Child Safety

Statement of Commitment

The Avalon Church is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children. We have a zero tolerance approach to child abuse, and are commited to ensuring a safe environment for children in all our programs and activities.

We value and uphold the rights of children and young people to feel safe and be safe. Their best interests, opinions and concerns are listened to, as their protection from harm is paramount. We seek to incorporate their views, as well as their families' and the communities, in order to develop a safe place for them.

Our approach to preventing harm is embedded in all our policies and procedures, and we are committed to a culture of child safety. We work with our staff and volunteers to ensure they are trained and supported to have the knowledge and skills to be child safe, and ensure they are aware of how to make a report if they suspect child abuse.

We have procedures in place to report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment of children promptly and lawfully to the appropriate authorities, and if there is an observed breach of our Code of Conduct.

We are committed to supporting the diverse circumstances of all children and young people in our church, including First Nations children, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as an inclusive environment for those with disabilities.

Child Protection Policy

Click on the button below to view the Child Protection Policy for The Avalon Church.

Code of Conduct

Click on the button below to view the Child Safety Code of Conduct for paid employees and volunteers at The Avalon Church.

Child Protection Policy

Purpose

To provide a safe and secure environment for children and young people in all church activities through reducing the risk of any harm occurring to them.
To provide clearly defined guidelines for the protection of all children and young people involved in any activity associated with C3 Avalon Ltd (C3 Avalon).
Safeguard all workers from allegations that can arise from their careless or unwise behaviour.

Background Legislation

"In response to the recommendations from the 1997 Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service, the NSW Parliament enacted legislation to reduce the risk of abuse of children and young people by those entrusted to their care. This legislation has been reviewed many times and further amendments have been made since the commencement of the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in institutions.

Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 - NSW
The Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998
The Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998
The Ombudsman Amendment (Child Protection and Community Services) Act 1998

The child protection employment legislation prohibits certain people from working with children and broadens the checking of those who want to work with children. The check helps employers engage people who are suited for child-related employment and now enables employers to be made aware if an employee becomes a prohibited person while in their employment,

Building a paid and volunteer workforce committed to child protection requires employers to complement the legislation with a range of policies and practices.

Legislation alone isn't enough to protect children. A caring community and effective workplace practices will also help to ensure that children and young people have a safe environment, free from the risk of abuse."

- Creating a Safe Environment for our Kids to Grow – Commission for Children and Young people

Scope

Children: under 16 years of age
Young People/Person: 16-17 years.
Designated person: a person being authorised by the child's parent to supervise the child or young person.
Worker: Staff and volunteers working with children and young people - screened, approved of and appointed by (C3 Avalon) in established programs being run by the church.
Kids Church Preschool (KCP): Sunday programs for children from 6 months of age to the year before school.
Kids Church Primary: Sunday programs for children from Kindergarten to Year 5 at school.
Youth: Youth Program from year 6 to year 12 at school
Friday night Youth Service and associated events for students in Year 6 to year 12

Policy

General Measures of Protection:

Workers are not permitted to:

Take children alone in a solitary or dark place
Visit a child at home while the child is alone
Be involved in ablutions or toileting except with pre-schoolers and then only if done in an open way with another worker within hearing range
Kiss, tickle or do anything to a child in a way that is potentially sexual
Touch children in areas that would normally be covered by swim wear.
Transport children without at least one other person (can be another child or young person) in the vehicle.

Specific Policy Areas:

Counselling

Counselling and prayer for children and young people will be done in an open manner, and in the presence of another worker or adult.

Camps/Conferences

Children and young people on church run camps and conferences will be properly supervised in teams on a ratio of no less than one leader for every eight children. Rules for leaders and campers shall include:

Workers will supervise children and young people of the same sex and where possible there will be two workers per dormitory.
Children and young people are not allowed to get into bed with another camper or with a worker.
Access to bathrooms, toilets or bunkrooms of the opposite sex is not allowed by workers or campers.
Health and Safety rules of the location/facility being used will be adhered to.

Connect Groups

Connect Groups meet during the week, in various locations. Sometimes these groups are intergenerational; at times children and young people are present because the venue is their home, or they are conducting childcare services for the Connect Group.

