Our Child Safe Commitment

We recently commissioned an audit from ChildSafe to determine how our policies and procedures compare with ChildSafe Standards which equate to the Royal Commission Standards and now the National Principles.

Discovery's Child Safety Commitment states that:

Discovery Early Learning Centres is committed to an organisation wide culture of child safety and has a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse.

Children in our care are empowered to recognise their rights as individuals as defined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: to have their dignity and rights respected; to speak up; to be heard; to be kept safe; to be protected and to be taken seriously.

We ensure that our systems and processes protect children from abuse and that allegations are taken seriously and responded to consistently.

Discovery is committed to promoting child safety for ALL children, regardless of their gender, race, religious belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, family or social background.

We will promote and ensure the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds and promote a safe environment for all children with a disability.

All adults involved with Discovery have the responsibility to understand and activate their role in preventing, detecting, responding and reporting any suspicions of child abuse and maintaining a culture of child safety.

The Audit Report stated: "The Organisation was found to be delivering safety and care to a high degree across all 10 standards both in its policies (what it says it will do) and in implementation (what it actually does)."

Saying: "Strong and ongoing vigilance for the interests of children, staff, volunteers and stakeholders has been sustained over time... Child safety is a shared responsibility at all levels of the organisation with everyone accountable to someone else."

The 10 ChildSafe Standards are:

Standard1: Child safety is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

Standard 2: Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

Standard 3: Families and communities are informed and involved.

Standard 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs are taken into account.

Standard 5: People working with children are suitable and supported.

Standard 6: Processes to respond to complaints of child sexual abuse are child focused.

Standard 7: Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe.

Standard 8: Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse and harm to occur.

Standard 9: Implementation of the ChildSafe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved.

Standard 10: Policies and procedures document how the organisation is child safe.