Safeguarding

At Code Club, we aim to provide every child with the opportunity to learn coding, computational thinking, and problem solving. This Code of Behaviour is to be acknowledged and followed by all leaders, teachers, and volunteers engaging in Code Clubs across Australia, that may interact with children during their work.

Code Club Australia is an inclusive and empowering environment for people of all ages, genders and ethnicities. By participating in any online or offline event we endeavour to include everyone.

As a participant, you are expected to respect and cherish the work of those around you and listen closely. Your actions are important, heard and meaningful, especially with kids. Do not insult or put down others. Racist, sexist or disrespectful behaviour will not be tolerated.

Your patience, good-humour and passion to #GetKidsCoding is what drives us all, so please be a positive and proactive member of our community.

As educators we play a vital role in the care and education of children. This responsibility includes supporting children and young people and identifying where problems arise that may put their safety, welfare or wellbeing at risk.

All staff and volunteers have a responsibility to report risk of harm concerns about children and young people, within their roles, and to provide support to children and young people.

As part of their role, staff and volunteers:

• are expected to maintain an up to date Background Check
• should be aware of the mental and physical well being of the children who they are working alongside
• should be aware of their mandatory obligation to report suspected risk of significant harm
• may be the first point of contact if a child is distressed, but are never solely responsible
• should ask for help if they have any concerns or questions

It is expected that any concerns that you have are brought to the attention of a manager who will take appropriate action. If needed, further action can be taken through the Child Wellbeing Unit of the Department of Education.

Further information on child protection can be found at the Keep Them Safe website , a shared approach to child wellbeing for parents, communities, government and non-government agencies to work together to support children and families.

Further information on the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children can be found here .

Code Club International and the Raspberry Pi Foundation have a variety of resources available for members of the Code Club community, including an online safeguarding module. It is highly recommended that all volunteers complete this module - www.raspberrypi.org/safeguarding

If you have a safeguarding concern, you should first raise it with the staff managing your club venue. All safeguarding concerns identified as a result of participating in a Code Club should also be reported directly to the Code Club team. You can contact Code Club Australia at safeguarding@codeclubau.org or Code Club International at safeguarding@raspberrypi.org

If you have an urgent concern, please call the safeguarding number +44 (0)800 1337 112 which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

All communications will be protected under our Privacy Policy .

The New South Wales Working with Children Check is administered by Service NSW.

The Northern Territory Working with Children Clearance Notice (Ochre Card) is administered by SAFE NT , a unit of the Northern Territory Police.

The Queensland Blue Card system is administered by the Public Safety Business Agency .

The Western Australian Working with Children Check is carried out by the Department for Child Protection and Family Support .

The Australian Capital Territory Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is administered by Access Canberra .

In South Australia, Child Safety is the responsibility of the Department for Education and Child Development .

The Tasmanian Working with Children Registration is carried out by the Working with Vulnerable People registration unit.

In Victoria, the Department of Justice and Regulation handles Working With Children Checks.

If you have lived overseas for more than 1 year…

Some venues or Code Club Hosts will ask for an additional police check for the time you have been living overseas. This can be obtained from the law enforcement body for each relevant country. Information on obtaining a police check from an overseas government or law enforcement authority can be found on the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection website.

If you move to a different state…

You are required to obtain a new check within 30 days. You are allowed to volunteer in a different state on a one-off basis.

If you already have a background check statement...

If you already have an Australian state based background check document, that’s great — go right ahead! You will need to show the statement to the club's host before you start volunteering .