Keeping children safe
At Uniting Early Learning, child safety isn’t just a policy for us—it’s our culture.
Nurturing confident and creative learners
Early learning services you can rely on.
We believe children learn best when they feel secure, supported and free to be themselves. That’s why we create environments where children are protected, listened to and cared for, and where every adult understands their role in keeping children safe. Our practices include building safe and trusting relationships, cultural safety and inclusion, and listening to children and respecting their voice.
How we safeguard children every day
Across our Early Learning services, we have strong children’s safeguarding in place including:
- Police Checks for all staff, in addition to required Working with Children Checks
- Thorough reference checks as part of our recruitment process
- Clear child safety policies and a shared code of conduct
- Child safeguarding training for team members
- A dedicated Safeguarding team that investigates concerns about quality of care
- Incident reporting systems linked to external reporting requirements
We’re proud of our experienced, stable workforce, with an average staff tenure of 5.4 years and a low turnover rate of 3.1%. This consistency helps children feel safe, known and supported.
“The team has gone above and beyond to help my son feel safe and supported at kinder.”
Rachel, parent
Our commitment to child safety
Protecting children from abuse, neglect and harm — and supporting their health, safety and wellbeing — is our highest priority.
As a child safe organisation, we have zero tolerance for misconduct. We actively promote and follow the Victorian Child Safe Standards and work hard to ensure children are respected, protected and heard.
Learn more about Uniting’s commitment to child safety.
Our child safety commitment statement
Every child and young person has the right to feel safe, valued and connected — including connection to their land, sea and culture.
At Uniting, we commit to:
- doing everything we can to protect children from abuse, harm, neglect, discrimination or exclusion
- creating culturally safe environments where children are respected, nurtured and supported
- reporting abuse or concerns to the appropriate authorities
- making sure child safety is front of mind in our decisions, policies and everyday practices
Policies and procedures
Being child safe is essential to living our values.
We follow a comprehensive set of policies and procedures in childcare and kindergarten that clearly set out our responsibilities and actions.
Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Schemes
Child Safe Standards and Reportable Conduct Schemes help ensure our services remain safe, trusted places for children.
They guide how we protect children from harm, promote their rights and wellbeing, and respond carefully and appropriately to any concerns — giving families confidence that their children are safe and supported.
Victoria
The Victorian Child Safe Standards align with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. Oversight and compliance are managed by the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP).
Tasmania
From 1 January 2024, Tasmania introduced the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework, which includes Child and Youth Safe Standards and a Reportable Conduct Scheme to protect children and young people.
Uniting Safeguarding Team
Our Safeguarding team plays an important role in keeping children safe across our services.
They support Early Learning staff to take a preventative, thoughtful approach to child safety and manage systems for investigating concerns or allegations, including those that may fall under reportable conduct requirements.
Child Safety Advisory Committee
Our Child Safety Advisory Committee helps ensure child safety strategies are applied consistently and effectively.
The committee brings together experienced representatives from across the organisation to provide guidance, oversight and continuous improvement.
E safety
Children’s safety extends to the digital world too.
In Victoria, e‑safety practices in early learning are guided by the National Model Code and Victorian Child Safe Standards. All team members, visitors and professionals are expected to follow these requirements to protect children’s privacy and safety.
This includes:
- Parents and guardians may carry personal devices during pick‑up and drop‑off, but devices must stay in bags or pockets
- No photos or videos may be taken of children (including your own child) during the program or at events
- Educators capture and share images from special events via our secure platforms
- Third‑party professionals must follow strict guidelines when using business‑issued devices and complete required authorisation
Quick Links
Standards and frameworks
Resources
Body Safety Resources | ChildSafe Australia
https://www.childsafety.gov.au/having-conversations/having-conversations-children-and-young-people
https://www.childsafety.gov.au/resources/my-say-my-way-storybook
https://www.childsafety.gov.au/resources/my-safe-way-community-map
https://www.childsafety.gov.au/resources/find-your-way-educational-game
https://www.childsafety.gov.au/having-conversations/resources-teach-body-safety
FAQs
The Child Safe Standards guide how organisations keep children safe. They focus on leadership, safe behaviours, listening to children, strong recruitment and training, and responding quickly to concerns — making child safety part of everyday practice.
All staff working in our Early Learning services complete children’s safeguarding training. This starts during induction and is refreshed regularly, so everyone understands their role in protecting children.
From July 2026, all educators must complete mandatory national child safety training every two years.
We create safe, caring environments through secure spaces, clear supervision, respectful relationships and strong policies. Educators follow a code of conduct, complete regular training and are supported by clear reporting processes and our dedicated Safeguarding team.
If you have a concern, please speak with your child’s educator or centre leader, or . You can fill in a contact form on this webpage, call us on 1800 183 103 or email us on [email protected]. All concerns are taken seriously, handled sensitively and managed in line with child safety laws.
Yes. Families can access our child safety policies through our policy library. We welcome questions and feedback and are always happy to talk through our approach to keeping children safe.