Southern Grampians Shire Council is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people and has a zero tolerance of child abuse. It is the role of the educator and the coordination unit staff to ensure our service is a safe, supportive and enriching environment that respects and fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development. All children, regardless of their gender, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, sexual orientation or family or social background, have equal rights to protection from abuse.
The Service is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children living with a disability.
The Service will actively seek the opinions of all children on matters that concern them, and will implement strategies to empower them to understand personal safety and their right to speak out.
Everyone working in our service has a duty of care and is responsible for the protection of the children within our care and for reporting information about suspected child abuse.
All staff, contractors and their family members, students and volunteers of Southern Grampians Shire Council Family Day Care have a shared responsibility to ensure the Child Safe policy is accepted as a high priority. All stakeholders are required to observe Child Safe Principles and expectations for appropriate behaviour towards and in the company of children, as noted in the Child Safe Code of Conduct.