Department of Education Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

The department respects and values the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people.

The department will ensure that staff acknowledge and appreciate the strengths of Aboriginal culture and its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children and young people.

We support self-determination for Aboriginal people and will work to ensure that Aboriginal children and young people are safe, resilient, and able to thrive in culturally rich and strong Aboriginal families and communities.

To achieve this, we:

• make Aboriginal cultural safety a priority in our Strategic Plan and our Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan 2016-2026, so that Aboriginal children and young people can express their culture and enjoy their cultural safety
• support early childhood services and schools to establish a culturally safe environment including through working with Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. (VAEAI)
• are strengthening Aboriginal inclusion, self-determination and cultural safety in the Victorian Public Service and Government Teaching Service through Dhelk Wukang – Aboriginal Inclusion Plan and our Aboriginal Employment Plan 2022 -2026 (staff login required)
• continue to work with VAEAI on supporting Aboriginal people to become early childhood teachers and educators
• draw on the expertise of dedicated teams, such as Koorie Outcomes Division, and Koorie Education Workforce across the department
• have training available to all staff on Aboriginal cultural safety, and anti-racism empowerment training
• take a zero-tolerance approach to racism and deal with inappropriate behaviour through our VPS Code of Conduct and the department’s Inclusive Workplaces Guidelines.

The department prioritises child safety and wellbeing in our leadership, culture, and governance.

To achieve this, we:

• make a public commitment to child safety through the department’s Strategic Plan 2024-2028
• publicise our commitment to child safety and wellbeing in this policy and in our Child Safety Code of Conduct
• call out and address behaviour that can lead to bullying, harassment and intimidation through our VPS Code of Conduct and Equal Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination policy
• govern the department’s approach to child safety through an executive level subcommittee that reports to the department’s Executive Board
• assess and monitor child safety risks across our business areas and continuously improve risk management strategies that focus on preventing, identifying and mitigating risks to children and young people
• ensure our staff and labour hire workers understand their obligations on information sharing (staff login required) and recordkeeping (staff login required) in relation to child safety
• work with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Family Safety Victoria, Victorian Catholic Education Authority, Independent Schools Victoria, Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner and the Department of Government Services on the safety, health and wellbeing of children and young people in Victorian schools and early childhood services.

The department recognises the importance of empowering children and young people and strengthening their confidence, so they feel respected and have a say in decisions about them. We recognise the need to be responsive to their views.

To achieve this, we:

• publish information about our child safe policies and practices on our website
• publish child-friendly information about the rights of children and young people and how they can raise complaints or provide feedback
• consult with organisations representing children and young people when developing policies or programs that affect children and young people​
• provide programs and policy that support children and young people to develop respectful relationships
• support staff to seek, listen to and act on the voices of children and young people
• ensure that staff understand and value diversity and have inclusive practices.

The department recognises that when we work with children and young people we understand that families and communities are important partners. This promotes child safety and wellbeing.

To achieve this, we:

• publish information about our child safe policies and practices on the department’s website and draw families and communities’ attention to this when they participate in our activities
• consult with organisations representing parents, families and communities when developing our policies or programs
• create opportunities for families to be actively involved in decision making processes that affect their child
• create multiple feedback opportunities for families, carers and communities promote the shared roles of parents, carers and school staff in creating a positive environment for learning for children and young people through the Respectful Behaviours in the School Community Policy
• publish information on how to make a complaint on our complaints webpage.

The department will work to create an environment that recognises the diversity of children and young people. We create policies and programs that help all children and young people feel safe, welcomed and included. This includes children who are Aboriginal, have multicultural and multifaith backgrounds, students with disability, children who are unable to live at home or living in out-of-home care, international students and LGBTIQA+ students.

To achieve this, we:

• commit, through our People Strategy (staff login required), to be an organisation with a continued focus on diversity and inclusion
• commit, under the Cultural Diversity Plan (staff login required), to improve Victoria’s early childhood services to meet the needs of families, children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, particularly refugees
• implement the department’s diversity plans and the Equal Opportunity policy (staff login required)
• ensure our policies and programs pay particular attention to the needs of students with disability, students from multicultural and multifaith backgrounds, students who are unable to live at home or living in out-of-home care, international students, and LGBTIQA+ students
• provide guidance and resources to support schools to meet the needs of diverse cohorts of students
• promote workforce diversity, equity and inclusion within the department and education and care workforces
• train our staff on diversity, equity and inclusion through workplace learning opportunities
• provide advice on diversity and equity matters through the Wellbeing, Health and Engagement Division, Inclusive Education Division and Employee Safety, Wellbeing and Inclusion Division
• act when we identify racism, discrimination or exclusion in our organisation
• commit to ensuring our facilities and online activities include children and young people of all abilities and identities.

The department is committed to hiring suitable people to work with children and young people. We emphasise child safety in our policies for children and young people. We support our staff and volunteers to be child safe in their work.

To achieve this, we:

• require staff to uphold the Victorian Public Sector Values and our Child Safety Code of Conduct
• document our commitment to child safety in position descriptions for roles that involve child-related work
• employ skilled people with necessary qualifications and experience
• ensure our recruitment policies and guides have advice on asking interview questions about experience and qualifications of prospective employees and labour workers to work with children and young people
• conduct pre-employment screening, including questions about child safety in interviews, reference checks and police checks for child-related positions
• require staff engaged in child-related work to hold a Working with Children Check (unless exempt)
• induct relevant staff in child safety, including information sharing and reporting obligations
• train relevant staff in child safety responsibilities such as reportable conduct, mandatory reporting and assessing and managing family violence risks to children and young people
• provide information and resources for staff about the Standards, Child Safety Code of Conduct, how to manage feedback from children and young people and reportable conduct (staff login required)
• support staff as required through day-to-day supervision, peer support and learning and wellbeing programs to ensure child safety and wellbeing is a focus.

The department wants all staff, families and children and young people to feel confident about reporting child abuse, family violence and other child safety concerns. We are committed to making our complaint system easy to access, responsive and focused on children and young people.

To achieve this, we:

• ensure children and young people are provided with accessible, culturally safe and easily understood information on raising a complaint or concern
• require staff to treat allegations, suspicions, incidents and disclosures of child abuse and harm seriously. This is made clear in our Child Safety Code of Conduct
• ensure staff can confidentially report inappropriate conduct through the Speak up service
• report all incidents that result in harm to children or young people in through eduSafe Plus
• provide information and/or training for staff about how to respond to allegations and concerns
• notify the appropriate authorities of alleged or suspected child abuse and harm in accordance with the law and department policy
• will offer support to all those affected by a child safety incident (including children and young people, parents or carers, those who made the report, and the person the report is about)
• manage information arising from complaints, notifications and investigations under the law, our Records Management Policy (staff login required) and our Privacy Policy

The department is committed to ensuring our staff have the knowledge and skills to keep children and young people safe.

To achieve this, we:

• require staff to uphold the Victorian Public Sector Values and our Child Safety Code of Conduct
• train key staff who are undertaking child-related or child-connected work on their child safety responsibilities including through completion of relevant mandatory e-learning modules
• provide training and resources on Victoria’s legislated family violence framework (the MARAM framework) to help relevant staff to identify and respond to family violence and contribute to family violence risk assessment and management
• provide information to all staff about the Child Safe Standards [link] and the Reportable and Notifiable Conduct Policy
• support our staff through ongoing supervision and learning programs.

The department promotes child safety and wellbeing in-operated physical and online environments.

To achieve this, we:

• assess child safety risks across our business areas and develop risk management strategies and plans that focus on preventing, identifying and mitigating physical and online risks to children and young people
• outline how our online environment is to be used under our Child Safety Code of Conduct
• require business areas procuring child-related work and or child-connected work from suppliers to ensure the safety of children and young people. This policy will be referenced in all relevant procurement activities. Contract managers must draw the policy to the attention of these staff.
• outline controls in place for online conduct and safety, and the measures to support children and young people to engage with digital technology in a safe and responsible way under the Cybersafety and Responsible use of Digital Technologies Policy and the Bullying Prevention and Response Policy.

The department will review and improve this policy and our Child Safety Code of Conduct at least once every 2 years in response to feedback from safety incidents, stakeholders and current research.

We will analyse complaints and concerns received and child safety data to identify causes and systemic failures to inform continuous improvements.

This policy and our Child Safety Code of Conduct describes the department’s approach to child safety and wellbeing and our expectations of staff.

As a large organisation with many functions and services, we document our child safety policies and procedures, drawing on research, best practice, and feedback from regulatory and integrity bodies, other government departments, stakeholders and the community.