Child Safety Statement:

ECKA’S Vision that Every child has the opportunity to explore and realise their potential through access and engagement in quality early education can only be achieved where children are in education and care environments that are safe, welcoming and inclusive for children and their families; and ensure that children’s health and safety and wellbeing is protected at all times.

ECKA operates under a range of legislative, policy and procedural requirements that prioritise the safety of children as paramount at all times, and these are available on the ECKA website, ECKA office, and ECKA services.

ECKA’s Values; Children, Community, Excellence, Leadership, Collaboration, and Diversity; comfortably underpin the application of the Victorian Child Safe Standards for ECKA and all ECKA services.

ECKA encourages all children, families, employees and others involved with ECKA services to participate in regular evaluation and review of policies and practices, or at any time provide   feedback, anonymously if desired, via the ECKA website, ECKA office or the fee /feedback box at any ECKA Service. Any complaint or concern about child safety will be treated with the highest priority at all times.

Eureka Community Kindergarten Association Inc (ECKA): is committed to the rights of all children to feel safe, and be safe at all times, including:

• Promoting the cultural safety of Aboriginal children.
• Promoting the cultural safety of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Promoting the safety of children with a disability.
• Values, respects and cares for children.
• Fosters opportunities for each child to participate, express their views and to learn and develop.
• Always acts in the best interests of each child and has zero tolerance of child abuse.
• Takes all reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children at all times, whilst also promoting their learning and development.
• Actively manages the risks of abuse or harm to each child, including fulfilling our duty of care and legal obligations to protect children and prevent any reasonable, foreseeable risk of injury or harm.
• Continuously improves the way our service identifies risks of and responds to child abuse, and encourages reporting and improved responses to allegations of abuse.

For further information, please see the Child Safe Environment Policy.