Evolve Education is an online safety consultancy and educational program that works with school-aged children, young people, adults and older Australians. We work across early learning centres, primary and secondary education settings, and organisations such as local councils, community health and sporting organisations. Evolve Education operates Australia-wide in both face-to-face and online environments.
Evolve Education Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Evolve Education acknowledges the Wurrunjeri people of the Kulin nation, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate. We acknowledge and respect their contributions, experience and knowledge as First Nations people. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
This Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy was approved by the co-founders and directors Steve Villani and Rebecca Martin on Thursday, September 1 2022. It demonstrates the strong commitment of management, staff and volunteers to child safety and wellbeing, and how our organisation keeps children safe from harm, including child abuse.
Commitment to child safety
All children who work with Evolve Education have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of the children in our care will always be our first priority and we have a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse and harm. We aim to create a child-safe and child-friendly environment where children feel safe, have fun and feel that their contributions are valued and heard.
Purpose
This Policy outlines how Evolve Education prioritises the safety and wellbeing of children and what steps we will take to do this.
Scope
This policy applies to all Evolve Education staff, volunteers and individuals involved in our organisation. This policy applies to all activities that Evolve Education conducts. Evolve Education’s programs ‘evolve’ based on the latest Australian and International research. Our program adopts a tech-positive approach that considers each person’s wide range of experiences, knowledge and skills when using technology. Our holistic focus centres around online safety being a ‘team effort’ where everyone in the community works together to promote safe practices and protect all people from online harm.
Definitions
Directors/Co-founders – refer to Steve Villani and Rebecca Martin
Presenters – employees of Evolve Education who deliver Evolve’s online safety and digital wellbeing programs within schools.
Child abuse means:
- a sexual offence committed against a child
- an offence committed against a child under section 49M(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), such as grooming
- physical violence against a child
- causing serious emotional or psychological harm to a child
- serious neglect of a child.
Harm is damage to the health, safety or wellbeing of a child or young person, including as a result of child abuse by adults or the conduct of other children. It includes physical, emotional, sexual and psychological harm. Harm can arise from a single act or event and can also be cumulative, that is, arising as a result of a series of acts or events over a period of time.
Child/Children means a person who is under the age of 18 years.
Concerns and complaints
A concern refers to any potential issue that could impact negatively on the safety and wellbeing of children.
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction to Evolve Education related to one or more of the following:
- our services or dealings with individuals
- allegations of abuse or misconduct by a staff member, a volunteer or another individual associated with Kids Have Fun Performing Arts Academy
- disclosures of abuse or harm made by a child or young person
- the conduct of a child or young person at Kids Have Fun Performing Arts Academy
- the inadequate handling of a prior concern
- general concerns about the safety of a group of children or activity.
Role of the Directors
The Directors have the role of making sure Evolve Education prioritises children’s safety and that action is taken when anyone raises concerns about children’s safety.
The directors will champion and model a child-safe culture at Evolve Education. We encourage anyone involved with the organisation to report a child safety concern. The directors will work to create a positive culture around reporting so that people feel comfortable raising concerns.
Everyone at Evolve Education has a role in identifying and managing risks of child abuse and harm. The directors will make sure that staff and volunteers are conducting risk assessments and taking action to manage risks in accordance with this policy. They will also ensure that appropriate child safety training for staff and volunteers is identified and completed.
The directors will conduct an annual review of how effectively Evolve Education is delivering child safety and wellbeing. The input of people involved with Evolve Education will be sought as part of this review.
Children’s empowerment and participation
Evolve Education is a child-centred organisation. We actively seek to include children’s views and ideas in our organisational planning, and delivery of services, including program content, delivery methods, student feedback and student engagement.
We encourage all students to be active participants in our sessions and to respect each other when sharing their ideas. Students are encouraged to stand up for each other and demonstrate kindness and respect in both online and offline environments. In conjunction with the school’s behaviour management policy and values, we work with school staff to manage any abusive behaviour between students appropriately. We do not tolerate bullying or abusive behaviour between children and take action if this occurs.
We respect the rights of children and provide them with information about their rights including the right to be safe during Evolve Education workshops. . We actively seek to understand what makes children feel safe in our organisation. We regularly communicate with children about what they can do if they feel unsafe.
Evolve Education values the voices of children and will act on safety concerns raised by children or their families. Evolve Education supports children’s participation in the following ways:
- Regular discussions with children, including child-led conversations on what makes them feel safe and unsafe.
- Anonymous brainstorms where children can share their ideas and experiences in a safe and supported environment
- Small group conversations with presenters to ask questions and share concerns or worries they may have regarding the online world.
- We work with children to identify unsafe feelings and to ‘trust their gut’ online
- We encourage students to identify trusted adults who can help them when they encounter problems online
- empower adults with the skills and help assist the children in their care to manage online problems.
