Child Safe Policy

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Purpose

Our aim is for the young people under the age of 18, who attend our classes, to have a safe, happy and creative art experience.

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This policy guides tutors, committee members, members, volunteers and children on how to behave and how to promote safety and participation.

Key elements are management of foreseeable risks, criminal record checking for relevant tutors, prior training, and the encouragement of children to communicate their concerns.

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Working with Children Checks (WWC)

A Working with Children Check is a prerequisite for anyone in child-related work. It involves a national criminal history check and review of findings of workplace misconduct.

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Two members of the SCAC committee, President and Vice President, and every tutor that has a class with a child under the age of 18 years shall be required to have a current Working With Children check. In NSW (2022) this check is valid for 5 years. This check takes a few days unless there are records to be examined, which prolongs the process.

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Working With Children checks are obtained online at:

http://wwccheck.ocg.nsw.au

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Rules for Classes with Children

To minimise the risks outlined above, the following rules apply when children are in attendance at a SCAC class.

• Classes with one/few children in attendance.

• Child specific classes.

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Rules for Child Specific Classes

1. Parent Registration: Parent or carer must be registered with full name, emergency contact numbers and signatures.

2. Child Arrival: Parent or carer must take responsibility for the safe arrival of their child to the art room, inside the building where the class is to be held. Child must be signed in on list at the door. Older students may arrive on foot or bike with written instructions from parent or carer.

3. Child Departure: A parent or carer will enter the building to collect the child. Any change to this procedure such as grandparent or another, picking child up must be detailed to the tutor in writing by email or SMS. Child must be signed out at the door.

4. No child will be allowed to leave the building whilst under responsibility of the tutor.

5. All responsibility for the child outside the building before and after class is the responsibility of the parent or carer.

6. Doors of the classroom must be kept closed, unless a child has gone to the toilet. The tutor must be attentive to the child’s safe return.

7. Children must wear closed-toe shoes and keep them on.

8. All information related to the child and other members will be kept secure from access by unauthorised persons.

9. Any injury will be reported to the parent or carer by phone and recorded in in WHS and WWC register of reports. A First Aid Kit (in the kitchen) is available for any minor injury to the child.

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Rules for a class generally attended by adults with one or more children present:

Where children enrol in adult-centred classes entry age is a minimum of 18 years if the child is unaccompanied by an adult family member.

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A child under 18 must be accompanied, at all times, whilst on SCAC premises and may only attend at the tutor’s discretion.

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For all SCAC members attending the art center:

Anyone who has a concern related to the safety of children is urged to contact a member of the committee immediately.