Child Safe Parish Pamphlet Nov 2016

Child Safe Parish Communities a simple guide for Parishioners, Employees & Volunteers

Our focus is on protection

The opportunity to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults is a privilege. This guide will assist to clarify appropriate conduct to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm.

What is unacceptable behaviour

• Shaming, humiliating, belittling or degrading children
• Using inappropriate, offensive or discriminatory language
• Doing things for a child that they are able to do for themselves
  such as assistance with toileting or changing clothes
• Taking a child to your home or sleeping in the same room or bed as a child
• Taking a child in your motor vehicle
• Smacking, hitting or physically assaulting a child
• Seeking to make special friends with a child
• Giving children secret gifts or cards without parental permission
• Being alone in a room with a child
• Touching a child in a sexual manner or asking them to touch you
• Photographing children without parental permission
• Showing pornographic material in any format
• Making friends with children on social media, contacting them
  by phone messages or emails
• Allowing unsupervised access to your phone or computer

A simple checklist

As an employee or volunteer in a child related activity

• Have you completed a Working With Children Check?
• Have you been given a copy of the Diocesan Child Safe Parish Communities guidelines?
• Do you understand acceptable and unacceptable behaviours?

Within your parish

• Do altar servers have an area separate from that of the priest vesting area to prepare for Mass?
• Is there at least one adult (parent) present to supervise the altar servers before and after Mass?
• Do you use the two adult supervision best practice model?
• Are parents asked to supervise their children at Mass and parish events?
• Have parents been asked to accompany children to the parish toilets and not allow them to go unsupervised?
• Do adults know not to be alone in a room with children?
• Have adults been advised not to give children gifts, cards or to make special friendships that could be seen as grooming the child?
• Are you aware of abuse prevention strategies?
• Are you making a commitment to ensure that our church is a safe community for all?