There are many exciting and stimulating sides to being a teacher, as you’re tasked with moulding young minds and supporting them as they grow. However, another equally vital side to the role is supporting their overall welfare, including reporting any sign that child abuse or neglect is occurring in the child’s home life. When you’re a school-based educator, it's imperative that you act the moment you witness any kind of incident that points towards child harm. You should also act when you spot the symptoms of child abuse, such as a withdrawn nature, bruises, poor hygiene or being overly hungry at school. Even if you’ve not seen the neglect first-hand, taking action is important.
Knowing Where Your Obligations End
When you suspect a parent or guardian is raising children neglectfully, the first step is to determine the child’s immediate needs. You shouldn’t attempt to investigate further yourself, as this is the purview of the police or DHHS Child Protection Services. But what constitutes an event that requires calling the authorities in?
When the parenting being provided involves sexual or physical abuse or psychological or emotional harm, it’s not something you should ignore. In this kind of scenario, it’s best to trust your gut, as it’s the child’s welfare that is paramount, and while there is a possibility that nothing will come from the investigation, it sends a clear message to parents - that the child neglect will not be tolerated.
Learning the Necessary Skills Online
So, as an educational professional, you want to be the best you can be, and the good news is that you can get the skills and knowledge you need to deal with these kinds of situations online. When taking our Supporting Children at Risk of Harm Course, you’ll get the lowdown on exactly what’s required of you when you suspect that child abuse might be occurring.
What you’ll also learn on this flexible short course (that also counts towards your CPD points) is how to implement practices that support the protection of young people, and you’ll gain an understanding of the duty of care and how to apply nurturing and ethical practices to allow kids to grow and develop as they should. It’s a course that provides crucial skills that help teachers become more rounded professionals.
Flexible, Affordable Professional Development Courses
So, if you’d like to know more about this course or any of the online training we offer at Online Courses Australia, you should visit our website www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au. There you’ll also see that our courses can be taken at your own pace and even paid for in manageable instalments - meaning that top-quality professional development courses are available to everyone.
Alternatively, should you have any questions you’d like to ask before enrolling on any of our online training courses, simply call us today on 1300 611 404. We’ll work hard to give you the answers you need and show you how easy professional development can be.
