Implementation of child safety practices

There’s a wide range of actions schools may choose to implement. To get started, review the example actions on this page.

Each Child Safe Standard contains links to policies that schools should develop.

Talk to families and students when developing and implementing child safe policies. For guidance, use Child Safe Standard 4: Family Engagement

Policies and procedures should be informed by stakeholder consultation, which can include:

• informal feedback, such as talking with parents when they pick up their children
• formal feedback, such as scheduled parent or carer interviews
• other feedback processes, such as surveys or focus groups
• reviews, such as reviews of your policies and procedures
• processes for raising concerns and handling complaints.

Child safety policies and procedures should include:

• an effective date, review date and approval details
• contact details for support
• references to related documents
• the school’s underlying child safety and wellbeing values and principles
• definitions of any specialised terms used
• who the policy applies to
• responsibilities of leaders, staff and volunteers
• how to recognise child harm
• how to recognise and report complaints or allegations of child harm
• legal reporting obligations
• reporting lines (which can be shown by a diagram)
• what actions to take if a child or young person is at risk or has disclosed harm
• education and training requirements, including frequency.

Use this checklist to make sure your school is doing everything required to comply with this standard:

Actions required to comply with this standard are listed in the:

• Government schools: Child Safety Action List (DOCX, 110KB)
• Non-government schools: Child Safety Action List (DOCX, 385KB)

Schools must review their child safety and wellbeing policies:

• after any significant child safety incident
• at least once every 2 years.

• Publish your child safety policies in an easily accessible, public-facing location, such as the school website.
• For all staff and volunteers, integrate child safety into:
  • induction processes
  • ongoing education
  • training
  • supervision.
• Provide copies of your child safety policies in welcome packs and transition resources.

• Use plain language in written materials.
• Use visual representations to accompany discussions with students and their families, as needed to aid understanding.
• Display easy-to-read posters in various locations around the school.

• Nominate one or more child safety champions.
• Child safety champions promote, monitor and report on the implementation of the school’s child safety strategies.
• Support the child safety champions by empowering them to investigate child safety issues. Make sure they have time allocated for child safety.

• Highlight child safety in recruitment processes.
• Have child-focused complaints policies and procedures.
• Review recordkeeping of child safety complaints. Make sure it captures all relevant information.
• Use the Child Safety Risk Register template to manage child safety risks relating to child abuse.
• Consider using the Child Safety Risk Register to include other child safety risks. Schools can also use another register or format to record these risks.

• Allocate regular time for a child safety agenda item for all-staff or faculty meetings.
• Schedule child safety briefings at information evenings and orientation days.
• Include a regular child safety item in newsletters to families.

• Seek feedback on policies and procedures from:
  • the school community
  • staff
  • families
  • students.
• Be aware of emerging legislation, research and resources in child safety and wellbeing. Ensure that policies and procedures are informed by any new developments.

• Nominate child safety champions to support school leaders in effectively implementing and monitoring the child safe policies and practices.
• Document the school’s policies, procedures and statements required across all 11 Child Safe Standards.
• Seek feedback from students, families, staff and volunteers on whether the policies and procedures are easy to understand. Make any relevant improvements.
• Produce child safety material in different formats. Use child-friendly and plain language and translated versions.
• Maintain high visibility of child safety and wellbeing. Discuss child safety at staff and parent meetings, and school assemblies. Display posters, write articles newsletters and staff bulletins on child safety topics.
• Train staff and volunteers on school policies and their responsibilities. Create regular opportunities to discuss and reinforce understandings.
• Identify formal and informal ways to monitor policy implementation. Analyse whether current processes achieve the outcomes for each child's safe standard.
• Monitor how staff and volunteers contribute to child safety through:
  • supervision
  • discussions
  • staff meetings
  • surveys.

• Alcohol at School Events
• Four Critical Actions for Schools | Responding to Incidents, Disclosures and Suspicions of Child Abuse
• Governance for Public Schools (PDF, 6.3MB)
• Protecting Children – Reporting and Other Legal Obligations
• Records Management – School Records
• Recruitment for Schools
• School Council Training Policy
• Student Engagement Policy.

• Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority – Child Safe Standards
• Catholic Education Commission of Victoria – Child Safety
• Independent Schools Victoria

• PROTECT

• Child Safe Organisations eLearning Modules
• Child Safe Organisations website, including the National Principles and Tools and Resources
• Child Wise training for Child Safe Organisations and child safety champions
• Child Safe Standards | Commission for Children and Young People
• Hear no evil, see no evil: Understanding failure to identify and report child sexual abuse in institutional contexts (PDF, 812KB) – a report for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Professor Eileen Munro and Dr Sheila Fish
• Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (PDF, 1.8MB)