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Policy statement


Last updated
09/05/2024
Implementation date
09/05/2024
Reference number
PD-2002-0067-03-V01.0.0
Publicly available
Yes
Policy cluster
Health, safety and wellbeing

Child Protection – responding to and reporting students at risk of harm procedures

Direction and guidance on the requirements for responding to and reporting students at suspected risk of harm.

Audience

All Department of Education employees.

Version Date Description of changes Approved by
V01.0.0 09/05/2024 Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, developed a new procedure outlining actions necessary for compliance with the Child protection policy. Consolidated instructions from web pages, including removing out-of-date content. Executive Director, Inclusion and wellbeing

About the policy

Term Definition
Child Protection Helpline
132 111

Situated in the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) for when there is suspected risk of significant harm concerns for children and young people. The 24/7 telephone (132 111) and electronic reporting service receives information from callers and undertakes statutory assessment of child protection concerns.

English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D)

English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) learners are those whose first language is a language or dialect other than Standard Australian English who require support in developing their proficiency in Standard Australian English. This may include refugee, refugee-like and newly arrived students.
Child Wellbeing Unit (CWU)

The NSW Department of Education’s Child Wellbeing Unit assists staff in meeting mandatory reporter obligations and supporting students by providing recommendations, resources and referral options where there are wellbeing, welfare or safety concerns.

The Child Wellbeing Unit ensures matters that do reach the suspected risk of significant harm threshold are reported to the Child Protection Helpline. Concerns that do not meet the risk of significant harm threshold but are not trivial, must be reported to the Child Wellbeing Unit.

The unit has Aboriginal Assessment Officers who can provide support and advice when schools are responding to child protection and wellbeing concerns and supporting Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families or referring them to appropriate services.

The Child Wellbeing Unit can be contacted on 02 9269 9400 (staff only), or via eReport through the Department of Communities and Justice’s ChildStory Reporter Community tool.

Concerns

Concerns refers to any situation, behaviour, or circumstance that raises suspicion or prompts the need for further inquiry or intervention regarding the safety, welfare, or wellbeing of a child or young person. Concerns often revolve around potential risks of abuse, neglect or harm to a child or young person and may require assessment, DCJ or Police investigation, or support to ensure the child or young person’s safety and protection. These concerns can arise from various sources, including reports from professionals, observations of behaviour, disclosures from the child or young person, or information from concerned individuals within the child or young person’s environment.

Concerns also refer to situations requiring further inquiry or intervention, especially concerning potential abuse or neglect. This includes instances where a child or young person discloses past maltreatment and/or has contact with someone who is known to be responsible for causing harm to a child or young person in the past.

Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)

Works with children, young people, adults, families and communities to deliver services with a unified and collaborative approach with the objective of achieving a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive community. DCJ is the NSW statutory child protection agency.

eReport

eReporting is a secure and convenient channel for reporting non-imminent suspected risk of significant harm to the Child Protection Helpline and/or suspected risk of harm to the Child Wellbeing Unit over the internet. eReporting options are accessed through the Department of Communities and Justice’s ChildStory Reporter Community tool.
Mandatory Reporter Guide (MRG)

The Mandatory Reporter Guide (MRG) is a Structured Decision Making (®SDM) tool within the ChildStory Reporter Community website, intended to complement mandatory reporters' professional judgement and critical thinking. The Mandatory Reporter Guide supports mandatory reporters in NSW to:

  • determine whether a report to the Child Protection Helpline is needed for concerns about possible abuse or neglect of a child or young person
  • identify alternative supports for vulnerable children, young people and their families.

The Mandatory Reporter Guide works by posing specific questions that help reporters work systematically through the issues relating to their concerns about a child or young person. At the end of the process, a decision report will guide the reporter as to what action to take.

Problematic and Harmful Sexual Behaviours (PHSB)

Sexual behaviours expressed by children and young people under the age of 18 years that fall outside the range of typical (or ‘normal’) activity for a child’s age and stage of development, may be developmentally inappropriate, harmful towards self or others, or be abusive towards another child, young person or adult.

