Engaging with families about child safety

Guidance on Child Safe Standard 4: Engaging with families about safety in early childhood services.

Early childhood

To comply with Child Safe Standard 4, you must:

understand the importance of involving families in decisions about children’s safety and wellbeing
promote and engage in open and transparent communication with families and the community
reflect the diversity of the service community
provide regular opportunities to communicate about child safety and abuse.

You must comply with all elements of Child Safe Standard 4.

Family engagement

Families play an important role in decisions about children’s safety and wellbeing. They are aware of children’s safety and wellbeing and help children to raise concerns.

Your service must be open and engage with families about:

decisions affecting their child
the service’s child safe approach
the service’s operations and governance.

Child Safe Standard 4

Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing

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

Families participate in decisions affecting their child (4.1).
The service engages and openly communicates with families and the community about its child safe approach and relevant information is accessible (4.2).
Families and communities have a say in the development and review of the service’s policies and practices (4.3).
Families, carers and the community are informed about the service’s operations and governance (4.4).

Implement Standard 4

Open all

Create a welcoming environment

Make all families feel respected, included and safe to come onto service premises.
Include information in enrolment packs about:

child safety
the service’s complaints processes
how to raise concerns.

Nominate a contact person for new families

Provide the details of the contact person for any questions.

Engage families and communities in building a child safe service

Ask parents and carers about their children and discuss their needs. This can be in formal settings or at pick-up and drop-off.
Give families child safety information via websites, newsletters, information sessions, or other opportunities.
Discuss how to approach child safety topics when providing information to new families.
Tell families how to contact the service if they have any child safety or wellbeing concerns.

Give regular opportunities to communicate about child safety and abuse

Host workshops on child safety and wellbeing topics. Give families helpful information to talk to their children in an age-appropriate way. Organise interpreters and translations to engage families from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Ask families if they prefer email, social media, workshops or other channels. Communicate through the channels parents prefer.
Include child safety questions in parent surveys. Measure families’ awareness and confidence in the service’s child safety approach. Use these responses to inform ongoing improvements.
Include child safety on the agenda at all staff meetings. Discuss and review child safe practices.

Reflect the diversity of the service community

Make newsletters and communications inclusive. Normalise diverse family profiles and reflect the characteristics of your service community.
Select meeting venues that are accessible, welcoming and culturally safe.
Encourage volunteer positions from families from diverse backgrounds:

people with a disability
Aboriginal people
those from diverse cultural and language backgrounds.

Provide inclusive and accessible information

Translate child safety information into other languages that reflect your service community.
Make child safety information easy to read. Consider font size, style, colours, formatting, images and visual presentation.
Use images and accessibility aids. This will help people with low literacy or disabilities understand child safety information.
Include links to your child safety policies in communications. This could be in social media posts and newsletters.
Check that everyone knows who to contact if they have a concern about child safety. This includes children, families, staff, volunteers and service community members. Keep this information up to date. Display it where it is easy to see at the service and online.

Build family and community involvement in child safety into business as usual

Make child safety a standing item at approved provider and service meetings. Make the minutes accessible to families.
Highlight any changes made at the service as a result of consultation with families.
Report to everyone on the outcomes of relevant reviews. This includes children, families, staff, volunteers and service community members. This shows transparency and accountability.
Encourage families to support their children and promote their safety. This includes at the service and in other activities.
If there is a concern or complaint, involve families at all stages of the process, as appropriate.

NQF Child Safety Guides

The two NQF Safety 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 Child Safety Guides are the:

NQF Child Safe Culture Guide
NQF Online Safety Guide. There are also additional resources:
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 these resources at Child Safety, together with links to additional ACECQA resources about child safety.

Additional resources

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.

Possible next steps

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

Mini vic.gov.au

Engaging with families about child safety

Early childhood

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Family engagement

Child Safe Standard 4

Implement Standard 4

NQF Child Safety Guides

Additional resources

Possible next steps

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Engaging with families about child safety

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Family engagement

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Implement Standard 4

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