An illustration of a school staff member supervising two children.

Online learning for schools

Learn about 'Protecting Children' e-learning modules to assist staff in both government and non-government schools to understand their mandatory reporting and other legal obligations.

The department has developed 'Protecting Children' e-learning modules to assist staff in both government and non-government schools to understand their mandatory reporting and other legal obligations. The modules align with information on PROTECT, which outlines how to identify and respond to child abuse.

Government school staff

Obligations

In line with the policy Protecting Children – Reporting and Other Legal Obligations, staff who are:

  • School-based staff:
    • mandatory reporters must complete the module once per calendar year
    • not mandatory reporters are strongly encouraged to complete the module once per calendar year.
  • Department-based staff:
    • mandatory reporters must undertake the training once per calendar year
    • who have roles that engage with students or provide advice to schools about mandatory reporting or child safety are strongly encouraged to undertake the training once per calendar year.

Accessing 'Protecting Children' e-learn module

The Protecting children: Reporting and other legal obligations (PROTECT), module is available on LearnED, which is accessed through eduPay.

Government school staff who are mandatory reporters are automatically enrolled into this course.

Alternatively, all staff can login to eduPay and search for 'Protecting Children' and self-enrol.

Staff can generate their certificate of completion in eduPay by selecting: 'My Learning > History > Select Course > Print'. This certificate will remain part of your learning record on EduPay.

Non-government school staff

Obligations

Mandated reporters in non-government schools are strongly encouraged to complete mandatory reporting training once per calendar year. Other staff are also encouraged to undertake the module annually.

Accessing 'Protecting Children' e-learn module

The Protecting Children – Mandatory Reporting and Other Obligations Non-Government Schools eLearn training can be accessed at: protectngstraining.education.vic.gov.au

Information about how to create an account can be found at Protecting children: Mandatory reporting and other obligations.

Non-government schools should keep local records to track staff completion of the eLearning module. A copy of the certificate of completion should be submitted to the relevant school co-ordinator and retained by the staff member.

Instructions for creating an online training account are available for non-government school staff and early childhood professionals.

The Department of Education (the department) has been notified by a third-party supplier, Instructure, that they have suffered a global cyber security incident, impacting its Canvas Learning Management System.

As a result the department has temporarily restricted access to the Protecting Children – Mandatory Reporting and Other Obligations Non-Government Schools eLearn training as a precaution.

We will continue to provide further updates as new information becomes available.

If you have any privacy or security concerns, you can find useful information on the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner website.

For privacy complaints, please contact privacy@instructure.com

Training module guidance

Updated