Keeping children safe
Anglicare’s Child Safe approach to Early Learning
Child Safety – First, foremost, and always
At Anglicare, the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is our highest priority. Our Early Learning Services are designed to create environments where every child feels safe, respected, and supported to thrive.
We are committed to maintaining and continuously strengthening the highest standards of child safety across our services. This includes embedding safe practices, empowering children’s voices, and ensuring our teams are equipped to respond to and prevent harm.
Anglicare is a Child Safe Organisation. For more information about our organisation-wide commitment to child safety, visit our Child Safety page.
Below you will find our Early Learning Child Safety Standards and how they guide our daily practice.
Safe practices – every day
Our approach to child safety is embedded in daily practice across our Early Learning services. We design our environments and routines so that children are consistently supervised, respected, and protected.
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- Educators work in environments where they are visible to other educators while interacting with children
- No educator is alone with a child in an unsupervised or closed space
- Nappy change and toileting areas are designed to maintain dignity while allowing appropriate visibility
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- Room leaders and supervisors actively monitor and support safe practice
- All educators share responsibility for maintaining a child-safe environment
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- Daily safety checks of indoor and outdoor environments
- Regular risk assessments for activities and spaces
- Emergency drills (e.g. evacuation, lockdown) conducted and documented
- Ongoing monitoring staff-to-child ratios and group allocations
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- Toileting and nappy changing are recognised as higher-risk activities and are carefully managed
- Educators follow hygiene practices, including handwashing, use of gloves, and cleaning of surfaces after use
- Environments are designed to support children’s dignity while maintaining appropriate visibility
- Children are supported to develop safe hygiene habits such as handwashing
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- Personal devices are not permitted in learning environments
- Secure, approved platforms are used to support children’s learning and communication with families
- Parent consent is required for images, which are stored and shared in line with strict privacy and safety guidelines
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- Regular review of practices, incidents, and environments
- Ongoing improvements informed by feedback, audits, and best practice
Safe People
We want families to feel confident that every person working with their child is safe, suitable, and supported.
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- Current Working With Vulnerable People or Working With Children Checks, with ongoing monitoring
- Reference checks that consider child safety behaviours
- Verification of qualifications and employment history
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- Meet the same screening and compliance requirements as permanent staff
- Receive induction into centre-specific safety practices before working with children
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- Compliance processes aligned with legislation and organisational policy
- Clear processes for responding to and managing concerns about staff conduct
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- Mandatory reporting training and regular refreshers
- Ongoing professional development in:
- Child protection and safeguarding
- Trauma-informed practice
- Professional boundaries and ethical conduct
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- A clear and enforced Code of Conduct outlining expectations when working with children
- Zero tolerance for behaviour that places children at risk
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- Leadership oversight of child safety practices across services
- Regular supervision, coaching, and performance reviews that include child safety
Safe access to services
We maintain strict controls to ensure only authorised people can access our early learning services and that our environments remain safe for children.
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- Controlled entry points, including gated or coded access
- Security arrangements that are regularly reviewed and maintained
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- All visitors required to sign in and out
- Photo identification may be required
- Visitors are appropriately supervised while onsite
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- Required to sign in and follow site procedures
- Supervised while onsite
- Access limited to approved areas only
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- Mandatory reporting training and regular refreshers
- Ongoing professional development in:
- Child protection and safeguarding
- Trauma-informed practice
- Professional boundaries and ethical conduct
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- Secure sign-in and sign-out processes for children
- Children are only collected by authorised parents/carers or approved nominees.
