Communication with parents

In July 2015 the School entered into formal agreement with the Australian Childhood Foundation. The School committed to work towards the gaining of ACF Childsafe Accreditation. The process towards accreditation status has been appropriately demanding and has encouraged the School to purposefully reflect on all safeguarding policy and procedure.

The ACF accreditation process has required the school to develop and implement clear policy and procedural documentation addressing seven safeguarding standards. The ACF Safeguarding Standards mirror those required of Ministerial Order 870.

With the assistance of the ACF the development of the required policy and procedural documentation was finally completed in July 2017.

This process has been exhaustive and has resulted in a comprehensive suite of safeguarding policy and procedural documentation.

In the two year period since engaging with the ACF the following has been achieved:

• Clear articulation of the school’s commitment to safeguarding. (See webpage for Commitment Statement)
• Safeguarding Code of Conduct applicable to all involved personnel across both junior and senior schools. (See webpage)
• Signed commitment to the Safeguarding Code of Conduct from all involved personnel (all paid staff, contractors and volunteers working closely with boys of the School)
• All involved personnel and volunteers with direct unsupervised access to boys, completing the ACF online safeguarding training course (approximately 1400 to date)
• Incorporation of safeguarding principles into staff role descriptions
• Incorporation of safeguarding principles into the staff Recruitment, Induction and ongoing Review processes. Potential new staff are now subjected to a thorough screening involving reference and police checks.
• The establishment of a “Safeguarding” web page containing all public documentation related to safeguarding, easily accessed through a link on the school’s homepage.
• Safeguarding Statement for Parents and Carers describing the School’s commitment to safeguarding and requirements of School staff to meet safeguarding standards. (See webpage)
• Age appropriate safeguarding statements for inclusion in boys’ record books – referred to at least twice each year by Tutors and Form Teachers. (See webpage)
• Safeguarding posters in age appropriate language developed and displayed across Senior and Junior Schools.
• Safeguarding Communication Strategy to ensure parents and families are kept informed of safeguarding measures. (See webpage)
• Child Protection and Obligations of Reporting Policy/Procedure – clearly articulating what constitutes child abuse, reporting obligations under various legislation (eg. mandatory reporting, reportable conduct), reporting requirements of ACF, and the correct procedure for making a report. (See webpage)
• Commitment to a regular and thorough process of review applicable to all policy and procedural documentation and related practices.

In response to the development and application of the safeguarding programme and related policies there has been perceptible growth in awareness among the School community of the nature and impact of child abuse.

The Safeguarding Programme details the actions necessary to ensure that each boy in the School (and his parents), can enjoy all that the School’s varied programs offer in the knowledge that every reasonable step has been taken and will be taken, to ensure his safety from any form of abuse.

Parents with questions or comments related to the Safeguarding Programme are encouraged to contact the School’s designated Child Protection Officer:

Ms Katrina Brennan

Email: katrina.brennan@scotch.vic.edu.au

Phone: 03 9810 4259