The Victorian Child Safe Standards are in effect now, and every non-government school in Victoria should be working towards compliance with both the Standards and Ministerial Order 870 (Ministerial Order), according to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.

We recently reported on the release of the Ministerial Order which details exactly what non-government schools must do in order to comply with the Standards, see News Flash: New Victorian Child Protection Laws Passed.

Did you know:

• compliance with the Standards and the Ministerial Order becomes a requirement for registration on 1 August 2016;
• dramatic changes will need to be made for compliance – no matter how in depth your school’s current child protection program is; and
• the Standards are new legal obligations under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic) which add to the obligations which already apply to schools under six different pieces of child protection legislation?

Briefing Paper to assist with compliance

To assist Principals and Business Managers within Victorian non-government schools to understand and clearly communicate these changes to their boards, executive and staff, CompliSpace has put together a detailed Briefing Paper which can be downloaded for free from our public website. Download the Briefing Paper: New Victorian Child Safe Standards: A radical shift in your school’s child protection obligations.

This Paper references specific evidence guidelines within the Ministerial Order and covers:

• the rationale for the new Victorian Child Safe Standards;
• an outline of the new Child Protection Legal & Regulatory Framework in Victoria;
• a summary of each Standard’s requirements for schools; and
• recommendations to ensure compliance with the Standards by 1 August 2016.

What does compliance with the Standards look like?

The Standards aim to improve the way that organisations that provide services for children prevent and respond to child abuse, focusing on helping organisations to drive cultural change so that protecting children from abuse is embedded in everyday thinking and practice. For this reason, the Standards require schools to create a holistic child protection program, rather than a suite of disjointed policies, to create a coherent culture of child protection within the school.

The Standards specifically require schools to:

• develop and effectively implement specific strategies to embed a culture of child safety;
• allocate roles and responsibilities to achieve these strategies;
• inform the school community about the strategies, roles and responsibilities;
• publicly publish a Child Safety Policy setting values and principles for child safety that have guided the creation of their policies, procedures, practices and workplace systems for child protection;
• develop and effectively implement a Child Safety Code of Conduct;
• implement specific human resources practices including those relating to recruitment and advertising, more comprehensive background checks and screening processes, documentation of job descriptions and performance review procedure;
• establish comprehensive systems for delivering child protection training during induction, and on an ongoing basis;
• ensure that staff, volunteers, families and children know how to report abuse allegations and that each group feels comfortable doing so in a supportive environment;
• ensure detailed procedures for responding to allegations of suspected child abuse are in place;
• implement specific risk management practices and controls with respect to child abuse;
• ensure specific strategies are implemented to promote child empowerment and participation,  including providing age-appropriate education about child abuse awareness and prevention; and
• take into account the diverse needs and characteristics of all students when developing the school’s child protection program, including age, social and cultural background, abilities and other attributes or vulnerabilities.

As you can see from this lengthy list, the changes to your school’s child protection obligations require detailed planning and allocation of appropriate resources as the Standards have essentially ‘raised the bar’ of child safety and protection from abuse and harm to a level that very few, if any, organisations across Victoria would currently be implementing.

Webinar on Child Safe Standards

CompliSpace Managing Director David Griffiths will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday 22nd March 2016 to discuss what schools in Victoria must do to comply with the new Victorian Child Safe Standards by 1 August 2016.

This Webinar is also relevant to other States and Territories due to the child protection reforms being made Australia-wide. For more information, and to register for the Webinar, please visit www.complispace.com.au/.