Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 30

Features
SAFEGUARDING SCOTCH BOYS
Scotch aims ‘ … to deliver an education
which, secure in the traditions of our past
and our Christian belief, opens boys’ minds
to the rich diversity of the world in which
they live and challenges them to question
and explore everything they find, with
integrity, humour and compassion. And to
do this in an exciting, intimate environment
which nurtures self-expression and
self-worth while promoting the uniqueness
of each boy’s journey.’
As a school community, we are committed
to achieve this aim with every boy who passes
through our doors. Achieving this aim depends
on many factors, not least of which is the
dedication demonstrated by the staff of the
School, who collectively seek to provide the
setting, the support, the care and the guidance
that will encourage each boy to realise his
unique potential.
It has long been acknowledged that another
factor contributing to the outcome defined
by our aim is creating and maintaining an
environment where every boy knows that he
is respected and safe. The safety of every boy
entrusted to the care of the School is given the
highest priority. Sadly, history informs us that
despite the accent on providing sanctuary,
there have been instances in the past when
boys have been subject to abuse at the hands
of those whom they trusted. As a community
we have owned these failings of the past and
sought to make just reparations.
The Royal Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sexual Abuse commenced
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Great Scot Number 156 – April 2019
in January 2013, and over the subsequent two
years helped to shed light on the extent and
impact of the abuse and neglect of children.
The School contracted with the Australian
Childhood Foundation (ACF) in July 2015,
beginning a process towards gaining the
foundation’s safeguarding accreditation status.
Achievement of this status would endorse
actions taken to ensure that boys were as safe
as possible within and beyond the School’s
campus, when engaged in school-sanctioned
activity.
The contractual agreement with the ACF
provided ready access to an experienced ACF
manager, offering support and guidance as
the School embarked on an intensive period of
policy review and development. The agreement
also provided access to a highly regarded online
safeguarding training course, that all Scotch
staff and volunteers must complete as an
accreditation requirement.
During the period from July 2015 through
to January 2018 the process yielded a number
of critically important policy and procedural
documents, including:
• Child Protection Commitment Statement
• Child Safety Code of Conduct
• Child Protection and Obligations of
Reporting Policy/Procedure
• Reportable Conduct Policy
• Recruiting and Screening Guidelines
During this same period, more than
1500 school-connected staff and volunteers
completed the ACF online safeguarding course.
Regular additional training opportunities
were provided for staff during these years,
including keynote addresses and small group
consideration of safeguarding scenarios.
In December 2015, the recommendations
of the Royal Commission prompted the
Victorian government to formulate a Ministerial
Order (870), outlining the minimum child safe
standards required of all Victorian schools. The
standards demanded by the Ministerial Order
are included in the requirements of the ACF
accreditation process. Having embarked on the
process towards ACF accreditation, the School
was well advanced in meeting the standards
required of the order on its public release.
At the beginning of 2018, the School was
confident that the work undertaken on policy
development, and the education of staff,
parents and boys, had instilled a safeguarding
culture throughout the community. This
confidence encouraged an invitation to the
ACF to conduct a comprehensive safeguarding
audit. A successful audit of the progress made
and the culture established would represent a
major step towards safeguarding accreditation.
The audit was conducted during a week
in August 2018, and involved a review of all
safeguarding documentation and interviews
with representative samples of School staff,
boys and parents. The School received the
detailed audit report in early September.
The report strongly affirmed the actions
the School had taken, and identified specific
strengths and some remaining challenges. The
report endorsed the School’s application for
safeguarding accreditation, and recommended