New Guidance Empowers Local Parents to Assess Child Safety

In Short

• Observational Safety: Parents are encouraged to look for visible signs of safety, such as child-safe posters and respectful staff-child interactions.
• The Big Questions: The guide suggests asking if staff have verified Working with Children Checks and if a Child Safe Policy is actually in place.
• Empowering Kids: A key focus is on protective behaviours training for children over five, teaching them how to speak up if they feel unsafe.

Parents and carers across Western NSW are being given a new toolkit to ensure the clubs, schools, and organisations their children attend are meeting high safety standards.

The NSW Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG) has developed specific guidance to help families move beyond blind trust by using observation and direct questioning when visiting organisations.

According to the OCG, parents should look for visible evidence that an organisation prioritises child safety. This includes checking if posters describing child safety are displayed and whether the organisation’s social media presence reflects those values.

Key areas for parent observation include:

• • Respectful Interactions: Are staff behaving appropriately and respectfully with children?
  • Supervision: Are there blind spots where adults can be alone with children without supervision?
  • Changing Rooms: Who is allowed in these areas and how is changing supervised?

The guide also urges parents to get comfortable asking the "tough" questions. This includes asking if the organisation verifies the Working with Children Checks of all staff through the official OCG website, rather than just taking them at face value.

Parents should also ask if staff have completed child safety training and whether children older than five have received protective behaviours training, such as the OCG’s SAFE Series program.

Understanding the speak up culture is also vital. The guidance suggests parents should understand how they can raise concerns and how children are encouraged to voice their feelings if they feel unsafe.

For educational settings, the OCG continues to recommend that parents stay informed about staff-to-child ratios and how vulnerable children, including those with disabilities or from diverse cultural backgrounds, are supported.

Further resources and the full guide are available at ocg.nsw.gov.au.