Student Safety
Child Protection
Protecting Children Protocol between Child Protection DHS and Victorian Schools DHS produced Safe From Harm professional development kit (distributed to schools through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development regional offices).
Protecting children from harm is a shared responsibility between the family, the general community, community agencies, professionals working with children, police and government. Each has a significant role to play to ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people and to help prevent harm from occurring.
DEECD has an existing comprehensive approach to the protection of all students through operational practice, educational and student services and partnerships with family and community. This approach encompasses both preventative and responsive elements.
Child protection is addressed as an intrinsic part of actively promoting the safety and well being of all students. Victorian state schools are guided by detailed statewide operational requirements for the safety and well being of students which requires schools to be vigilant and proactive in creating a safe learning environment and in identifying and responding to any indications of harm occurring to students
Child protection and safety issues are also addressed through a service agreement with the Children’s Protection Society to support schools’ capacity to build a safe and supportive environment, including the delivery of the Personal Safety and Protective Behaviours Program, which includes components concerning teachers’ response to issues of abuse and mandatory reporting. Schools provide programs and curriculum which encourage healthy, broad based personal development, including the development of personal skills to respond to situations of potential or actual danger.
Two documents have been produced by the Department of Human Services in conjunction with education officers:
- Protecting Children Protocol between Child Protection, Department of Human Services and Victorian Schools (PDF - 247Kb)
- Safe From Harm - The Role of Professionals in Protecting Children and Young People:
Safe From Harm Modules 1-3 (PDF - 730Kb)
Safe From Harm Module 4 - Education Specific Materials (PDF - 147Kb)
Mandatory Reporting
The obligations and responsibilities of schools and school principals and teachers for identifying and responding to child abuse and neglect including allegations of sexual abuse are described in section 4.6.2 of the Victorian Government Schools Reference Guide.
The information is intended to provide schools with an understanding of their legal responsibilities and the Department of Education requirements in responding to these allegations. It is also intended to provide a framework for schools in relation to effective management of allegations of child abuse and sexual assault and how to access appropriate support and advice.
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.