Aim: The purpose of the Safety Policy is to keep all adults and children safe within the group and provide guidance to the group on possible actions to take in the instance of incidents of concern.Essentially each parent/caregiver is responsible for their own child(ren), however as a tight-knit community, we intend to support each other and each other's children to be safe and make safe choices. Below are outlined some group expectations and possible pathways to help the group navigate safety incidents and concerns.General Procedure for incidents/issues of concern:Let the safety team know if an incident of concern has happened which impacts the safety of any member of the groupThe safety team will keep an incident record (if there are a number of incidents occurring with a particular person, or one of significant concern, measures will need to be taken for everyone’s safety)As a first step, we would encourage the parents of both parties to have a conversation with the aim to work together, resolve conflicts and find a way forwardThe Safety Team is available to mediate or step in with conflict resolution if requiredFor incidents of a severe nature, we may refer families to outside services and supports, or report an incident (e.g., Police, Social Services etc)In the case of any incidents, we will communicate with the parents of any child involved.Areas of safety to consider and guiding actions:Emotional / Physical safety (hitting / ongoing bullying etc)Should a child be struggling with impacting other children’s (or adult’s) physical or emotional safety, some actions to take will include:Immediately seek their parent/caregiver to intervene“No” means “No” or “Stop” means “Stop”. If as parents we hear the word “No” or “Stop” and a behaviour continues, we should step in straight away and ask for additional help if needed.Take them to a quiet space to regulateRemember, food, water, sensory needs, connectionUsing NVC (non-violent communication) strategies to find the triggers and needs of the child - for more info click “What is NVC?”We may ask a parent to closely monitor or “shadow” their child as a preventative measure. This means staying with view and hearing of that child at all times and ensuring they don't go off alone with other children. Look at taking them home earlyMaybe taking some days / weeks off to have a slower pace and focus on wellbeing before rejoining the groupFor ongoing safety concerns where a particular child’s actions are impacting others, we may encourage families to utilise specific resources or courses to support their childTake some time off from the group to focus on wellbeing Physical restraint of children other than your own: guidance is provided on this website on when (in very limited circumstances) physical restraint would be appropriate https://parents.education.govt.nz/primary-school/your-child-at-school/using-physical-restraint-in-schools/ Body boundaries and consentChildren and adults need to respect each others “body bubbles” ‘No’ means no, ‘Stop’ means stop. Step in straight away if this isn’t being responded to.“Privates are for private”We (and research) recommend using the correct anatomical terms for body parts as a preventative measure for your child(ren) so they have the language to communicate any incidents of concernBe very aware of where your child is especially if they are wanting to be out of sight of adults or in hidden spaces (e.g., cluster of trees, toilet cubicles)Adults should avoid being alone with a child that is not their own (e.g., toilets) unless there is an agreement of trust between specific parentsAny incidents of an inappropriate sexual nature (e.g., exposure, touching, language) should be disclosed to the Safety Team who will provide guidance and support moving forwardShould a serious incident occur between children, teens or adults, the Safety Team reserves the right to report the incident to the relevant authorities and require the child/ family to take some time away from the group (temporarily or in serious cases, permanently). Please note we will guide each family to access support relevant to the issue and that we generally take a restorative approach where possible.Cyber SafetyParents/caregivers should be communicating with their young person about their use of social media and digital communications with friendsIn the case of young people within the group engaging in hurtful or harmful communication, including sharing of inappropriate content, we recommend:Reaching out to the other young person’s parent/caregiver to work to resolve the conflict as a teamReaching out to the Safety Team for support if mediation is needed between familiesHere is a homeschooling specific webinar run by NCHENZ and Netsafe about cyber safety https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/EMR-nJAtb-WaJiWLdjekVjYS1zyKJdeXd7D2pvMSVuaCNLBmzIIq-NKz9B0EGNy2c4julYP6dF_pR07y.npum0iBL97flxzI5 Following the guidance on Netsafe for parents, we recommend this article as a preventative measure https://netsafe.org.nz/online-safety-for-parents/ And this article if you need initial support with cyber bullying https://netsafe.org.nz/parents-bullying/ Dog SafetyDogs must be on lead at all times around the group even in public spacesPlease be considerate of other families as some members are not comfortable around dogsPlease keep dogs away from picnic mats and eating areasPhysical Safety - risk assessmentIn areas with more environmental risks, more active supervision will be requiredParents are responsible for their own children, but we all aim to be aware of children around us as well.We always step in or ask another safe adult to step in as soon as we see something of concernWe aim to model a culture of asking for help whenever neededReporting of suspected abuse (neglect, physical, emotional, psychological)Adults in the group are required by law to report suspected child abuse to authorities such as Oranga Tamariki and/or NZ Police. If you have concerns for the wellbeing of a child in the group, you may consult with the Safety Team. Further resources:Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme and Child activitiesWe recommend reading over the information relevant to the age of your child https://www.police.govt.nz/advice-services/personal-community-safety/school-portal/resources/successful-relationships/kos Child Protection Guidelineshttps://www.police.govt.nz/advice-services/personal-community-safety/school-portal/information-and-guidelines/child-protection Kia Kaha programme against bullying - teaching respectful relationshipshttps://www.police.govt.nz/advice-services/personal-community-safety/school-portal/resources/successful-relationships/kia-kaha NCHENZ Child Safety Training Online Course (about 1.5 hour video)https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/8911298081755393280 Talking about pornography podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ydnDHGJtZ6Ohab1utfsun?si=k6r12OtuQ32eYoC6jweatQ NonViolent Communication (NVC) Free Resourceshttps://www.nvc.org.nz/freely-downloadable/ Printable NVC Processhttps://communicate2connect.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/printable.pdf