Promoting Child Safety and Wellbeing - DECD

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Promoting Safetyand WellbeingInduction for tertiary students working with children and young people in education and care sites

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INTRODUCTIONThis program introduces you to

• the responsibilities staff in schools and children’s services have towards the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and

• your role in sharing those responsibilities as a pre-service observing or practicing student.

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Some of the topics covered in this introduction may be discussed further in

tutorials - indicated by this image.

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Education & care staff promote children & young people’s safety

and wellbeing in 3 ways - they• provide a safe, respectful and engaging environment where

children and young people develop positive life skills and values,

• recognise when children and young people’s wellbeing or safety is being compromised and respond to these concerns, and

• understand the different needs of children and young people who have been harmed through family violence, abuse and neglect and adapt their teaching and support methods accordingly.

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This induction program looks briefly at each of these three main contributions to safety and

wellbeing beginning with…

“Staff provide a safe, respectful and engaging environment where children and young people

develop positive life skills and values.”

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What do you think a “safe, respectful and engaging environment” means in education

and care settings?Adults have criminal history checks before working with children and young people?Yes

Adults follow formal guidelines in the way they relate to children and young people?Yes

Adults teach children and young people about their rights and responsibilities to personal safety and to respectful relationships?Yes

Adults intervene in, and work to prevent harassment, bullying and violence between children and young people?Yes

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Which of these responsibilities will you be expected to share as soon as

you undertake a placement in an education or care setting?

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Adults have criminal history checks before working with children and

young people.

Adults follow formal guidelines in the way they relate to children and

young people.

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In the process of applying for your course you should have

been made aware of the need for a criminal history check.

If you are unaware of this requirement or the process that your institution has in place, you should speak with your

lecturer/course supervisor ASAP.

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The guidelines you are expected to follow as an observing or practicing student are the same that apply to all staff working in education and care settings.

These guidelines apply to people working in Catholic, Independent or Government sectors.

You should have a copy of these guidelines for your tutorial

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Why were they developed?

To help staff feel comfortable, clear and confident about the professional boundaries of their physical and emotional interactions with children and young people.

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Do the guidelines prohibit children being touched?No, definitely not. They describe respectful ways of providing caring, encouraging & instructive touch.

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The guidelines provide advice on a number of circumstances. For example, what would you do in the following situations?

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A student flirts with you and tells you she/he thinks you’re hot

You are asked to assist a preschool child with their toileting

A student asks to see you on your own after school to discuss something that bothers them

You are the only adult close enough to stop a student who is just about to seriously harm another student

A child has just hurt themselves on play equipment and comes to you for comfort

A student invites you to their 18th birthday party

You observe a teacher telling a student to give them a shoulder massage

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The guidelines outline safe, professional & respectful ways of responding to each of the previous situations – including your

responsibilities to act if you observe other adults behaving inappropriately with

children and young people.

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However, what if staff, parents or students accessed your current social networking site?

Most tertiary students are confident about their ability to model responsible and respectful conduct towards the children and young people with whom they will interact.

Consequently, they are also confident about how staff and parents will view their suitability to care for children and young people.

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Would they see or read anything that might take away their confidence in

your suitability to care for children and young people?

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Should you accept students as friends on a private social networking site?

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Respect and protect the boundaries that allow you and children and young people to relate with each other positively, productively and safely.

No

The Protective Practices guidelines specify that staff

“do not have children or young people in their education community as ‘friends’ on their personal/private sites.” P.11

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What is the core message you need right now about appropriate conduct with children and young people

when on placement?

Seek advice from staff and discuss concerns with staff

For example,

What’s the toileting policy?

What are the nappy changing rules?

Is what I heard a staff member say to a student appropriate?

Should I supervise the PE changing room?

Can I transport a student in my car?

What should I do if a student contacts me at home?

What’s the site’s policy about marking work via email?

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Another important way staff contribute to children and young people’s development of “…positive life skills and values” is through the formal curriculum.

In SA the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum provides explicit teaching programs from the early to senior years.

You will not be involved in teaching these programs while on placement but you may

observe their use.

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Each program covers the themes:

• recognising and reporting abuse• protective strategies

• the right to be safe • relationships

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“they recognise when children and youngpeople’s wellbeing or safety is being compromised and respond to their

concerns at the earliest possible point.”

