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Child Safety
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The new Child Safe Standards came into force in Victoria on 1 July 2022.
The Victorian Government has introduced NEW Child Safe Standards to better protect children and young people from abuse.
The purpose of the Child Safe Standards is to prevent abuse of children by making organisations safer for children. In order for children to feel safe while at community language schools, responsibility for child safety should be understood and accepted by everyone in the organisation.
Here is a link to the official Victorian Child Safety website:
Every community language school and campus must have:
- Culturally Safe Environments
- Child Safety and Wellbeing is Embedded in Leadership, Governance and Culture
- Child and Student Empowerment
- Family Engagement
- Diversity and Equity
- Suitable Staff and Volunteers
- Complaints Processes
- Child Safety Knowledge, Skills and Awareness
- Child Safety in Physical and Online Environments
- Review of Child Safety Practices
- Implementation of Child Safety Practices
All staff, volunteers and committee members must undertake three hours of compulsory Child Safety training .
In addition, all staff, volunteers and committee members must sign a Code of Conduct annually to ensure they have read and understood its contents.
The child-safe officers must take deliberate steps to safeguard children from physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and neglect.
The new Child Safe Standards came into force on 1 July 2022, and schools now need to comply with these 11 new Standards.
What has changed in the New Child Safe Standards?
Although similar to Victoria’s current Child Safe Standards, key changes include new requirements:
- to involve families and communities in organisations’ efforts to keep children and young people safe
- for a greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
- to manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
- in relation to governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe.
Organisations must ensure that they comply with the NEW Child Safe Standards that are now in force since 1st July 2022.
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What the Standards aim to achieve:
The Child Safe Standards aim to:
- Promote the safety of children
- Prevent child abuse
- Ensure organisations have processes in place to respond to and report all allegations of child abuse.
Child Safe Standards work by:
- driving changes in organisational culture – embedding child safety in everyday thinking and practice
- providing a minimum standard of child safety across all organisations
- highlighting that we all have a role to keep children safe from abuse
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Child Safety Standards
- Standard 1:
Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued
- Standard 2: Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture
- Standard 3: Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously
- Standard 4: Families and communities are informed, and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing
- Standard 5: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice
- Standard 6: People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice
- Standard 7: Processes for complaints and concerns are child focused
- Standard 8: Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training
- Standard 9: Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed
- Standard 10: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved
- Standard 11: Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people
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Child Safety Trainings Presentation Slides
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Child Safety Resources, Policies and Procedures
TO ACCESS THESE DOCUMENTS IN GOOGLE FOR EDITING: https://bit.ly/CLS-Documents
Do not request edit access but instead go to File > Download > Microsoft Word Docx to edit as your own.
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Child Safety Training:
*UPDATE*
CLV is pleased to announce new ONLINE Mandatory Child Safety Training sessions for February 2025. Additional sessions will be scheduled throughout the year, and each will be announced via email.
These 2.5-hour sessions are mandatory for any NEW teachers, volunteers, committee members, or staff members at your school who have NOT YET completed their child safety training with CLV.
Topic: Mandatory Child Safety Training (New Teachers/Staff)
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 4 February 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 11 February 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Thursday, 20 February 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 26 February 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 04 March 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 12 March 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 11 June 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Thursday, 19 June 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 24 June 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 15 July 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Thursday, 16 July 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 23 July 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 06 August 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 12 August 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 20 August 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Monday, 25 August 2025 - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 9 September - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 17 September - Mandatory Child Safety Training
- ONLINE - Thursday, 25 September - Mandatory Child Safety Training
For more information, and click here to register.
Topic: Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
CLV also invites community language schools to participate in the upcoming "Ensuring Compliance in Your School" training session, designed specifically for Principals and Child Safety Officers.
Important Information:
- Every Principal and Child Safety Officer must attend at least one session this year to ensure the training has been disseminated across all schools.
- Each Principal and CSO must submit their own registration. After registering as a Principal, please return to the form and complete a separate registration for your Child Safety Officer.
- If your school has multiple campuses, please indicate which campus your Child Safety Officer operates in when registering.
Training offered:
- ONLINE - Monday, 17 February 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 25 February 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
- ONLINE - Thursday, 27 February 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
- ONLINE - Wednesday, 05 March 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 11 March 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
- ONLINE - Thursday, 13 March 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
- ONLINE - Tuesday, 18 March 2025 - Ensuring Compliance in Your School (Principals & CSOs)
For more information, and click here to register.
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2025 CHILD SAFE STANDARDS SELF-AUDIT TOOL
As a child-safe school, you are responsible for taking deliberate and proactive steps to protect children from physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse as well as neglect.
Each year, we require schools to complete the Child Safe Standards Self-Audit Tool. This tool helps organisations assess their progress in meeting the 11 Child Safe Standards, identifying strengths and areas for improvement in creating a child-safe environment..
Action Required
Principals and Child Safety Officers must work together to complete the Self-Audit Tool and submit it by 30 April 2025 to Neda Erjaei via email to: erjaei.neda@communitylanguages.org.au.
Instructions:
- Review each statement for each of the 11 Child Safe Standards.
- For each statement, mark whether you are:
- Fully Compliant
- Partially Compliant
- When finished, save the document as a PDF
- Rename your file as: SCHOOLNAME_SELFAUDIT_DATE.pdf
- Email the completed file to: erjaei.neda@communitylanguages.org.au
Before you send your completed Self-Audit Tool back, make sure you have checked the following:
- Working with Children Checks: All staff, volunteers, and committee members hold a valid and current Working with Children Check (WWCC).
- Child Safety Code of Conduct: Everyone at your school has signed the Child Safety Code of Conduct. Link To: Child Safety Code of Conduct
- Updated Child Safety Policies & Procedures: Your school's Child Safety Policies and Procedures are reviewed and updated. Click Here
- Recruitment & Risk Management:
- Document all incidents thoroughly.
- Conduct interviews and reference checks when hiring new staff and volunteers.
- Use our templates for documentation. (Scroll up to the Child Safety Resources, Policies, and Procedures section for access).
- Child Safe Officer (CSO) Nomination: Each school must nominate a Child Safe Officer (CSO) for each campus on the Self-Audit Tool. This is critical as the CSO:
- Provides advice on child safety policies and procedures.
- Ensures all staff are informed about new child safety requirements.
Important Reminder
From January 2024, the Commission expects schools to have fully implemented the new Child Safe Standards.
Access the Self-Audit Tool
- Microsoft Word Doc Version (Download and complete on your computer).
- Google Docs Version (Click to Make a Copy and edit online).
- PDF Version (Print and complete by hand).
If you have any questions or need assistance with anything please contact Ms Neda Erjaei via email at erjaei.neda@communitylanguages.org.au or via phone at 0413 858 842.
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