For families who have given permission to their children to walk from the classrooms I would like to remind you of our expectations regarding being safe when independently leaving the classroom or school after 3:15 (if they have a yellow tag). 

Please remind your children, if they are walking home, that they must walk home straight after they leave the school grounds. Your children are no to loiter around the front of the school as this is unsafe. Please remind your child/ren if they need to cross the road to use the pedestrian crossing and to ensure they look both ways when they are crossing the road. Children should be reminded not to talk to people they do not know and never to get in a car with someone they do not know.

For children who have permission to walk from the class to wait safely at the front of the school or at one of the gates to be picked up, please remind them that when the bell goes at 3:30pm if they have not been picked up they must go back into the school office to wait. If children remain outside the front of the school after the bell, we will call the family and explain that this is unsafe and that if it happens a second time we will be removing their yellow tags. I will appreciate your support in this, it is very important that we work together to ensure child safety.

Empowering Students

• Explicitly teaching students about their rights, including the right to be safe, heard, and respected.

• Integrating age-appropriate child safety education into the PBL and SEL curriculum (e.g., personal safety, respectful relationships, online safety).

• Ensuring each year, that our grade 6 students create a student friendly version of our child safety policy and present it to all classes.

Student Voice and Participation

• Student leadership groups include a focus on safety and wellbeing.

• Students are involved in the development and review of child safety policies, codes of conduct, and behaviour expectations.

• We seek feedback from students (surveys, focus groups, suggestion boxes) about how safe they feel at school.

Being Taken Seriously

• Provide clear, accessible, and confidential ways for students to raise concerns or complaints.

• Train staff to actively listen to students, validate their feelings, and respond promptly and respectfully.

• Ensure follow-up and communication with students after they raise issues so they know their voice makes a difference.

Inclusive Practices

• Adapt participation strategies so they are accessible for all children, including those from diverse cultural backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disability, and children with additional needs.

• Provide interpreters, easy-read formats, or alternative communication supports where required.

Building a Safe Culture

• Regularly remind the school community (students, staff, families) that student voice is valued and central to decision-making.

• Embed child safety into all school activities, planning, and events.

• Celebrate examples of students contributing to positive change in the school community.

Monitoring and Review

• Collect and analyse student wellbeing and safety data regularly to identify concerns and areas for improvement.

• Review child safety practices with student input at least annually.

• Report back to students on how their input has influenced school decisions.