National Child Protection Week: Where we start matters

This week, 3 to 9 September, is National Child Protection Week – designed to highlight how protecting children is everyone’s business. The overarching message is ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’. In 2023, the theme for the week is ‘Where we start matters’.

As a church, we have made a great start towards becoming a child-safe and child-focused community.

Eighty-four per cent of our congregations who have children attending regularly have assessed their child safety status and demonstrated their commitment to implementing changes in the following important areas:

• congregational and leadership culture relating to child safety
• screening and training of volunteers, including better monitoring and review
• providing children with opportunities to be heard and to raise concerns
• including children and families in conversations about safety
• incorporating child safety risk management
• understanding and respecting diversity in our congregation communities.

And where we start isn’t where we finish.

This week is a great reminder for congregational leaders to revisit their Child Safety Plans and ensure they are being actioned. Are there actions that haven’t been attended to yet? Now is the time for review and activity! Visit www.lca.org.au/css for more information.

Congregations, parents and caregivers may want to consider attending one of the many webinars offered by NAPCAN throughout National Child Protection Week. Children may want to get involved in the NAPCAN art activity.

Information about this can be found at www.napcan.org.au/ncpw-theme