< Back to Policies

Contents

    Purpose

    The purpose of this policy is to:

    • describe how staff at Leongatha Secondary College identify and respond to child safety concerns and child abuse following the 4 Critical Actions
    • ensure our staff and school community raise concerns about child abuse. 

    Scope

    This policy applies to any concern of child abuse or reportable conduct:

    • by any adult engaged by the school or school council or any other adult while connected to the school environment (including e.g. staff, volunteers, contractors, service providers and visitors) 
    • between students
    • towards students by members of their family
    • towards students by members of the community.

    Child abuse and reportable conduct can occur in any physical or online environment and include grooming.


    Definitions

    There are many types of child abuse. For more information, see Types of child abuse and what to look for and Child Safety Definitions.

    Child abuse includes:

    • any act committed against a child involving a sexual offence or grooming
    • physical violence against a child
    • serious emotional or psychological harm against a child
    • serious neglect of a child.

    Grooming is a criminal offence under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) and is a form of child abuse and sexual misconduct. It is also a form of Reportable Conduct. The offence of grooming is when an adult engages in predatory conduct to prepare a child or young person under the age of 16 for future sexual activity. This can be with the groomer or with another adult. Grooming can occur face-to-face, online or a combination of both.

    Grooming behaviour can involve the use of a variety of manipulative and controlling techniques. These can be used to build trust or normalise sexually harmful behaviour.

    Reportable Conduct includes:

    • a sexual offence committed against, with or in the presence of a child
    • sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child
    • physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of a child
    • behaviour causing significant emotional or psychological harm to a child 
    • significant neglect of a child 

    by any adult working or volunteering at our school including any employees, volunteers or contractors. 

    For further information see: Reportable and Notifiable Conduct Policy.


    Policy

    Everyone at Leongatha Secondary College has an important role to:

    Leongatha Secondary College follows the Department of Education policies on the Policy and Advisory Library (PAL):

    Leongatha Secondary College has other policies that are part of our child safety framework and describe actions we take to ensure students are safe and feel safe to raise a complaint. These include:

     

    Procedure for responding to an incident, disclosure, or allegation of child abuse

    All staff at our school must use the 4 Critical Actions to identify and respond to child abuse. The 4 Critical Actions are:

    • Identify child abuse
    • Support students in the school
    • Refer student to community services
    • Report abuse to authorities.

    At all times all staff must:

    All staff must follow the 4 Critical Actions – based on the source of abuse:

    Our school follows detailed guidance on the 4 Critical Actions for each source of abuse on the PROTECT website. This includes guidance on how to respond to a disclosure of child abuse made by a student or young person in a trauma-informed way and provide appropriate support, including suggested language to use. 

    To ensure the 4 Critical Actions are followed, staff must immediately notify one of our school’s relevant child safety nominated contacts on becoming aware that a student is, or may be, experiencing child abuse (including grooming). 

    Our child safety nominated contacts are listed in the table below. Our school’s child safety nominated contacts work with staff and school leadership to provide oversight and ensure:

    • child safety concerns are taken seriously
    • the school’s response is prompt and thorough 
    • the relevant 4 Critical Actions and PROTECT guidance are followed.

    Anyone can contact these staff about a child safety concern. This includes students, parents/carers,  volunteers,  or anyone else in the school community who has concerns about child abuse including grooming.

     

    Role Name Phone
    Principal Brad Hutchinson 

    bhutchinson@leonsec.vic.edu.au

    		 56672200
    Senior Assistant Principal Tanya Chalmers 

    tchalmers@leonsec.vic.edu.au

    		 5667 2200 
    Junior Assistant Principal Robbie Carter

    rcarter@leonsec.vic.edu.au

    		 5667 2200
    School Nurse Bec Cooke

    bcooke@leonsec.vic.edu.au

    		 5667 2200

    Escalating concerns

    Following the 4 Critical Actions ensures that our staff take all the necessary steps where there is a concern about abuse, including grooming. If any staff member is concerned that these processes have not been followed they must:

    • raise their concerns with the principal and escalate to the regional office via 1800 338 663 or email enquiries@education.vic.gov.au if they remain unsatisfied
    • report concerns to the appropriate authorities (e.g. Victoria Police or Child Protection) in line with the 4 Critical Actions.

    Reporting concerns about child safety contacts or school leadership 

    To report any allegations or concerns of abuse including grooming about a listed child safety contact, notify the principal.

    To report any allegations or concerns of abuse including grooming by a principal, please contact:

    Meeting our legal obligations

    Our staff must take reasonable steps to minimise risks of harm to students in their care that is reasonably foreseeable. For further information see: PROTECT child safety frameworks and legal obligations.

    Further information on relevant child safety frameworks and legal obligations is in Appendix 1. 


    Communication

    This policy will be communicated to our school community. It may be:

    • Available publicly on our school’s website 
    • Included in staff induction processes and annual staff training
    • Discussed an annual staff briefings or meetings
    • Hard copy available from school administration upon request

    Further information and resources


    < Back to Policies