This year will mark five years since the release of the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission was a watershed moment which saw Australian institutions being held accountable for a litany of failings that compromised the safety of children. Sadly, there was also a deep reckoning within the Jewish community as some of its institutions were also exposed for unsafe practices that allowed for the exploitation of children.

A positive outcome of the Royal Commission was a complete overhaul of the way that we monitor child safety and the policies, procedures and culture that we instill to try to prevent children from being exploited and in the way that we respond when concerns are raised.

On July 1 this year, Ministerial Order 1359 came into effect in Victoria. This updates the governmental requirements around our protocols to ensure that we comply with 11 Child Safe standards – an increase on the seven listed in the previous standards. The changes include standards that encourage organisations to make adjustments to account for cultural differences. There is also a greater emphasis on empowering children and engaging with families on this topic.

These have necessitated a number of changes to our documentation, policies and our practices with regards to our Child Safety program. Our Senior Leadership team has worked through these changes and they have been endorsed by the School Council.

At King David we strive to ensure that we maintain best practice through our recruitment processes; regular review of policies and incidents; education of staff, volunteers, families and students; and establishment of a culture which provides for developmentally appropriate discussion around child safety and maintains open lines of support and communication for those who require it.

We invest significant time, energy and resources into training our staff on best practices and on educating students in language that they can understand on relevant issues of consent, appropriate boundaries and who to go to if they have any concerns.

We recognise that creating the most child safe environment involves strengthening our student-centred culture in which each student is comfortable to express themself and feels that they can trust those around them to support their interests.

In line with the new Ministerial Order we have revised our Child Protection Policies, our Codes of Conduct, and initiated a new Student Code of Conduct. These, along with explanatory information, will be shared with our families in the coming weeks.

I encourage you to familiarise yourselves with this information as a true culture of child safety involves all our community members working together to be vigilant in protecting our children and supporting them to thrive both within and outside of school.

Shabbat Shalom,

Marc Light