Child Safety Statement.

Global Learning Solutions is committed to the safety, wellbeing and participation of every child and young person in our programs. We have zero tolerance for child abuse of any kind.

Child safety is not a policy that sits separately from delivery. A program that cannot be staffed and supervised safely does not run.

We are committed to the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and to the Child Safe Standards in each state and territory where we deliver. We support the right of every child to be heard, believed and taken seriously.

Children and young people are told, in language that suits their age, what adults at a GLS session should and should not do, and who they can talk to if something worries them. Facilitators are trained to listen, to take a concern seriously the first time, and never to promise a child that they will keep a disclosure secret.

We recognise that some children face additional risk and additional barriers to being heard. Our programs are adjusted for children with disability, children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and children who are unable or reluctant to speak up. We ask engaging organisations about access needs before delivery, not on the day.

Programs are arranged through the school, council or service that engages us. We give that organisation the information families need about what a program involves, and we welcome questions from parents and carers about how a session is run and who is running it.

Every GLS staff member, facilitator and contractor agrees in writing to a code of conduct before working with children. It requires them to treat every child with respect, and prohibits, among other things:

• being alone with a child where they cannot be observed, other than in a genuine emergency
• any form of physical, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse, or discrimination
• developing a personal relationship with a child outside the program, or contacting a child privately including by phone or social media
• photographing or filming a child except with the engaging organisation's written authority and the required consents
• attending a session under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• giving gifts or preferential treatment to a particular child

Breaching the code is a disciplinary matter and may end an engagement immediately. The full code is available to partners on request.

Everyone working with children for GLS must hold a current, verified Working With Children Check or the equivalent clearance for the state or territory where they will deliver. State schemes are separate and are not mutually recognised, so a facilitator working across borders holds a clearance for each.

We sight and verify each clearance against the issuing register before first delivery, record it centrally with its expiry date, and re-verify it on a scheduled cadence. Our scheduling system will not roster a facilitator to a session without a current recorded clearance.

Recruitment also includes identity verification, reference checks with at least two referees including a most recent supervisor, interview questions covering child safety values, and verification of qualifications. Screening does not stop at hiring. Suitability is monitored throughout an engagement.

Child safety training is part of onboarding and is completed before independent delivery. It covers the code of conduct, recognising indicators of harm, responding to a disclosure, and exactly how and to whom a concern is reported. Refresher training runs annually.

New facilitators are observed and signed off before they deliver independently. Supervision ratios are set for each program and setting and are confirmed with the engaging organisation before delivery.

Anyone, including a child, parent, carer, partner organisation or member of the public, can raise a child safety concern with GLS at any time:

• Child Safety Officer, Global Learning Solutions
• info@glslearning.com

We will acknowledge your concern, treat it seriously, and tell you what happens next. You will not be penalised for raising a concern in good faith.

Concerns can also be raised directly with the relevant authority in your state or territory, and you do not need to come to us first. You can contact your state child protection service or police at any time.

We act immediately to make sure the child is safe. We report to police or the relevant child protection authority where the law requires it, or where we believe a child is at risk, regardless of whether an internal process has finished. Where a reportable conduct scheme applies, we notify the relevant regulator within the statutory timeframe — in NSW, seven business days — conduct or support an investigation, and report the outcome. We notify the engaging organisation in line with our agreement. We keep records of the concern, the steps taken and the outcome.

We do not treat an internal investigation as a substitute for a report to police or a statutory authority.

Program spaces are set up so that adults working with children can be observed. Materials and equipment are checked for age-appropriateness and safety, and a site-specific risk assessment is completed before delivery.

In our technology platforms, access to student information is role-based and logged, content generated for students is reviewed by an educator before it reaches them, and communication between staff and students runs through the engaging organisation's approved channels rather than personal accounts.

We review this statement and the practices behind it at least annually, and after any incident. Findings feed a documented improvement cycle with named owners.

This statement is supported by our Child Safety Policy, Code of Conduct, Risk Assessment procedure and incident reporting and escalation procedure. These documents are available to partners on request.