Policy and Practice in Focus: an ECEC child safe podcast miniseries

Episode 1: The Child Safe Scheme in a ECEC context

Early Childhood Educators face unique challenges when applying the Child Safe Scheme. In this podcast Simon Luckhurst talks to two early childhood professionals and an Office of the Children’s Guardian compliance officer to answer some common questions.

About this episode:

This episode kicks off a short series produced by the Office of the Children's Guardian and funded by the NSW Department of Education, the NSW regulatory authority for early education and care as part of their Safety and Quality Practice program.

The NSW Child Safe Scheme means child-related organisations (including those involved in Early Childhood Education and Outside School Hours Care) must be able to demonstrate their commitment to child safety by employing the ten Child Safe Standards handed down by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

If organisations and their staff and volunteers are applying the Child Safe Standards, children are safer from harm and abuse. While many organisations understand what it means to keep children safe – and are also meeting the requirements under their National Quality Framework obligations – the Child Safe Scheme is designed to ensure all aspects of child safety are maintained and improved.

In this podcast Simon Luckhurst talks to two early childhood professionals and an OCG compliance officer to find out more about the scheme in the Early Childhood Education context.

About our speakers:

Meg Mendham, previous CEO of Community Connections Solutions Australia and also a board member, advisor and executive with over thirty years’ experience in the Early Childhood sector, including as an educator.

Angela Gillespie, a Senior Manager the Blue Mountains-based Connect Children and Families organisation, and winner of the 2023 Early Childhood Australia Barbara Creaser Champion Award.

Brittany Taylor, a Child Safe Officer in the Compliance Team at the Office of the Children’s Guardian.

This episode was recorded and edited on Gadigal land. The NSW Department of Education and the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian recognise that the land we work and live on always was and always will be Aboriginal land, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Office of the Children’s Guardian resources page

OCG Child Safe Self-Assessment

OCG Child Safe eLearning

Coffee Conversations

If you are looking for support on how to improve your child safe practices, or to speak to a child safe officer, contact childsafe@ocg.nsw.gov.au

Have a concern or a complaint about a child-related organisation? You can contact us via this form - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/contact-us or call us on (02) 8219 3600