Child Protection Policy and Statement

Statement

Key Legislation

Inspire Tomorrow Education continues to comply with the following legislation to protect child safety at ITE: 

1. the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW);

2. the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW); and

3. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,

(together, the Child Safety Legislation).

Of course, there may be circumstances where criminal conduct is alleged.  The relevant legislation in relation to such conduct is the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) (Crimes Act).  While this policy does not deal with the Crimes Act in any detail, any relevant conduct should be reported immediately to the relevant authorities.  Broadly, the Child Safety Legislation requires the reporting of child abuse or suspected child abuse, or any concern that an ITE staff member or volunteer may have about the safety, welfare, or wellbeing of a child or young person, to the relevant authorities as soon as practicable.

Definitions:
At risk of significant harm means the existence of current concerns for the safety, welfare or wellbeing of a child or young person because of the presence, to a significant extent, of any one or more of the following circumstances:

1. the child or young person’s basic physical or psychological needs are not being met, or are at risk of not being met (for example, they are not being provided with adequate food, water, or shelter by their caregiver);

2. the parents or other caregivers have not arranged, and are unable or unwilling to arrange, for the child or young person to receive necessary medical care;

3. the child or young person has been, or is at risk of being, physically or sexually abused or ill-treated;

4. the child or young person is living in a household where there have been incidents of domestic violence and, as a consequence, the child or young person is at risk of serious physical or psychological harm;

5. a parent or other caregiver has behaved in such a way towards the child or young person that the child or young person has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, serious psychological harm; and

6. there is an imminent threat of physical violence to the child or young person, including, but not limited to, abuse perpetrated by another person towards the child or young person, or self-harm risks raised by the child or young person toward themselves. 

AVL means Audio Visual Link.

Care and Protection Act means the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW).

Child means a young person who is under the age of 18 years old.

Child abuse refers to:

1. a sexual offence committed against, with or in the presence of a child, whether or not a criminal proceeding in relation to the offence has been commenced or concluded, or

2. sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child, or

3. physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of a child, or

4. any behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child or significant neglect of a child.

Child protection refers to any responsibility, measure, or activity undertaken to safeguard children from harm.

Child Safety Code of Conduct means the ITE policy document of the same name in force as at (18/05/2024)

Child Safety Legislation has the meaning set out under the heading 'Key Legislation' above.

Grooming Behaviour means grooming or procuring a child under the age of 16 years for unlawful sexual activity and is a sexual offence (the Working with Children Act also recognises grooming as a form of sexual misconduct).  

Grooming Behaviour exists where there is evidence of a pattern of conduct that is consistent with grooming the alleged victim for sexual activity and there is no other reasonable explanation for it.  The types of behaviours that may lead to such a conclusion include, but are not limited to:

1. persuading a child or group of children that they have a 'special' relationship, for example, by:

   a. spending inappropriate special time with a child;

   b. inappropriately giving gifts;

   c. inappropriately showing special favours to them but not other children;

   d. inappropriately allowing the child to overstep rules; or

   e. asking the child to keep this relationship to themselves.

2. testing boundaries, for example, by:

   a. undressing in front of a child;

   b. encouraging inappropriate physical contact (even where it is not overtly sexual);

   c. talking about sex; or

   d. ‘accidental’ intimate touching.

3. inappropriately extending a relationship outside of work (except where it may be appropriate: for example, where there was a pre-existing friendship with the child’s family or as part of normal social interactions in the community);

4. inappropriate personal communication (including emails, telephone calls, text messaging, social media and web forums) that explores sexual feelings or intimate personal feelings with a child; and

5. an adult requesting that a child keep any aspect of their relationship secret or using tactics to keep any aspect of the relationship secret (this would generally increase the likelihood that grooming is occurring).

ITE means Inspire Tomorrow Education.

Mandatory reporter has the meaning given under the Care and Protection Act (which provides for the mandatory reporting of children at risk of significant harm; any concern regarding the safety, welfare or wellbeing of a student must be reported to the relevant authorities), i.e. a person who:

1. in the course of their employment, delivers services including health care welfare, education, children's services and residential services, to children; or

2. holds a management position in an organisation, the duties of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision of, the provision of services including health care, welfare, education, children's services and residential services, to children.

For the avoidance of doubt, all tutors are mandatory reporters.  Other employees may also be mandatory reporters. 

OCG means the NSW Office of the Children's Guardian.

Policy means this Child Protection Policy in force as at [18/05] 2024.

Principles means the National Child Safe Principles.

Reasonable grounds for belief means a belief based on reasonable grounds that child abuse has occurred when all known considerations or facts relevant to the formation of a belief are taken into account and these are objectively assessed.  Circumstances or considerations may include the source of the allegation and how it was communicated, the nature of and details of the allegation, and whether there are any other related matters known regarding the alleged perpetrator.

Reasonable grounds for belief exist if a reasonable person believes that:

1. the child is in need of protection; 

2. the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of physical injury; 

3. the parents of the child are unable or unwilling to protect the child.

The existence of reasonable grounds for belief does not necessarily require proof, but does require more than mere rumours or speculation.

A 'reasonable belief' is formed if a reasonable person in the same position would form the belief on the same grounds.  For example, a 'reasonable belief' might be formed if:

1. child states that they have been physically or sexually abused;

2. a child states that they know someone who has been physically or sexually abused (the child may be talking about themselves);

3. someone who knows a child states that the child has been physically or sexually abused;

4. professional observations of the child’s behaviour or development leads a professional to form a belief that the child has been physically or sexually abused or is likely to be abused; or

5. signs of abuse lead to a belief that the child has been physically or sexually abused.

