Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

At Cremorne Synagogue (‘our shul’) every child has the right to be safe and feel safe.
We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care.
To keep children safe, we commit to:
 providing a safe and supportive environment for all children
 making sure that children are not exposed to any form of harmful conduct or abuse
 empowering children to participate in decisions that affect them and share any
concerns they may have
 making sure children know who to approach if they feel unsafe or have any child
safety concerns.
As a child safe organisation, we commit to:
 educating everyone involved in the care of children in our shul about what it means to
be a child safe organisation, so that we can prevent, detect and effectively respond to
child abuse
 making sure everyone involved in our shul knows how to appropriately respond to
complaints, allegations, disclosures and breaches to our Child Safe Code of Conduct
 welcoming feedback to continuously improve our child safe policies, procedures and
practices
 making sure that when family and community members interact with our shul, they
are aware that child safety is everyone’s responsibility, and their behaviour aligns
with our child safe practices.
Child Safe Policy and Code of Conduct
All children at Cremorne Synagogue (‘our shul’) have a right to feel safe, protected and
included.
This policy is part of our shul’s ongoing commitment to protecting the children in our care
from harm and abuse. It:
 outlines the child safe practices our organisation has put in place to minimise the
risks to child safety
 sets out what is required from employees, contractors, and volunteers at our shul, so
they know what is expected from them to keep children safe.
Our commitment to child safety
At our shul we commit to the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care. Our Statement
of Commitment to Child Safety is available on our website.
Our shul ensures services and activities are inclusive of all children, including children with
diverse needs.
Scope and audience for this policy
The policy describes what is required from all employees, contractors and volunteers when
taking part in any activities, services and events that involve children.
Responsibilities for children’s safety
Everyone in our shul is expected to carry out the requirements specific to their role to
keep children safe. This includes:
 upholding our shul’s commitment to child safety
 reading, and upholding the behaviours set out in this and any associated
policies, and
 reporting all breaches of our policies or any allegations of child harm or abuse and
meeting all external reporting obligations.
Please contact the President () with any of your child-
safety related questions or concerns.
Active participation of children, families and communities
 All our child-related policies and procedures are easily accessible on our website for
everyone who accesses our services and events, including children, parents, carers
and community members.
 Children, parents and carers are encouraged to provide feedback on this policy.
Working with Children Checks
 All employees, contractors and volunteers who work with children will be required to
have an appropriate Working with Children Check in line with requirements of the
Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012. All checks will be verified with the
office of the Children’s Guardian.
Unacceptable behaviour
The following activities are unacceptable and constitute a breach of this policy.
Psychological abuse
This includes bullying, threatening and abusive language, intimidation, shaming and name
calling, ignoring and isolating a child.
Physical abuse
This includes physical punishment, such as pushing, shoving, punching, slapping and
kicking.
Sexual abuse
This includes the sexual touching of a child, grooming, and production, distribution or
possession of child abuse material, inappropriate conversation of a sexual nature, sexually
suggestive gestures or remarks, or jokes of a sexual nature.
Grooming
This is a process where a person manipulates a child or group of children and sometimes
those looking after them, including parents, carers, teachers and leaders. They do this to
establish a position of ‘trust’ so they can then later sexually abuse the child.
Misconduct
This is inappropriate behaviour that may not be as severe as abuse but could indicate that
abuse is occurring and is unacceptable and constitutes a breach of this policy. This includes
showing a child something inappropriate on a phone, having inappropriate conversations
with a child, (including conversation of a sexual nature), coarse language, sexually
suggestive gestures or remarks; jokes of a sexual nature; or an adult sitting with a child on
their lap.
Lack of appropriate care
This includes not providing adequate and proper supervision, or medical care.
Online communication
Employees, contractors and volunteers must not communicate privately with children online
or on social media. Any necessary online communication should include the child’s parent or
carer in the correspondence.
Photography and the use of images
Photos and videos of children can only be taken with the permission of parents or carers.
Parents and carers must also approve any images used on our social media channels. It is
unacceptable for staff or volunteers to share images without permission.
Physical contact
Physical contact with children should be kept to a minimum. Everyone involved in the shul
is expected to have healthy physical boundaries with children.
Reporting any concerns or incidents
Any concerns or incidents should be reported to the President (contactable at
) or the Secretary (contactable at
), who will ensure the matter is appropriately and sensitively
dealt with (including making any external reports if necessary).