Child Safe Church – Smithfield Baptist

SchoolScripture-BannerImage

Child Safe Church

All children at Smithfield Baptist Church have a right to feel safe, protected and included, their voices heard and individual needs assessed and met and individually valued. Children are our most vulnerable and valuable asset.

The foundational process supporting our approach are:

our Child Safe Policy
our Child Safe Code of Conduct
our Child Safe Risk Management Plan

These documents are available below.

This policy is part of our church’s ongoing commitment to protecting the children in our care from harm and abuse. It:

outlines the child safe practices our church has put in place to minimise the risks to child safety
sets out what is required from staff, including volunteers and others who interact with our
organisation, so they know what is expected from them to keep children safe

At Smithfield Baptist Church we commit to the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care. Please read our Child Safe Code of Conduct which must be signed by everyone.

Our church ensures services and activities are inclusive of all children, including children with diverse needs.

We are committed to providing a safe environment for children and young people the safety and wellbeing of children is central to all our decision-making:

Our service is committed to child safety
We have a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse
All children and young people have a right to feel safe and be safe

The policy describes what is required from all the leadership and volunteers in the organisation when taking part in any activities, services and events where children are present.

eryone in our organisation is expected to carry out the requirements specific to their role to keep children safe. This includes:

upholding our organisation’s commitment to child safety
reading, signing and upholding the behaviours set out in our Child Safe Code of Conduct meeting requirements across all other child safe policies and procedures, including child safe recruitment practices and risk management
taking part in our regular reviews of our child safe documents
reporting all breaches of our policies or any allegations of child harm or abuse, and meeting all external reporting obligations
completing all child safe training

Please contact the leadership or Violet & Sheridan Fawkes (Child Safety Officers) with any of your child-safety related questions or concerns.

All our child-related policies and procedures are easily accessible on our website for everyone who accesses our services and events, including children, parents, carers and community members
Children, parents and carers from diverse backgrounds and circumstances are encouraged to provide feedback on our child-related policies and procedures, including our Child Safe Code of Conduct that describes acceptable and non-acceptable behaviours and our Child Safe Risk Management Plan
We provide opportunities for children to provide feedback to our leadership and Child Safety Officers on what makes them feel safe, supported and included
We cater for children and adults with disabilities in providing a safe physical space for them, for example: ramps, handrails, electrical equipment kept in safe space away from little ones etc

General definitions

Psychological abuse (also known as emotional abuse)

This includes bullying, threatening and abusive language, intimidation, shaming and name calling, ignoring and isolating a child, and exposure to domestic and family violence

Physical abuse

This includes physical punishment, such as pushing, shoving, punching, slapping and kicking, resulting in injury, burns, choking or bruising

Sexual abuse

This includes the sexual touching of a child, grooming, and production, distribution or possession of child abuse material

Grooming

This is a process where a person manipulates a child or group of children and sometimes those looking after them, including parents, carers, teachers and leaders. They do this to establish a position of ‘trust’ so they can then later sexually abuse the child.

Misconduct

This is inappropriate behaviour that may not be as severe as abuse but could indicate that abuse is occurring and would often be in breach of an organisation’s Child Safe Code of Conduct. This could include showing a child something inappropriate on a phone, having inappropriate conversations with a child or an adult sitting with a child on their lap.

Neglect

This includes not providing adequate and proper supervision, nourishment, clothing, shelter, education or medical care.

Reportable Conduct

Reportable conduct means that the following conduct, whether or not a criminal proceeding in relation to the conduct has been commenced or concluded –

a sexual offence
sexual misconduct
ill-treatment of a child
neglect of a child
an assault against a child
offensive behaviour against a child (Crimes Act 1900)
behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child.

﹡For the meanings of each of the above see our section on “Definitions of harm and abuse”.

It is a criminal offence for adults not to report to police if they know or believe that a child abuse offence has been committed. In addition, people employed in child-related work may be subject to a criminal offence if they fail to reduce or remove the risk of a child becoming a victim of child abuse. The adult concerned should reach out to a leader/ child safety officer within the church.

Best practice is to always have two adults travelling with children. If this is not possible, a suitable arrangement must be made between the church and the parents of the children. If a child is alone with an adult in a car they must sit in the back seat. Every child should be accounted for at the end of a journey.

The leadership and volunteers must never communicate privately with children online or on social media. Any necessary online communication should include the child’s parent or carer in the correspondence. Our church does not have Wi-Fi in the premises or access to the internet.

Photos and videos of children can only be taken with the permission of parents or carers. Parents and carers must also approve any images used on our social media channels. It is unacceptable for the leadership or volunteers to take photos or videos of children, other than their own, on personal devices, or to share images without permission. The taking of photos rarely happens, but when it does the previous regulations must apply. Most of our children are always with their parents through different activities.