Reportable conduct means:

1. any sexual offence or sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child (including a child pornography offence or an offence involving child abuse material);

2. any assault, ill-treatment or neglect of a child; and

3. any behaviour that causes psychological harm to a child whether or not, in any case, with the consent of the child.

Sexually explicit comments and other overtly sexual behaviour means the following (and constitutes conduct that is reportable conduct for the purposes of the relevant legislation in NSW):

1. behaviour involving sexually explicit comments and other overtly sexual behaviour which can constitute sexual misconduct.  Some forms of this behaviour also involve crossing professional boundaries.  This conduct may include, but is not limited to:

   a. inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature;

   b. comments that express a desire to act in a sexual manner;

   c. unwarranted and inappropriate touching involving a child;

   d. sexualised behaviour with or towards a child (including sexual exhibitionism);

2. personal correspondence (including electronic communications such as e-mails and text messages) with a child or young person in relation to the adult's intimate, romantic or sexual feelings for a child or young person;

3. exposure of children and young people to the sexual behaviour of others, including the display of pornography; and

4. watching children undress in circumstances where supervision is not required and it is clearly inappropriate; and

1. Grooming Behaviour.

Working with Children Act means the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW).

WWCC means Working With Children Check.

Introduction:

ITE is committed to promoting and protecting the interests and safety of children.  We have zero tolerance for child abuse.  ITE is thereby committed to complying with the Principles which set out the compulsory minimum standards for organisations that provide services for children and young people (or are used by children and young people), to help protect them from harm. 

Everyone working at ITE is responsible for the care and protection of children and for reporting information about child abuse.

Application:

This Policy applies to all staff, contractors, employees and volunteers at ITE and to the broad range of situations where interactions with children and young people may occur in the delivery of ITE’s services.

Purpose:

The purpose of this Policy is to:

1. ensure that all staff, contractors, employees and volunteers engaged by ITE are aware of ITE's commitment to creating and maintaining a child-safe environment that meets the Principles;

2. facilitate the prevention of child abuse within ITE;

3. establish the framework for an organisational culture of child safety;

4. outline the responsibilities that various parties have for identifying possible occasions for child abuse, for establishing controls and procedures for preventing abuse, and for detecting abuse when it occurs;

5. provide guidance to staff, volunteers and contractors as to action that should be taken where they suspect any abuse within or outside of ITE;

6. provide a clear statement to staff, volunteers and contractors forbidding any such abuse; and

7. provide assurance that all suspected abuse will be reported and fully investigated.

ITE’s Approach to Child Safety

To implement and ensure we are a child-safe organisation, ITE will: 

1. develop an environment where all children feel safe, listened to and valued, and in which their concerns are acted upon, including encouraging and allowing children to participate in discussions important to them.  This includes, but is not limited to:

   a. establishing an Education Advisory Council to enable meaningful intergenerational participation and feedback on service program(s); and

   conducting yearly feedback surveys to enable effective discussion and reporting regarding potential safety concerns;

2. enforce a zero-tolerance policy against racism and discrimination, outlining expectations that staff and volunteers will act on instances of racism and discrimination to ensure the cultural safety of diverse individuals; 

3. take a proactive approach to child safety, including fostering a culture of openness which encourages all volunteers and students to report any concerns regarding child safety and which supports them in this process; 

4. report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authority, whether or not the law requires reporting; 

5. ensure children know the options available to them if they are concerned or feeling unsafe, and foster an environment where children are safe to raise such concerns.  This includes, but is not limited to:

   a. providing information and resources about child wellbeing and safety in an accessible format on our website;

   b. providing prompt responses to inquiries regarding instances of child harm; and

   c. establishing a confidential and easily-accessible reporting platform to offer children and families a secure, accessible, culturally-safe and child-focused channel for seeking assistance and support;

6. recruit volunteers who are suitable to work with children and provide high quality training, supervision and professional development to volunteers. This includes, but is not limited to:

   a. induction training in relation to how to support children from diverse backgrounds to uphold equity and inclusion;

   b. ensuring advertising for recruitment positions reaffirms ITE's zero-tolerance policy in relation to child abuse and the responsibility successful candidates will have to uphold the Policy; and

   c. conducting thorough recruitment processes and maintaining adequate documentation of such process, which consists of a values-based interview and verification of WWCC; and

7. have policies, procedures and supports in place to reflect these commitments and review same regularly.

All staff, volunteers and contractors share responsibility for the prevention and detection of child abuse, and must:

1. familiarise themselves with relevant laws, the Child Safety Code of Conduct, and ITE’s policies and procedures in relation to child protection, and comply with all requirements;

2. report any reasonable belief that a child’s safety is at risk to the relevant authorities (such as the police or the NSW Government) and fulfil their obligations as mandatory reporters;

3. report any suspicion that a child’s safety may be at risk to their supervisor (or, if their supervisor is involved in the suspicion, to a responsible person at ITE); and

4. provide an environment that is supportive of all children’s emotional and physical safety.

Procedures for tutoring sessions:

ITE endorses a safe learning environment for all children during tutoring sessions and is dedicated to ensuring that the basic measures set out below are adhered to during these sessions.

Tutoring in centres:

1. All in-person sessions on ITE premises conducted under the supervision of an adult volunteer or staff member should take place in a room where there are windows, so that an appropriate adult outside the room can see into the room without impediment.  In addition, or in the alternative, the door should be open so that the session can be seen and heard by another adult.

2. There is to be no discipline carried out by a tutor in a room where the door is closed.

Tutoring at home:

1. Tutoring sessions should only take place in a section of the home that is a common area and with a parent or responsible adult present.  Specifically, no tutoring sessions should ever take place in a bedroom.

2. A responsible adult or parent must be present in the home throughout the session.

At the conclusion of the tutoring session, a responsible adult or parent must sign a form confirming that the session was appropriately carried out and in a common area in the home.