Child Safe Environments Policy (2024)

Purpose of the policy

The intention of this policy is to ensure that protective practices for children, young people (under 18 years of age) and families are implemented by Better Braver Bolder personnel to keep them safe (inclusive of cultural safety) from deliberate or inadvertent risk of harm and provide them with an understanding of such protective practices. This policy provides all personnel with an understanding of their responsibilities to keep children and young people safe, while fostering a culture of openness and respect of cultural diversity, recognising all children have a right to be safe from harm, regardless of age, culture, religion, gender, sexuality, identity or disability. It also sets out the responsibilities of Better Braver Bolder leadership.

Commitment to the safety of children and young people

The safety and protection of children and young people is always the first priority. This means that children and young people are valued, respected and encouraged to participate. This policy complies with the Children and Young People (Safety) Act (2017), Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act (2016) and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

Better Braver Bolder has a commitment to diversity and all children and young people are embraced regardless of their abilities sex, gender or social economic or cultural background and equities upheld.

Bullying and harassment in any form will not be tolerated.

Scope of policy

This policy applies to all Better Braver Bolder personnel, children young people and families. It also applies to the community areas Better Braver Bolder operates in such as libraries, community centres, schools, sporting clubs and other community recreation areas.

Acting in accordance with this policy is an expectation on all Better Braver Bolder personnel. Agreement to act in accordance with this policy will be indicated by signing the code of conduct.

‘Better Braver Bolder personnel’ means all staff, volunteers, work experience students and those in leadership or governance positions who are working for or with children, young people and their families. Visiting contractors are also considered Better Braver Bolder personnel while performing duties for Better Braver Bolder.

Communication

Children, young people and families have a right to request access to this policy at any time and Better Braver Bolder personnel will provide it in electronic or paper format as requested. This policy will be hyperlinked to electronic service agreement forms which are signed by legal guardians on commencement of Better Braver Bolder services, and periodically afterwards when service needs change.

This policy will be provided to new Better Braver Bolder personnel at recruitment as part of the standard induction and orientation to the code of conduct process.

Participation of families, children and young people

Better Braver Bolder encourages all children, young people and families to participate in feedback regarding the service they are receiving and their rights. All children, young people and families deserve the opportunity for their feedback to be heard and acted on as outlined in their service agreements under Section 1. Introducing Our Commitment.

The therapeutic principles underpinning how Better Braver Bolder personnel work are inherently supportive of families, children and young people and includes:

·       Age and developmentally appropriate clear language when communicating,

·       Educating children, young people and their families on their right to safety and to be listened to,

·       Regular structured feedback opportunities using anonymous online surveys

Code of Conduct

Caring for children and young people brings additional responsibilities for employees and volunteers of Better Braver Bolder. All employees, contractors and volunteers of Better Braver Bolder are responsible for promoting and protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people by:

·       Sticking to Better Braver Bolder’s child safe policy at all times and taking all reasonable steps to ensure the safety and protection of children and young people

·       Treating everyone (this includes staff, volunteers, students, children, young people and parents) including those of different race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes and religious beliefs with respect and honesty and ensure equity is upheld

·       Being a positive role model to children and young people in all conduct with them

·       Setting clear boundaries about appropriate behaviour between yourself and the children and young people in our organisation – boundaries help everyone to understand their roles

·       Listening and responding appropriately to the views and concerns of children and young people

·       Being alert to bullying behaviours and responding promptly and appropriately

·       Being alert to children and young people who have been harmed, or may be at risk of harm and reporting this quickly to the Child Abuse Report Line (13 14 78)

·       Responding quickly, fairly and transparently to any complaints made by a child, young person or their parent/guardian

·       Encouraging children and young people to ‘have a say’ on issues that are important to them.

Employees and volunteers must not:

·       Engage in rough physical games

·       Develop any ‘special’ relationships with children and young people that could be seen as favouritism such as the offering of gifts or special treatment

·       Do things of a personal nature that a child or young person can do for themselves, such as toileting or changing clothes

·       Discriminate against any child or young person because of age, gender, cultural background, religion, vulnerability or sexuality.

