At Thomas Hassall we are committed to creating a Child Safe Culture at the College.
We want all children and young people who attend Thomas Hassall Anglican College to feel and be safe. We are committed to providing a child safe and child friendly environment, where children and young people are safe and feel safe and are able to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
We have a zero tolerance for child abuse and are committed to doing what we can to keep students safe from harm.
The College regards its child safety responsibilities with the utmost importance and is committed to providing the resources required to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection laws and regulations and maintaining a child safe culture, including implementing the NSW Child Safe Standards.
Our Child Safe Program sets out the policies, processes and systems that have been established to meet our commitment to child safety. The program comprises our:
- Child Safe Policy, which has been approved by the Anglican Schools Corporation (ASC) Board,
- Child Safe Codes of Conduct,
- Procedures for Responding to and Reporting Child Safety incidents,
- Information Sharing and Record Keeping practices,
- Child Safe Complaints Management,
- Procedures to Create and Maintain a Child Safe Environment, and
- Processes for Child Safe Program Compliance, Review, and Improvement.
The College Child Safe Policy can be read and consulted by all parents and Community members.
We encourage all parents to read the College Child Safe Policy and to discuss the content with your children in an age-appropriate way.
The College Child Safe Policy lists the contact details for the College Child Safe Officers who have additional training to handle any Child Safety concerns.
If you have any Child Safety concerns about a staff member please immediately contact the College Principal.
At Thomas Hassall age-appropriate information that describes how adults should behave towards children is provided to children and consistently reinforced throughout the Junior School and Senior School.
At Thomas Hassall children are encouraged to speak up and are heard and believed.
Our College has developed “THAC Cares”, an anonymous online complaints opportunity for students to report any concerns they may have. This is open to all Senior Students through the Student Dashboard. Junior School students are able to submit any concerns through the letterbox in the Junior School library.
We have also developed child-focussed posters that are visible throughout the College to encourage students to speak up about any concerns they may have, including child safe concerns.
Students in all grades are taught a range of appropriate protective behaviours. They are encouraged to report instances where they feel their safety is at risk. Parents need to know that under NSW law, teachers are mandatory notifiers – which means that if they are told or have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is being abused, harmed or neglected, they must notify the Principal, who in turn must notify either the Police and/or the Department of Family and Community Services. There are separate procedures the Principal must follow if an allegation is made about a staff member abusing a child.
The College Child Safety Code of Conduct outlines appropriate standards of behaviour towards students for all adults in the College environment. It serves to protect students, reduce any opportunities for abuse or harm to occur, and promote child safety in the College environment. It provides guidance on how to best support students and how to avoid or better manage difficult situations. We encourage all parents to read the Child safety Code of Conduct.
The College Child Safety Code of Conduct applies to all adults in the College community, including:
- the College Principal and the Executive Leadership Team
- all staff members, including non-teaching Staff and temporary or casual Staff
- all Volunteers
- all Contractors
- External Education Providers
- teaching students on placement at the College
- Visitors
Our Child Safe Program also includes a Staff and Student Professional Boundaries Policy that provides detailed guidance for all Staff, Volunteers and Contractors (including parents) on how to maintain professional boundaries with students.
In conformity with the Child Protection legislation, all visitors to the College (including for this purpose all parents other than when they bring their children to College or come to collect them at the end of the day) are required to register their presence and departure at the Office. All visitors are issued with a current date Visitor’s Badge.
The College requires that all voluntary helpers (including parents) are required to obtain a Working with Children Clearance and be screened by the Office of the Children’s Guardian.