Written By: Secretary Approved By: Executive Committee Endorsed By: Executive Committee, 2019 Date for Review: September 2020 Purpose This policy was written to demonstrate the strong commitment of the management, staff and volunteers of the Wyndham Track and Field Club Inc (the Club) to child safety and to provide an outline of the policies and practices the Club has developed to keep everyone safe from any harm, including abuse. Commitment to Child Safety All children who are a part of the Club have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of the children in our care will always be our first priority and the Club has a zero tolerance to child abuse. The Club aims to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and have fun and the Club’s activities are always carried out in the best interests of the children. Application of this Policy This policy was developed by the Club and in collaboration with members, volunteers and the children who use our services and their parents. This policy applies to all individuals involved in our club (paid and volunteer) including, but not limited to: All of the people to which this policy applies have a role and responsibility in relation to child protection. They must all: Child Abuse Child abuse can take a broad range of forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse and neglect. People to whom this policy applies need to be aware that child abuse can occur whenever there is actual or potential harm to a child, and these are circumstances that the Club is committed to reducing the risk of occurrence. Children’s Rights to Safety and Participation The Club encourages children to express their views about their safety. We listen to their suggestions, especially on matters that directly affect them. We actively encourage all children who use our services to ‘have a say’ about things that are important to them. We teach children about what they can do if they feel unsafe. We listen to and act on any concerns children, or their parents, raise with us. A safety committee is setup to hear grievances and complaints. Valuing Diversity We value diversity and do not tolerate any discriminatory practices. To achieve this we: Recruiting staff and volunteers The Club takes the following steps to ensure best practice standards in the recruitment and screening of volunteers: Supporting volunteers The Club seeks to attract and retain the best volunteers. We provide support and supervision so people feel valued, respected and fairly treated. We have developed a Code of Conduct to provide guidance to our staff and volunteers, all of whom receive training on the requirements of the Code. Reporting a child safety concern or complaint The Club has appointed a subcommittee as Child Safety Persons with the specific responsibility for responding to any complaints made by staff, volunteers, parents or children. That person can be contacted by email wyndhamtf@gmail.com or President Stephen Murphy at 0433 640 241 Risk Management We recognise the importance of a risk management approach to minimising the potential for child abuse or harm to occur and use this to inform our policy, procedures and activity planning. In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children. To reduce the risk of child abuse occurring, adults to whom this policy applies should avoid direct, unsupervised contact with children. For example, this should be a consideration when: Reviewing this policy This policy will be reviewed every two years and we undertake to seek views, comments and suggestions from children, parents, carers, staff and volunteers involved in the Club. END OF TEMPLATE This resource is supported by the Victorian Government. This document was developed utilising and adapting content from:Child Safe Standards
The Commission for Children and Young People (2016), Child Safe Policy
VIC Sport