- Reward children for speaking up, assure them they are believed and work to find solutions together
- encourage adults to praise children for speaking up, and to not engage in punitive measures such as banning the device or punishing children for mistakes made online.
- Our content is age-appropriate, does not scare children and also shows a balanced view of how technology comes with both opportunities and risks.
- Consultation with children about any proposed significant changes to the physical environment, policies, procedures, programs or staffing. Children’s views are collected by staff, provided to management and considered in the decision-making process.
- Information provided to children and families about Evolve Education operations, staffing and programs are made suitable for different age groups and diversity of the children.
Families and communities
Evolve Education recognises the important role of families and involves parents and carers when making significant decisions about their child. Parents, families and communities are welcome to provide feedback at any time through our contact email address and are encouraged to raise any concerns they have with us. We regularly use feedback tools to ensure parents, carers and the wider community voices are heard, and their experiences and identified needs are reflected in our constantly updating programs.
Parent and carer feedback includes but is not limited to;
- Online feedback surveys post presentation that provides scope for open and closed-ended questions
- School leadership provide feedback from parents/carers
- Parents/carers are polled and invited to share their experiences through discussion, and online chat
- Parent/carer sessions are trauma-informed with detailed descriptions of program content shared prior to the session and content/trigger warnings provided where appropriate.
- Parent/carer sessions are designed to engage, educate, and empower parents to feel positive and confidently armed with proactive strategies to assist the children in their care online.
- Evolve Education informs parents/carers of the risks online but balances this with a positive education to minimise or avoid these harms occurring on their family’s devices.
Evolve Education provides information to families and the community about our child safe policies and practices including through
- publishing this Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy and Code of Conduct on our website
- including information about our child safety approach, our operations and management structure, during our introduction to the team that precedes all of our sessions.
- including articles and information on child safety and wellbeing, and reminders about our policies and procedures, through our parent support hub, interactive parent PDF and through our social media and YouTube channels.
Creating culturally safe environments for all Aboriginal children and their families
Evolve Education is committed to creating environments where Aboriginal culture is celebrated, and Aboriginal children, families and community members are welcomed and included. Strategies to embed cultural safety for Aboriginal children include:
- an Acknowledgement of Country at all presentations with specific mention to the lands on which the presentation is occuring.
- consulting with families and members of the Aboriginal community to identify opportunities to promote Aboriginal culture and practices in the Evolve Education studio and programs
- welcoming any first nations people to our sessions specifically
- providing opportunities for children to share their cultural identity and express their culture, including through performance and during Evolve Education community activities
- supporting children who wish to explore their culture, including consulting with their family and relevant Aboriginal organisations
- providing training for staff and volunteers on the strengths of Aboriginal culture and its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children
- celebrating NAIDOC Week and acknowledging significant events including National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week
- seeking feedback from Aboriginal children, families and communities on their experience with Evolve Education, particularly how safe they feel expressing their identity including their culture.
Valuing diversity
We value diversity and equity for all children. To achieve this, we:
- provide training for all staff and volunteers on understanding diversity and how to support inclusion and cultural safety
- welcome and support participation of all children, including children with disability, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those who are unable to live at home, LGBTIQ children and Aboriginal children and their families
- offer students and families the opportunity to provide information about themselves, including any specific needs to participate fully in our programs
- have zero tolerance of racism and other forms of discrimination and take action when discrimination or exclusion is identified
- deliver programming that reflects the diversity of our students, their interests and cultures
- acknowledge and celebrate important cultural dates in our material and social media
- have a physical and online environment that actively celebrates diversity
- commit to ensuring our facilities and online activities promote inclusion of children of all abilities.
Code of Conduct
Evolve Education has a Child Safe Code of Conduct. Staff, volunteers and the directors must comply with the Code of Conduct at all times. Breaches of the Code of Conduct may result in disciplinary action including termination of a person’s involvement with the organisation.
All third-party contractors are also expected to abide by the Child Safe Code of Conduct, and where they are engaging with children will have to sign an agreement to comply with the code before delivering any services.
Recruiting staff and volunteers
Evolve Education puts child safety and wellbeing at the centre of recruitment and screening processes for staff and volunteers as outlined in the recruitment and screening policy. We only recruit staff and volunteers who are appropriate to engage with children. Members of the Management Committee must also be screened.
We require a Victorian Institute of Teaching Registration or Working with Children Check, Police Checks and referee checks for all staff and volunteers who have a role with children or have access to children’s personal information. We require staff to have appropriate qualifications for their roles and check to ensure they are valid. Directors must hold a Working with Children Check or currently be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
Supporting staff and volunteers
Evolve Education is committed to ensuring that all leaders, staff and volunteers receive training to ensure they understand their responsibilities in relation to child safety and to support their engagement with children. Evolve Education assists its leaders, staff and volunteers to incorporate child safety considerations into decisions and to promote a safe environment where children are empowered to speak up about issues that affect them.
