Child Safety Standard 3

Child Safety Standard 3 – Children and Young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them, and are taken seriously.

Clubs should focus on

1. Children and young people are informed about all their rights, including safety, information, and participation.
2.  The importance of friendships is recognized and support from peers is encouraged, to help children and young people feel safe and less isolated.
3. Where relevant to the setting or context, children and young people are offered access to sexual abuse prevention programs and to relevant related information in an age-appropriate way.
4. Staff and volunteers are attuned to signs of harm and facilitate child-friendly ways for children and young people to express their views, participate in decision-making, and raise their concerns.
5. Clubs have strategies in place to develop a culture that facilitates participation and is responsive to the input of children and young people.
6. Clubs provide opportunities for children and young people to participate and are responsive to their contributions, thereby strengthening confidence and engagement.

Documents required for compliance

• Age-appropriate and easy-to-understand documents, accessible on whatever platform needed to be able to support and educate children and other audiences, while also,
• Give information to children so they understand their rights including regarding safety, ensuring that this is age appropriate; having a pre-existing standard of how adults in the organization should behave., Understand the organization’s complaints process and how to raise safety concerns for themselves, their friends, or peers, and know about support services aimed at children.
• Have active policies and procedures that protect children while empowering them and their participation. They need to understand and be able to acknowledge their embedded support for their rights and how to access them if needed.

Actions required for compliance

• All within the organization need to actively engage with children to help them understand, their rights around safety, how to access information about their safety rights and how to participate in those rights, Understand the complaint process and how to raise a concern for themselves, their friends or something that they have seen, know what support services are available and how to access them and ensure that the support services are aimed at children.
• Identify and understand how the organization deals with and follows through with acts of disempowerment of children.
• All in the organization understand the information provided to them regarding child safety and how to recognize signs of child abuse or harm.
• Where appropriate, provide access to sexual abuse prevention programs and other relevant information to children in an age-appropriate and accessible manner.
• The organization builds those up inside of it to deter and stop bullying and isolating behavior.
• Children are encouraged to express their views and participate in decisions that impact them.
• Knowledge is developed and extended to all in the organization to help children participate and express their views and raise their concerns.
• The organization supports for children to develop social connections and friendships with their peers, builds skills in children to support their peers, and challenges bullying or isolating behavior between children.

Child Safe Recruitment
Child Safe Recruitment Criminal Declaration Form
Child Safe Guide for Parents TEMPLATE
Child Safe Guide for Teens TEMPLATE

Child Safeguarding Guide for Teens 
Child Safeguarding Resources for Teens 
Code of Conduct for Teens
Staying Safe Online Guide for Teens

Calisthenics Victoria Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy