Early childhood services - child safety knowledge, skills and awareness

• Consider nominating a child safety champion at the service. Support them to help with induction and training programs for staff and volunteers.
• Provide an induction for new staff, volunteers and service leadership. Include:
  • the service’s Child Safe Environment Policy
  • the service’s Code of Conduct
  • the service’s policy and procedures for responding to child safety concerns
  • reporting obligations
  • signs of harm and risk factors caused by peers or adults (including grooming and family violence)
  • the different ways children express concerns or disclose harm
  • signs of harm caused by other children
  • building culturally safe environments
  • privacy, information sharing and recordkeeping obligations
  • how to help children to express their views and raise concerns.

More information: PROTECT: Report child abuse in early childhood.

• Deliver regular child safety briefings for all staff, for example at staff meetings, and in newsletters.
• Require all staff to refresh their mandatory reporting training at least once a year.
• Inform staff and volunteers of their responsibilities under the child information sharing and family violence reforms. Note that the CISS does not cover CS Act services.
• Maintain records of annual child safety programs. Include presentation materials, agenda, minutes and list of attendees.
• Encourage staff to attend training on child information sharing scheme (CISS) and family violence reforms. These are available as online webinars or eLearning modules.
• Give staff and relevant volunteers contact details of local support services for children and families.

Further training

• Offer further training appropriate to staff and volunteers on topics such as:
  • child safety (including family violence)
  • mandatory reporting
  • responding to inappropriate sexualised behaviour
  • human rights and the rights of children
  • diversity and inclusion
  • harassment and bullying
  • cultural safety
  • privacy and information sharing.
• Offer a range of optional and compulsory education and training activities, including:
  • Staffroom briefings and ‘toolbox talks’
  • Professional Learning Communities
  • Peer discussions, scenarios and worked examples
  • Presentations, seminars or webinars
  • Training days
  • E-learning modules.

Training design

• Consider staff needs when designing training, such as:
  • Cultural safety staff and volunteers who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • Cultural sensitivity for staff and volunteers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Inclusivity of gender diversity and sexuality
  • Accessibility for people with disabilites including mobility, visual or hearing impairment.

• Include child safety training in service planning. You can include it in your Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) or annual planning document.
• Provide time-release for staff to undertake child safety and related training.
• Direct staff to the PROTECT website for guidance on child protection in early childhood. It contains information on:
  • their legal obligations to protect children
  • how to recognise signs and risk factors of child harm
  • how to respond to concerns about a child’s wellbeing
  • how to report child abuse
  • processes to follow if a concern is raised
  • privacy, child information sharing and family violence reforms
  • online learning about child protection (including Mandatory reporting training).
• Keep a record of all staff and volunteers who complete child safety training to ensure all are appropriately trained and training is refreshed as required.

Standard 1 – culturally safe environments for Aboriginal children.

Standard 5 – uphold equity and respect diverse needs.

Services regulated under the NQF and the CS Act must already have policies and procedures for how they will provide a child-safe environment. These must be followed. Nominated supervisors and staff must be aware of child protection law and their obligations if they work with children.

The National Quality Standard (NQS) also imposes obligations:

• management, educators and staff must be aware of their roles and responsibilities to identify and respond to every child at risk of abuse or neglect (Element 2.2.3)
• leadership must build a professional learning community (Quality Area 7.2)
• individual plans must be in place to support learning and development of staff, educators, and coordinators (Element 7.2.3).

Find out how Standard 8 aligns with existing regulatory requirements, the NQS and the VEYLDF at Mapping the Child Safe Standards (DOCX, 96KB).

Resources | Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP)

Translated information | CYPP

Comprehensive guidance on child protection in early childhood, including Mandatory Reporting online training: PROTECT