Child Protection Policy

1. Introduction

1.1 Policy Statement

Temple David Congregation Incorporated (Temple David) is committed to providing safe and secure physical and online environments for all its members and leaders. In particular, we recognises its duty of care towards children and young people.

The work involved in building and maintaining a safe community is everyone’s responsibility and is never completed. It requires an ongoing process of learning, acting, monitoring and reviewing.

Temple David adopts a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety issues, so that the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a paramount consideration when developing activities, policies and management practices.

Consequently, this policy aims to reduce the risk of abuse of children and young people occurring and ensure that a caring and appropriate response is taken should abuse occur. It provides guidance on appropriate and expected standards of behaviour of personnel towards children and young people.

Temple David has a policy of ZERO TOLERANCE towards child sexual abuse, and expressly recognises its obligation to inform the relevant authorities of all information known concerning child sexual abuse, and to co—operate with the authorities in every way to bring perpetrators to justice.

Temple David will also: seek children and young people’s views in relation to this policy as is appropriate to their age; consult children and young people about decisions that affect them; and consult children and young people about what makes them feel safe and how this can be recognised and implemented by Temple David.

1.2 Scope

This Policy applies to:

• All activities authorised by or under the control of the Synagogue, including those activities undertaken at the Synagogue’s premises or away from the Synagogue’s premises,

• All Staff, members, volunteers, and contractors within the Synagogue or engaged by the Synagogue, as well as visitors.

1.3 Definitions

Abuse — Can consist of one or more of but is not restricted to the following:

• Physical Abuse — Any non-accidental physical injury,
• Sexual Misconduct – Any activity or incident which is not necessarily classified as abuse or a criminal offence, but which would still be in contravention of the Temple David Code of Conduct, and/or break the view of a “professional boundary”. This includes sexually explicit comments, gestures, pornography, and behaviour that can reasonably be construed as involving an inappropriate and overly personal or intimate relationship with; conduct towards; or focus on; a young child or person, or a group of children or young persons.
• Sexual Abuse — Any sexual act or threat to perform such upon another person. It occurs when a person uses their power and authority to take advantage of another’s trust to involve them in sexual activity. It does not necessarily involve genital contact but is any act which erodes the sexual boundary between two people. It may also appear consensual, but the validity of consent is negated by the power differential,
• Emotional Abuse — The chronic attitude or behaviour of one person which is directed at another person, or the creation of an emotional environment which is detrimental to a person’s development,
• Neglect — Any serious omission or commission which jeopardizes or impairs a persons’ development.

Activity — Any organised activity that is authorised by the Synagogue.

Board Member – A constitutional member of the Temple David Board of Management.

Child / Young Person — Any person under the age of 18.

Member – A constitutional member of Temple David.

Teaching Assistant / Child Volunteer Leader — A child / young person over the age of 13, who assists with teaching the youngest age groups or with running other activities.

Staff member or volunteer leader — Any person (paid or unpaid) over the age of 18 who is responsible for running activities or other services. A Staff member or volunteer leader could include, but is not limited to:

• The Rabbi or other member of the Synagogue’s Staff,
• Small group staff members or volunteer leaders,
• Counsellors, Youth leaders or volunteer leaders,
• Teachers.

Synagogue – Temple David, located at 34 Clifton Crescent, Mount Lawley, WA, 6050, or any other premises endorsed by the Synagogue for authorised activities.

Temple David Executive – The President, Senior Vice-Presidents, Junior Vice-President, Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of Temple David, as per the Constitution

Participant – Any person, member or non—member, participating in a Temple David activity, whether on the Temple David premises or off—site.

Volunteer or Volunteer Leader — The person recognised and authorised by the Synagogue as head of a program or activity.

2. External Policies

The Synagogue acknowledges that some activities of the Synagogue have affiliation with other organisations. These organisations will possibly have policies governing the issues of Member and/or Child Safety and Abuse. This policy is not intended to replace or conflict with the other policies, but instead to operate in conjunction with them.

