At St Peter’s Primary School we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our school. Our child safety policy provides an outline of the policies, procedures and strategies developed to keep students safe from harm, including all forms of abuse in our school environment, on campus, online and in other locations provided by the school.
Keeping children safe is a shared responsibility, and the Child Safety Standards apply to all staff, volunteers, contractors, visitors and families. Clear expectations guide how adults may interact with children, and all staff and volunteers receive training to understand their responsibilities.
Contractors or community groups using our facilities are required to demonstrate appropriate child safety practices when children may be present.
St Peter’s uses a Child Safety Code of Conduct that:
• Guides the behaviour of all staff, volunteers and leadership
• Forms part of induction and ongoing training
• Informs families of the standards they can expect from adults in our community
• Supports our reporting procedures if concerns arise
• Is referenced in employment advertising and contracts
The Code aims to safeguard children and young people from sexual, physical, psychological and emotional harm, and aligns with all school policies related to wellbeing, duty of care, supervision, pastoral care, bullying and safety during camps and excursions.
The Code applies to all school activities, including higher-risk situations such as overnight camps, counselling, first aid, bus travel and supporting students with additional needs.
The Child Safety Standards
- Standard 1: Culturally safe environments – Establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
- Standard 2: Leadership, governance and culture – Ensure that child safety and wellbeing are embedded in school leadership, governance and culture.
- Standard 3: Child and student empowerment – Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
- Standard 4: Family engagement – Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
- Standard 5: Diversity and equity – Equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice.
- Standard 6: Suitable staff and volunteers – People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
- Standard 7: Child-focused complaints processes – Ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.
- Standard 8: Child safety knowledge, skills and awareness – Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
- Standard 9: Physical and online environments – Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
- Standard 10: Review of child safety practices – Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
- Standard 11: Implementation of child safety practices – Policies and procedures that document how schools are safe for children, young people and students.