What the child safe standards mean for your child and school.
Children have the right to be safe and protected, including at school. It is important that you feel confident that your child is safe and well in the care of their school.
The child safe standards have been introduced in Victoria to achieve a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse.
Under the child safe standards schools must inform the school community about:
You can ask to see these things. You could also ask to see the school's:
If you believe the school could take a stronger approach to child safety, whether for all children or to meet your child’s specific needs, speak to the principal or someone in a leadership role at the school.
If you wish to make a formal complaint that the school is not meeting the child safe standards, you will first need to make a complaint directly to the school. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint to the school, you can make a formal complaint.
In 2013, the Victorian Parliament held an Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations, resulting in the Betrayal of Trust Report.
The report found that more could be done to strengthen existing approaches to child safety. In response, the Victorian Government is phasing in child safe standards for organisations that work with children, including schools.
What are the standards?
The child safe standards require schools to consider all aspects of child safety and put measures in place to protect children from all forms of abuse, including:
There are seven child safe standards.
The Minister for Education has set out what specific actions schools need to take to meet the child safe standards.
School governing authorities must also take account the diversity of all children, including (but not limited to) the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, children with disabilities and children who are vulnerable (schools only).
The information on this web page can be downloaded as an information sheet.
It is important that you feel confident that your children will be safe in the care of any school you enrol them in.
Schools are responsible for keeping children safe. They have to meet legal requirements for the care, safety and wellbeing of students. From 1 August 2016, they also need to meet child safe standards to achieve a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse.
Parents think about many things when choosing a school for their child. These may include the learning approach, location, school philosophy, school community, faith and inclusiveness for children with additional needs. More information about choosing a primary or secondary school for your child is available at www.education.vic.gov.au.
Schools have to meet seven child safe standards. The standards require schools to have certain policies and procedures in place and to provide information to the school community.
The child safe standards apply to all school environments (eg school campuses, camps, sporting events, excursions) and online environments (eg intranets, email, social media and mobile phone technology).
Find out what schools are being required to do by visiting the schools section of this website.
What can you do?
You can ask a school to see any of the following:
A school that is meeting the child safe standards will have these items in place.
You can also ask other parents and children attending the school about their experiences and feelings about the school.
