Safeguarding: Children, Young People and Vulnerable Persons

At Saint Timothy Catholic Parish Forest Hill we are committed to a safe and nurturing culture for all children and vulnerable persons in our Church. Saint Timothy's Catholic Parish Forest Hill holds the care, safety, well-being of children and vulnerable persons as central and fundamental responsibilities of the Church. This commitment is drawn from and inherent to the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the sanctity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel.

We adhere to the Victorian Government's Child Safe Standards and follow the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct. A copy of this document is available for viewing below.

Safeguarding Lens:

How can parishes monitor their compliance for safeguarding? The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework has been informed by the following organisational child safety frameworks.

• Victorian Child Safe Standards
• National Catholic Safeguarding Standards
• National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

A comparison of the requirements of each of the organisational child safety frameworks can be found in the Information sheet - Organisational Frameworks for Safeguarding Children and Young People

The Parish Child Safety Assessment Tool (located here) enables parishes to self-assess their compliance with the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework noted above. This tool can be useful to facilitate your parish’s readiness to be audited by the Victorian Government Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP).