Member Welfare/Child Safety
Child Safety in Victoria
The Victorian Child Safe Standards, introduced in 2016, aim to protect children from abuse in organisations, including physical violence, sexual offences, serious emotional or psychological abuse and serious neglect. The child safe standards require organisations that provide services for children to have a child safe policy and a statement of commitment to child safety. All child based organisations need to work to be compliant with the standards by 1 January 2017.
To create and maintain a child safe organisation, the Vermont Vultures must have:
Standard 1: Strategies to embed an organisational culture of child safety, including through effective leadership arrangements.
Standard 2: A child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety.
Standard 3: A code of conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children.
Standard 4: Screening, supervision, training and other human resources practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel.
Standard 5: Processes for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse.
Standard 6: Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse.
Standard 7: Strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children.
In complying with the child safe standards child services organisations such as the Vermont Vultures must include the following principles as part of our response to each standard:
- promoting the cultural safety of Aboriginal children
- promoting the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds
- promoting the safety of children with a disability.
Child Safety at the Vermont Vultures
Everyone who participates in our Club’s activities is entitled to do so in an enjoyable and safe environment. Vermont Vultures Basketball Club has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that, when given responsibility for children and young people, coaches, officials, volunteers, staff members and parents provide them with the highest possible standard of care.
Vermont Vultures Basketball Club is committed to devising and implementing policies so that everyone in our sport accepts their responsibilities to safeguard children from harm and abuse. This means to follow policies and procedures to protect children and report any concerns about their safety and/or welfare to appropriate authorities.
The aim of the policy is to promote good practice, provide children and young people with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of the Club and to allow staff and volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child safety issues. This policy guides how all our staff and volunteers behave with children in our organisation. The policy applies to all people associated with the Vermont Vultures including committee members, management, coaches, team managers, parents of player and players themselves.
This policy document sets out how the Vermont Vultures Basketball Club recognises the importance of child safety and how we work to ensure our Club creates and maintains an environment where all children are safe.
If you are a committee member, a coach or assistant coach or team manager or you know you will volunteer for one of these roles in the future, please print a copy of this document, read it and sign the back page in acknowledgement of the Policy and email the signed copy to playerwelfare@vermontvultures.org.au for our records.