The second way staff contribute to safety and wellbeing is -

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Staff are helped to gain this understanding

through formal training which they undertake

before they are employed and which is

updated every three years.

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You will do this training close to the completion of your qualification.

In the meantime - as an observing or practicing student - what are you expected to do in

responding to concerns about children and young people’s safety and wellbeing?

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You are not expected to act alone!

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Any concerns you have about a child or young person’s safety or wellbeing should be discussed with your supervising staff member at the site.

It is their job to advise and support you in deciding what actions are appropriate.

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What might make you concerned about a child or young person?

This will depend partly on what you expect to see in them.

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Generally children and young people should be

• Happy• Healthy• Socialising normally

with adults and peers • Doing what is expected

of them developmentally• Attending regularly

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When staff observe that children or young people are not showing these basic signs of wellbeing, it is their job to try to understand causes and suggest solutions.

This could happen through any combination of the following actions

talking with • the child or young person• their parents or caregivers• other staff• other education or care specialists• other agencies or organisations

and might result in any combination of the following

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• changes to how the child or young person is taught or cared for at the education or care site

• changes to practices in the home

• additional services for the child or young person

• additional services for the parents/caregivers

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• drug and alcohol abuse• mental health problems• family violence• physical or intellectual disability • extreme poverty• social isolation• experiencing trauma

(war/persecution/abuse)

Often children and young people’s vulnerability is directly related to problems

faced by their parents

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Children and young people’s vulnerability to harm may also be increased through:

• Age(the younger the more vulnerable)

• Disability(particularly intellectual disability)

• Emotional deprivation(already abused or neglected children)

• Isolation and disadvantage(children in care, refugees, new arrivals,non English speaking, living in remoteAboriginal communities, internationalexchange students)

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Look at the legal definition of abuse and neglect provided on the handout that accompanies this induction.

Think about the age group you will be working with once qualified. What kind of abuse and/or neglect might children and young people face if they are living with parents or caregivers who

• have an intellectual disability• abuse alcohol or other substances• experience mental health problems• engage in or are victims of family violence• are socially isolated• are single teenage parents

What do you imagine you might observe?

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Access the links on the following slide to check out your understanding of the areas

that interest you

What influenced your thinking in this exercise?

What you’ve heard or seen in the media?What others have told you of their own experiences?What you have experienced yourself?What you remember observing in others during your childhood or youth?

How reliable are these sources in helping you understand the impact of these contexts on all children and young people?

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• Re parental mental illness see:http://www.copmi.net.au/• Re domestic and family violence see:http://www.austdvclearinghouse.unsw.edu.au/http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/401-420/tandi419.aspx • Re young parents see:http://www.womhealth.org.au/studentfactsheets/teenagepregnancy.htm Re parental drug and alcohol misuse see: http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/researchnotes_parental_misuse.pdf http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/issues/issues29/issues29.html• Re parents with intellectual disabilities see:http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/issues/issues31/issues31.html• Re social isolation see:http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/researchnotes_resilience.pdf• Re problem sexual behaviour in children and young people see:http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/other/problem_sexual_behaviour.htm • Re children as carers see:• http://www.youngcarers.net.au/Family/default.aspx?id=94

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This is a legal obligation when child abuse or neglect is suspected on reasonable grounds and

is often referred to as‘making a mandatory report.’

131478 (Child Abuse Report Line)

Sometimes, in addition to the actions already outlined, staff need to make reports to Families SA, the statutory

child protection agency.

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How does the SA Department for Families and Communities explain what ‘suspicion on reasonable grounds’ actually means?

Read this explanation on your handout

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When staff are faced with situations where they believe that a report of child abuse or neglect is needed, they

• act in consultation with their site leaders and other professional support staff

• follow a particular process which includes making an official record of the notification.

What will you be expected to do?

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As with any concerns you might have about a child or young person’s safety or wellbeing you should discuss them with your supervising staff member at the site.

If your concern is one where a mandatory report is appropriate, you will be supported in doing this at all stages of the process.

You will not be a

Remember, you do not have to act alone

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Read the paragraph about protecting notifiers’ identities on the handout.

What do you think this is protecting against?

Do you understand the exceptions?

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In education and care sites the making ofa mandatory report is something that is

discussed confidentially with other professionals and recorded securely

with the site leader.

What do you think this practice is promoting?

