Child Safe Standards

There are 11 child safe standards that all organisations that work with children must adopt and implement. You can access the standards and implemenation guides here. Below are guldelines for how these standared are implemented at Ignite Minds.

Standard 1: Cultural safety for Aboriginal children

Ignite Minds must make sure Aboriginal children feel safe to be themselves and express their culture.

What this means for educators:

Display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and an Acknowledgement of Country in your learning space.
Hang artwork from local Aboriginal artists and include maps showing the diversity of Aboriginal language groups (e.g. the AIATSIS map).
Celebrate significant dates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in your newsletters and displays.
Involve Aboriginal children and their families in creating a culturally safe environment, such as inviting them to contribute artwork or take part in Welcome to Country activities.

Speak up and follow clear steps if you witness racism, and ensure your space visibly promotes zero tolerance for racist behaviour.

Standard 2: Strong leadership in child safety

Leaders must show they are serious about keeping children safe.

What this means for educators:

Read and follow Ignite Minds’ Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy.
Always complete risk assessments and get parent consent for excursions
Always act if you see something unsafe or not right.
Show that child safety matters in your everyday practice.
Never leave children unsupervised with other adults. Never leave your home without signed written consent from the family.

Question everyone - never ignore or downplay someone's motivation - could they be grooming you or the child. Don’t ignore gut feelings

Standard 3: Children know their rights and are heard

Children must be told about their rights and be encouraged to speak up.

What this means for educators:

Teach children they have the right to feel safe, be heard and ask for help.
Listen closely when a child shares something personal.
Let children make simple choices in their day, like what game to play.

Never use the promise of granting or denying food or lollies to get a child to do something. Never use force, violence, humiliation to change a child's behaviour.

Standard 4: Involve families and communities

Families and communities must be included in child safety.

What this means for educators:

Talk with families about how you keep children safe.
Welcome questions and feedback from parents.
Share safety information in ways families can understand.

Speak up and get help for family violence. You can never promise not to report when you know about family violence.

Standard 5: Respect diversity and individual needs

Every child is different and may need different kinds of support.

What this means for educators:

Respect children of all cultures, languages, abilities and sexual identities.
Adjust activities so every child can take part.
Learn how to support children with additional needs.

Boys and girls can show emotions, play ‘house’ or with dresses and dolls, and have deep feelings about things. Be mindful not to recreate gender roles like ‘tough guy’ or ‘girly girl’ in play

Some children look different, worship different gods, have 2 Dads or 2 Mums, use different pronouns and that is all ok

Standard 6: Suitable staff and volunteers

People who work with children must be safe, trained and supported.

What this means for educators:

Being a ‘fit and proper person’ to work with children
Make sure your profile is green and up to date.
Complete training from Ignite Minds.
Be honest about what you don’t know and ask for help.

Never engage someone that has not been approved by Ignite Minds. There is no cheating when being fit and proper.

Standard 7: Child-friendly complaints system

Children and families must know how to raise concerns and complaints.

What this means for educators:

Let children know it’s okay to speak up if something feels wrong.
Be calm and supportive if a child or parent raises a concern.
Follow Ignite Minds’ complaints process and report issues quickly.

Children should be comfortable speaking about how they feel about your service. Never stare at a child, intimidate, correct, or stand over them when they are speaking about your service to anyone.

Standard 8: Ongoing training and education

Everyone working with children must learn how to keep them safe.

What this means for educators:

Take part in child safety training from Ignite Minds.
Keep learning about child development, wellbeing and protection.
Share what you learn with families if helpful.

Things can change. What is safe today might be dangerous tomorrow. You must know when your situation changes and take steps to keep every child safe.

Standard 9: Safe environments (physical and online)

Spaces must be safe for children in real life and online.

Child safety statistic: A small number of adults in Australia have looked at harmful or unsafe things online. Because of this, it’s really important to keep children safe when using phones, tablets or computers. Children should never use these on their own, especially at night. Visitors and people who aren’t part of the care must not use phones or take photos while children are present.

What this means for educators:

Keep your home clean, hazard-free and child-friendly.
Screens are not used unless approved by the Education Leader, in line with Ignite Minds’ no screens policy.
Only share photos or information according to Ignite Minds’ online safety policies
Only take, store and share photos and videos of children for approved purposes.
Never share images of children on social media such as whatsapp, facebook, instagram, snapchat

Role model screen use by reducing your own screen time to what is absolutely necessary. Never allow volunteers, assistants, or visitors to use mobile phones or audio and visual recording devices whilst onsite.

Standard 10: Review and improve

Ignite Minds must keep checking how we are doing and make things better.

What this means for educators:

Reflect on your practices and look for ways to improve.
Join regular check-ins with Ignite Minds.
Share your ideas about how to keep children safer.

Never be angry with someone who is upset with your service. Call Ignite Minds and figure out what went wrong.

Standard 11: Written policies and procedures

Ignite Minds must have clear documents that show how they keep children safe.

What this means for educators:

Read and follow the policies Ignite Minds gives you.
Ask questions if anything is unclear.
Keep your own records, like enrolment, attendence, excursiona and incident reports, when needed.

These 11 Standards work together to build a strong, safe place for children to grow, play and learn.

You can access additional resources from this link https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards/