St Theresa’s School AlbionCommitment Statement to Child SafetyA safe and nurturing culture for all children in our CatholicschoolThe Statement is intended to provide the central focus for child safety1at St Theresa’sSchool, built around a unified understanding of the moral imperative and overarchingcommitments that underpin our drive for improvement and cultural change.The Catholic school sets out to be a school for the human person and of humanpersons. ‘The person of each individual human being, in his or her material andspiritual needs, is at the heart of Christ’s teaching: that is why the promotion of thehuman person is the goal of the Catholic school’.(Congregation for Catholic education 1997, par. 9)St Theresa’s School holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central andfundamental responsibility of Catholic education. This commitment is drawn from and inherent to theteaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the sanctity of each human person at the heartof the Gospel.St Theresa’s School has a universal expectation for the protection of children. It is resolutely committed toensuring that all those engaged in Catholic education in our school promote the inherent dignity of childrenand 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 Islanderchildren, children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and children with a disability.St Theresa’s School has a moral, legal and mission-driven responsibility to create nurturing schoolenvironment where children and young people are respected, their voices are heard and where they aresafe and feel safe. If allegations of abuse concerning children and young people are raised, St Theresa’sSchool will take prompt action to have these appropriately referred and investigated. St Theresa’s Schoolis committed to effective practices in child safety and identifying and responding to child harm. St Theresa’sSchool 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 andresponsibility by our school, our families and our communities. It is marked by collaboration, vigilance andproactive approaches across policies, procedures, curriculum and practices.Every person involved in St Theresa’s School has a responsibility to understand the important and specificrole he/she plays individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children is at theforefront of all they do and every decision they make.1As defined by the Victorian Government Special Gazette No. 2 (2016), ‘children and young people’ in this document refers tothose children enrolled as students in St Theresa’s School.St Theresa’s School commits to providing a safe andnurturing culture for all children at our school through:Upholding the primacy of the safety and wellbeing of childrenand young people.At all times, the ongoing safety and wellbeing of all children will be the primary focus of care and decisionmaking,with particular attention paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander childrenand children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children witha disability.To create and maintain a safe and nurturing culture, schools will actively and continually develop andreview all policies, processes and practices, informed by emerging thinking and evidence.Empowering families, children, young people and staff to havea voice and raise concerns.St Theresa’s School, in partnership with families, will ensure children and young people, are engaged andactive participants in decision-making processes, particularly those that have an impact on their safety.This means that the views of staff, children, and families are taken seriously and their concerns areaddressed in a just and timely manner. Children are also provided with the necessary skills and knowledgeto understand and maintain their personal safety and wellbeing.Implementing rigorous risk-management and employmentpractices.St Theresa’s School will systematically and continually identify and assess risks to child safety and willeliminate (where possible) or reduce all potential sources of harm. Effective risk management will beembedded in school life through effective, transparent and well-understood policies, procedures andpractices.St Theresa’s School will employ highly competent and professional staff who are formed and challenged tomaintain the safety of all students. The high-quality of staff appointments will be upheld through rigorousemployment and staff review processes and practices.St Theresa’s School will stay abreast of current legislation and will meet their legislative duties to protectthe safety and wellbeing of children and young people in their care, including the Victorian Child SafeStandards (Victorian Government 2016), mandatory reporting, grooming, failure to disclose and failure toprotect requirements.This commitment statement was endorsed by the Governing Authority of StTheresa’s School on 07/06/2016_________________________ supported by ___________________________Fr Barry Hughes Mr Robert MacklinParish Priest PrincipalReferencesCongregation for Catholic education 1997, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, Vatican, Vatican City, accessed 24February 2016 www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_27041998_school2000_en.html.State of Victoria, Department of Education and Training 2016, Child Safe Standards – Managing the Risk of Child Abuse in Schools MinisterialOrder No. 870, Education & Training Reform Act 2006, Gazette No. S2, accessed 16 May 2016www.gazette.vic.gov.au/gazette/Gazettes2016/GG2016S002.pdf.Appendix 1: Definitions\The Ministerial Order provides the following definitions:Child abuse includes:any act committed against a child involving:- a sexual offence, or- an offence under section 49B(2) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic.) (grooming)- the infliction, on a child, of:- physical violence, or- serious emotional or psychological harm, or- serious neglect of a child.Child-connected work means work authorised by the school governing authority and performed by anadult in a school environment while children are present or reasonably expected to be present.Child safety encompasses matters related to protecting all children from child abuse, managing the risk ofchild abuse, providing support to a child at risk of child abuse, and responding to incidents or allegations ofchild abuse.School environment means any physical or virtual place made available or authorised by the schoolgoverning authority for use by a child during or outside school hours, including:- a campus of the school- online school environments (including email and intranet systems)- other locations provided by the school for a child’s use (including, without limitation, locations used forschool camps, sporting events, excursions, competitions, and other events).School staff being: an individual working in a school environment who is:- directly engaged or employed by a school governing authority;- a volunteer or a contracted service provider (whether or not a body corporate or any other person is anintermediary); or- a minister of religion.