Child Safety Beyond Compliance? Reflecting on recent news and Four Corners Report

The idea of child safety: beyond compliance is something that I have written about previously. The alarming accounts of harm to children in early childhood services are distressing. After watching last night's Four Corners report, I am left feeling a mix of sadness and urgency. The stories shared are not isolated events; they reveal a critical need for us to come together and find ways to protect children. I also want to make the point that it is not just the early childhood sector where urgent work is needed.

As we absorb and reflect on what we have seen, I believe that discussions about creating a culture of child safety becomes increasingly vital. The discussions about regulations, government oversight and organisational compliance are essential, but will no doubt take time to result in action. However, alongside these discussions, we also need to think about how we create a culture within an organisation that prioritise children's safety and wellbeing. This is something that every individual can have a role in, whether you are a parent, carer, staff member or volunteer.

Creating a Culture Where Child Safety is Prioritised

Creating safe environments for children requires a culture where child safety is prioritised by all adults. It's not just about following rules; it's about creating an environment where every adult prioritises the safety and well-being of children. A big part of this is ensuring that children are empowered about their rights and at the same time staff/volunteers are empowered to speak up about concerns and know how and where to escalate things. The reality is that many of the incidents raised in the media in the past 48 hours have occurred in the open, in front of others and in settings where unacceptable behaviours towards children have become normalised. Where the culture is not one of safety and empowerment for children. The message this sends to children is that no one is going to step in to keep them safe and that their safety and wellbeing is not a priority.

Establishing a united approach to child safety requires instilling shared values among adults in organisations catering to children.

This involves good recruitment, ongoing training for staff, clear and transparent communication, and a mutual understanding of the responsibilities that come with caring for/working with children.

Training and Regular Reflections

Staff working with children should receive ongoing training about child safety. Relevant topics such as Child Safe Standards/National Principles, Child Protection and Responding to Disclosures should be covered. A variety of training methods should be utilised to support staff with different training needs.

In addition to formal training, regular opportunities for reflection should also be provided. A suggestion I regularly make in training is to include child safety at all team meetings and invite staff to bring situations (hypothetical or real) to discuss. The team can discuss different responses to the situation and what policies apply. This practice encourages open, transparent discussion and reflection about the complexity of real-life situations. Reflecting on their experiences allows educators to think critically about how they handle different challenges. This increases transparency and comfort around speaking about child safety, whilst also building familiarity with the policies.

A Final Reminder and a Question

The majority of people working with children do so for the right reasons. There are many, many early childhood services out there that do an amazing job. I visit lots of services and have great transparent discussions in training about how we create a culture of child safety. This is a call out to those services, what does your organisation do to build a good culture around child safety?