This document provides an induction for tertiary students on responsibilities for promoting safety and wellbeing of children in education and care sites. It discusses three main ways staff contribute: 1) providing a safe, respectful environment where children develop skills; 2) recognizing compromised wellbeing and responding to concerns; and 3) understanding needs of abused children and adapting methods. The document outlines expectations for students, including mandatory reporting of abuse suspicions and supporting children who disclose abuse. It emphasizes discussing any concerns with supervising staff.

1. Promoting Safety
and Wellbeing
Induction for tertiary students working with
children and young people in education and
care sites
1

2. INTRODUCTION
This 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.
2

3. Some of the topics covered in this
introduction may be discussed further in
tutorials - indicated by this image.
3

4. 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.
4

5. 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.”
5

6. 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
6

7. Which of these responsibilities will
you be expected to share as soon as
you undertake a placement in an
education or care setting?
7

8. 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.
8

9. 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.
9

10. 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
10

11. 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.
11

12. Do the guidelines prohibit children being
touched?
No, definitely not. They describe respectful
ways of providing caring, encouraging &
instructive touch.
12

13. The guidelines provide
advice on a number of
circumstances. For
example, what would you
do in the following
situations?
13

14. 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
14

15. 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.
15

16. 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.
However, what if staff, parents or
students accessed your current
social networking site?
16

17. Would they see or read anything that
might take away their confidence in
your suitability to care for children and
young people?
17
17

18. Should you accept students as friends
on a private social networking site?
18

19. 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
Respect and protect the
boundaries that allow you and
children and young people to
relate with each other positively,
productively and safely.
19

20. 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?
20

21. 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.
21

22. Each program covers the themes:
• the right to be safe • recognising and reporting abuse
• relationships • protective strategies
22

23. The second way staff contribute to
safety and wellbeing is -
“they recognise when children and young
people’s wellbeing or safety is being
compromised and respond to their
concerns at the earliest possible point.”
23

24. Staff are helped to gain
this understanding
through formal training
which they undertake
before they are
employed and which is
updated every three
years.
24

25. 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?
25
25

26. You are not
expected to
act alone!
26

27. 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.
27

28. What might make you concerned
about a child or young person?
This will depend partly on what you
expect to see in them.
28

29. Generally children and young people
should be
• Happy
• Healthy
• Socialising normally
with adults and peers
• Doing what is expected
of them developmentally
•Attending regularly
29

30. 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
30

31. • 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
31

32. Often children and young people’s
vulnerability is directly related to problems
faced by their parents
• drug and alcohol abuse
• mental health problems
• family violence
• physical or intellectual disability
• extreme poverty
• social isolation
• experiencing trauma
(war/persecution/abuse)
32

33. 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 remote
Aboriginal communities, international
exchange students)
33

34. 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?
34

35. 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?
Access the links on the following slide to
check out your understanding of the areas
that interest you
35

36. • 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/research
notes_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/research
notes_resilience.pdf
• Re problem sexual behaviour in children and young people see:
http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/other/problem_sexual_beha
viour.htm
• Re children as carers see:
•http://www.youngcarers.net.au/Family/default.aspx?id=94 36

37. Sometimes, in addition to the actions already outlined,
staff need to make reports to Families SA, the statutory
child protection agency.
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)
37

38. How does the SA Department for
Families and Communities explain
what ‘suspicion on reasonable
grounds’ actually means?
Read this explanation on your handout
38

39. 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?
39

40. Remember, you do not have
to act alone
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
40

41. Read the paragraph about protecting
notifiers’ identities on the handout.
What do you think this is protecting against?
Do you understand the exceptions?
41

42. In education and care sites the making of
a 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?
42
42

43. 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.
43

44. Can anyone stop you from making a mandatory
report?
No
If 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.
44

45. 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.
45

46. However, what if a child or young person
talks to you directly about abuse or neglect
while you are on placement?
46

47. 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
47

48. Do not act alone, investigate or disbelieve.
Make your questions ‘open’.
Listen, show care & advise supervising staff
immediately.
48

49. 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 remember
the “don’ts” on your handout.
49

50. 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.”
50

51. What if a young person begs you not to
talk to anyone else?
What could you say to reassure them?
51

52. “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.”
52

53. Could children and young people
suggest abuse and neglect by means
other than speaking to you directly?
53

54. Yes
Children 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 you
do if you were observing
or working with this child?
54

55. 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
55

56. 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.
56

57. Your understanding of brain
development and the impact
of 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
57

58. • 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.
58

59. 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.
59

60. 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:
Australian Childhood Foundation
www.childhood.org.au/smart
Bruce Perry
www.childtraumaacademy.com
Calmer Classrooms: A Guide to Working with Traumatized Children
http://www.ocsc.vic.gov.au/downloads/calmer_classrooms.pdf
Every child, every chance: Child Development and Trauma Guide
http://www.cyf.vic.gov.au/every-child-ever chance/library/publications/best_interests
60

61. 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.
61

62. 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.
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.
However, just as children and young people need help in
managing the adversities they face, so too do adults.
62

63. 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.
63