All Evolve Education Directors, members, leaders, staff and volunteers are required to complete annual child safety training. Training will be recorded in the Child Safety Training Action Plan.
Staff and volunteers will receive supervision to support their engagement with children and for compliance with our Code of Conduct and Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy.
Issues or concerns about behaviour with children will be raised immediately and addressed in line with our Code of Conduct, complaint handling policy and disciplinary policy.
Complaints and reporting
All reports of child abuse and child safety concerns will be treated seriously, whether they are made by an adult or a child and whether they are about the conduct of an adult or a child. All complaints and child safety concerns will be responded to promptly and thoroughly.
Evolve Education has a Child Safety & Reporting Policy that includes information for staff and volunteers about how a complaint or child safety concern will be responded to. An easy-to-understand complaints information sheet will be provided for children, families and the community to know about the complaint process and the support available to those making a complaint and those involved in the complaint process.
If a complaint includes an allegation or incident of child abuse or harm, then staff and volunteers at Evolve Education must report it in accordance with the complaint handling policy. Evolve Education staff and volunteers are required to prioritise children’s safety in any response and to report all potentially criminal conduct to Victoria Police. Under the complaint handling and disciplinary policies, staff and volunteers may be subject to actions to support child safety including:
- being stood down during an investigation or terminated following an investigation
- having their duties altered so they do not engage with children
- not allowing unsupervised contact with children removing their access to the Evolve Education IT system and facilities.
Complaints can be emailed to info@evolve-edu.com.au or you can speak with Steve Villani villani@evolve-edu.com.au or Rebecca Martin martin@evolve-edu.com.au
If there is concern for the immediate safety of a child, immediately call 000.
Child Safety Person
Evolve Education has two trained child safety persons with responsibility for responding to any child safety related complaints or concerns.
Child safety persons are introduced to children so they know and understand who the appointed officers are, and how and when they may contact them. Photos and names of the child safety persons are displayed on our noticeboard and in our newsletters.
If a person does not feel comfortable making a report to a child safety person, they may report their concern to the organisation or school directly.
Record keeping
Evolve Education is committed to making and keeping full and accurate records about all child-related complaints or safety concerns.
All child safety complaints, concerns, incidents and near misses will be recorded in the incident reporting system.
Records that may assist with the investigation of a complaint or safety concern will be identified and kept as part of the record of an investigation. Records will be kept even if an investigation does not substantiate a complaint.
We will record and keep the outcome of any investigations and the resolution of any complaints. This includes findings made, reasons for decisions and actions taken.
Records will be stored securely and kept by Evolve Education for at least 45 years.
Information sharing
Evolve Education may share relevant information to promote the safety and wellbeing of children where it is appropriate and in their best interests. Evolve Education will keep information about complaints confidential, except where it is necessary to share information to respond properly to a complaint or to prioritise child safety. We may also need to share information about incidents or complaints with external authorities to comply with the law or to prioritise safety. More information is available in our complaint handling policy.
Risk management
We recognise the importance of identifying and managing risks of child harm and abuse in the physical and online environments operated by Evolve Education.
We conduct regular risk assessments and have a risk management plan to address the risk of child abuse and harm at Evolve Education. The risk management plan will be developed in consultation with our staff, volunteers, parent representatives and children. We will ensure that any risk controls put in place balance the need to manage harm with the benefits of participating with the students we work with in accordance with the school or organisation’s existing governance. The directors are responsible for approving the risk management plan.
Any contractors or other providers of services will always be supervised by a member of staff while working with us to ensure child safety. See also Code of Conduct above.
Non-compliance with this policy and the Code of Conduct
Evolve Education will enforce this policy, the Code of Conduct and any other child safety and wellbeing policies (see list below). Potential breaches by anyone will be investigated and may result in restriction of duties, suspension or termination of employment or engagement or other corrective action. More information can be found in our disciplinary policy.
Review
Evolve Education will review all child safe practices and policies at least every two years. We also review relevant practices and policies in response to a child safety incident or ‘near miss’. Findings from reviews will be reported to the people involved in our organisation and also inform our approach to continuous improvement of our child safety practices. Reviews are overseen by the directors and will be informed by consultation with children, families and staff.
Supporting documents – Evolve Education child safety and wellbeing system
The following policies and procedures work together to support child safety and wellbeing across all of our operations:
- Child safety Policy
- code of conduct
- complaint handling policy
- recruitment and screening policy
- risk management plan
- child safe training plan
Supporting legislation
- Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic) (including Child Safe Standards)
- Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) (including reporting to Child Protection)
- Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (including Failure to Protect and Failure to Disclose offences)
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) (including Part XIII – Organisational liability for child abuse)
