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CHILD SAFEGUARDING
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE 11 CHILD SAFETY STANDARDS
Child safety in sport means protecting children from abuse, providing safe, quality experiences and empowering children’s voices.
The Victorian Government’s Betrayal of Trust report and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse highlighted just how significant an issue child safety is within sport.
The New Child Safe Standards will replace the current 7 Standards in Victoria to better protect children and young people from abuse. The Victorian Government has announced that the new Standards will commence on the 1st of July 2022.
Changes have been made to support greater national consistency, reflecting the National Principles for a Child Safe Organisation developed following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
CHILDREN (5-12)
Children from all backgrounds and abilities involved in netball have the right to feel safe. Easy to understand posters have been created to help support you to understand your rights, and know how adults in the netball environment should behave. Did you know that you have the right to complain if you're not happy about something? You will find some helpful tips on how to raise a concern for yourself or our friends if you don't feel safe. It's important to speak up so that people can learn of better ways to do things. This will make sure that netball is safe and fun for everyone! If you don't feel safe, find an adult you can trust and talk to them. You can also contact Kids Help Line at any time, day or night to get advice.
YOUNG PEOPLE (13-18)
Young people have unique insights into their lives, needs and the world around them. It is your right to be heard on matters affecting you, and have the opportunity to contribute to the netball organisation that you engage with.
There is a commitment to ensuring young people experience empowerment and participate in how a netball Association, League or Club engage and informs you about your rights and personal safety, and how an organistation listens you.
We are committed to creating a culture in the netball community where children and young people feel confident to report problems - particularly if they are harmed or feel unsafe.
If you have a concern that you would like to raise, please click here.
NETBALL FAMILIES & CARERS
Parents, carers and families are the primary influences on children's learning and development.
Everyone in the netball community should work with families to strengthen messages around child safety, including how adults and other children should be behaving in a netball environment and how to speak if they feel unsafe.
If parents, carers and families know what behaviour is expected in netball, they can also keep an eye out for unsafe behaviours and raise concerns.
If you have a concern that you would like to raise, click here.
COACHES & UMPIRES
Creating clear shild safety policies and procedures is the starting point in helping to manage child safeguarding.
Having these policies is only one step in this process and making sure everyone is aware of the policies, has read them, and knows the consequences if any policies and procedures are not followed, is essential.
The second piece is ensuring coaches and umpires are well-trained and have a clear understanding about what is and is not acceptable within a netball environment. How one player responds to training techniques will be different from another so we need to ensure that coaches and umpires can be sufficiently support to protect themselves and their own reputation and that sports organisations and clubs can feel secure with the knowledge that they are doing everything they can to protect their members and volunteers.
If you have a concern that you would like to raise, click here.
COMMITTEE AND VOLUNTEERS
In Victoria, children aged 5 to 14 have the highest participation rates in organised sport. Child safety should be a core business strategy for our netball affiliates wanting to attract and retain under 18 members.
Netball Victoria is committed to helping our committees and volunteers create safe, supportive, and protective sporting environments for children and young people across the Victorian netball community.
If you have a Child Safety concern that you would like to raise, please click here.