Protecting Our Children
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (From Matthew’s Gospel in the Christian Bible)
When Jesus was on earth, he showed that he loved and protected children. The Christian Bible tells us to imitate the goodness of God, and so we need to imitate the way Jesus protected children.
It is not only Christian schools that must protect children, all schools must do so. But as a Christian school, we have an extra incentive to protect children; we have the example given us by Jesus.
Schools have a duty to protect children and that means being proactive as well as setting up systems, structures, policies and practices that protect children. A Christian school operates best when we operate as a community. Really, we are more than an organisation, more than a collection of parents and teachers, we are a pro-social collaborative community where parents and staff partner together for the growth and nurture of children.
As I do a couple of times each year, let me remind you about the school’s “Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy”. It is a government-required responsibility of all schools to have such a policy, so all schools are required to have an up-to-date policy that guides adults about maintaining a culture of protecting children from abuse.
Child abuse is never acceptable. And everyone in a school community has a responsibility to know how to respond if there was ever a concern that a child was being abused. These days, the responsibility is not just with teachers, it is with all school staff; teachers and non-teachers. The responsibility is not just with parents, it is with all adults; extended family members, board members, visitors, guest speakers. Every adult has a responsibility to look out for and respond to any evidence of child abuse.
As I have done before, let me remind you of this policy and where to find it. It is Policy 15, and it is called: “Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy”. It is not short, but please read it. It instructs how we adults are to actively protect children. The policy is always accessible on our MCC website, and the link is here for your convenience.
CHILD SAFETY AND WELLBEING POLICY
The policy is reviewed every year to ensure it is up to date. It was reviewed in March this year by the school’s governing body; that’s the College Council, assisted by me as principal. Staff, and parents are asked to review the policy also, and if there is a breach of policy, the policy gets reviewed immediately. Each year, all staff are required to re-read the policy, and I encourage you to do the same.
I hope that is all helpful information and I thank you for your commitment to partnering with us.
david gleeson, principal