Physical contact with children should be kept to a minimum. Everyone involved in the church is expected to maintain appropriate physical boundaries with children.

Any physical contact must:

Be appropriate to the situation and for a clear purpose
Respect the child’s personal boundaries and wishes
Take place, where possible, in an open and observable environment

Physical contact must never:

Be unnecessary, excessive, or prolonged
Be used to discipline, punish, or intimidate a child
Make a child feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or distressed

Any concerns about physical contact with a child must be reported in line with the church’s child safety procedures.

The leadership and volunteers must never give gifts to children, or bestow benefits of any kind to a child, unless they have direct permission from the child’s parents or carers.

Church leaders and volunteers may have contact with children outside of church activities due to existing family, friendship, or community relationships. Any such contact must be appropriate, transparent, and consistent with the church’s commitment to child safety.

Where out-of-hours contact occurs, leaders and volunteers should ensure that parents or guardians are aware of the contact and that appropriate professional boundaries are maintained at all times.

Any out-of-hours contact that arises through a leadership or volunteer role should be disclosed to church leadership. One-on-one contact with children outside of church activities should be avoided unless there is a legitimate reason and the knowledge of a parent or guardian.

The safety and wellbeing of children must remain the priority in all interactions.

Injuries must be reported to the first aid officer on duty and first aid administered in a safe space within lines of sight of other adults. We have two doctors that fellowship with us at our church. We also have a nurse.

Child Safe Reporting Policy

Our Child Safe Reporting Policy sets out requirements and procedures for complaints, allegations, disclosures and reports, and external reporting obligations. It can be accessed at
www.smithfieldbaptist.or.au. The reporting guidelines and incident / observation report page are displayed in the foyer of the building in a glass case.

Child Safe Reporting Policy

Smithfield Baptist Church has a range of other key documents that relate to child safety. These include:

Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

Our public commitment to prioritising child safety across our organisation.

Child Safe Code of Conduct

Guides the day-to-day behaviours of adults interacting with children at the organisation.

Child Safe Recruitment, Induction and Training Policy

Sets out what is involved in the recruitment process and the procedures to be followed before a person is considered for a role at the organisation. This includes the verification of their Working with Children Check. It also outlines what is involved in the induction process for new recruits and any further training requirements.

Child Safe Risk Management Plan

Describes the specific risks at the service that could affect children’s safety and identifies the protective strategies used to lower each risk.

This website provides our Child Safe Policy and other child safe documents in digital form. We also send out a printed copy with all new registrations. Anyone involved in our community can request a copy via email at any time. We send out regular email reminders to our community about our child safe documents and invite feedback whenever one of our church’s child safe documents is up for review.

Smithfield Baptist Church has to understand and comply with a number of NSW Child Protection laws and schemes. These include:

Mandatory reporting is a term used to describe the legal requirement imposed on people to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to government authorities
The NSW government is responsible for receiving reports of suspected child maltreatment from members of the public
If the child is not in immediate danger, report to the Leadership / Child Safety Officers, Violet & Sheridan Fawkes. If a child is in immediate danger, call the Police on 000 straight away
Working with children check (WWC) – from Service NSW online – free for volunteers – Obtain clearance. Verification issued immediately & cleared for 5 years
Complete an approved “Safe Ministry Training Course” www.safeministrytraining.com.au. It takes about 15 minutes, issued with an approved certificate. Training & Refresher course at church yearly
NSW Child Safe Scheme
Children’s Guardian Act 2019
Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012
Child Protection (Working with Children) Regulation 2013
Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998

Next review date : 1/05/2027, or earlier if there are any critical incidents

At Smithfield Baptist Church, we are committed to supporting the safety of all children, with a zero-tolerance approach to abuse. This includes a culture where preventing and reporting abuse is encouraged and supported.

All leadership and volunteers are responsible for promoting the safety, wellbeing and empowerment of children. This includes understanding and responding to children’s diverse needs and cultural considerations.

At Smithfield Baptist Church, we go through training in child safety through different training formats to make sure that all leadership and volunteers are well equipped, aware and alert to any child safety issues and situations.

Our Child Safe Code of Conduct sets out how we expect adults in our organisation to behave around children to help prevent harm and abuse in our physical spaces and online. Our Child Safe Code of Conduct identifies:

‘I will’ child safe behaviours that we consider acceptablelines
‘I won’t’ behaviours that we consider unacceptable

Engaging in unacceptable behaviour is a breach of our Child Safe Code of Conduct and may result in disciplinary action.

Child abuse takes many forms. It can include psychological, physical and sexual abuse, grooming, misconduct and lack of appropriate care as defined below.

