Early childhood services - review of child safety practices

Guidance on Child Safe Standard 10: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.

Overview

Standard 10 focuses on continuous improvement in child-safe policies, procedures and practices.

Ongoing effort and cultural change is needed. Services need to shift to considering the risk of child abuse when conducting all risk assessments and planning. For example, consider whether toilets on an excursion are public and plan how to manage the risk to children.

Services must focus on preventing child abuse and harm though:

  • analysing incidents, near misses and complaints
  • learning from mistakes and improving their practice
  • regularly reviewing policies, procedures and practices
  • being open and transparent with all at the service, including families
  • putting child safety and wellbeing at the centre of the service.

Actions services must take to comply with Standard 10

Standard 10: Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.

Early childhood services must comply with all the following elements of this standard:

  • The service regularly reviews, evaluates and improves child safe practices (10.1).
  • Complaints, concerns and safety incidents are analysed to identify causes and systemic failures to inform continuous improvement (10.2).
  • The service reports on the findings of relevant reviews to staff and volunteers, community and families and children and young people (10.3).

How to comply - examples and ideas

Start by reflecting on how your service already evaluates its child safe practices, and puts steps in place to continuously improve.

Related standards and regulations

Resources

Updated