Child Safe Policy

Introduction

Presbyterian Ladies’ College’s Child Safe Policy implements and is to be read, and understood, in conjunction with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations published by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

This Child Safe Policy includes our Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing and is published on our College’s public website and provided to new Staff, and to Direct Contact Volunteers at induction.

Purpose

Our Child Safe Policy, which includes our Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing, was written to demonstrate the strong commitment of Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC) to child safety and to provide an outline of the policies and practices that we have developed to keep our students safe, including from abuse or other harm.

It is an overarching policy that provides the key elements of our approach as a child safe organisation and sets the tone for the College’s entire Child Safe Programme.

The Child Safe Policy provides the framework for:

• the implementation of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
• the development of work systems, practices, policies and procedures that promote child protection, safety and wellbeing within the College
• the creation of a safe and supportive College environment and a positive and robust child safe culture
• the promotion and open discussion of child safety issues within the College; and
• compliance with all laws, regulations and standards relevant to child protection and child safety in WA.

Scope

The Presbyterian Ladies’ College’s Child Safe Policy applies to all adults in the College community, including Staff, Volunteers, Contractors, External Education Providers, parents/carers and other family members. This Policy applies in all College environments, both physical and online, and on-site and off-site College grounds (e.g. camps and excursions).

Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing

All children and young people who come to Presbyterian Ladies’ College have a right to feel and be safe. We are committed to providing a child safe and child friendly environment, where children and young people are safe and feel safe and are able to actively participate in decisions that affect their lives.

We have zero tolerance for child abuse and other harm and are committed to acting in students’ best interests and keeping them safe from harm.

The College regards its child protection responsibilities with the utmost importance and is committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection laws and regulations and maintaining a child safe culture.

Each member of the College community has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually, and collectively, to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all students is at the forefront of all that they do, and every decision they make.

The College’s Statement of Commitment to Child Safety has been designed to reflect the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Child Protection Principles and Standards

National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) were developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission in response to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The National Principles are comprised of 10 Principles that were informed by but go further than, the 10 Child Safe Standards recommended by the Royal Commission. They are:

Children and Young People’s Rights to Safety, Information and Participation

Presbyterian Ladies’ College is a child safe and child-centred organisation. Our environment is friendly and welcoming to all children and young people.

We actively seek to include students in decisions that affect them. This includes decisions about organisational planning, delivery of services, management of facilities, and classroom learning and assessment environments.

We ensure students know about their rights to safety, information and participation. We recognise the importance of friendships and support from peers. We actively seek to understand what makes students feel safe in our organisation and regularly communicate with students about what they can do if they feel unsafe.

Parents/Carers, Families and Community Involvement at the College

The College recognises that parents and carers have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of their children. We ensure they participate in decisions affecting their children.

We ensure families and relevant communities know about the College’s operations and policies, including its Child Safe Policy and Child Safe Codes of Conduct, record keeping practices, risk management, and complaints and investigation processes.

We actively seek to include families and relevant communities in decisions about organisational planning, delivery of services, management of facilities, and classroom learning and assessment environments.

We build cultural safety at the College through partnerships with relevant communities.

Valuing Diversity in the College Community

Our College values diversity and does not tolerate any discriminatory practices. To achieve this, we:

• support the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families
• support the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of students from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and their families
• welcome students with disability and their families and act to promote their participation
• support students and families of diverse sexuality and act to promote their participation
• seek to recruit a workforce that reflects a diversity of cultures, abilities and identities
• have a physical environment that actively celebrates diverse cultures and recognises cultural difference; and
• commit to ensuring our facilities promote the inclusion of students of all abilities.

Our Child Protection Programme

Presbyterian Ladies’ College is committed to the effective implementation of our Child Safe Programme and ensuring that it is appropriately reviewed and updated. We adopt a risk management approach by identifying key risk indicators and assessing child safety risks based on a range of factors including the nature of our College’s activities, physical and online environments and the characteristics of the student body.