Reasonable grounds

Refers to the need to have an objective basis for suspecting that a child or young person may be at risk of harm or risk of significant harm, based on firsthand observations of the child, young person or family; what the child, young person, parent or another person has disclosed; and what can reasonably be inferred based on professional training and/or experience.

It does not mean that mandatory reporters, including all employees of the department, are required to confirm their suspicions or have clear proof before making a report.

Risk of harm

Concerns about risk of harm that do not meet the threshold of significant harm but are not trivial.

Risk of significant harm (ROSH)

A child or young person is at risk of significant harm if the circumstances that are causing concern for the safety, welfare or wellbeing of the child or young person are present to a significant extent. Suspected risk of significant harm concerns reported to the Child Protection Helpline are forwarded to Department of Community and Justice’s Community Services Centres, which determine if significant risk of harm is present.

What is meant by ‘significant’ in the phrase ‘to a significant extent’ is that which is sufficiently serious to warrant a response by a statutory authority irrespective of a family’s consent. What is significant is not minor or trivial and may reasonably be expected to produce a substantial and demonstrably adverse impact on the child or young person’s safety, welfare or wellbeing. The significance can result from a single act or omission or an accumulation of these.

In the case of an unborn child, what is significant is not minor or trivial, and may reasonably be expected to produce a substantial and demonstrably adverse impact on the child after the child’s birth.

All staff:

  • are mandatory reporters under the Childrens and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998
  • must recognise, respond to and report the safety, welfare and wellbeing concerns for all children and young people in NSW public schools and preschools regardless of their identity, location, cultural and/or linguistic background or disability status
  • have a responsibility to support students within their role and to communicate and collaborate with any other agencies and services that are working with a student or family
  • must complete Child Protection Awareness Training (induction) when commencing their role (accessible through MyPL [staff only])
  • must complete annual mandatory child protection training (Child Protection Update) every year (accessible through MyPL [staff only])
  • have access to child protection resources and guidelines to assist them to recognise and respond to child protection concerns (refer to Responding to concerns in specific or unique circumstances)
  • must report suspected risk of harm or risk of significant harm concerns to their principal, workplace manager or a delegated staff member
  • should provide all available contextual information about child protection concerns, the child and their situation when reporting.

Principals and workplace managers:

  • must ensure effective systems are in place so staff can
    • identify child protection concerns during their work, report these and take action, where appropriate, to support vulnerable children and young people
    • collaborate with Delivery Support to care for and protect children and young people in ways that strengthen and support the family and in a manner that respects the functions and expertise of each service provider
  • are responsible for following up on all child protection concerns reported to, or observed by them
  • should use appropriate tools to inform decision-making where there are concerns about suspected risk of harm, for example, Mandatory Reporter Guide, professional judgment, or specialist advice
  • must report suspected risk of significant harm concerns to Department of Communities and Justice and/or the Department of Education’s Child Wellbeing Unit
  • must report suspected risk of harm concerns to the Child Wellbeing Unit
  • must only delegate mandatory reporting obligations to an appropriate school executive and ensure processes are in place to be informed of each report that has been made by the delegate
  • when the principal, approved delegate or workplace manager is absent or uncontactable, the next most senior position at the school or workplace has responsibility for reporting
  • must keep records of reports and engagement numbers in a central and secure location
  • must maintain a workplace register of staff participation in annual child protection updates and induction of new staff, or they must sight individual records. This applies to all department employees
  • must ensure all staff are aware of the Child Safe Standards and there are processes in place to ensure child safe practices
  • must ensure that all contractors and/or special religious education and special education in ethics teachers and/or volunteers are aware of the department’s child protection policies and their obligations as a mandatory reporter (refer to the frequently asked question, Who is required to complete child protection training? on Child protection training.

Staff supporting schools:

(Directors, Educational Leadership, Child Wellbeing Unit, School Counselling Service and Delivery Support)

  • raise awareness of the Child Safe Standards and child safe practices in education settings
  • provide proactive and responsive specialist advice and support for schools
  • work collaboratively with school staff to manage complex cases and liaise with external agencies
  • monitor policy and procedure implementation and support provision.

