CHILD SAFE STANDARDS  

On 1 July 2022, 11 Child Safe Standards came into force in Victoria. The Victorian Government introduced these Standards to promote the safety of children, prevent child abuse and to ensure effective processes are in place to respond to and report allegations of child abuse.  

As an organisation that works with children, we, like all schools, are required to comply with the Standards and need to implement all aspects of the 11 Standards. These Standards can be found HERE.  

St Catherine’s School has always been, and continues to be, committed to Child Safety across all aspects and levels within our School. As such we want our students to be, and feel, emotionally, culturally, and physically safe at School.  

St Catherine’s School has in place policies, procedures, and practices to support and promote Child Safety. These include but are not limited to:   

• Child Safe Standards Committee that promotes child safety and wellbeing throughout the School  
• Risk Management and Occupational Health & Safety Committees  
• Risk management strategies that focus on preventing, identifying and mitigating risks  
• Educational programs that reduce risk through students being informed  
• Staff training in Child Safety and wellbeing, including training in responding to, and mandatory reporting of, child abuse.  
• A zero tolerance for child abuse and commitment that all allegations and safety concerns will be treated seriously  
• A commitment to community engagement in, and community education on Child Safety. 

Our community, teachers and parents share a common goal – protecting our children. The best way to do this is to:  

• Become familiar with the Child Safe Standards HERE 
• Work in partnership with the School in caring for our children  
• Engaging with the measures we put in place to ensure the best care of our children.

As such, we ask our School community to provide feedback on our policies:  

Child Safety and Wellbeing 

Child Safety Code of Conduct 

Reportable Conduct Scheme Policy 

Responding and Reporting Obligations 

Statement of Commitment to Child Safety 

Commitment to Cultural Safety for Aboriginal Students 

Please send all feedback to the following: childsafety@stcatherines.net.au

Together, we can be better informed and therefore more able to prevent child abuse and keep our children safe.