Child abuse includes sexual offences, grooming, physical violence, serious emotional or psychological harm, serious neglect and a child’s exposure to family violence. Wesley College is committed to the protection of all children from all forms of child abuse and demonstrates this commitment through the implementation of a comprehensive Child Protection Program designed to keep children safe.

At Wesley College we have a zero tolerance for child abuse and are committed to acting in children’s best interests and keeping them safe from harm. The College regards its child protection responsibilities with the utmost importance and as such, is committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection laws and regulations and maintain a child safe culture.

Objectives

This policy provides the framework for:

• the development of work systems, practices, policies and procedures that promote child protection;
• the creation of a positive and robust child protection culture;
• the promotion and open discussion of child protection issues; and
• compliance with all laws, regulations and standards relevant to child protection in Victoria.

Statement of commitment to child safety

Child abuse includes sexual offences, grooming, physical violence, serious emotional or psychological harm, serious neglect and a child’s exposure to family violence. We are committed to the protection of all children from all forms of child abuse and demonstrates this commitment through the implementation of a comprehensive Child Protection Program designed to keep children safe.

We have a zero tolerance for child abuse and are committed to acting in children’s best interests and keeping them safe from harm. We regard our child protection responsibilities with the utmost importance and as such, is committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection laws and regulations and maintain a child safe culture.

Child safe values and principles

Our commitment to child safety is based on the following overarching principles that guide the development and regular review of our work systems, practices, policies and procedures to protect children from abuse.

1. All children have the right to be safe.
2. The welfare and best interests of the child are paramount.
3. The views of the child and a child’s privacy must be respected.
4. Clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children are established in our Child Safety Code of Conduct and Staff and Student Professional Boundaries Policy.
5. The safety of children is dependent upon the existence of a child safe culture.
6. Child safety awareness is promoted and openly discussed within our community.
7. Procedures are in place to screen all staff, Direct Contact Volunteers**, Third Party Contractors and External Education Providers who have direct contact with children.
8. Procedures to screen and provide annual child safe training for all staff, Direct Contact Volunteers**, Homestay Providers, Primary Carers, Third Party Contractors and College appointed External Education Providers/Tutors who have direct contact with international students issued a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare letter.
9. Child safety and protection is everyone's responsibility.
10. Child protection training is mandatory for all governing body members, staff and Direct Contact Volunteers.
11. Procedures for responding to alleged or suspected incidents of child abuse are simple and accessible for all members of the school community.
12. Children from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds have the right to special care and support including those who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
13. Children who have any kind of disability have the right to special care and support.

**Direct Contact Volunteers are those volunteers who are involved in providing support, guidance and supervision directly to students and could potentially have direct contact with students during the normal course of providing the volunteer service.

The Working with Children Check Act 2005 (Vic) defines 'direct contact' as any contact between a person and a child (aged under 18) that involves:

• physical contact; or
• face to face contact; or
• contact by post or other written communication; or
• contact by telephone or other oral communication; or
• contact by email or other electronic communication.

Examples of Direct Contact Volunteer activities may include volunteers involved in camps and excursions, coaching sporting teams or assisting in learning activities.

Child Protection Program

We are committed to the effective implementation of our Child Protection Program and ensuring that it is appropriately reviewed and updated. We adopt a risk management approach by identifying key risk indicators and assessing child safety risks based on a range of factors including the nature of our activities, physical and online environments and the characteristics of the student body.

Our Child Protection Program relates to all aspects of protecting children from abuse and establishes work systems, practices, policies and procedures to protect children from abuse. It includes:

• clear information as to what constitutes child abuse and associated key risk indicators;
• clear procedures for responding to and reporting allegations of child abuse;
• strategies to support, encourage and enable staff, Volunteers, Third Party Contractors, External Education Providers, parents and students to understand, identify, discuss and report child protection matters;
• procedures for recruiting and screening governing body members, staff and Direct Contact Volunteers;
• procedures for reporting reportable conduct and/or misconduct;
• pastoral care strategies designed to empower students and keep them safe;
• policies with respect to cultural diversity and students with disabilities;
• a child protection training program;
• information regarding the steps to take after a disclosure of abuse to protect, support and assist children;
• guidelines with respect to record keeping and confidentiality;
• policies to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and standards (including the Victorian Child Safe Standards); and
• a system for continuous review and improvement.

As a part of our induction process, all staff and Direct Contact Volunteers are required to complete a selection of training modules on the content of our Child Protection Program.

All staff, Direct Contact Volunteers and governing body members are provided with additional, ongoing child protection training at least annually.

Staff, Volunteers, Third Party Contractors and External Education Providers are supported and supervised by the Child Protection Officers to ensure that they are compliant with our approach to child protection.