Early childhood services - culturally safe environments for Aboriginal children

Overview

Standard 1 applies to all early childhood services even if no children attend the service that identify as Aboriginal.

It asks services to create a culturally safe, environment for Aboriginal children. An environment where they:

feel comfortable being themselves
feel comfortable expressing their culture, including their spiritual and belief systems
have educators who respect and encourage their sense of self and identity.

Understand identity

Identifying as Aboriginal is one part of a child or young person’s identity. Like everyone, Aboriginal people have different life experiences and characteristics. Each person is unique with their own characteristics, strengths and challenges.

The term ‘Aboriginal’ includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Services should ask children and families how they wish to refer to themselves.

Respect culture

Being able to express their culture makes Aboriginal children stronger and safer. If children don't feel strong they may be less likely to report abuse.

Australia’s colonial history has caused significant trauma and hurt. This pain is still felt by individuals, families and communities today. Services should show respect for the deep resilience of Victorian Aboriginal communities.

Services approved under the National Quality Framework (NQF):
- long day care
- family day care
- kindergartens (preschool)
- Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)
- school holiday programs that operate for 28 days or more per year.
Services approved under the Children’s Services Act (CS Act):
- limited hours
- occasional care
- school holiday programs that operate for less than 28 days per year
- early childhood intervention services
- former Budget Based Funded services
- mobile services.

Actions services must take to comply with Standard 1

Standard 1: Services establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children are respected and valued.

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

A child’s ability to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights is encouraged and actively supported (1.1)
Strategies are embedded within the organisation which equip all members to acknowledge and appreciate the strengths of Aboriginal culture and understand its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children and young people (1.2)
Measures are adopted by the organisation to ensure racism within the organisation is identified, confronted and not tolerated. Any instances of racism are addressed with appropriate consequences (1.3)
The organisation actively supports and facilitates participation and inclusion within it by Aboriginal children, young people and their families (1.4)
All of the organisation’s policies, procedures, systems and processes together create a culturally safe and inclusive environment and meet the needs of Aboriginal children, young people and their families (1.5)

How to comply - examples and ideas

Implementing this standard will require ongoing effort, not just a once-off change. Service leadership has an important role in driving this cultural change.

Make sure you consult with families, students and the local Aboriginal community when you develop policies.

- Work together with your local Aboriginal community to improve staff and volunteers' knowledge of Aboriginal culture. Refer to: Cultural and language services in Victoria.
- Arrange Community Understanding Safety Training (CUST) for staff and volunteers.
- Read the resources developed by Aboriginal cultural services such as:
- Build service-wide knowledge of Aboriginal histories, cultures, perspectives, values, skills and attitudes.
- Begin events and meetings with a Welcome to Country or an Acknowledgement of Country. Have a standing agenda item. Use this as an opportunity to pause and reflect or open a discussion.
- Make Aboriginal voice part of decision making in matters that affect Aboriginal students. Be open to different ways of doing and expressing things.
- Make a public commitment to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children
- Fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on service grounds. Display plaques and signs to Acknowledge Country and Traditional Owners.
- Celebrate the local Aboriginal community in communications with children, staff, volunteers and families. Share information through service newsletters, service meetings, parent information nights.
- Lead on safety and inclusion for all Aboriginal children and their families. Learn more about Aboriginal histories and cultures, both locally and across Australia. Speak with respect and confidence about Aboriginal culture, knowledge systems and people.
- Acknowledge and draw on the existing knowledge of Aboriginal children and their families.
- Ask Aboriginal children and their families for feedback about what the service does well, and what could be improved.
- Use our Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan 2016–2026 (PDF, 1.1MB)
- Include a statement in your Child Safe Environment policy that the service has zero tolerance of racism.
- Make sure racist speech or actions are always addressed, and the service works to prevent incidents from occurring in future.
- Reflect on the attitudes and practices in your service, and decide if they are barriers to creating a culturally safe environment.
- Put service leaders at the front of anti-racist action.
- Discuss racism, and work to address unconscious bias and racism in the service.
- Find out about the Traditional Owners of the land/s where the service is located. Use the Map of Indigenous Australia and learn about acknowledging Traditional Owners.
- Include Aboriginal history and culture in:
  - professional learning for staff and volunteers
  - educational program planning.
- Develop resources about Aboriginal culture for educators to use in the educational program.
- Support local Aboriginal businesses through service procurement.
- Reach out to your local Aboriginal community to ask them to review how the service considers cultural safety in its environment, systems and processes. This could be through:
  - Traditional Owner groups
  - corporations
  - the Registered Aboriginal Party.
- Engage with the Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (LAECG), the Early Years Unit of VAEAI, SNAICC or VACCA.
- Visit an Aboriginal cultural learning centre, such as:
- Make a tailored staff learning and development plan focused on staff cultural competence learning needs.
- Develop and implement an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reconciliation Action Plan.
Your policy should describe the following.
- How your service will:
  - show its commitment to respecting and valuing Aboriginal children
  - ensure that its policies, procedures, systems and processes together create a culturally safe and inclusive environment and meet the needs of Aboriginal children, students and their families
  - ensure racism is identified at the service, and any instances of racism addressed.
- How staff and volunteers will:
  - encourage and support children to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights
  - actively support, encourage and include Aboriginal children and their families in your services.

Related standards and regulations

Under the guiding principles of the National Law and CS Act, services are already expected to consider:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture and
- the principles of equity, inclusion and diversity.
The Victorian Early Years Learning Development Framework (VEYLDF) also:
- recognises and respects Aboriginal cultures and their unique place in Victoria’s past, present and future
- acknowledges that this is central to implementing the VEYLDF
- promotes learning about and valuing the place of Aboriginal people to enhance all Victorian children’s sense of place in the community.
Find out how the requirements of Standard 1 align with existing regulatory requirements, the National Quality Standards (NQS) and the VEYLDF at: Mapping the Child Safe Standards (DOCX, 96KB).

Resources

Early childhood

Updated 21 November 2023