Better Braver Bolder can be contacted on info@betterbraverbolder.com to report a suspected breach of this code of conduct. All suspected breaches of the code will be reviewed by the Better Braver Bolder director and personnel performance will be reviewed with termination of that person’s involvement in Better Braver Bolder for serious and repeated breaches.

Recruitment:

Better Braver Bolder uses the following recruitment strategies to engage only the most suitable people to work or volunteer in our organisation:

·       Position descriptions with a commitment to child safety and wellbeing

·       Face-to-face interviews that include behavioural questions in relation to child safeguarding

·       At least two referee checks

Better Braver Bolder requires that personnel have a current, ‘not prohibited’ Working with Children Check issued by the DHS Screening Unit and we link all Working with Children Checks to our registration therefore meeting the requirements the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016. therefore meets the requirements the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016. Better Braver Bolder will verify the accuracy of the Working with Children Check before employing personnel or contractors to work with children and young people, and for existing employees and contractors, Better Braver Bolder will verify that they have renewed their Working with Children Check every 5 years and the status remains as not prohibited. Verification will be done online through the Organisation Portal via the DHS Screening Unit.

Better Braver Bolder will advise the Screening Unit when the organisation becomes aware of certain information regarding any person involved with the organisation, including any serious criminal offence, child protection information, or disciplinary or misconduct information.

Supervision, training and support for volunteers and employees

Better Braver Bolder has a commitment to ensuring personnel are adequately trained for their roles and have opportunities to reflect on and address demands of their work in supervision. Other components of supervision and training supported by Better Braver Bolder include:

·       Comprehensive and supportive induction process that makes clear personnel responsibilities to children and young people including record keeping, information sharing and reporting obligations.

·       Regular performance appraisals

·       All staff or volunteers will complete the Safe Environments: Through Their Eyes training course every 3 years

·       Inclusion of child safety as a standing item in meeting agendas

Reporting and responding to risk and harm[A1] 

All Better Braver Bolder personnel are mandated notifiers due to the nature of our paediatric therapy work. Therefore all personnel have a legal obligation to report a reasonable belief that a child or young person has been harmed or is at risk of harm. This report is to be made to the Child Abuse Report Line on 13 14 78 or SAPOL on 000 if the child or young person is at immediate risk.

The person who identifies the harm or risk of harm is the person who makes the report – the reportable detail does not need to be discussed with another staff member to verify the suspicion. An internal case notes that references the report number and nature of the concern is to be created by the reporting person. Better Braver Bolder will be guided by the relevant authority (CARL/SAPOL) about whether an internal investigation is appropriate.

All adult personnel have a legal obligation to report child sexual abuse to the police and protect a child from sexual abuse. Failure to meet these obligations may be considered a criminal offence (Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (s.64A & s.65).

As outlined in the Safe Environments: Through Their Eyes training, Better Braver Bolder personnel will be expected to collaborate internally and with external stakeholders to ensure the ongoing safety of children and young people after the report to CARL/SAPOL has been made. This includes:

·       Referring the child, young person and their family to other appropriate services

·       Continue to provide a service to the child or young person and their family and monitoring their circumstances

Where Better Braver Bolder knows, believes or reasonably suspects that a person working in our organization has been a perpetrator of harm against our clients or any other child or young person we will act reasonably to protect children from any risk that person might pose in accordance with this policy and the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016. We will cooperate fully with authorities to ensure the safety of all children and young people and the individual will not be permitted to work with children and young people until an outcome is known with no prohibiting reason.

Reporting and Responding to General Complaints or Feedback

Clients are informed through their service agreement that feedback (including complaints) can be provided to Better Braver Bolder through our general email address info@betterbraverbolder.com. Better Braver Bolder will deal with complaints and feedback promptly, sensitively and fairly.

The procedure for responding to feedback includes:

·       Listen to the complaint/feedback and make a record of it

·       Advise the time expected for an outcome

·       Respond to the complainant with an outcome

·       Clearly document and securely store decisions and actions taken in response to complaints and feedback

·       Make sure that procedural fairness is followed at all times.

