The union welcomes moves by the federal and NSW governments to strengthen child safety following shocking reports of abuse and mistreatment of young children in mainly for-profit centres.
The focus on strong safety practices is long overdue, so are the many resources and communications sent out by the Education Department.
However, the question remains whether appropriate practices are in action in centres on a day-to-day basis.
Disturbing practices of for-profit providers
Reports of for-profit childcare giant Affinity instructing staff to consider “reputation damage” before notifying police about child safety allegations are disturbing.
Another for-profit provider G8 Education threatened staff with “disciplinary action” for speaking to the media about safety concerns, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
Policies, procedures, regulations and laws will not create a child safe culture if they are not put into practice in centres, or divert staff away from their core duties of educating and caring for children.
Difficult questions
The latest revelations raise questions about the commitment of for-profit providers to child safety:
- Are all staff at these centres supported in putting child safety policies and practices into place?
- Do staff feel supported asking their Director or Nominated Supervisor for assistance if legally required staffing ratios have not been met?
- Do staff feel confident they will be supported and listened to if they raise concerns over another staff member’s work performance?
- Are staff aware of their rights and who they can contact for help or concerns with what might be happening in their workplace?
Empowering staff
We need to be united in advocating for the safety of children in our care as well as staff working in these settings.
Teachers and educators in early childhood education and care need to feel empowered to speak up if they see or hear something that may not be quite right and aware of people they can contact for help.
Children’s safety is everyone’s business, so is providing a safe work environment where staff feel supported.
Children should come before profit.
Working with children
The union welcomes the reforms announced by NSW Premier Chris Minns to strengthen the Working with Children Check system by giving the independent child safety regulator – the Office of the Children’s Guardian – responsibility for reviewing WWCC decisions.
Currently, even people with serious convictions – including for sexual assault – can appeal a WWCC refusal to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The union also supports a searchable national register of WWCC holders and other initiatives to integrate WWCC systems and close information gaps that offenders may exploit by moving interstate.
The union is seeking further information from the NSW government about the impact of a national register on degree-qualified teachers who are already required to be registered under state laws.