We recently published an article on the role of a Child Protection Officer (“CPO”) at your school. One of the topics discussed, and one of the most commonly asked questions, is "who should be appointed a CPO?"
This article further explores how schools should approach the task of deciding who to appoint as a CPO.
The role of CPO requires a person in whom the school community has the highest level of trust and confidence. Therefore, it makes sense that schools should appoint existing staff members who have established rapport and authority within their community, rather than making external appointments. Schools should consider all staff members and an appointment should be made based on an individual’s suitability rather than the position they hold. A CPO shouldn’t necessarily be the "obvious person, such as a welfare officer, counsellor or high end administrative staff responsible for student welfare. Although these people may possess some of the required skills and attributes they may not necessarily satisfy all of the key considerations outlined below.
As a critical first responder to child protection incidents, a CPO must be a person of the utmost standing and integrity. As the role of CPO is an important and sensitive role, a school must hold appointees to a higher standard of ethics and good character. For the equivalent role of ''Contact Officer'' in Queensland, the Queensland Government (acting through the Public Safety Business Agency) recommends that a person be, “honest, mature, ethical and have enough experience to deal with difficult and sensitive issues if they arise”. This recommendation also provides guidance for CPOs in other States and Territories.
Ultimately, schools must determine the level of rigour they will apply to evaluating whether a person is appropriate to be a CPO, in which role he or she will be the school’s ultimate “safe” person.
Although no particular skill set is required to be a CPO, the skills and experience a school will deem necessary will be influenced by the job description it develops for the role. As mentioned in our previous article, the role and its responsibilities will vary between schools. However, it will generally consist of being a point of contact for members of the school community, taking action and providing support when child protection incidents are reported and reviewing processes and procedures to respond to allegations or disclosures.
Key considerations
There are three key considerations when determining who should be appointed CPO:
- Willingness
The first step is to gauge interest in the role. Staff members must understand what is involved with being a CPO and want to undertake the responsibilities. Again, appointments should be made by considering individuals and not the existing role a person holds. Being a CPO should not be the default responsibility for particular positions within the school because people in those positions will not necessarily be willing to undertake the role.
- Empathy
A CPO must be accessible and approachable for both staff and students. This may mean that staff in high end administrative positions will not be appropriate if they do not have the right level of rapport, particularly with students who do not feel comfortable approaching staff members in particularly high positions of authority.However, a CPO must also have the confidence and seniority to report to and liaise with a school’s governing authority and government agencies without bias or pressure. It may be difficult to find staff members who possess both of these attributes, so schools may need to find a balance between these potentially competing requirements.
- Availability
It is not possible to predict when a person will feel comfortable disclosing a child protection incident. A CPO should therefore always be available to the school community to discuss child protection matters. Practically, this means that schools should appoint at least two CPOs, and possibly more depending on a school’s individual circumstances. Staff members with high workloads may not be suitable unless the school is willing to reduce their other responsibilities. As teaching staff are unavailable to undertake CPO duties when they are in class they may also not be appropriate appointees, or may need to reduce their teaching load or coordinate their classes with the availability of other CPOs. Staff and students must be informed where CPOs can be found at any time. This could involve designating a location where a CPO can always be found and notifying the school community of that location.Schools should also consider other situations that are particularly high risk regarding potential child protection incidents (“hot spots” and “hot times”), such as before and after school, at boarding facilities and on camps or excursions. School should ensure that CPOs are available at these times or locations. Staff members’ abilities to be available on these occasions will be another matter to take into account.
In addition to these key considerations, cultural and gender diversity will influence appointments. CPOs may need to undertake cultural training to understand how to respond to reports made by school community members who belong to certain cultural groups.
The task of determining who to appoint as a CPO is complex. CPOs are the main representatives of a school’s approach to child protection, so the decision of who to appoint forms a crucial part of a school’s strategy to embed cultural change. It should therefore be given an appropriately high level of attention and consideration. However, a school’s obligations to the role of CPO do not stop there. Once appointed, schools need to provide sufficient support and allocate appropriate resources to CPOs. CPOs must be given funding, time, training and the authority and autonomy to fulfil the role effectively.
The appointment of a CPO also does not diminish the need to ensure that other staff members have a base knowledge of their school’s Child Protection Program. The required understanding of child protection in Australia has been elevated in recent times. All staff should know how to accept a report on a child protection issue and what action to take after a report is made. Schools should administer regular training to staff to maintain and update their knowledge and skills and reinforce the school’s child safe culture.