3. Obligations

3.1 Spiritual

The core beliefs of the Synagogue require all staff, volunteers, members and event participants to treat all people with respect and dignity, and to care for those who are less powerful and in need of nurture and protection.

3.2 Legal

The Synagogue and its Staff members and volunteers are subject to federal and state legislation and principles established through common law, with particular reference to the principal piece of legislation in the WA Children and Community Services Act 2004.

3.3 Ethical

Some actions may not be regarded as abuse but are nevertheless unacceptable behaviour for Synagogue staff members and volunteer leaders. These include:

• Inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature.
• Coarse language, especially that of a sexual nature.
• Suggestive gestures or remarks.
• Jokes of a sexual nature.
• Inappropriate, but accidental touching.
• Inappropriate literature (e.g., R or X rated material, or other rated material shared with young children).
• Acts of violence committed by a staff member or volunteer leader in the course of an activity.

The age of individuals is recognised as one of the determinants in deciding what acceptable and unacceptable behaviour is. Staff members and volunteer leaders will ensure that high standards of conduct are maintained at all times.

In general, the Board of Management has responsibility to

• develop a child safeguarding risk management plan which considers all possible risks relating to children and young people
• put into place appropriate risk management processes to assess, evaluate, review and oversee the safeguarding of children and young people
• manage safeguarding risks effectively, through regular identification, monitoring, reporting and review of risks.

4. Selection & Screening

4.1 Leaders

Leaders involved in the Synagogue’s activities relating to direct unsupervised work with children must be carefully selected and screened. Prior to them commencing their involvement in work with children, the following precautions will be taken:

• Candidates will complete an application form which requests details of referees and permission to contact them.
• Referees will be checked and spoken to, using an agreed set of questions which have been drafted by the Synagogue. The questions will seek to establish the applicant’s suitability for the role or position and the conversation will be documented and retained on file.
• Short—listed candidates will be interviewed by an experienced and responsible member of the Synagogue prior to being accepted.
• Except for child volunteers and parents with children in the same class, (https://workingwithchildren.wa.gov.au/about/exemptions) all Staff and volunteers that work with children must obtain a “Working With Children Check” https://workingwithchildren.wa.gov.au/applicants—card—holders/applying—for—a—wwc—check/how—to—apply
• Part of the application process is completed by Temple David.

Where the Synagogue has identified that an applicant has previously committed a violent or sexually related offence, they CANNOT, under any circumstances, be considered for leading child related activities.

Such offences do not preclude the applicant from serving in other, more appropriate, parts of the Synagogue’s activities, but the matter must be sent to the Board Executive for approval prior to agreeing to any arrangements.

4.2 Helpers / volunteers

Helpers are expected to have an awareness of the content of this policy and be prepared to work according to it. Any helper who is involved in performing responsibilities at Temple David involving children and young people must be supervised by a Leader at all times and will be accountable to that Leader. Leaders who accept the assistance of a Helper must be satisfied of the Helper’s maturity and their suitability for performing responsibilities at Temple David involving children.

5. Training

All staff members and volunteer leaders will be issued with a copy of this policy, including reporting procedures and associated legal requirements. In addition, staff members and volunteer leaders responsible for recruiting staff members or volunteer leaders for child related activities will undertake to communicate this policy to all staff and volunteers that they work with.

6. A Safe Environment

Incidents of abuse are unlikely to take place in front of another person and the presence of a witness can assist in clarifying questionable allegations. For these reasons, when possible, we will seek to have two staff members or volunteer leaders present when working with or supervising children and young people.:

• Staff members and volunteer leaders will not visit children/young people in their homes unless a parent or guardian is present or another Staff member or volunteer leader accompanies them,
• When transporting children/young people, staff members and volunteer leaders should never be alone with a child/young person in a car,
• Where this is not practical, staff members and volunteer leaders will take children/young people directly to and from arranged venues and will not spontaneously detour or make additional arrangements,
• All personal counselling is to be carried out within sight of another staff member or volunteer leader,
• Staff members and volunteer leaders will respect a member’s feelings and privacy when engaging in physical contact of any kind,
• Adults and children are expected to respect each other’s privacy during activities that require undressing, dressing or changing clothes,
• Staff members and volunteer leaders will set an example by protecting their own privacy in similar situations. No staff member or volunteer leader will be alone in a room with a child while either is changing,
• Initiations and secret ceremonies are prohibited,
• All aspects of every child-related program will be open to observation by parents/guardians,
• Staff members or volunteer leaders have the right to ask people who do not have a valid reason to be present at child-related activities, to leave. Police may be contacted if such persons refuse to comply with any reasonable request to leave.

