4.1 Children S Rights to Safety and Participation

1.0 INTRODUCTION The dignity of the human person, who is created in the image and likeness of God, is the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching. This Catholic anthropology leads us to afford all people, but especially children, young people and the most vulnerable, the highest respect. Within this context, St Kieran’s Primary Schools provides a child safe, supportive and secure environment that promotes respect and care and values diversity. The mental, physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing of children and young people are essential preconditions for successful learning. These qualities cannot be developed for individuals in isolation from the health and wellbeing of the school community as a whole. St Kieran’s Primary School operates in accordance with the principles as stated in the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (refer to Appendix 1)

2.0 VISION Our Commitment to child safety means that all students enrolled, and any child visiting, has a right to feel safe and be safe. The wellbeing of children in our care will always be our first priority and we have zero tolerance to child abuse. We aim to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety.

3.0 RATIONALE This policy was written to demonstrate the strong commitment of the whole school community of St Kieran’s Primary School, leaders, staff, volunteers, students, their families, to child safety and to provide an outline of the policies and procedures developed to keep everyone safe from harm, including all forms of abuse.

4.0 POLICY STATEMENTS

4.1 Children’s rights to safety and participation The staff and volunteers of St Kieran’s Primary School encourage students to express their views. We listen to their suggestions, especially on matters that directly affect them. We actively encourage all students to openly express their views and feel comfortable about giving voice to the things that are important to them.

We teach students about what they can do if they feel unsafe. We listen to and act on any concerns students, their parents or carers, raise with us. (Refer to Student Empowerment and Participation Policy and Procedure).

4.2 Valuing diversity and inclusion We value and celebrate diversity, especially cultural diversity, and we do not tolerate discriminatory practices. To achieve this we:

1  Promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal students and their families  Promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD) and their families  Promote the personal safety, participation and empowerment of students with a disability and make them feel welcome and part of all aspects of school life

4.3 Recruiting staff and volunteers St Kieran’s Primary School will apply the most thorough and rigorous standards in the recruitment and screening of staff and volunteers. We interview and conduct referee checks on all staff and volunteers and require police checks and Working With Children Checks (WWCC) for all staff and volunteers. Our commitment to Child Safety and our screening requirements are included in all advertisements for staff and volunteer positions. (Refer to Recruitment Policies and Procedures).

4.4 Supporting staff and volunteers St Kieran’s Primary School provides support and supervision to all staff and volunteers so people feel valued, respected, affirmed in their work and fairly treated. We have a Code of Conduct to provide guidance to our staff and volunteers, all of whom receive training on the requirements of the Code. (Refer to Code of Conduct).

4.5 Reporting a child safety concern or complaint St Kieran’s Primary School records all child safety complaints, disclosures or concerns including breaches of the Code of Conduct, and stores the records in accordance with security and privacy requirements. Our policies and procedures in relation to complaints, disclosure or concerns including breaches of conduct are outlined and detailed in the following policies and procedures.  Complaints & Disclosure Policy and Procedure  Child Safe Reporting and Responding Policy and Procedures

Jodie Mallows has been appointed as Child Safety Officer with specific responsibility for responding to any complaints made by staff, volunteers, parents or students in relation to Child Safety.

4.6 Risk Management Risk management is an approach that minimises the potential for child abuse or harm to occur. Our Risk Management Plan (refer to Risk Management Plan) outlines and details all aspects of risk across our whole school environment (on site and off site school activities) with specific activity risk assessments. In addition to our general Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse and harm to our students. (Refer to Risk Management Plan – St Kieran’s Website: 4.1 Care Safety and Wellbeing of Students)

5.0 DEFINITIONS The definition of child abuse and indicators of harm are detailed in Appendix 2.

6.0 RELATED DOCUMENTS This policy should be read in conjunction with the other policies and procedures of St Kieran’s Primary School concerned with Child Safety and Pastoral Wellbeing:

2  Sale Diocese strategic Plan  Child Protection and Safety Policy  Child Protection – Mandatory Reporting Policy  Child Protection – Failure to Protect Policy  Child Protection – Grooming Policy  Child Protection – Working with Children Policy  Student empowerment and participation policy and procedure  Recruitment policies and procedures  Code of Conduct  Risk Management Plan  Student Supervision-on site and off site  Positive Behaviour Education Policy and Procedure  Attendance Policy and Procedure  Digital Citizenship Policy.

7.0 REFERENCES

 DEECD and DHS 2010, Protecting the Safety and Wellbeing of Children and Young People, A joint protocol of the Department of Human Services Child Protection, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Licensed Children’s Services and Victorian Schools.  Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Sexual Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations, Final Report, Betrayal of Trust, November 2013.  Integrity in the Service of the Church, online, https://www.catholic.org.au/documents/1345-integrity-in-service-of-the-church-1 * A Guide for Creating A Child Safe Organisation, Version 2.0December 2015, Commission for Children and Young People, State Government Victoria

8.0 REVIEW This policy is reviewed every three years and we undertake to seek feedback from students, parents, carers, staff and volunteers.

Policy Ratified: 26/05/2016 Next Review date: 13/04/2019

9.0 APPENDIX I. United Nations Conventions On The Rights Of The Child II. Definitions of Child Abuse and Indicators of Harm