Child Safety Induction Pack – Volunteers

Help for non-English speakers If you need help to understand the information in this policy, please contact the school on 9311 9325

PURPOSE

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at our school. The purpose of this induction pack is to ensure Western English Language School volunteers are familiar with our policies and procedures relating to child safety and understand the important role they play in maintaining and promoting the safety of our students.

Volunteers must read the suite of policies and procedures in the links below before commencing any work where children are likely to be present.

KEY MESSAGES

• Western English Language School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children. We want children attending our school to be safe, happy and respected.
• We are committed to creating inclusive environment where diversity is supported, and students feel safe to bring their whole selves to school.
• Allegations and concerns relating to the safety and wellbeing of our school community will be treated very seriously and consistently with our policies and procedures.
• We are committed to preventing child abuse, identifying risks early and removing and reducing these risks.
• Everyone has a role to ensure children are safe – if something doesn’t feel right, speak up. If you have any concerns about any inappropriate behaviours in the school community, you should speak to the Principal or Assistant Principal . If this would not be appropriate in the circumstances, you can contact the North Western Victoria Regional Office of the Department of Education and Training on 1300 338 691.

Privacy and information-sharing

Volunteers must ensure that any student information they become aware of because of their volunteer work is managed sensitively and in accordance with the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Department’s policy on Privacy and Information Sharing.

Under these policies, student information can and should be shared with relevant school staff to:

• support the student’s education, wellbeing and health;
• reduce the risk of reasonably foreseeable harm to the student, other students, staff or visitors;
• make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the student’s disability; or
• provide a safe and secure workplace.

Volunteers must immediately report any child safety concerns that they become aware of to a member of staff to ensure appropriate action. There are some circumstances where volunteers may also be obliged to disclose information to authorities outside of the school such as to Victoria Police. For further information on child safety responding and reporting obligations refer to: Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures.

Records management

While it is unlikely volunteers will be responsible for any school records during their volunteer work, any school records that volunteers are responsible for must be provided to The Business Manager to ensure they are managed in accordance with the Department’s policy: Records Management – Schools.

INDUCTION MATERIALS – MUST READ

This induction pack contains the following documents that all new volunteers must read and familiarise themselves with. Please click on the hyperlinks to access each document. If you would prefer a hard copy of this pack, please contact the team in the office who will happily provide you with one.

Our School policies:

• Volunteers Policy
• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Child Safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedures
• Child Safety Code of Conduct

The Department’s Policy and Advisory Library (PAL):

• PROTECT: Four Critical Actions for Schools – Responding to incidents, disclosures and suspicions of child abuse
• PROTECT: Identify child abuse

CONTACT

We value your feedback on ways we can continue to improve and strengthen our child safety approach and encourage you to contact The Principal or  Assistant Principal on 93119325 with any comments or questions.

POLICY REVIEW AND APPROVAL

This policy has a mandatory review cycle of 2 years