Child safety training and support

Guidance on Child Safe Standard 8: Providing child safety training and support to staff and volunteers in early childhood services.

Early Childhood

To comply with Child Safe Standard 8, you must provide training and support to staff and volunteers on:

how to recognise and respond to signs of child abuse and harm
how to implement the service’s Child Safety policy and procedures
how to raise concerns and make reports
how to create culturally safe environments for children

You must comply with all elements of Child Safe Standard 8.

Make sure staff and volunteers have the knowledge and skills to keep children safe

Standard 8 focuses on services having systems in place to make sure staff and volunteers:

Can recognise indicators of child abuse and harm caused by

adults, or
other children

Know how to respond to child safety and wellbeing concerns, including:

supporting children who have made a disclosure
managing risks to children
recording required information in line with:

the law and
the service’s policy and procedures

Know how to raise concerns and to report to:

service management, and
authorities

Follow the service’s Child Safety and Wellbeing policy (Child Safe Environment policy) and procedures:

follow the service’s Code of Conduct
create culturally safe environments for children
support colleagues who disclose harm.

Tailor the training to:

each individual service’s needs
each person’s role.

Training should happen:

before new staff and volunteers start work, as part of their induction, and
throughout the year as ongoing refresher training for everyone at the service.

All training should use a trauma-informed approach.

Child Safe Standard 8

Read the full text of the Standard and its elements.

Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training

Early childhood services must comply with all the following elements of this Standard:

Staff and volunteers are trained and supported to effectively implement the service’s child safety and wellbeing policy (8.1).
Staff and volunteers receive training and information to recognise indicators of child harm including harm caused by other children and young people (8.2).
Staff and volunteers receive training and information to respond effectively to issues of child safety and wellbeing and support colleagues who disclose harm (8.3).
Staff and volunteers receive training and information on how to build culturally safe environments for children and young people (8.4).

Implement Standard 8

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Provide an induction for new staff, volunteers and service leadership

This should include:

the service’s Child Safety and Wellbeing policy (Child Safe Environment policy) and procedures
the service’s Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments policy (PDF, 240KB) and procedures
the service’s Code of Conduct
the service’s policy and procedures for responding to child safety concerns, including how to manage risks to children
how to support a person making a disclosure about harm to a child
reporting obligations at the service and to other authorities
training on identifying signs of harm and risk factors:

caused by other children or adults, and
including grooming and family violence.

the different ways children express concerns or disclose harm
how to help children to express their views and raise concerns
how to build culturally safe environments
privacy, information sharing and recordkeeping obligations.

Provide ongoing refresher education and training for all staff

Deliver regular child safety training for all staff, for example:

have professional discussions or presentations at staff meetings
provide information through staff and family newsletters.

Make sure all staff and volunteers:

are appropriately trained for their role before they start working or volunteering
receive regular refresher training throughout the year to ensure their skills and knowledge is kept updated
refresh their mandatory reporting training once a year
attend training and understand their responsibilities under the following schemes:

Child information sharing (CISS)
Family violence information sharing scheme (FVISS) and
Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM).
Note that the CISS does not cover family day care or children’s services.

Keep a record of all staff and volunteers who complete child safety training.
Keep records of annual child safety programs, including:

presentations and materials
agendas
minutes of staff meetings and lists of who attended them.

Give staff and relevant volunteers:

information, and
contact details of local support services for children and families.

Prioritise and allocate resources for child safety training

Include child safety training in service planning, and review points to ensure it is still effective. You can include this in your Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) or annual planning document.
Provide time-release for staff to undertake child safety training.
Make sure staff and volunteers know where to find online guidance about on child safety. This includes:

their legal obligationsto protect children
how to recognise signs and risk factors of child harm
how to respond to concerns about a child’s wellbeing
how to report child abuse
processes to follow if there is a safety concern
privacy, child information sharing and family violence reforms
online learning about child protection (including Mandatory reporting training).

Further training

Use supervision of staff and volunteers as an opportunity to identify if additional training is needed.
Offer further training as appropriate on topics such as:

child safety (including family violence)
mandatory reporting
responding to inappropriate sexualised behaviour
human rights and the rights of children
diversity and inclusion
harassment and bullying
cultural safety
privacy and information sharing.

Optional and compulsory education and training activities could include:

staffroom briefings and ‘toolbox talks’
professional conversations and discussions, scenarios and worked examples
presentations, seminars or webinars
training days
e-learning modules
support to join or create Professional Learning Communities.

Training design

Consider your staff and volunteer’s needs when designing training, including:

the need for cultural safety for staff and volunteers who are:

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, or
from diverse cultural backgrounds.

inclusivity of gender diversity and sexuality
accessibility for people with disabilities including mobility, visual or hearing impairment.

NQF Child Safety Guides

The guides focus on creating, maintaining and improving a child safe culture in early childhood services. They include:

information on each Child Safe Standard
case studies
questions to guide reflection
additional reading and resources.
Download the guides and extra tools

The two NQF Safety Guides include information and practical guidance:

NQF Child Safe Culture Guide
NQF Online Safety Guide. There are also additional resources, including the:
NQF Child Safe Culture – Self-assessment and risk assessment tool
NQF Online Safe Culture – Self-assessment and risk assessment tool
Child Safety incident response template – Responding to complaints, concerns, allegations and disclosures
Reporting and Responding Schemes tool. Download all these resources at Child Safety, together with links to additional ACECQA resources about child safety.

Additional resources

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Understand the Standards

The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) have information for all types of organisations that must comply with the Child Safe Standards. This includes:

CCYP | Resources and support for the Child Safe Standards
CCYP | Translated resources about the Child Safe Standards Note: information isn’t tailored for early childhood services.

Training

Possible next steps

Read more about all the Child Safe Standards(opens in a new window) in early childhood services.

Education & training

Updated 26 March 2026

Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA)

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Child safety training and support

Early Childhood

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Make sure staff and volunteers have the knowledge and skills to keep children safe

Child Safe Standard 8

Implement Standard 8

NQF Child Safety Guides

Additional resources

Possible next steps

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Child safety training and support

Early Childhood

On this page

Make sure staff and volunteers have the knowledge and skills to keep children safe

Child Safe Standard 8

Implement Standard 8

NQF Child Safety Guides

Additional resources

Possible next steps

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