Child Safeguarding Corner

The Child Safe Standards were proposed in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission), which shone a spotlight on thousands of cases where organisations in Australia failed to protect children in their care from abuse.

The Child Safe Standards provide us with tangible guidance about how to create cultures, adopt strategies and act to put the interests of children first, to keep them safe from harm. Each fortnight, we’ll present one of the standards and ask you to reflect on how you think we’re addressing the recommendations. 

Child Safe Standard 1: Child safety is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture

A child-safe school is committed to child safety. This is demonstrated in its leadership, the way the organisation is managed, and the day-to-day activities it carries out. A child-safe school culture drives the way things are done and how issues and risks are managed. Our aim is to prioritise child safety in what we say and do:

• We have made a public statement on child safety and champion a child-safe culture. 
• We recognise that child safety is a shared responsibility across our school. 
• We ensure that staff understand and comply with your organisation’s Child Safe Code of Conduct, which sets out clear behavioural standards when interacting with children. 
• We ensure that staff understand their obligations in reporting, sharing information and keeping records.

Child safety is everyone’s responsibility. Our staff have an important role in following all our school policies and procedures, immediately raising concerns, and being proactive in managing child safety risks. The code of conduct is signed by all adults who work in the school; it is part of our induction processes and revisited at the beginning of each year.

If we are addressing this standard, we would expect children to say: 

• Teachers at my school ask my opinion and listen to me.
• I feel safe at St Matthew’s.
• I feel respected and trust the adults who are looking after me. 

If you have any questions or feedback about this Standard, please email me (petra.cole@cg.catholic.edu.au).

Petra Cole

Assistant Principal