Child Safety

St. Paul's Bentleigh 

Commitment Statement to Child Safety

A safe and nurturing culture for all children and young people in our School

The Statement is intended to provide the central focus for child safety  at St Paul’s, built around a unified understanding of the moral imperative and overarching  commitments that underpin  our drive for improvement  and cultural change.

St Paul's holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people  as a central and fundamental  responsibility of Catholic education. This commitment is drawn from and inherent to the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ with love, justice and the sanctity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel.

St Paul's has a universal expectation for the protection of children. It is resolutely committed to ensuring that all those engaged in educating our children    promote the inherent dignity of children and young people and their fundamental right to be respected and nurtured in a safe school environment.  This is particularly so for the most  vulnerable children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and children with a disability.

Catholic schools have a moral, legal and mission-driven responsibility to create nurturing school environments where children and young people are respected, their voices are heard and where they are safe and feel safe. When allegations of abuse concerning children and young people are raised, we will take prompt action to have these appropriately referred and investigated. We will strive for continual improvement that is responsive to emerging thinking, evidence and practice, so as to eliminate the possibility of abuse occurring in the first place.

Creating child-safe school environments is a dynamic process that involves active participation and responsibility by schools, families and their communities. It is marked by collaboration, vigilance and proactive approaches across policies, procedures, curriculum and practices.

Every person involved in our Parish has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

St Paul's commits to providing a safe and nurturing culture for all children and young people in Victorian Catholic schools through:

1. Upholding the primacy of the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. At all times, the ongoing safety and wellbeing of all children and young people  will be the primary focus of care and decision-making, with particular attention  paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children from culturally and/or  linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability. To create and maintain a safe and nurturing culture, we will actively and continually develop  and review all policies, processes and practices, informed by emerging  thinking and evidence.
2. Empowering families, children, young people and staff . Our School, in partnership with families, will ensure children and young people,  are engaged and active participants in decision-making processes, particularly those  that have an impact on their safety. This means that the views of staff, children, young people and families are taken seriously and their concerns are addressed in a just and timely manner.  Children and young people are also provided with the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and maintain their personal safety and wellbeing.
3. Implementing rigorous risk-management and employment practices. Our School will systematically and continually identify and assess risks to child safety and will eliminate (where possible) or reduce all potential sources of harm. Effective risk management will be embedded in school life through effective, transparent and well-understood policies, procedures and practices. Our School will employ highly competent and professional staff who are formed and challenged to maintain the safety of all students. The high-quality of staff appointments will be upheld through rigorous employment and staff review processes and practices.

St Paul's Bentleigh will stay abreast of current legislation and will meet their legislative duties to protect the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in their care. The Policies below have recently been updated in relation to the new Child Safe Standards and to meet requirements of Ministerial Order No. 1359 which is effective as of July 1st 2022.

The Federated Schools have a zero tolerance of child abuse.

MACS Policies in relation to Child Safety

MACS Child Safety and Well Being Policy

MACS - Child Safe Code of Conduct

MACS Engaging Families in Child Safety Policy NEW

MACS-Child Protect- Identiftying and Responding Reporting Obligations