A Culture of Caring for Children & Young People

safeguarding-culture-of-caring-275px Through continually building awareness, skills and knowledge the Diocese fosters a culture where people see, do and say things that represents a community where the care and safety of children and young people is paramount. Maintaining such a culture requires diligent and persistent work. The Diocesan Safeguarding culture builds on the foundations of its Christian Faith and Diocesan led guidelines such as the Diocesan Office for Safeguarding Charter, Commitment Statement to Safeguarding and the Rights of the Child Framework.

Rights of the Child
The Diocese of Broken Bay implements the Rights of the Child as the foundation of program development. We hope to ingrain child rights in a comprehensive and respectful way by being embedded in the Church’s leadership, governance and culture. We encourage all workers of the Diocese to uphold and implement the principles of child rights in all aspects on their work.

The Diocesan Rights of the Child Framework seeks to influence the Diocese’s culture through supporting Governance and Leadership actions and decision making when developing policies, procedures and program implementation. Download the Framework here.

For more information on the Rights of the Child visit:

Voice of the Child
“Adults need to learn that it doesn’t matter how old we are, we can still make change” - Female, 11 -17 years

There are many benefits of involving children and young people in organisational decision making, therefore, it is important to break down the barriers to their participation to ensure all children and young people can have the opportunity to participate. The NSW Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People seeks to engage children and young people. [Reference: National Catholic Safeguarding Standard 2.1]

safeguarding-culture-of-safety-and-care

What do children and young people think about safety?
A summary of findings from studies conducted by the Institute of Child Protection Studies (ACU) and the Centre for Children and Young People (SCU)



eSafety
The online environment offers new ways to communicate with others, build relationships and learn. Most online experiences are positive. However, the online environment also poses risks such as unwanted contact, cyberbullying, trolling, image-based abuse and exposure to inappropriate, offensive or illegal content. The online behaviour of the Diocesan personnel should always be respectful and maintain appropriate personal and professional boundaries.

Diocesan personnel also have an obligation to use the online environment in a manner that is safe for themselves and others, particularly when engaging with children and vulnerable adults. All online or electronic contact between Diocesan personnel and children or vulnerable adults, by whatever method, should be transparent and open to scrutiny.

The eSafety Commissioner https://www.esafety.gov.au [Reference: National Catholic Safeguarding Standard 8.2]