New child safe standards to be trialled

The LCA/NZ’s Child Protection Project Team has recently developed draft LCA Child Safe Standards for Congregations.

The standards are a revised version of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and have been tailored to the congregational context. They are written in easy-to-understand language and include a series of simple indicators for congregations to follow.

These standards aim to provide congregational leaders with a more straight-forward and less secular road map to help guide congregations in their child safe journeys.

The draft LCA Standards were approved for consultation by the General Church Board on 21 February and a targeted consultation process will be commencing in the coming weeks. The consultation is expected to include a combination of a call for written submissions, targeted forums in each district and a specific series of forums with children, young people and families.

The LCA Standards also are likely to be trialled in a small number of congregations prior to implementation, LCA/NZ Child Protection Project Officer Mary-Ann Carver said.

‘I look forward to this consultation process and hope that the people and groups I approach will be willing to actively participate, by providing input to the development of congregational-focused resources that help to enhance child safety in the church’, she said.

Please contact Mary-Ann with any queries, via the LCA/NZ Churchwide Office on 08 8267 7300 or email her at mary-ann.carver@lca.org.au