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Our Care: Keeping Children Safe
At Norman Park Community Kindergarten, every child has the right to feel safe, respected, valued and heard.
Creating a child safe organisation is everyone's responsibility and is embedded in every aspect of our practice, relationships and decision-making.
Our commitment is guided by the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, Queensland's Child Safe Standards, the Child Safe Organisations Act, the Reportable Conduct Scheme, the National Quality Framework and the principle that the best interests of the child are the paramount consideration in all decisions affecting them.
Safe Relationships
Children feel safe when they experience respectful, caring and predictable relationships.
We intentionally create environments where children develop secure relationships with educators and peers, feel confident expressing their ideas and emotions and know they will be listened to with respect.
Every child deserves to feel that they belong.
Children's Rights and Participation
Children are active participants in our kindergarten community.
We value children's voices, encourage them to make choices, express their ideas and contribute to decisions that affect their everyday experiences.
Listening to children is an important part of keeping them safe and helping them develop confidence, agency and a strong sense of belonging.
Cultural Safety
We are committed to creating an environment where every child and family feels respected, included and valued.
We celebrate diversity and actively embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives throughout our program, recognising the importance of culture, identity, community and Country.
We strive to ensure every child experiences cultural safety, respect and genuine belonging.
Supporting Children's Social and Emotional Development
Learning to build friendships, communicate needs, manage emotions and resolve conflict is an important part of the kindergarten years.
Children aged three to five are still developing the skills needed to understand and manage their emotions, consider another person's perspective, negotiate with others and solve social problems. These abilities develop gradually through everyday experiences, supportive relationships and gentle guidance.
As children learn these important life skills, there will naturally be times when they disagree, become frustrated, act impulsively or need support to navigate challenging social situations. These moments are a normal and expected part of early childhood development and provide valuable opportunities for learning.
Our educators work alongside children every day to help them recognise emotions, communicate respectfully, solve problems, repair relationships, develop empathy and build the skills needed to participate confidently in a community.
Our goal is not simply to stop challenging behaviour, but to understand what children are communicating, support them to develop new skills and help every child experience safe, respectful and positive relationships.
Where we observe ongoing concerns or patterns that may require additional support, we will always work in partnership with families to understand what is happening and develop consistent strategies together.
Working Together to Keep Children Safe
Creating a child safe environment is a shared responsibility.
Families, educators, volunteers and committee members all play an important role in helping children feel safe and respected.
Our Child Safe Environment Policy, Family Code of Conduct, Technology Guideline and other policies support this commitment and are available on our Kindergarten Website.
If you ever have concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child, we encourage you to speak with your child's Teacher/Nominated Supervisor or Service Manager.