Child Safe Environment Policy
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that our employees, trainers/assessors and any other individual working on behalf of Academy IT (AIT) comply with our requirements to ensure the safety of students under the age of 18. This serves to protect people and reduce any risks of abuse and/or harm.
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the strong commitment of Academy IT management and staff to child safety and establishing and maintaining child safe and child-friendly environments is implemented through its internal processes and procedures.
Child safe environments are safe and friendly settings where children and young people are protected and feel respected, valued and encouraged to reach their full potential. Organisations providing child safe environments:
• take a preventative, proactive and participatory approach on child wellbeing and safety issues
• value and embrace the opinions and views of children and young people
• assist children and young people to build skills that will assist them to participate in society
• are focused, and take action on the protection of children and young people from harm.
Context
Academy IT is a registered training organisation (RTO) that specialises in training for ICT related industries. Most students are adults, with a very small number of students being under 18. Academy IT does not deliver VET in Schools training courses.
This policy reflects Academy IT commitment to provide a safe environment where every person has the right to be treated with respect and is safe and protected from abuse.
It complies with Academy IT obligations under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.
Commitment to child safety
All young people who come to Academy IT have a right to feel and be safe. We are committed to the safety and well-being of all young people accessing AIT’s services and the welfare of the young people in AIT‘s care will always be our first priority. We aim to create a child-safe and child-friendly environment where all young people are valued and feel safe. This policy was developed in collaboration with all AIT’s management and staff.
Young people’s participation
AIT’s management, administrative staff and trainers encourage feedback from all students including young people and their parents, and where applicable, teachers or work supervisors to express their views, and make suggestions, relating to their training and their training experiences.
We actively, through our pre-enrolment and continuous improvement mechanisms as well as informal feedback mechanisms, encourage young people who use AIT’s services to ‘have a say’ about those things that are important to them. We value diversity and do not tolerate any discriminatory practices. We listen to and act on any concerns young people, their parents, teachers or workplace supervisors raise with us. This policy is available on our website for all potential and new students.
Under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017, Academy IT is legally obliged to protect the safety and wellbeing of children, by always maintaining a child-safe environment. This obligation cannot be compromised by any other considerations. To maintain a child-safe environment Academy IT will:
• Advertise all positions as requiring police clearances and child-safe environment training.
• Screen all prospective employees and other persons identified by the Act to ensure to the best of their ability that they are suitable.
• Ensure all employees receive training that addresses their responsibilities in respect to children and young people’s safety and wellbeing.
• Ensure that staff fulfil their responsibilities as mandated notifiers to report suspicion that a child or young person is or may be at risk.
DEFINITIONS
Harm or risk of harm in relation to a child means:
a) sexual abuse of the child; or
b) physical or emotional abuse of the child, or neglect of the child, to the extent that the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, physical or psychological injury detrimental to the child’s wellbeing; or
c) the child’s physical or psychological development.
Child or young person means a person under the age of 18.
Managing Authority of a non-‐government organisation means the board, committee or other body or person in which the management of the organisation is vested.
Staff refers to employees, contractors, and other professional service providers.
REFERENCES
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017
Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016
POLICY
Academy IT will ensure:
• A duty of care is always maintained towards staff and students.
• A child-safe environment for students under the age of 18 years is established and maintained.
• All students, irrespective of age will be always respected and treated fairly.
• All Trainers / Assessors, including those from a third party who encounter students under the age of 18 meet the appropriate child protection requirements.
• All Trainers and Assessors must always abide by the terms and conditions of AIT’s Policies, including Child Protection Policies.
• All Staff, including Trainers and Assessors, always work in a professional manner, including their use of language, presentation, manner, and punctuality.
• All Staff, including Trainers and Assessors, respect the privacy of the child and their family and only disclose personal information where the appropriate permission has been provided.
• All conflicts will be resolved fairly and ethically, and any breaches of conditions will be treated seriously and fully investigated.
• Any harm or risk of harm which has been identified or is suspected is reported to the SA Police if the child is at immediate risk on 000 or the Child Abuse Report Line on 13 14 78 or via the online reporting system (eCARL)
Staff, including trainers and assessors, do not:
• Abuse, neglect or treat any students in an unfair manner
• Take advantage of any students in any way, shape or form
• Develop a sexual relationship with a person/student under the age of 18 years
• Discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, culture, religion, vulnerability or sexuality
• Use prejudice, oppressive behaviour or language toward children or any other student
• Initiate unnecessary contact with children under the age of 18 years
Staff, including trainers and assessors, do not:
• Develop ‘special’ relationships with specific children/students for personal gain.
• Show favouritism through the provision of gifts or inappropriate attention.
Academy IT ensures the above policies are met by:
• Ensuring Trainers and Assessors hold the relevant Police Clearance / DSCI Clearance to provide Training and Assessment Services to Students under 18 years of age.
• Ensuring all Trainers and Assessors have access to all policy documents and can request copies at any time
• Ensuring any individual – including staff, visitors and/or third-party representatives have a clearance to visit/provide training to students under the age of 18 years old
• Ensuring grievance and complaint/appeals policies and procedures are in place
• Ensuring all staff and trainers are familiar with and agree to abide by AIT’s policies and procedures
• Maintaining a current list of staff, trainers and assessors’ files
• Providing a public copy of this policy online for staff and public access
RESPONSIBILITIES
Directors
The directors of Academy IT are responsible for:
• approving the RTO Child Safe Environment Policy and Procedure and all subsequent revisions.
• ensuring that this policy is reviewed at least once every five-year period; and
• ensuring that the organisation’s legal obligations in respect to protecting children from harm and maintaining a child safe environment are met, on an ongoing basis.
Chief Executive Officer
• Provide leadership that models and reinforces attitudes and behaviours that value children and young people.
• Ensure the organisation makes a public commitment to child safety, child wellbeing and cultural safety.
• Ensure the policy is implemented, monitored, reported and evaluated
• Ensure mandatory reporting requirements, procedures and associated legal responsibilities are adhered to.
• Support activities that embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
• Understand mandatory reporting requirements, procedures and associated legal responsibilities.
• Ensure Workers are aware of their obligations as mandated notifiers and have appropriate skills and knowledge to identify children or young people at risk.
• Ensure all workers receive regular training sessions that include a focus on ongoing learning regarding child protection.
• Ensure safe recruitment and selection practices are adopted.
• Ensure all criminal history reports obtained for Workers who work with children are dealt with in a manner that reflects associated legal responsibilities.
• Support activities that embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Senior Managers / Managers
• Model leadership that reinforces attitudes and behaviour that values children and young people.
• Ensure Workers have appropriate training and supervision to understand and fulfil their obligations as mandated notifiers and provide a child-safe environment for children and young people.
• Ensure staff apply risk assessment processes as required and feel supported to make mandatory notifications.
• Support activities that embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Mandated Notifiers have obligations under the South Australian Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 to:
• Notify the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) if they suspect, on reasonable grounds, that a child has been harmed or at risk of harm.
• Ensure they are aware of the obligations and the consequences of the obligations and the consequences of failure to comply.
• Ensure they are able to identify report and respond to children and young people at risk of harm.
• Support activities that embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Workers
• All Academy IT Workers will apply the principles of this policy.
• Support activities that embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.