What needs to be done

How to recognise children and young people at suspected risk of harm

Staff members may become aware a child or young person is at suspected risk of harm through a range of channels, for example:

  • directly observing a child or young person’s behaviours, interactions, verbal communications, or work produced (such as written materials, performances or artworks)
  • a person disclosing information that is not previously known, either because it is new information or because it has been kept a secret
  • concerns raised by a parent, community member or agency.

Further guidance and a list of potential indicators of harm can be found at Child Protection guidelines – Indicators of abuse and neglect.

1. Staff must report suspected risk of harm to their principal or workplace manager

All staff must inform their principal or workplace manager when they have reasonable grounds to suspect any risk of harm.

When notifying the principal or workplace manager, staff need to provide relevant information to support their concerns and give context to the situation. This information will assist the principal or workplace manager to determine the suspected level of risk and whether they need to report to the Department of Communities and Justice or the NSW Department of Education’s Child Wellbeing Unit.

Staff should receive an engagement number after the principal or workplace manager has reported on their behalf. This should be documented and kept in a secure location as confirmation that a report has been made.

Staff should include the following information (where known):

  • child or young person’s details (name, address, date of birth, known siblings)
  • incident details (date, type of suspected risk, parent or carer or person/s causing or contributing to harm)
  • impact of the incident on the child or young person
  • network of people and/or agencies that support the child or young person
  • reporter’s contact details
  • if the child or young person is from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background or identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
  • requirement for an interpreter to be present (including AUSLAN)
  • whether additional support is required for a child or young person with a disability.

Note that staff:

  • should not take a photo of a child or young person’s injury. However, it is good practice to make a detailed description of any injury that raises child protection concerns
  • are not investigators. However, it may be appropriate to ask clarifying questions to help make decisions or use the Mandatory Reporter Guide
  • should undertake clarification, which is separate from investigation, with open-ended questions to establish enough information about the concerns to determine an appropriate course of action, for example
    • ‘What happened then?’
    • ‘Tell me about that’
    • ‘What do you mean by…?’

If staff are concerned that the principal or workplace manager has not reported a concern, they believe has met the risk of significant harm threshold, they must report these directly to the Department of Communities and Justice themselves, via the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.

In this instance, staff must:

  • keep the engagement number provided to them by the Department of Communities and Justice in a secure location as confirmation they have met their mandatory reporting responsibilities
  • notify the Director, Educational Learning, or the supervisor of the workplace manager if they have had to report directly to Child Protection Helpline.

2. Principals and workplace managers must report appropriately

Principals and workplace managers (or their delegates) must report suspected risk of harm appropriately. This includes determining whether to report externally – to the Department of Communities and Justice – or internally, to the NSW Department of Education’s Child Wellbeing Unit.

In cases of emergency, ring triple zero immediately (000), and report to the Health and Safety Incident Report and Support Hotline (1800 811 523) as soon as possible.

For any concerns that require an immediate response, contact the Department of Communities and Justice’s Child Protection Helpline on 132 111 or local police.

Further information for principals:

2.1 Determine the suspected level of harm

Principals and workplace managers should use one or more of the following tools or resources to determine the suspected level of harm:

  • information on Mandatory reporting obligations, which will help determine whether the concerns for the safety, welfare and wellbeing of a child or young person meet the suspected risk of significant harm threshold and whether to report using the Mandatory Reporter Guide (MRG)
  • professional judgement
  • specialist advice
  • advice from the Child Wellbeing Unit (CWU) where there is uncertainty about whether concerns amount to suspected risk of harm or risk of significant harm
  • advice from other staff members or other information already known.

2.2 Report suspected risk of significant harm concerns

The principal or workplace manager must report immediate risk of significant harm concerns by telephone to either:

  • the Department of Communities and Justice Child Protection Helpline on 132 111
  • the NSW Department of Education’s Child Wellbeing Unit, as an alternate reporting pathway under s27 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

Principals and workplace managers may also report suspected risk of significant harm concerns using an eReport, which can be accessed through:

When reporting any concerns, principals and workplace managers should include all relevant information that is known.