General definitions

Psychological abuse (also known as emotional abuse)

This includes bullying, threatening and abusive language, intimidation, shaming and name calling, ignoring and isolating a child, and exposure to domestic and family violence

Physical abuse

This includes physical punishment, such as pushing, shoving, punching, slapping and kicking, resulting in injury, burns, choking or bruising

Sexual abuse

This includes the sexual touching of a child, grooming, and production, distribution or possession of child abuse material

Grooming

Misconduct

Neglect

This includes not providing adequate and proper supervision, nourishment, clothing, shelter, education or medical care.

Reportable Conduct

Reportable conduct means that the following conduct, whether or not a criminal proceeding in relation to the conduct has been commenced or concluded –

a sexual offence
sexual misconduct
ill-treatment of a child
neglect of a child
an assault against a child
offensive behaviour against a child (Crimes Act 1900)
behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child.

﹡For the meanings of each of the above see our section on “Definitions of harm and abuse”.

The list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours below are in relation to interactions of leadership and volunteers with children who interact with our church’s services, locations or activities.

I will:

treat all children with respect
uphold the rights of the child and always prioritise their needs
make sure the needs of all children remain the paramount focus of any decision-making
listen to and value the ideas and opinions of all children, and respond to them appropriately
welcome all children and their families and carers, and ask them to participate in decisions around child safety
actively promote safe and inclusive practices for all children, including those with diverse needs, circumstances and backgrounds, including children with disability
adhere to the church’s child safe policies, procedures and practices
participate in all compulsory child safe training
include a child’s parent or carer in any direct online communication or correspondence
when transporting a child to church, take all reasonable steps to ensure at least two adults are travelling with the child at all times or put in place a suitable arrangement between the church and the parents or carers of the child. If the child is alone, they must sit in the back seat of the vehicle
let the church know about any out-of-hours contact with any children in the care of our church or who interact with our services, and make sure there is a valid reason for this contact and parents or carers are also aware of this contact
take all reasonable steps to protect children from harm and abuse, and report and act on any concerns or allegations (see reporting obligations below)
report any conflicts of interest such as a relationship with a child that is outside the church
raise concerns with the leadership team if risks to child safety are identified
take a child seriously if they disclose harm or abuse and follow the correct procedures for
responding to a disclosure
make sure breaches of the Child Safe Code of Conduct and any instances of concerning
behaviour from adults are reported immediately
respect the privacy of children, and their families, and keep all information about child protection concerns confidential

I won’t:

condone or participate in unsafe, harmful or abusive behaviour towards children, including psychological, physical and sexual abuse, grooming, misconduct or lack of appropriate care
ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse
exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues
persistently criticise or denigrate a child
use hurtful, discriminatory or offensive behaviour or language with children
verbally assault a child, or create a climate of fear
deliberately prevent a child from forming friendships
engage in unwarranted and inappropriate touching involving a child
be alone with a child without supervision or adequate risk management in place
have contact after hours with children
encourage a child to communicate with me in a private setting, including online or on social media
give personal gifts or benefits of any kind to a child unless direct permission has been given from the parent or carer
share details of sexual experiences with a child
use sexual language or gestures in the presence of children
show sexual, violent or other inappropriate images to a child
take videos or images of children interacting with the church or under the care of the church on a personal device without permission from the parents and church
share videos or images of children on social media without consent
fail to report information to police or other relevant authorities if I know a child has been harmed or abused (see reporting obligations below)

“Concerning behaviours” are behaviours that on their own may not constitute a breach of our Child Safe Code of Conduct but when viewed together may indicate grooming behaviour.

These include:

Showing favour to one child over others
Babysitting children without prior consent from the church and parents (babysitting outside the church is only allowed in exceptional circumstances when the child and their family or carer is known has a pre-existing relationship with the leadership member or volunteer outside the church
Participating in the lives of children outside the service without a valid reason
Crossing professional boundaries with the children in our care
Spending time alone with children
Being ‘child centric’, which means showing a preference for hanging out with children rather than adults

Engaging in unacceptable behaviour is a breach of our Child Safe Code of Conduct and may result in disciplinary action.

You must follow all internal and external reporting obligations set out in our church’s Child Safe Reporting Policy. You must follow all internal and external reporting obligations set out in our church’s Child Safe Policy. Guidelines and a reporting event / observation template are found displayed in the foyer of our church.

Some breaches of this code of conduct may need to be reported to NSW Police, the Office of the Children’s Guardian or the Department of Communities and Justice.

The adult concerned should reach out to a leader/ child safety officer within the organisation if they are unsure of what may need to be reported externally.

Leadership or volunteers who breach our Child Safe Code of Conduct but do not commit a criminal offence may still be subject to disciplinary action. This can include increased supervision, appointment to a different role, additional training, suspension or termination from the service.

Concerning behaviours

If a leadership member or volunteer shows patterns of concerning behaviour but do not commit a criminal offence, this may result in increased supervision and/ or additional training. If these behaviours of concern continue, the leadership member or volunteer may be subject to disciplinary action, including appointment to a different role, suspension or termination from the service.

