The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles), which all state and territory governments have endorsed, make clear that, to be a child safe organisation, schools must embed child safety and wellbeing in organisational leadership, governance and culture. To meet these obligations, members of a school’s governing body (such as its board of directors) should receive appropriate training so that they understand their responsibilities with respect to child safety. In addition, several states and territories mandate that school governing body members receive certain training relevant to child safety and protection.

Do a School’s Governing Body Members Need Child Safety Training by Law?

Whether or not a school’s governing body members actually must, by law, have some type of child safety training varies by jurisdiction.

In New South Wales, school registration guidelines require that all persons at a school who are mandatory reporters under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) – this includes governing body members – must be informed of their obligations and the process that the school has in place in relation to mandatory reporting. In addition, “responsible persons” (people involved in the management of a school, including governing body members) must undertake 12 hours of initial and ongoing professional development, over each three year period, in relation to governance issues.

In South Australia, school governing body members are mandated notifiers under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 (SA), and therefore must complete Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect – Education and Care training about mandatory notifications and child protection every three years.

In Victoria, Ministerial Order No. 1359 – Implementing the Child Safe Standards – Managing the risk of child abuse in schools and school boarding premises (Ministerial Order No. 1359) specifically requires the school governing authority or school boarding premises governing authority to ensure that appropriate training and guidance is provided to the members of the governing body. In relation to non-government schools and school boarding premises, the governing body is the person or body responsible for the governance, conduct or management of the school, or the governance or management of the provider of school boarding services at the premises.

In Western Australia, school registration guidelines require all staff, governing body members and regular volunteers to participate in learning opportunities about the law with respect to mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse and the school’s policies, procedures and practices that aim to ensure students’ safety and wellbeing at school and during school-related activities, including the creation and maintenance of child-safe physical and online environments.

In other jurisdictions like the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania, although training for school governing body members may not be a clear requirement, governing body members might still be expected to undergo some form of child safety training in order for the school to comply with school registration requirements to implement the National Principles or their state-based equivalents.

Why Is it Important for Governing Body Members to Undertake Child Safety Training?

Some form of training is therefore important, at the very least, so that governing body members:

• understand their own legal and regulatory obligations as well as the obligations of others within the school and associated governance risks
• understand the importance of keeping children safe
• acquire the expertise to keep children safe
• can promote a child safe culture at their school through a top-down commitment to child safety.

What Type of Child Safety Training Should Governing Body Members Have?

• individual and collective obligations and responsibilities for implementing the Victorian Child Safe Standards and managing the risk of child abuse
• child safety and wellbeing risks in the school environment or school boarding premises environment
• their school’s/school boarding premises’ child safety policies, procedures and practices.

This list is a good starting point for the training needs of all school governing bodies in all jurisdictions.

In most cases, requirements for training will require, at a minimum, that governing body members understand their, and their school’s, legal reporting obligations with respect to child protection.

In spite of these requirements, or in the absence of them, there are several key areas where governing body members would benefit from training. These include:

• the overall legal and regulatory framework for child safety in their state or territory, including:
  • reporting obligations
  • working with children checks
  • privacy and employment law obligations related to child protection
• guidance on the different types of abuse and other harm, recognising key indicators, and understanding circumstances that increase the vulnerability of some children and young people to abuse and other harm
• how to respond to and report a child safety incident or concern
• information sharing and record keeping obligations relevant to child safety
• children and young people’s rights to participation, information and safety, empowering children and young people, and encouraging children and young people’s participation
• building culturally safe environments, including information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, culturally and linguistically diverse cultures, disability and people with other particular experiences or needs, and respecting children and young people irrespective of their individual characteristics, cultural backgrounds and abilities.

How Often Should Governing Body Members Receive Child Safety Training?

While existing governing body members should continue to receive training on a regular basis, it is also important that any new governing body members are provided with an induction appropriate to their position before or when they commence their new roles.

Schools should also ensure that they keep records of any training undertaken by governing body members as evidence of compliance with any relevant requirements.

As enshrined in National Principle 7, in order to keep children within a school safe, it is important that all persons within the school are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training. It is particularly important, not just from a legal standpoint, that this also applies to members of a school governing body. Without them understanding their and their school’s child safety responsibilities, creating a safe environment for children and young people is practically impossible.

For further information on how else school governing bodies can embed child safety and wellbeing in leadership and governance arrangements, refer to our previous School Governance Article on Governing Body Responsibilities.