Heathmont College is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our school community recognises the importance of, and a responsibility for, ensuring our school is a safe, supportive and enriching environment which respects and fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development. 

Expectations for teachers 

All teachers are mandated to report any instances of actual or suspected child abuse. 

There is detailed guidance and support for this on the DET website at https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/protecting-children/policy , The school also has local policies around child safety and you can access these below. 

In addition to the policies, a risk assessment has been completed for child safety in the college and it is important that you familiarise yourself with its contents. You can access a copy of this risk assessment below as well. 

All staff are required to complete the Department's 'Protecting children - reporting and other legal obligations' module on the LearnEd platform on EduPay annually . If you are not sure as to how to find these modules, please let a member of the principal team know and we and support you. 

Support is available for staff around these policies and the processes that sit behind them. If you become aware of a situation in which you believe a child is at risk, please let a member of the principal team or the wellbeing team know and we will walk you through what you need to do.  At a school level, we like you to inform a member of the principal or wellbeing team before taking action to make a report so that the organisation can ensure that the required supports and follow up are enacted however, if it is logistically difficult to do so or there is an urgency that makes this difficult, please take the required actions and inform us as soon as possible. 

Documents and resources regarding identification and response