Child Safeguarding Corner

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, I present one of the standards and ask you to reflect on how you think we’re addressing the recommendations. We welcome ideas and feedback from our families and community! This week, we’re looking at Standard 7. 

Child Safe Standard 7: Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to keep children safe through ongoing education and training. 

This standard aims to ensure that we invest in building staff skills, abilities and confidence.   This standard is necessary because training gives staff the confidence to respond to abuse if it is detected. It also reinforces the importance of child safety and that it is everyone’s responsibility. 

We aim to prioritise this standard for child safety in what we say and do:

• We provide ongoing education and training opportunities for staff. 
• We have a Child Safe Advocate. 
• Our staff understand how to identify, respond to and report child abuse. 
• Our annual plan includes a schedule of learning opportunities for staff. 

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

• Adults understand how to keep me safe. 
• I know that adults are taught how to behave around me. 
• Adults notice when I feel sad. 

We now have a page on our school website dedicated to Child Safeguarding and we encourage you to view it. 

If you have any questions or feedback about how we are addressing this particular Standard, or about our new Child Safeguarding page, please email me (petra.cole@cg.catholic.edu.au). 

Proudly supporting Bullying No Way: National Week of Action

This year, St Matthew’s is participating in the Bullying No Way: National Week of Action. Bullying No Way Week is a commitment being made by thousands of schools and supporters across the country. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to bullying prevention. 

Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are participating in explicit lessons about how to be bold, be kind and speak up, which is the theme for this year’s campaign.  I encourage you to ask your child/ren about what they have learned this week. 

For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, visit the Bullying No Way website, which has some excellent fact sheets for families.

Petra Cole

Assistant Principal