A written child protection policy and procedure is implemented that meets the requirements of the Children's Act 2014.

The policy and procedure contain provisions for:

• the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect
• information about how the service will keep children safe from abuse and neglect, and
• how the service will respond to suspected child abuse and neglect.

The policy and procedure must be reviewed every 3 years to assess how well it has supported or would support the service's response to child abuse and neglect.

Documentation required (written or digital)#

1. A written child protection policy that contains:

• provisions for the service's identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect
• information about the practices the service employs to keep children safe from abuse and neglect and
• information about how the service will respond to suspected child abuse and neglect.

2. A procedure that sets out how the service will identify and respond to suspected child abuse and/or neglect.
3. Evidence the service has reviewed the policy and procedure every three years. As part of the review, the service must evaluate how well the policy and procedure works using at least one example of either:

• how well the policy and procedure has supported the service to respond or
• how well the policy and procedure would support the service to respond using a hypothetical scenario.

Guidance#

The Education Review Office have guidance on how to comply with this criterion.

HS312 Child protection – ERO