Student Safety
Child Protection and Mandatory Reporting
Protecting children from significant harm caused by abuse and/or neglect is a shared responsibility involving parents, childcare providers, schools, communities, government organisations, police and community agencies.
DEECD has an existing comprehensive approach to the protection of all children and young people through operational practice, educational and student services, partnerships with families and communities. This approach encompasses both preventative and responsive elements.
Protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, a joint protocol of the Department of Human Services Child Protection, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, licensed children’s services and Victorian schools, is now available online:
- Protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people mandatory reporting protocol (PDF - 1.5Mb)
- Step-by-step guide to making a report to Child Protection or Child FIRST (PDF - 270Kb)
The protocol ensures a shared, unified and consistent approach to protect children and young people. Additionally, the protocol defines the roles and responsibilities for all school staff.
Key information in the protocol includes:
- updated mandatory reporting policies and procedures to align with the Children Youth and Families Act (2005)
- legal responsibilities and the Department’s requirements in responding to allegations in relation to children and young people at risk of abuse and neglect
- procedural and policy information in relation to Child FIRST, a family services community-based intake and referral service
- information sharing obligations in relation to providing information to Child Protection and family service agencies
- a comprehensive list of relevant statewide contacts including access to advice and support.
The obligations and responsibilities of schools and school principals and teachers for identifying and responding to child abuse and/or neglect, including allegations of sexual abuse, are also be located under Reporting in the School Policy and Advisory Guide.
If schools wish to seek advice or information relating to concerns about students, or to seek advice about incidents that may involve sexual assault, they should contact the Student Critical Incident Advisory Unit on (03) 9637 2934 or (03) 9637 2487.
Professional learning
A statewide professional learning program linked to the Protocol was coordinated by regions in 2010, see: PowerPoint Presentation: Protecting Children 2010 Professional Learning (PPT - 5.3Mb).
In 2011, the professional learning program will continue with all school staff required to attend a 20-minute revision session in each semester. Principals will be required to provide these sessions during staff meetings. The revised PowerPoint presentation to be used at these sessions is now available. Download a copy of the 2011 Protecting Children Professional Learning Program and a practical exercise here:
Practical exercise - helpful-unhelpful questions worksheet (PDF - 20Kb)
A further resource is now available which includes a video and audio presentation. It is composed of three separate sections and has a total running time of approximately 30 minutes. The activity can be run on individual computers or in full screen mode so that it can be used as a group activity.
Using the audio visual learning resource
For individual use:
- Ensure the sound on the PC is on.
- Go to the Section 1 black screen and click the arrow in the circle to run the video.
- Follow the same process for Sections 2 and 3.
Note: Hovering the mouse over the bottom of the screen shows the video toolbar which provides volume control, the ability to stop, start and wind back the video as well as time elapsed.
For group use:
- Hovering the mouse over the bottom of the screen shows the toolbar which has a square icon representing a screen on the extreme right.
- Clicking the full screen icon runs the presentation in full screen mode for use with projectors, electronic screens or displays.
The Protecting Children Audio Visual Presentation
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Also see:
Guide to Managing a Disclosure of Child Abuse
This guide is an additional resource designed to give school staff an easily accessible guide for managing all types of disclosures of child abuse or neglect. See Guide to Managing a Disclosure of Child Abuse (PDF - 52Kb)
Additional Resources
- Calmer classrooms – A guide to working with traumatised children is available from the website of the Child Safety Commissioner by choosing the 'publications' link and then the 'resources for parents and carers' page. See: Every Child Every Chance http://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/every-child-every-chance/home.
- Child development and trauma guides. Published by the Department of Human Services, these guides assist in understanding typical developmental pathways of children and recognising indicators of trauma at different ages and stages. They offer practical, age-appropriate advice as to the needs of children, parents and carers when trauma has occurred. There are separate guides for different age-groups. See: Child development and trauma guide http://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/every-child-every-chance/library/publications/child-development-trauma-guide.
- Providing support to vulnerable children and families. An information sharing guide for registered school teachers and principals in Victoria is available from the following Department of Human Services – Children, Youth and Families website. For the link titled Detailed guides for school teachers and principals, see: Information Sharing Guide for Registered School Teachers and Principals in Victoria http://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/every-child-every-chance/library/publications.