Child Safe Environment
Child Safe Environments Policy
Our child safe environments policy was written to demonstrate the strong commitment of our organisation to the safety of children and young people and establishing and maintaining child safe and child-friendly environments.
Purpose
We aim to create a child safe and child-friendly environment where all children and young people are respected, valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.
Our policy will outline the roles and responsibilities of our organisation complying with the child safe provisions of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.
Scope
This policy applies to staff, contractors and volunteers who are required to at all times create and maintain child safe environments.
Children’s participation
All children have the right to feel safe and respected at all times. We encourage children to raise any issues that concern them while being photographed.
Any child who does not wish to be photographed is not coerced and at all times the child has the right to say no, and their decision will always be respected.
We are committed to embracing diversity, children of all ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability and religious beliefs are welcome and accommodated. We respect the rights of all children of all abilities and backgrounds.
Code of Conduct
All staff, contractors and volunteers are required to complete and sign our Code of Conduct document which outlines our professional boundaries and acceptable behaviour when working with children.
Our organisation meets the requirements of the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 which requires that all staff, contractors and volunteers have a valid Working with Children Check issued by the Screening Unit of the Department of Human Services.
A Working with Children Check is an assessment of whether a person poses an unacceptable risk to children. As part of the process, the Screening Unit will look at criminal history, child protection information and other information.
A copy of these checks are provided upon request at any time to kindergartens and child care centres.
Risk of harm
Our organisation will ensure children and young people are kept safe from harm and risk of harm. If at any time any member of staff, contractor or volunteer has a reasonable belief that a child is at risk of harm, that person is required to report the details to the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) on 13 14 78.
Complaints and Feedback
When we become aware of a suspected breach of the code of conduct, the feedback will be recorded and documented. While maintaining procedural fairness, all complaints are taken seriously and investigated promptly, sensitively and fairly.
Risk Management
Our staff, contractors and volunteers do not interact one on one with children and children are always supervised by their carer at each kindergarten or child care centre. Many of the risk assessments will have been undertaken by the kindergarten or child care centre.
Images Photographic Centre staff, contractors and volunteers hold the child’s wellbeing and safety as paramount and will make decisions about where to photograph and what equipment to use based on consultation with the child’s carer at the kindergarten or child care centre.
Online safety is of the highest importance and children’s photos are stored securely on physical drives (not uploaded to any cloud based storage). Group photos are not permitted to be purchased as a digital download to prevent parents online sharing photos of children other than their own.
Communication
This policy is distributed to each kindergarten or child care centre prior to photographing and is readily available on our website www.imagesadelaide.com/child-safe-environment
The Child Safe Environments Policy for Images Photographic Centre is reviewed at minimum once every 5 years or as requirements change.