Risk management

Better Braver Bolder educates children and young people and their families on unsafe behaviour and encourages transparent discussion around our therapy model. Better Braver Bolder’s model involves working relationally with the members of a child or young person’s care team as well as direct therapy provision to children and young people. Better Braver Bolder uses the Protective Practices guidelines including the ‘four makes’:

·       Make it public

·       Make it authorised

·       Make it timely

·       Make it purposeful

Better Braver Bolder personnel will need to reflect on their service provision using these six questions and seek leadership advice and supervision if any answers are yes:

1.     Am I dealing in a different manner with a particular child or young person than with others under the same circumstances?

2.     Is my dress/availability/language/demeanor different from the normal with a particular child or young person?

3.     Would I modify my behaviour with a child or young person if a colleague were present?

4.     Would I judge my conduct negatively if I observed it in another adult?

5.     Is it possible that the consequences of my actions will have negative outcomes for children and young people?

6.     Is it possible that the consequences of my actions will negatively affect people’s confidence in my suitability to work with children and young people?

Better Braver Bolder provides therapeutic services to vulnerable children and young people in homes, schools and the local community. There are high-risk and frequent activities that occur as part of Better Braver Bolder’s service provision outlined in the Table 1:

Table 1

Identified Risk

Actions to minimise risk

Physical Contact

·       any physical contact must be appropriate to the delivery of services being provided

·       where physical contact is required, this is undertaken in a safe way by explaining why contact is required and what will happen, and asking the child/young person for their permission (or their family if this is more appropriate) before proceeding

·       unnecessary physical contact is not allowed

Online Communications

·       cyber safety and social media guidelines are in place and provided to all workers

·       appropriate supervision is provided for all online activities

·       workers must not communicate with children or young people via social media

Transport of children and young people

·       workers must not transport a child or young person unless specifically approved

·       parents/guardians must provide consent before transporting a child or young person

·       worker must have a valid, unrestricted driver’s licence

·       vehicle must be registered, insured and in roadworthy condition

Taking images of children and young people

·       consent of child young person and their parent/guardian required

·       disclosure will be made as to how the image is to be used and consent must be provided by the child, young person and parent/guardian

·       images must be presented in a way that de-identifies the child or young person

Physical environment

·       conduct risk assessments for all activities

·       ensure all equipment is in good working order

Privacy and confidentiality

·       all documents containing confidential information will be stored privately in a locked filing cabinet

·       digital files containing confidential information shall be protected electronically by restricting the access to only those requiring it to perform their duties

·       workers must not disclose information regarding any child or young person without written consent of the child, young person and their parent/guardian

Overnight and/or off-site activities

·       consent of parent or guardian must be given

·       privacy when children or young people are bathing, toileting and dressing must be provided

·       children and young people will not be left under the supervision of unauthorised persons

·       sleeping arrangements will not compromise the safety of children or young people such as unsupervised sleeping arrangements, or children or young people sharing a bed or an adult sleeping in the same bed as a child or young person

·       children and young people have the right to contact their parents, or another adult, if they feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or distressed during the stay

Change room requirements

·       children requiring supervision or assistance in change rooms will be supervised by two adults of the same gender

·       supervision will be provided ensuring the child or young person’s right to privacy

·       adults must not shower or change whilst supervising children or young people

·       phones, cameras and recording devices must not be used in change room

These high-risk and frequent activities will require supervision discussion and engagement from Better Braver Bolder leadership to ensure they only occur if absolutely necessary. These risks will be reviewed and updated regularly.

Policy Review

Better Braver Bolder will at a minimum review all policies and procedures every year. A compliance statement will be lodged each time a policy is updated and the approval and review dates will be included in the policy footer.

In some instances, Better Braver Bolder will review a policy of procedure earlier than scheduled for example when:

·       New or added risks are identified for children or young people, which may require a change in the policy or procedures

·       A critical incident where a child or young person has experienced harm through involvement in the organisation

·       Concerns are raised by anyone involved in your organisation about child safety or welfare in the organisation

·       Awareness or compliance to the child safe policy and/or procedures is low

·       Legislative changes/requirements.

Policy Date: 1st August 2024

Policy Review Date: 1st August 2029