Child Safe Organisation
The Japanese School in Perth is committed providing a caring, supportive and safe learning environment for all students. To ensure this environment, the Japanese School in Perth implements the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and adheres to the framework of a Child Safe Organisation.
As a child safe organisation, the Japanese School in Perth consciously and systematically:
- maintains an environment where children’s safety and wellbeing is at the centre of thought, values and actions;
- places emphasis on genuine engagement with and valuing of children and young people;
- creates conditions that reduce the likelihood of harm to children and young people;
- creates conditions that increase the likelihood of identifying any harm; and
- responds to any concerns, disclosures, allegations or suspicions of harm.
The school expects that all members of the school community share this commitment to child safety and wellbeing.
Policies
The National Principles of Child Safe Organisations are at the core of all school policies related to student safety and wellbeing, including the Child Protection Policy, Staff Code of Conduct, Student Code of Conduct, Complaints Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy and Online Safety Policy. All staff are required to be familiar with and adhere to these policies.
Keeping Safe Curriculum
The Japanese School in Perth has incorporated the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) within its school curriculum. The Keeping Safe curriculum provides lessons designed for specified aged groups. At the Japanese School in Perth some aspects of the Keeping Safe curriculum are adapted and taught within the subject of the Japanese National curriculum, for example within the framework of the subject of Moral Education, Health & PE and English.
The Keeping Safe Curriculum is underlined by the thinking that all children and young people have a right to:
- be treated with respect and to be protected from harm
- be asked for their opinions about things that affect their lives and to be listened to
- feel and be safe in their interactions with adults and other children and young people
- understand what is meant by ‘feeling and being safe’
The curriculum follows two main themes:
- we all have the right to be safe
- we can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.
These two themes are explored through four focus areas:
- the right to be safe
- relationships
- recognising and reporting abuse
- protective strategies
Concerns and Complaints Process
The Japanese School in Perth values feedback from students, families, staff and all members of the school community and encourages students, families, staff and all members of the school community to voice any concerns that they may have. We have a child-friendly complaints process, reinforced by ‘Speak Out’ posters in all classrooms and by teachers regularly reminding students that it is ok to speak out if they feel uncomfortable of concerned about something. Staff are trained to respond respectfully and promptly to all enquiries and concerns in accordance with school policy.
Physical and Online Environment
The Japanese School in Perth recognises that reducing the risk of harm in physical and online environments is important in ensuring the safety of students. The School regularly reviews the physical environments used by students and mitigates any potential risks. Similarly, we acknowledge that while online platforms and tools play a valuable role in students’ learning, there is an increasing need to ensure the safety of students in their online activities. To minimise risks related to online activity, the School implements an Online Safety Policy and incorporates learning related to online safety in the curriculum. Staff are also trained to detect any early signs of bullying, harassment, grooming or child abuse.
Professional Development
All staff participate in professional development related to child safety and wellbeing. PD sessions are scheduled throughout the year and cover topics including, child protection and mandatory reporting. Review of other related topics including topics like the complaints process and internet safely is also carried out.
Employment Procedures
All School employees are required to hold a current Working With Children Check (WWCC) prior to commencing work at the School. The Working With Children Check aims to protect children by:
- deterring people from applying to work with children where they have a relevant charge or conviction on their criminal record that indicates they may harm a child;
- detecting new charges and convictions of those people who hold a current WWC Card and preventing them from continuing to engage in child-related work where their criminal record and behaviour indicates they may harm a child; and
- protecting children by creating awareness that child safety is a whole of community responsibility.
All teachers are registered with the Teacher Registration Board of WA (TRBWA). Any events of serious misconduct by a teacher is required by law to be reported to the Teachers Registration Board of WA and to the Director General of the Department of Education.
The recruitment of staff locally recruited includes written and verbal reference checks and a WWCC validity check. All staff from Japan are appointed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology after a rigorous recruitment process overseen by the Ministry.
All staff are required to comply with the School’s Staff Code of Conduct.
Hyperlinks
National Principles for Child Safe Organization https://childsafe.humanrights.gov.au/national-principles
Child Safe Organization https://childsafe.humanrights.gov.au/about/what-child-safe-organisation
Keeping Safe: Child Protection https://www.education.sa.gov.au/teaching/curriculum-and-teaching/keeping-safe-child-protection-curriculum