Our Commitment to Child Safety

Denzil Don Kindergarten recognises the critical role we play in keeping children safe from harm.

The protection of children is the responsibility of everyone working at, and connected to our service including staff, families, volunteers, support workers, and anyone welcomed into the kindergarten space.

We have zero tolerance toward child abuse.

We are committed to keeping children safe at all times.

We understand child safety is an ongoing action and shared responsibility.

We place children at the heart of everything we do: our practice, curriculum, programming, policies, processes and decision-making.

We demonstrate our commitment to the Child Safe Standards by:

Promoting inclusion and diversity

We actively nurture an environment that celebrates inclusion and embraces the diversity of all children and families by:

• Prioritising the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and children and families living with disability.
• Ensuring that LGBTIQ+ children and families feel safe, respected and included at all times.
• Fostering a welcoming, inclusive culture where every child feels valued, respected and able to fully participate.

Empowering and listening to children

We respect children as active participants in their learning, wellbeing and safety by:

• Involving children in decision-making and supporting them to share their views, ideas, feelings, including the things they don't like.
• Recognising that strong, respectful relationships help children feel safe and connected.
• Engaging children in discussions about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, empowering them to understand that their voice matters and can shape decisions and change at kinder and their world beyond.
• Listening to children and taking their concerns, allegations, disclosures and indicators seriously, responding with sensitivity and care, and in accordance with our service policies and procedures.

Respecting and listening to families

We acknowledge families as children's first and foremost teacher and are committed to building strong, respectful and collaborative partnerships with them by: 

• Providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
• Collaborating with families regarding their child's development, learning and wellbeing.
• Regularly seeking family feedback about our practice, program, and service operations including policies and processes.
• Respecting diversity of culture and parenting practices whilst always prioritising the safety and best interests of children.

Meeting our responsibility to keep children safe

We uphold our duty of care and legal obligations by embedding clear, consistent and effective child safe practices across all aspects of our service by: 

• Providing a safe environment that promotes children’s safety, health, wellbeing, learning and development.
• Fostering a culture of openness where all staff and those working in partnership with us, feel safe to confidently raise risk of harm.
• Understanding and complying with our service Code of Conduct which outlines expected behaviours from all persons engaging with our children.
• Recognising and responding to signs of harm, and ensuring staff feel confident and supported to facilitate safe conversations with children who disclose or voice concerns.
• Ensuring staff understand how to respond to and report suspected child abuse to the appropriate authorities, and embedding and clearly explaining the process for reporting and follow-up. 
• Involving children in establishing and maintaining a safe, inclusive and equitable environment for all, including writing a Class Charter.
• Actively assessing, managing and minimising risk of harm or abuse, including meeting our duty of care obligations to prevent foreseeable injury or harm.
• Maintaining rigorous recruitment, induction and supervision practices to ensure only safe people work with the children.
• Continuously reviewing and reflecting on our practice, improving how we identify and respond to risks, and listening and acting when children express discomfort or concern.