Our Child Safe Programme relates to all aspects of protecting children from abuse, grooming and other harm and establishes work systems, practices, policies and procedures to protect children from abuse and to promote a child safe environment. It includes:

• Child Safe Codes of Conduct
• Clear information as to what constitutes child abuse, grooming and other harm and associated key indicators of child abuse, grooming and other harm
• Clear procedures for responding to and reporting child safety incidents or concerns internally, and for responding incidents or allegations of child abuse, grooming or other harm
• Strategies to support, encourage and enable Staff, Volunteers, Contractors, External Education Providers, parents/carers and students to understand, identify, discuss and report child safety matters
• Procedures for recruiting and screening members of the Senior Management, Staff, Volunteers and Contractors
• Procedures for reporting to external agencies, including Mandatory Reporting to CPFS and Reporting to Police
• Pastoral care strategies designed to empower students and keep them safe
• Strategies to support and encourage the participation and inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and students with disability
• Child safety training
• Information regarding the steps to take after a disclosure of abuse, grooming or other harm to protect, support and assist children
• Guidelines with respect to record keeping and confidentiality
• Policies to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and standards (including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations; and
• A system for continuous review and improvement.

As a part of Presbyterian Ladies’ College’s induction process, all Staff as well as Direct Contact Volunteers and relevant Contractors are required to complete induction in our child protection policies, practices and procedures. All Staff, as well as Direct Contact Volunteers and Direct Contact Contractors also receive refresher and ongoing child protection training at least annually.

Staff, Direct Contact and Regular Volunteers, and Direct Contact and Regular Contractors are supported and supervised by the College’s Child Safety Officers and Senior Management to ensure that they are compliant with the College’s approach to child safety.

Reporting Child Safety Incidents or Concerns to the College

Our Child Safe Programme provides detailed guidance for PLC Council members, Staff, Volunteers and Contractors on how to identify key indicators of child abuse, grooming and other harm and how to report child safety incidents or concerns internally at the College. It also contains detailed procedures with respect to the reporting of child safety incidents or concerns to relevant external authorities.

Students at the College are provided with information about and encouraged to use multiple pathways to raise child safety incidents or concerns about or at the College. These include informal and formal ways, an ‘anonymous’ way, and through external child advocacy or child safety organisations.

Parents/carers, family members and other community members who have child safety concerns or who suspect that a child or young person associated with the College may be subject to abuse, grooming or other harm can contact the College’s Senior Child Safety Officer – Ms Cate Begbie, by phoning 0431 181 349 or emailing cate.begbie@plc.wa.edu.au or if the concern relates to the Principal, the Chair of the PLC Council.

Any person can also contact the Senior Child Safety Officer, or the Chair of the PLC Council if they have concerns regarding the College’s leadership in relation to child safety.

Communications will be treated confidentially on a “need to know basis”.

Whenever there are concerns that a child or young person is in immediate danger the Police should be called on 000.

Responsibilities for Child Protection at the College

Child protection is everyone’s responsibility. All adults in the College community have a shared responsibility for contributing to the safety and protection of students. Specific responsibilities include:

The College’s Child Safety Officers

A number of senior staff members are nominated as the College’s Child Safety Officers. Our Child Safety Officers receive additional specialised training with respect to child safety and protection issues. They are a point of contact for raising child safety concerns within the College. They are also responsible for championing child protection within the College and assisting in coordinating responses to child safety incidents.

Our Child Safety Officers are:

Presbyterian Ladies’ College has also appointed Ms Cate Begbie as the College’s Senior Child Safety Officer. The Senior Child Safety Officer is contactable by phone on 0431 181 349 or by emailing cate.begbie@plc.wa.edu.au.

The Senior Child Safety Officer has additional child protection responsibilities, such as being a first point of contact for all child safety concerns or queries for the wider community and coordinating the College’s response to child safety incidents in consultation with the Senior Management and the PLC Council.

PLC Council

The PLC Council is responsible for approving our Child Safe Program and ensuring that the College has appropriate resources to effectively implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and our Child Safe Program.

The Principal

The Principal is responsible, and will be accountable for, the operational management of the College, and the Child Safe Program. The Principal is responsible for taking all practical measures to ensure that this Child Safe Policy and the College’s Child Safe Program is implemented effectively and that a strong and sustainable child safe culture is maintained within the College.

The College Senior Management

Each member of the College Senior Management is required to ensure that appropriate resources are made available in their area of operations to allow the College’s Child Safe Program to be effectively implemented within the College, and to support the Principal in the practical application of the College’s child protection strategies, policies, procedures and work systems.

