Commitment to Child Safety
All students enrolled, and any child visiting, have 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.
Following the release of the final report into the Betrayal of Trust enquiry examining the handling of child abuse allegations within organisations, a new set of Child Safety Standards has been established for Victoria. These standards have far-reaching implications for all schools in the State and their purpose is to improve the way that organisations, which provide services to children, prevent and respond to child abuse.
The focus of the standards is to help organisations drive cultural change, so that protecting children from abuse is embedded into everyday thinking and practice. These new standards represent a radical shift in child protection in Victoria. They shift the focus from a series of obligations and tasks mandated by law (for example mandatory reporting and Working with Children Checks) to an all-encompassing, culturally-driven approach. The latter is designed to ensure that protecting children from abuse is embedded in the everyday thinking and practice of leaders, staff and volunteers.
The ultimate aim of all these recommendations is to ensure that, as Catholic schools:
- we are committed to upholding the primacy of the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
- we are empowering families, children, young people and staff to have a voice and raise concerns.
- we are implementing rigorous risk-management and employment practices.
We have nominated our Compliance Officer, Mrs Jenny Keast, who will be assisted by our Deputy Principal, as Child Safety Protection Officers. Their role is to ensure that the correct policies and procedures are followed should a concern ever be raised. As part of our response to Child Safe Ministerial Order 870, an email address has been set up for confidential reports to be made to the Child Protection Officers: safety@localhost
At Trinity College, we already have many of these practices and processes in place; however, we will continue to ensure that we put processes in place to protect our students so that they feel safe at school. It is important that we ensure that child safety is a priority in our school and that there is zero tolerance to child abuse right throughout the community.
Please feel free to contact the school should you have any queries.
Relevant Documents
CECV Commitment Statement to Child Safety
Identifying and Responding to Incidents, Disclosures & Suspicions of Child Abuse
