Child-safe organisations are those that not only put in place strategies, policies and systems to identify and mitigate the risks for children and young people experiencing child sexual abuse but which are also proactive in assessing whether their efforts have led to positive outcomes. In this section of the portal, ICPS will host a number of evidence-informed assessment tools that help organisations assess and track change over time.

The Australian Safe Kids and Young People Survey (ASK-YP Survey)

As part of its Children’s Safety Study, our Institute of Child Protection Studies (ICPS) developed the ASK-YP Survey, which measures:

• how safe children and young people feel within organisations
• the extent to which children and young people believe organisations demonstrate that they are child-safe
• the organisation’s responses to safety issues and risks, barriers to safety within organisations
• how children and young people believe they and their organisations would respond if a child or young person was harmed.

The survey was developed on behalf of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. See the results of the first wave of findings from the ASK-YP Survey.

The ASK-YP has been validated and new versions of the tool have been tailored for schools, sporting organisations, community organisations and faith-based communities. In 2018, ICPS hopes to partner with organisations to self-administer the survey to children and young people in their programs to assess their organisation’s safety climate. Partnering organisations will be able to access an overview of the results from their participants online, and compare them with other groups.

Any organisation that works with children, including youth groups, schools, faith based organisations and sports clubs can register their interest to receive updates on when the survey goes live and how to access it. Further information can be sought from the Project Manager, Douglas Russell.

Access to the survey tools will be subject to a fee and a sign-up procedure. The terms and conditions are still in development.

Staff attitudes, skills and behaviours

Research has shown that staff play an invaluable role in protecting children and young people in institutions. ICPS understands that the extent to which staff are protective, is influenced by their attitudes, skills and behaviours.

The Safeguarding Capabilities in Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Survey study is a research project that aims to develop a set of questions which can reliably assess workers (staff and volunteers) knowledge, awareness, attitude towards, and skills in reporting abuse. The project will culminate in the availability of the questions via ACUs Safeguarding Children and Young People Portal

Any organisation that works with children (including youth groups, schools, faith based organisations, community welfare, children and family services and sports clubs) can participate by going to Safeguarding Capabilities in Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Survey.

The project involves completing two surveys. The first survey should take approximately 20-25 minutes with the second follow up survey, four to six weeks later, taking approximately 10-15 minutes.

Organisational leaders are encouraged to forward the link to staff and volunteers working with children and young people to support the project and help develop this important tool.

Further information can be sought from the Project’s Chief Investigator, Prof Daryl Higgins.

Access to the survey tools, and the online community of practice networking services, will be subject to a fee and a sign-up procedure. The terms and conditions are still in development. Additional functionality will be added to the portal that may require user authentication to access, and will be subject to a fee.