The leader of the Connect Group is responsible for informing the group of the church’s position in regard to protection of children, i.e. no adult except the child’s parent or a designated person is allowed to be alone with a child - in a child's bedroom or any other room of the house, and no adult except the child's parent or a designated person, is allowed to be alone with a child in the bathroom or toilet.

Worship Services including Youth Ministry Friday Night

Foyer Policy

Care needs to be taken in the foyer area of the church building particularly regarding the toilets and children. All staff and leaders need to be aware of who is in the area and be prepared to confront any suspicious behaviour directly or seek assistance from pastoral staff.

It is in this environment that care needs to be taken.

It is not the church’s desire to have the same people week after week disturbing the service going in and out.
Damage could occur in the toilets.
Someone could be abused.

It is not unheard of to have a situation in a church where a person is loitering in the foyer, rather than taking part in the service, in a position near children who are running around unsupervised by their parents. This can pose a potential risk. The possibility of this occurring is diminished by training which stresses the greeters are to be always on the alert, to approach such people, encouraging them to take their seat.

Kids' Church

Don't allow "Unauthorised People" to walk into our kids' church programs

Kids' church is a place of fun and excitement. Some adults may come to spectate. This is to be discouraged. The Kids' Ministry team is empowered to politely ask visitors (which may include members of the church, i.e. they are visitors to Children’s church) who they are and what they are doing in the area to ensure that the only people in our Kids’ Ministry areas are Kids church team and parents of the children in the program. If someone is visiting from another church to see our program, they must have permission from the Kids Church pastor and have completed the appropriate Working with Children checks.

Challenging casual strangers protects the children.

The Kids Church program should contain:

The group of children themselves
Screened children's workers (volunteers)
Parents wanting to monitor their child’s progress and are identified as visitors to the program that day.

Toileting

Toileting is an essential part of children’s programs and presents a particular risk for child protection. To protect workers from any accusation and to prevent any attack on a child, primary children are only to be taken to the toilet by the Volunteer Worker, who is not permitted to go into the cubicle with the child, but to wait outside. Pre-school children are only to be taken to the toilet by their parent or designated person, whom they came to the program with. Children will not be allowed to leave the program unsupervised for any reason.

Visitors to Kid’s Church are not permitted to take children to the toilet unless they are the parent of that child.

Teaching Environment

Teaching will be done in an open environment to which parents and other teachers have free access.

Visitors however will not be allowed free access to children without the supervision of an approved worker.

Parents

We encourage parents to attend Kids Church so that they are comfortable with what the children are being taught and can observe their child’s progress, socially, spiritually.

However, no matter who they are, and how well we may know them, they must:

Make themselves known to the Team leader
Never be left on their own.
Not take children other than their own to the bathroom.

Children with Additional Needs

Where children are identified by the Kids' Ministry Team and their parents as having additional needs, it is essential that the guidelines outlined in the Child Protection Protocol are reviewed to allow for provision of the appropriate level of care. This may at times be outside the physical boundaries recommended for children without additional needs and therefore a Health and Personal Care Plan must be agreed upon by the parents of the additional need's child and the Kids' Ministry Team Leader. In the case of KCP the KPC Pastoral Assistant will organise this. In the case of The Preschool, the Preschool Leader will organise this.

Regarding events, the parents of children with additional needs will need to fill out the Event Additional Needs Information Form outlining the level of care required. After the form has been received by the Event coordinator it will be reviewed and then a modified Personal Care Plan will be put together for the parent to sign before the event. This form is available by contacting the Children's pastor or Kids Church Pastoral Assistant.

Youth

Don't allow "Unauthorised People" to walk into our youth ministry programs

Youth is a place of fun and excitement. Some adults may come to spectate. This is to be discouraged. The Youth Ministry team is empowered to politely ask visitors (which may include members of the church, i.e. they are visitors to Youth) who they are and what they are doing in the area to ensure that the only people in our Youth area are Youth ministry team and parents of the children in the program. If someone is visiting from another church to see our program, they must have permission from the Youth pastor and have completed the appropriate Working with Children checks.

Challenging casual strangers protects the children.

The Youth program should contain:

The group of children themselves.
Screened children’s workers (volunteers).
Parents wanting to monitor their child's progress and are identified as visitors to the program that day.

Toileting

Toileting is an essential part of youth programs and presents a particular risk for child protection. Children and young people attending youth should ask for permission to attend the toilets so that their whereabouts is known and any delays in their return can be investigated.