For students in out-of-home care – principals or workplace managers must report to the Department of Communities and Justice Child Protection Helpline if there are concerns regarding the safety, welfare and wellbeing of a child in out-of-home care, even if it is believed the concerns do not meet the suspected risk of significant harm threshold.

2.3 Report to the Child Wellbeing Unit

Principals or workplace managers must contact the Child Wellbeing Unit when:

  • reporting suspected risk of harm that doesn’t meet the risk of significant harm threshold but is not trivial
  • there is an observable pattern of cumulative harm that doesn’t meet the threshold of significant harm
  • a report made to the Child Protection Helpline was screened out as not reaching the threshold of risk of significant harm
  • safety issues remain after a report has been made to, and accepted by, the Department of Communities and Justice.

The Child Wellbeing Unit can be contacted via eReport through the Mandatory Reporter Guide decision report or by calling 02 9269 9400 (NSW Department of Education staff only) between 8:30am and 5:30pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays (school holiday operating hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm).

2.4 After reporting

The principal or workplace manager should:

  • confirm with the notifying staff member that a report has been made
  • provide the staff member with an engagement number
  • assess student safety, welfare and wellbeing needs and provide appropriate care and support
  • record all actions and store documentation, including engagement number, securely.

3. Ongoing support for students

3.1 Support student safety, welfare or wellbeing at school

All staff play a key role in the ongoing support and safety of our students. Staff must:

  • use available resources and capabilities to provide support as appropriate to their role
  • cooperate with reasonable steps to coordinate service delivery and decision making with other relevant service providers
  • monitor and respond to any additional concerns that may present after a report has been made, and provide this information to the principal or workplace manager
  • inform students, including apprentices or trainees, of their right to be protected from abuse and of avenues of support if they have concerns about abuse.

For further information on supporting and responding to:

3.2 Support interagency collaboration as needed

The principal or workplace manager must ensure:

  • child-related contractors or volunteers and support service workers understand the department’s processes for reporting child protection concerns
  • reasonable steps are taken to coordinate decision-making and services to children and young people and their families with local service providers, if required
  • all staff work collaboratively with other agencies for the care and protection of children and young people and their family
  • relevant information sharing occurs to progress assessments, investigations and case management as permitted by law.

3.3 Exchange information as appropriate to support students

The protection of children and young people is deemed to be more important in some situations than an individual’s right to privacy, as such there are statutory provisions that override restrictions on disclosures of personal information in certain circumstances.

Principals or workplace managers can exchange information relating to safety, welfare or wellbeing concerns for children and young people from local agencies that have contact with the child, young person or family under Chapter 16A of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

For more information regarding information sharing principals or workplace managers should refer to Child protection’s Exchanging information.

Under Chapter 16A:

  • information may be exchanged if it is in the interest of the child or young person’s safety, welfare, or wellbeing
  • staff are protected from any civil, criminal or disciplinary action if the information is provided in good faith
  • consent of the child, young person or family is not necessary to exchange information.

While consent of the child, young person or family is not required under Chapter 16A, it should be sought wherever possible.

Record-keeping requirements

For information on retaining and disposing of records, refer to:

Other record-keeping requirements include the following:

  • The principal or workplace manager must keep records of all reports made to the Department of Communities and Justice and the NSW Department of Education’s Child Wellbeing Unit, including the engagement number as confirmation that mandatory reporting requirements were met.
  • These records must be kept centrally and securely and provided to any successor.
  • The principal or workplace manager must maintain a workplace register of staff participation in annual child protection updates and induction of new staff, or they must sight individual records. This applies to all department employees.
  • Records relating to allegations of child abuse, including copies forwarded to other agencies (FA387 3.0.19) must be retained for a minimum of 99 years after date of incident, then destroy.

Mandatory tools and templates

Supporting tools, resources and related information

Policy contact

Director, Behaviour and Student Participation
02 7814 0662
Correspondence-BehaviourandStudentParticipation@det.nsw.edu.au

The Director, Behaviour and Student Participation, monitors the implementation of this policy, regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.

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