with children and have high quality staff

and volunteer supervision and professional development;

Ensure children know who to talk with if they are worried or are feeling unsafe, and that they are comfortable and encouraged to raise such issues;

Report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authorities;

Share information appropriately and lawfully with other organisations where the safety and wellbeing of children is at risk; and

Value the input of and communicate regularly with families and carers

The following areas are to be considered in the provision of a child safe environment at Numurkah Primary School:

OUR CHILDREN

This policy is intended to empower children who are valued participants in our school. We involve them when making decisions, especially about matters that directly affect them. We listen to their views and respect what they have to say.

We promote diversity and tolerance in our school, and people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds are welcome. In particular we:

promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal children

promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of children from culturally and/or

linguistically diverse backgrounds

ensure that children with a disability are safe and can participate equally.

OUR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

This policy guides our staff and volunteers on how to behave with children in our school.

All of our staff and volunteers must agree to abide by our code of conduct which specifies the

standards of conduct required when working with children.

All staff and volunteers, as well as children and their families, are given the opportunity to contribute to the development of the code of conduct.

TRAINING AND SUPERVISION

Training and education is important to ensure that everyone in our school understands that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Our school’s culture aims for all staff and volunteers (in addition to parents/carers and children) to feel confident and comfortable in discussing any allegations of child abuse or child safety concerns. We train our staff and volunteers to identify, assess, and minimise risks of child abuse and to detect potential signs of child abuse.

We also support our staff and volunteers through ongoing supervision to: develop their skills to protect children from abuse; and promote the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from linguistically and/or diverse backgrounds, and the safety of children with a disability.

New employees and volunteers will be supervised regularly to ensure they understand our school’s commitment to child safety and that everyone has a role to play in protecting children from abuse, as well as checking that their behaviour towards children is safe and appropriate (please refer to our code of conduct to understand appropriate behaviour further). Any inappropriate behaviour will be reported through appropriate channels, including the Department of Health and Human Services and Victoria Police, depending on the severity and urgency of the matter.

RECRUITMENT

We take all reasonable steps to employ skilled people to work with our children. We develop selection criteria and advertisements which clearly demonstrate our commitment to child safety and an awareness of our social and legislative responsibilities. Our organisation understands that when recruiting staff and volunteers we have ethical as well as legislative obligations.

We encourage applications from all people including Aboriginal people, people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with a disability.

All people engaged in child-related work, including volunteers, are required to hold either a Police Check (as part of their Teacher registration) or a Working with Children Check and to provide evidence of this Check. Refer to Working with Children Check website www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au for further information

We carry out reference checks and WWC / police record checks to ensure that we are

recruiting the right people.

If during the recruitment process a person’s records indicate a criminal history then the person will be given the opportunity to provide further information and context.

FAIR PROCEDURES FOR PERSONNEL

The safety and wellbeing of children is our primary concern. We are also fair and just to personnel. The decisions we make when recruiting, assessing incidents, and undertaking disciplinary action will always be thorough, transparent, and based on evidence.

We record all allegations of abuse and safety concerns using an incident reporting form including investigation updates. All records are securely stored.

If an allegation of abuse or a safety concern is raised, we provide updates to children and families on progress and any actions we as a school take using DET guidelines and formats.

PRIVACY

All personal information considered or recorded will respect the privacy of the individuals involved, whether they be staff, volunteers, parents or children, unless there is a risk to someone’s safety.

We have safeguards and practices in place to ensure any personal information is protected. Everyone is entitled to know how this information is recorded, what will be done with it, and who will have access to it.

LEGISLATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Our school takes our legal responsibilities seriously, including:

Failure to disclose: Reporting child sexual abuse is a community-wide responsibility. All adults

in Victoria who have a reasonable belief that an adult has committed a sexual offence against a

child under 16 have an obligation to report that information to the police.

Failure to protect: People of authority in our school will commit an offence if they know of a

substantial risk of child sexual abuse and have the power or responsibility to reduce or remove

the risk, but negligently fail to do so.

Any personnel who are mandatory reporters must comply with their duties.

RISK MANAGEMENT

In Victoria, organisations are required to protect children when a risk is identified (see information about failure to protect above). In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children.

1. A person will not commit this offence if they have a reasonable excuse for not disclosing the information, including a fear for their safety or where the information has already been disclosed.

Further information about the failure to disclose offence is available on the Department of Justice and Regulation website https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/safer-communities/protecting-children-and-families/failure-to-disclose-offence

2. Mandatory reporters (doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers (including early childhood teachers), principals and police) must report to child protection if they believe on reasonable grounds that a child is in need of protection from

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