Commitment to child safety

Department of Education Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

The department is committed to providing an environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe.

This policy aims to ensure that protecting children and young people from harm and abuse is part of the department’s everyday culture, thinking and practice.

We commit to:

• ensuring that Aboriginal children and young people are culturally safe and are involved in decisions that affect them
• ensuring children, young people, families, communities and staff feel safe to speak up about child safety
• listening to and supporting children and young people to understand their rights and have a say in decisions about them
• listening to and learning from children and young people who have contact with the department’s staff and services
• providing a safe and welcoming environment for all children and young people, including Aboriginal children, children from multicultural and multifaith backgrounds, children with disability, children who are unable to live at home or living in out-of-home care, international students and LGBTIQA+ children.
• hiring suitable people to work with children and young people and ensuring that those people are properly screened
• training and supporting our staff to provide a child safe environment
• treating allegations, suspicions, disclosures and incidents of child abuse (including grooming) seriously and notifying authorities where required by law and department policy
• providing support to victim survivors of historical abuse in education settings
• aligning responses to children and young people at risk of family violence with Victoria’s legislated Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (the MARAM Framework)
• preventing harm to children and young people by identifying risks and taking steps to reduce or remove risks in physical and online environments that children and young people use. We do this in consideration of a child’s right to privacy, access to information, social connections and learning opportunities.

View the full Department of Education Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy.

Department of Education Child Safety Code of Conduct

The Child Safety Code of Conduct sets out expected behaviours when engaging with children and young people through the department’s policies, programs and operations.

Acceptable behaviours

Through the department’s policies, programs and operations, staff must:

• promote the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and young people by supporting and encouraging their connection to culture, kin, community, cultural practices and Aboriginal identity
• provide a welcoming, inclusive, culturally responsive and safe environment for children and young people
• take reasonable steps to protect children and young people from harm and abuse including by identifying child safety risks and taking steps to remove or reduce those risks
• ensure, as far as practicable, that adults are not alone with a child or young person – one-to-one interactions between an adult and a child or young person are to be in an open space or in line of sight of other staff
• treat allegations, disclosures, incidents and suspicions of child abuse and harm seriously and if child abuse is suspected ensuring as quickly as possible that children and young people are safe and protected from harm
• report alleged or suspected child abuse or other child safety concerns in accordance with the law and department policy
• manage the behaviour of children and young people in ways that are reasonable, lawful and follow department policy
• treat children and young people with respect and value their opinions
• communicate with children and young people in a way that helps them understand information, ask questions and express their preferences
• provide access to tools and services that children and young people need to communicate (for example interpreter and translation, Auslan, content in child friendly language)
• listen and respond to children and young people’s concerns, particularly about their or others’ safety
• encourage children and young people to ‘have a say’ and participate in decisions that affect them
• ensure children and young people know who to approach if they feel unsafe or want to raise concerns
• promote the cultural safety, inclusion, participation and empowerment of all children and young people including Aboriginal children, children from multicultural and multifaith backgrounds, children with disability and LGBTIQA+ children
• take a no tolerance approach to racism and respond appropriately to any incidents.
• manage personal information in line with the department’s Privacy Policy and Child and Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme
• personal information should be handled in the interests of child and young person safety
• tell the department if you are charged with a criminal offence.

Unacceptable behaviours

Through the department’s policies, programs and operations, staff must not:

• condone or participate in illegal, unsafe, abusive or harmful behaviour towards children or young people. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • participating in sexual abuse or misconduct
  • possessing child abuse material
  • grooming a child (predatory conduct undertaken to prepare a child for sexual activity later)
  • engaging in discussions, including online, of a sexualised nature in the presence of a child
  • discussing or showing audio or video or images of sexual acts
  • perpetrating physical or family violence
  • humiliating, belittling, rejecting or threatening a child, or behaving in a way that may cause emotional or psychological harm.
• develop inappropriate relationships and or display behaviours or engage with children or young people in ways that are not justified by educational or professional context, for example, preferential treatment, giving inappropriate gifts, or inappropriate social media communication
• have contact with any child or young person outside of activity/program except when needed to deliver curriculum or professional guidance and where parent or carer consent has been provided
• communicate directly with a child or young person through department, personal or private contact channels (including by social media, email, instant messaging, texting etc) except where that communication is reasonable in all the circumstances, related to department activities or where there is a safety concern or other urgent matter
• initiate unnecessary physical contact with a child, or do things of a personal nature for them that they can do themselves
• ignore or disregard concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse, harm and family violence
• wait until there is proof before acting on and reporting an allegation or suspicion of child abuse, harm or family violence
• ignore or disregard an adult’s overly familiar behaviour, that is not justified by an educational or professional context, towards a child or young person
• condone or participate in racist behaviour, or use inappropriate or discriminatory language when speaking with, or in the presence of children or young people
• treat any child unfairly or criticise how they identify or express themselves. This includes their age, gender, race, culture, religion, sexuality, disability or other protected attributes
• disregard or fail to consider the views of children or young people, especially about their physical and emotional safety, cultural safety, or issues or decisions that are important to them
• use department data about children and young people for purposes other than policy or program development or delivery
• photograph or distribute images of children or young people without the consent of the parent or carer or the minor. Further detail about this requirement is available in the Privacy and Photographs Information.

View the full Department of Education Child Safety Code of Conduct.

Further information

For more information about the operation of the Child Safe Standards at the Department of Education contact child.safe.schools@education.vic.gov.au