Agreement to abide by the terms of Child Safe Code of Conduct

You need to sign a physical cope of the Code of Conduct for countersign with one of our appointed Responsible Officers.

Next review date : 1/05/2027, or earlier if there are any critical incidents

Creating a child safe environment includes:

identifying environmental risks to children’s safety in relation to the activities and services we provide, our physical settings and our online spaces and communication
taking action to reduce these risks and children’s exposure to harm or abuse

This risk assessment identifies and manages risks that could cause harm to children and young people participating in our services. The goal is to prevent abuse, neglect, exploitation, misconduct, and unsafe practices while promoting a safe and supportive environment.

Smithfield Baptist Church provides church services such as, Sunday School and worship services to children and their parents.

These activities and services take place in the following locations:

In our main church building where children sit with their parents and Sunday school classes where children are supervised by at least 2 adults of different genders

Violet & Sheridan Fawkes, Child Safety Officers are responsible for this plan.

The leadership in our church are responsible for making sure that the strategies to manage risks are implemented and monitored.

This version of the plan was completed on 3/06/2026.

Everyone in our church should be alert to any risks to children’s safety and draw attention to any concerns that may arise, as set out in our Child Safe Policy.

Our Risk Management Plan is available on our website.

Violet & Sheridan Fawkes will review this plan annually on May 2027.

The plan will be reviewed and updated immediately if there are:

any incidents involving children
any changes to our physical or online spaces or online communications
any changes to the types of activities and services involving children that we deliver

Risk Identified	Potential Harm	Risk Level	Existing Controls	Additional Controls Required	Responsible Person	Review Date
Unsupervised contact between staff and child	Abuse, grooming, inappropriate conduct	High	Staff Code of Conduct, supervision procedures	Implement two- adult rule, regular supervision	Child Safety Officer	May 2027 Or sooner in Existing case
Inadequate recruitment screening	Unsuitable person working with children	High	Reference checks, interviews	Mandatory background checks and verification	Child Safety Officer	May 2027 Or sooner in Existing case
Online communication with children	Grooming, privacy breaches	Medium	Code of Conduct	Use approved platforms only; monitor communications	Child Safety Officer	May 2027 Or sooner in Existing case
Physical environment hazards	Injury to children	Medium	Regular inspections	Monthly safety audits Gates, ramps handrails	Child Safety Officer	May 2027 Or sooner in Existing case
Failure to respond to concerns	Ongoing harm to child	High	Reporting	Annual training & incident response training	Child Safety Officer	May 2027 Or sooner in Existing case
Toilets	inappropriate conduct abuse	High	Parents code of conduct	Parents always take their own children	Child Safety Officer	May 2027 Or sooner in Existing case

Screening of volunteers & leadership

Conduct background checks as required by law. (WWC numbers)
Verify identity and qualifications
Obtain and check references
Assess suitability for child-related work

Training

Child safety training for all staff and volunteers
Annual refresher training. (in house & the Safe Ministry check website)
Training on recognizing and reporting abuse

Code of Conduct

Staff and volunteers must:

Read the Child Safe Code of Conduct on this website
Treat children with respect
Maintain appropriate boundaries
Avoid one-on-one situations where possible
Never use physical punishment, humiliation, or inappropriate language

Supervision

Maintain appropriate teacher-to-child ratios. (2 adults per class, mainly taught by parents
Monitor high-risk activities. (supervision of Sunday School classes, every quarter)
Ensure visibility in all child-related activities. (all classes visible through windows & open plan)

Online Safety

Use approved communication channels. (no Wi-Fi in church or internet access)
Obtain parental consent where required. (no photos unless previously approved by parents)
Protect children’s personal information. (no sharing of information, keeping details confidential)

Reporting Concerns

Any leader, volunteer, parent, or child may report concerns to:

Role	Name	Contact Numbers	Email
Child Safety Officer	Violet Fawkes	0403 059 150	[email protected]
Child Safety Officer	Sheridan Fawkes	See Church Directory	[email protected]
Pastor	Chris Athavle	0401 661 810	[email protected]
Deacon	Steve Fawkes	See Church Directory	[email protected]
Deacon	Nathan Athavle	See Church Directory	[email protected]
Deacon	George Pierdziwol	See Church Directory	[email protected]

Response Process

The steps we will follow are:

Receive and document concern

Assess immediate safety needs

Report to relevant authorities if required

Support the child and family.

Conduct internal review

The church will:

Review risks annually or after incidents
Monitor compliance with child safety policies (referencing the copy on this website)
Seek feedback from children and families
Update controls when new risks emerge

Next review date : 1/05/2027, or earlier if there are any critical incidents

To support our above process we have :

our Mandatory Guidelines poster which is visible around the church
out Church Incident-Observation Form
our Complaint Form
our Sunday School Teacher Observation Form