Staff

All Staff are required to comply with our Child Safe Policy and Child Safe Codes of Conduct, be familiar with our Child Safe Program and understand their legal obligations with respect to the reporting of child abuse, grooming and other harm, and Working with Children Checks. It is each individual’s responsibility to be aware of key indicators of abuse, grooming and other harm, to be observant, and to raise all child safety incidents and concerns with one of the College’s Child Safety Officers.

Volunteers

All Volunteers at the College are responsible for contributing to the safety and protection of students in the College environment.

All Direct Contact and Regular Volunteers are required to comply with our Child Safe Policy and Child Safe Codes of Conduct and understand their legal obligations with respect to the reporting of child abuse, grooming and other harm.

It is each individual’s responsibility to be aware of key indicators of child abuse, grooming and other harm, to be observant, and to raise all child safety concerns with one of the College’s Child Safety Officers.

Contractors

All Contractors engaged by the College are responsible for contributing to the safety and protection of students in the College environment.

All Contractors engaged by the College are required to comply with our Child Safe Policy and Child Safe Codes of Conduct. Direct Contact and Regular Contractors are required to understand their legal obligations with respect to the reporting of child abuse, grooming and other harm. The College may include this requirement in the written agreement between it and the Contractor.

Direct Contact and Regular Contractors include, for example, maintenance and building personnel, consultants, casual teachers, tutors, sports coaches and College cleaners. This also includes peripatetic music teachers and other extra-curricular teachers and instructors who are engaged by students and their families directly, rather than the College, but have an agreement with the College to use the College’s facilities.

External Education Providers

An External Education Provider is any organisation that the College has arranged to deliver a specified course of study that is part of the curriculum, to a student or students enrolled at the College. The delivery of such a course may take place on College premises or elsewhere.

All External Education Providers engaged by the College are responsible for contributing to the safety and protection of children in all College environments. All External Education Providers engaged by the College are required by the College to comply with our Child Safe Policy and our Child Safe Codes of Conduct.

Presbyterian Ladies’ College may include this requirement in the written agreement between it and the External Education Provider.

Child Protection Human Resources Management

Presbyterian Ladies’ College applies best practice standards in the recruitment and screening of Staff, Volunteers and Contractors. Our recruitment procedures ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to engage the most suitable and appropriate people to work with children and young people. All Staff and relevant Volunteers and Contractors are required to maintain a valid Working with Children Check.

The College ensures that the Senior Management, Staff and Direct Contact Volunteers and Direct Contact Contractors undergo child protection induction, and ongoing education and training as part of our commitment to safeguarding children from harm.

Staff, Direct Contact Volunteers and Direct Contact Contractors are subject to regular supervision and performance monitoring while engaging with students.

The College ensures that professional development programs for Staff include child protection education and training programs.

Child Protection Risk Management

The College recognises the importance of a risk management approach to minimising the potential for child abuse or harm to occur and we use this information to inform our policies, procedures and activity planning.

The College has developed a Risk Management Program to assist in the identification, assessment and management of child safety risks in all College environments.

Record Keeping

The College has a Child Safe Record Keeping policy and is committed to best practice record keeping. In accordance with our policy, and as required by our procedures for Responding to and Reporting Child Safety Incidents or Concerns, all internal and external reports of child safety incidents and concerns, as well as any other responses by the College are recorded.

In maintaining records of child safety incidents or concerns, the College maintains confidentiality and privacy for students and families in accordance with federal and state privacy legislation.

Policy and Programme Review

Presbyterian Ladies’ College is committed to the continuous improvement of our Child Safe Program. The Program is regularly reviewed for overall effectiveness and to ensure compliance with all child protection and child safety related laws, regulations and standards.

The College is committed to actively seeking, actioning, and incorporating into this Policy, feedback from students, families, the wider College community, Staff, Volunteers and Contractors, and will communicate any adjustments or amendments widely throughout the College community.

Non-Compliance with Our Child Safe Policy

Presbyterian Ladies’ College enforces this Child Safe Policy and our Child Safe Codes of Conduct. In the event of any non-compliance, we will instigate a review that may result in a range of measures including (depending on the severity of the breach):

• remedial education
• counselling
• increased supervision
• the restriction of duties
• suspension; and/or
• in the case of serious breaches, termination of employment, contract or engagement.