Our commitment to child safety - ｹ嵂晙ﾔﾅﾄ Christian School

Our Statement of Commitment to a Child-Safe Organisation

ｹ嵂晙ﾔﾅﾄ Christian School assists parents in the nurture of their children, by providing a Christ-centred, biblically grounded, culturally engaging and academically rigorous education to equip the children to live for God窶冱 glory.

In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus says:

'One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 窶廾f all the commandments, which is the most important?窶�

窶弋he most important one,窶� answered Jesus, 窶彿s this: 窶路ear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.窶� The second is this: 窶�Love your neighbour as yourself.窶� There is no commandment greater than these.窶�'

The verses above point us to the commitment that is at the heart of the Christian窶冱 approach to life and the heart of ｹ嵂晙ﾔﾅﾄ Christian School窶冱 approach to our students. The scriptures teach that following Jesus means loving God and loving all people. We are to shape our desires and actions in a way that sees the wellbeing of those around us championed in our school. We are committed to following Christ, in love, with actions and in truth. This means we are committed to the safety, protection and wellbeing of children and young people. Our Lord loves, cares and protects children and so we seek to love, care and protect the children and young people God has placed in our care.

All children and young people who come to ｹ嵂晙ﾔﾅﾄ are God窶冱 beloved creation and should be kept safe and protected from harm. As God窶冱 image bearers their voice and perspective should be heard and valued.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says:

'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.'

ｹ嵂晙ﾔﾅﾄ Christian School seeks to love others as Christ has loved us and this is reflected in the responsibilities we undertake. The school regards its child protection responsibilities as vital; they are the outworking of our commitment to love and care for our students and our commitment to honour and respect the wise governance of our land. The school is committed to providing the necessary resources to assist in maintaining relevant child protection laws and regulations, and in the maintenance of developing a child-safe culture.

Each member of the school community has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role that they play, individually and collectively, in helping students flourish in their wellbeing and feel safe. This helps drive what they do, and is well considered in decisions made.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

ｹ嵂晙ﾔﾅﾄ Christian School sees the importance a parent plays in the life of a child and is committed to partnering with parents in helping:

Love all children and young people in action and truth, as called to by God in his scriptures;
Respect the authority of parents, under God, as responsible for the education of their children while keeping child safety paramount;
Value the input of and communicate regularly with families and carers as members of our community;
Take a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety;
Develop policies and procedures that reflect our Christian commitment to child safety;
Reflect the biblical principles of care, concern and support for all children in all our practices as a school;
Foster a culture of openness that supports everyone to safely disclose risks of harm to children;
Provide guidance on appropriate conduct and behaviour towards children;
Engage suitable people to work with children and have high quality staff and volunteer supervision;
Conduct professional development that reflects our Christian duty of care;
Value and support children to participate in decisions which affect their lives;
Teach children who to talk with if they are worried or are feeling unsafe, and that they will be supported through the process when they raise such issues;
Report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authorities;
Share information appropriately and lawfully with other organisations where the safety and wellbeing
of children is at risk.

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