Leading the way in safety

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1 February 2017Safeguarding Children and Young People Graduate Certificate launch with Professor Greg Craven, Archbishop Hart and Executive Director of Catholic Education Stephen Elder

Learning started early in 2017 for the first cohort of teachers and school leaders undertaking the Graduate Certificate in Education: Safeguarding Children and Young People at Australian Catholic University (ACU).
 

During January they completed the second of four units of a course designed to explore the ways our schools respond to creating safe environments and support the development of the whole child.

‘The course focuses on the positive and constructive aspect of working with children around safety rather than focusing on a reaction to new legislation and system demands,’ said Fran Merckel, Deputy Principal at Christ the Priest School Caroline Springs.

‘It highlights the importance of continually seeking to merge the areas of faith in education, student wellbeing and child safety. The areas cannot be viewed in isolation as they all contribute to the dignity of the child. The course empowers all staff to understand and actively take responsibility for safeguarding our children, and to commit to this across all aspects of school life’.

The course, an Australian first of its kind, helps schools to not only navigate the legislation but to provide practical ways to promote this important work. ‘Catholic education is striving to be a leader in child safety.

There is a strong commitment to ensuring that this specialisation is informed by the latest research evidence and best practice, and that it is grounded in the rich social and moral teachings of the Catholic Church and theological understandings of the child’ said Stephen Elder, Executive Director of Catholic Education.

The first cohort will complete the course in September 2017.