7. Disciplining Children / Young People

It is not the responsibility of the Synagogue or its staff members or volunteer leaders to discipline a child. If a child/young person does not abide by the rules set down by the staff member or volunteer leader or is an obstruction to the care of other children or may cause harm to other children, the child/young person will be removed and referred to their parent or guardian.

At no time will a staff member or volunteer leader administer any form of physical, emotional or mental discipline.

8. Reporting Procedures

8.1 Reporting to whom

Temple David supports and is committed to a culture where everyone feels capable of raising a concern, and the Synagogue encourages all concerns to be reported.

Please also see the Whistleblowing and Incident Reporting Policy.

Reasonable grounds can be assumed when:

• A Child discloses that he or she has been abused, and/or
• Someone close to a child (e.g., sibling, relative, close friend) discloses on behalf of that child.

In that case, every effort should be made to provide appropriate support the child. The Police MUST be notified. In addition, the President or a member of the Executive should be notified.

The Police must also be notified if a child discloses an incident of abuse that has occurred somewhere other than the Synagogue (e.g., home or school).

8.2 Responsibilities of those who have receive a report

If a disclosure of abuse is made, the person who receives the disclosure will maintain appropriate pastoral care of the one making the disclosure. This will include:

• Treating each allegation seriously and not attempting to deny the allegation or minimise its impact on the alleged victim. The matter should not be swept under the carpet.
• Not pushing the child/young person to disclose details of the alleged assault or attempting to investigate the allegation.
• Assuring the child/young person that they are understood that their disclosure is being taken seriously that what has happened is not their fault, and that they are correct in disclosing the incident.
• Reporting the abuse to the police and the Synagogue’s insurer.
• Not making contact with the alleged perpetrator. If the Staff member or volunteer leader is already providing counsel to the alleged perpetrator, another person will assume this responsibility for the duration of any investigation.
• If the alleged assault has taken place recently, clothing worn by the Child should be retained and handed to the Police for forensic examination.
• Maintaining confidentiality.
• Any disclosures by a child and all details of the subsequent investigation will be documented promptly and the documents will be held in a secure location where a breach of privacy cannot occur.
• Where an allegation is made the accused staff member or volunteer leader will be removed from all children’s activities pending the outcome of all investigations.
• Complainants will be responded to promptly and kept informed as to the progress of dealing with their complaint

9. Alcohol & Drugs

Children are, by law, prohibited from consuming alcohol, as well as possessing or using illegal drugs. Any child found to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs is to be counselled and the parents/guardians contacted so the child can be returned home immediately.

Any child/young person required to take prescription medication will provide a letter from the parents/guardians to the activity’s Staff Member or Volunteer Leader.

10. Appreciation

Our thanks to Emmanuel Synagogue, NSW and Beth Shalom, SA for permission to use their Child Safety Policy as the basis for this Child Protection Policy.

11. Relevant References

• Children and Community Services Act (WA) 2004 (Version retrieved as at 19 October, 2021) https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/law_a9243.html
• Children and Community Services Amendment Bill (2021) (Version as at 19 October 2021) https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/BillProgressPopup?openForm&ParentUNID=C5BD5CB15CCDE402482586E7001D5F02
• Children and Community Services Amendment Bill FAQs https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/children—and—community—services—amendment—bill—2021
• Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 (Version as at 1 February 2021) https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_1095_homepage.html
• Exemptions to the Working with Children Check requirements (as at 18 September, 2021) https://workingwithchildren.wa.gov.au/about/exemptions

You can print a copy of the Temple David Child Protection Policy