Overview

As of February 2019, the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations have been endorsed by members of the Council of Australian Governments, including the Prime Minister and state and territory First Ministers. The principles aim to provide a nationally consistent approach to creating organisational cultures that foster child safety and wellbeing.

The National Principles reflect ten child safe standards recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and are the vehicle for giving effect to recommendations relating to the standards. The National Principles have a broader scope that goes beyond child sexual abuse to cover other forms of potential harm to children and young people. As an accredited Child Safe Organization we takeour commitment to the National Child Safe Standards seriously.

Evidence based social work based on positive parenting and a nurturing safe environment for children.

At Kennerley, our model of care provides a safe, child-friendly nurturing environment where children, young people, their carers, and their families have every opportunity to reach their individual potential.

Our model of care is driven by evidence-based contemporary social work practice informed by respected experts in the areas of child development, attachment, child trauma, and resilience, that aims to enhance every child’s and young person’s opportunities to thrive.

We believe it takes a village to raise a child; one that is safe, accepting, and free from discrimination and conflict. Our aim is to support children, young people, carers, and their families to have access to community supports that provide them with opportunities for positive brain development and to build their resilience.

Our work with families reflects the Signs of Safety Framework, and the work of Dan Hughes, Eileen Munroe, and Bruce Perry.

The Signs of Safety Practice Principles.

Guiding our work with families is a Signs of Safety Framework developed by Andrew Turnell and Associates.

The Signs of Safety Practice Principles are built on:

1. Respect the people we are working with as people worth doing business with.
2. Childrens and families’ voices should be at the centre of our work.
3. Cooperate with the person, not the problem.
4. Cooperation is possible even when coercion is required.
5. Recognise that all families do some things well and have signs of safety.
6. Maintain a focus on child safety.
7. Understand the family’s motivation.
8. Always search for the details.
9. Focus on creating small changes.
10. Offer choices.
11. Any interaction with a family is a possibility for impacting change.
12. Treat the practice principles as aspirations not assumptions.

Circular diagram showing inter-relationships with child at the centre

The needs of children are front and centre in all our thinking. This diagram shows the inter-relationship of certain factors that should be in place for a child to feel safe, to not be disadvantaged, and to go on and reach their full potential.