Child Wise consulting

It is important that leaders of any organisation which engages with children and young people understand key child safety concepts and are aware of their legislative responsibilities related to child safety. Engagement occurs through either training (Leading a Child Safe Organisation), a shorter Child Safety Briefing Session or a more tailored approach to meet your needs.

Objectives

• Ensure leaders have an understanding of their legislative and ethical responsibilities in regards to child safety.
• Equip the leadership group with knowledge and resources that will help them to embed a child safe organisational culture. 

The Self-Assessment enables organisations to develop a more accurate understanding of strengths and priorities for development.

The Self-Assessment is structured around the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and additional Child Wise success criteria, and encourages a critical examination of child safety capacity across the organisation.

Child Wise can support your organisation to undertake and interpret a self-assessment and develop improvement plans.  

Objectives

• Enable organisations to develop a comprehensive understanding of the quality and effectiveness of their child safety practice.
• Provide leaders with information about organisational strengths and gaps which can be used to shape improvement plans.

This module uses a whole-system approach to enable your organisation and Child Wise to develop a deeper understanding of child safety across the organisation. By necessity, Child Wise undertakes Child Safety Reviews without fear or favour, recognising that the most important beneficiaries of the process are children and young people. 

The Child Safety Review includes a number of activities including a desktop review of organisational policies, procedures, practice, communication and training; engagement with staff, volunteers, children, young people and parents; and site visits.

Objectives

• Equitably and proportionately examine child safety across the organisation.
• Engage all stakeholders, including children, young people, parents/carers, staff, volunteers and leaders.
• Provide a transparent, system-wide view of child safety in the organisation.
• Identify strengths, areas for development, risks and mitigation.
• Provide your organisation with meaningful, achievable and tailored findings designed to shape an improvement plan.

Your organisations may need support in developing outcome-focused plans which can help improve child safety practices.  Perhaps your organisation has undertaken a Child Wise Self-Assessment or engaged Child Wise in a Child Safety Review and these have identified gaps; or you may already be aware of your priorities for change but need some assistance in developing an improvement plan. Child Wise can work with your organisation to develop a tailored improvement plan which addresses how, when and by whom recommendations will be implemented.

Objectives

• Develop an outcome-focused improvement plan that engaged stakeholders, capitalises on strengths and addresses gaps.
• Ensure leaders have an improvement plan that enables them to track progress, monitor resource allocation and identify potential risks.  

Child Wise can collaborate with your organisation to help deliver improvements in child safety practice. Available services include:

1. Policy development

Child Wise can support your organisation by:

• Reviewing and editing draft policy and procedure documents; and
• Developing documents e.g. policies, procedures, strategies, tailored to the organisational context.

2. Child Safety organisational framework

An organisational child safeguarding framework can be developed that is specific to your organisation. The framework will integrate all child safety policy requirements and will be informed by the outcome of the Child Safety Review if one was undertaken.  

3. Child safety training

Child Wise can deliver training to your staff in-house at your organisation or through our virtual training. We are in the process of finalising our virtual classroom training packages.

Please click here if you are interested in virtual training. 

In-house training is recommended for organisations that need to train groups of staff and volunteers, or the board/leadership team. In-house training can be delivered in its standard format or customised to suit your organisational needs and context. The training provided includes state-based and national legislation that applies to you.

Click here for more information on the training programs available.

4. Embedded model

Child Wise can support your organisation’s capacity building by embedding one of our Child Wise Advisors in your organisation one day per week over the course of 3-12 months.  The Child Wise Advisor can offer valuable expertise as your organisation continues its journey along the child safety continuum. 

Objectives

• Build the capacity of staff, volunteers and managers to prevent, recognise and respond appropriately to child abuse concerns or incidents.
• Develop policies, procedures, and resources that will enable your organisation to strengthen child safe practice.
• Facilitate change that will embed an organisational culture of child safety and reduce risk to children and young people.
• Increase knowledge and understanding of organisational child safety in Australia.
• Ensure a common understanding of legislative requirements, research and guidance.