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This practice promotes

• putting the best support in place for a child or young person

• all relevant information being given to the Child abuse Report Line so they have the fullest picture, not just a fragment

• protecting all members of the site community because risks can be anticipated and protected against.

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Can anyone stop you from making a mandatory report?

NoIf you disagree with the advice you receive from people at the site you can still act on your belief. However, this is a matter you should raise with your course supervisor without disclosing the

child’s name.

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Recognising the signs that children or young people need help is a skill you will strengthen through your ongoing study,

practical experience and your pre-service and in-service training in the Responding

to Abuse and Neglect – Education and Care program.

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However, what if a child or young person talks to you directly about abuse or neglect

while you are on placement?

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The handout outlines the most supportive ways for you to respond to children and young people in these situations. Read

this information now.

In summary

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Do not act alone, investigate or disbelieve.

Make your questions ‘open’.

Listen, show care & advise supervising staff immediately.

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Often people struggle to think of how to conclude a conversation when a young person has disclosed or hinted at abuse or neglect.

What would you say?

Draft a response now but rememberthe “don’ts” on your handout.

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Did you think of anything like this…?

If the child/young person has directly disclosed abuse consider saying

“Thank you for talking with me. I’m really pleased you’ve told me about what’s happened. I’m going to

get someone to help us decide what to do next.”

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What if a young person begs you not to talk to anyone else?

What could you say to reassure them?

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“You trusted me to tell me about your situation –

I want you to trust me now to find the best help I can for you.

I’d be letting you down if I kept this a secret.”

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Could children and young people suggest abuse and neglect by means other than speaking to you directly?

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YesChildren may indicate what is happening in their world through their drawings, the way they play with toys, the way they play with others…

Young people may write fiction, poems or journal entries that suggest serious concerns…

What do you think of this drawing?

What would youdo if you were observingor working with this child?

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The picture comes from the Australian Childhood Foundation as part of their counselling program with children and young people who have been abused or neglected. The girl who produced the drawing was 9 years old at the time. In addition to drawing her tears she has depicted her feeling of not being able to speak or use her hands or feet to get away from her sexually abusive situation.

www.childhood.org.au

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The third and final way that education and care staff contribute to safety and wellbeing is when they -

understand the different needs of children and young people who have been harmed through family violence, abuse and neglect and adapt their teaching and support methods accordingly.

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Your understanding of braindevelopment and the impactof trauma on children and young people’s capacity to learn and relate will be covered to some degree through your current studies.

Your growing practical experience should also help you appreciate the following

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• Traumatised children are dealing with the impact of their experiences in all parts of their lives.

• Learning environments provide children with crucial opportunities to manage their experiences so they can learn.

• Understanding the impact of trauma on children and young people is an important step in helping them.

• Relationships children and young people experience in their learning environments are significant in helping transform trauma.

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Education and care environments represent a significant protective factor in the lives of all children and young people.

For traumatised children and young people, attending care and learning environments can represent one of their only opportunities to learn the positive life skills that will help them transform their trauma.

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Australian Childhood Foundationwww.childhood.org.au/smart

Bruce Perry www.childtraumaacademy.com

Calmer Classrooms: A Guide to Working with Traumatized Childrenhttp://www.ocsc.vic.gov.au/downloads/calmer_classrooms.pdf

Every child, every chance: Child Development and Trauma Guidehttp://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/every-child-ever chance/library/publications/best_interests

If you’re interested in looking at current thinking about the best ways to support children and young people who have been traumatised through family violence, abuse or neglect see:

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Promoting the wellbeing and safety of children and young people is a team effort that relies on many professionals working together – adult services, children’s services and community services – both government and non government.

Education and care staff play a very significant role in this team approach given their opportunity for sustained relationships with children, young people and their families from the early years right through to young adulthood.

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Thinking and talking about abuse, neglect and family violence can raise difficult emotions and memories for some people. This can leave them feeling vulnerable and may make them question whether they will cope if these topics are a part of their future work.

However, just as children and young people need help in managing the adversities they face, so too do adults.

Being a victim of abuse, neglect or family violence doesn’t stop a person from becoming an

outstanding professional in their work with children and young people.

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It is wise for individuals to seek support now for past experiences of harm so that their confidence and

satisfaction in their work with children and young people isn’t compromised.

Sources of support are listed on the handout that accompanies this program.