Teaching Environment

Teaching will be done in an open environment to which parents and other teachers have free access.

Visitors however will not be allowed free access to children without the supervision of an approved worker.

Parents

Parents may attend Youth if they request to be allowed to stay so that they are comfortable with what the children are being taught and can observe their child’s progress, socially, spiritually.

However, no matter who they are, and how well we may know them, they must:

Make themselves known to the Team leader
Never be left alone, or in the presence of children, without a leader present.

Children and Young People with Additional Needs

Where children and young people are identified by the Youth Ministry Team or their parents as having additional needs, it is essential that the guidelines outlined in the Child Protection Protocol are reviewed to allow for provision of the appropriate level of care. This may at times be outside the physical boundaries recommended for those without additional needs and therefore a Health and Personal Care Plan must be agreed upon by the parents of the individual with additional needs and the Youth Ministry Team Leader or Youth Pastor.

Regarding outings and events, the parents of those with additional needs will need to fill out the Event Additional Needs Information Form outlining the level of care required. After the form has been received by the Event coordinator it will be reviewed and then a modified Personal Care Plan will be put together for the parent to sign before the event. This form is available by contacting the church office.

Code of Conduct

We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment that promotes the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This includes encouraging a culture where the prevention and reporting of abuse is supported and encouraged. All staff and volunteers from The Avalon Church and its plants are responsible for promoting the safety, wellbeing and empowerment of children.

This Code of Conduct sets expectations for how adults in our church should behave around children. This is important to help prevent children from being harmed. Child abuse takes many forms and can include physical, sexual and psychological abuse, domestic violence and neglect. Our Child Safety Policy provides more information about these different types of abuse.

I will:

Treat children with respect and be a positive role model in my conduct with them.
Welcome all children and their families and carers by being inclusive.
Listen to and communicate with children in an age appropriate manner.
Set clear boundaries about appropriate behaviour between myself and a child.
Only have physical contact with a child in ways which are appropriate to my professional and volunteer role and responsibilities.
Be willing to listen and respond appropriately to a child's opinions and concerns.
Wherever possible, only interact online with young people in the context of group messaging.
Welcome parents and carers to participate in decisions about childrens' programs and any other matters about their safety.
Take a child seriously if they disclose harm or abuse and report these immediately and transparently to The Avalon Church staff members.
Participate in all compulsory training.
Adhere to all relevant Australian and NSW legislation and The Avalon Church child safety policies and procedures.
Raise concerns with The Avalon Church staff if risks to child safety are identified.
Ensure breaches of this Code of Conduct are reported to The Avalon Church staff immediately.
Uphold the rights of the child and always prioritise their needs.

I will not:

Ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse.
Exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues.
Approve or participate in illegal, unsafe or abusive behaviour towards children, including physical, sexual or psychological abuse, domestic violence, neglect or grooming.
Use hurtful, discriminatory or offensive behaviour or language with children.
Be alone with a child.
Possess or use cigarettes/vapes or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs at any time while working with children.
Offer children and young people alcohol, cigarettes/vapes or other drugs.
Initiate direct messaging on social media or other platforms; or initiate friend requests or follow children or young people on social media (however, follow requests can be accepted when initiated by a child or young person)
Develop any ‘special' relationships with children that could be seen as grooming/favouritism such as the offering of gifts or special treatment.
Engage in unwarranted and inappropriate touching involving a child.
Use sexual language, innuendoes, jokes or gestures in the presence of children.
Do things of a personal nature that a child can do for themselves, such as toileting or changing clothes.

All staff, volunteers, families and church members are required to speak to a The Avalon Church staff member if they have concerns about the safety of children or if they know that a child under 18 years has been abused. Complaints about a breach of this Code of Conduct can be reported to any of the The Avalon Church staff.

Some breaches of this Code of Conduct may need to be reported to the NSW Police, the Department of Communities and Justice and the Office of the Children's Guardian. Staff and volunteers who breach our Code of Conduct may also be subject to disciplinary action. This can include increased supervision, appointment to an alternative role, suspension or termination from the organisation.

Please Note:

As The Avalon Church is a mandatory reporter, adults working or volunteering will commit an offence if they know another person in the organisation poses a serious risk of abusing a child (under 18 years), and they have the power to reduce or remove the risk, and they negligently fail to do so.