Child Safe Standards

Child Safe Standards
The Child Safe Standards are compulsory minimum standards for all Victorian schools to ensure they are well-prepared to protect children from abuse and neglect. To create and maintain a child-safe school, Ripponlea Primary School adheres to the Child Safe Standards, which include

Standard 1: Culturally safe environment - Establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.

Standard 2: Leadership, Governance and Culture - Ensure that child safety and wellbeing are embedded in school leadership, governance and culture.

Standard 3: Child and student empowerment - Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

Standard 4: Family engagement - Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Standard 5: Diversity and equity - Equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice.

Standard 6: Suitable staff and volunteers - People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.

Standard 7: Child-focused complaints processes - Ensure that processes for complaints and concerns are child-focused.

Standard 8: Child safety knowledge and skills - Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.

Standard 9: Physical and online environment - Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.

Standard 10: Review of child safety practices - Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.

Standard 11: Implementation of child safety practices - Policies and procedures that document how schools are safe for children, young people and students.

More information about Ripponlea Primary's commitment to Child Safety can be found here.

RPS is committed to the DET policy on physical restraint and seclusion where this is only permitted “in exceptional circumstances where immediately required and reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a student or other person”. Information about the DET policy can be found here.