Child Safety at Cheshire School
At Cheshire School, we acknowledge and understand that child safety and wellbeing is the responsibility of every person and is an integral aspect of student wellbeing.
We aim to work collaboratively with parents, students, the broader bestchance organisation as well as other community members to ensure a safe school environment.
All students have the right to expect that the school will always act to protect them from any kind of harm. We are committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives.
Every person involved in Cheshire School has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role they play individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.
Child Safety Resources
Please follow the below links for further information on Child Safety
Additional Resources include
Identifying and Responding to Student Sexual Offending
Identifying and Responding to All Forms of Abuse in Victorian Schools
FOUR CRITICAL ACTIONS FOR SCHOOLS
Responding to Incidents, Disclosures and Suspicions of Child Abuse
Information Sharing Schemes
Child Information Sharing Scheme and the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme
The Information Sharing Schemes have been introduced in response to Royal Commissions, coronial inquests and independent inquiries over the past decade that identified poor information sharing as a barrier to service collaboration with detrimental outcomes for children and families.
The Information Sharing Schemes enable schools and other prescribed Information Sharing Entities (ISE) to access and share relevant information to promote the wellbeing and safety of children, and to assess and manage family violence risk.
Phase One of implementation of the Schemes commenced in September 2018 and included key tertiary and frontline services, such as Child Protection, Maternal and Child Health Services and Victoria Police.
From 19 April 2021, as part of Phase Two, universal services such as education and health will be authorised to share information using the Schemes.
On and from this date, Cheshire School, Victorian government, non-government schools and centre-based education and care services, such as long day care, kindergarten and outside school hours care services, will be prescribed as ISE under the Child Information Sharing Scheme and the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme and will have an expanded ability to collaborate and share confidential information with other authorised professionals.
The Information Sharing Schemes complement and expand upon existing information sharing and child protection laws and do not replace already existing authorisation to share information such as the Child Safe Standards, reporting to Child Protection or Victoria Police, the Reportable Conduct Scheme and other privacy and information sharing laws.
