Keeping Children Safe—At the Heart of Who We Are
This week, as Australia marks National Child Protection Week, I want to reaffirm a simple truth: child safety sits at the very forefront of our thinking and decision‑making at Oran Park Anglican College. It isn’t an add‑on; it’s an expression of our mission to be a vibrant learning community grounded in Christian hope and care for every child.
Over the past three years, our College has undertaken significant work to strengthen our Child Safe policies and procedures in line with the NSW Child Safe Standards. This has included deepening our leadership and governance practices, embedding continuous improvement, and ensuring our policies are lived out day‑to‑day in classrooms, playgrounds, and co‑curricular programs.
We identified the need to include student voice in decision‑making and have taken concrete steps to make that happen. Students now serve as members of our Child Safe Working Party and our Diversity and Inclusion Working Party, ensuring that the perspectives of young people shape the policies and practices designed to protect and support them. This aligns directly with Standard 2 of the NSW framework, which emphasises that children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Our staff undertake annual child safety training and operate under a clear Child Safe Code of Conduct, because safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We also complete regular Child Safe self‑assessments and improvement plans to monitor our effectiveness and target the next areas for growth. This cycle of reflection and action supports Standard 9 (continuous improvement) and keeps our commitments real and measurable.
To strengthen communication and early support, we developed a Student Wellbeing Dashboard—road‑tested by students and now used from Year 5 and above as a live hub for connection and help‑seeking. The Dashboard brings together age‑appropriate resources to navigate adolescence, quick check‑in surveys, and SRC news and initiatives—giving students a direct voice and giving staff timely feedback so we remain responsive to need. This proactive approach was also on show in the Senior School this week, with the SRC leading R U OK? Day conversations across pastoral groups and partnering with Talk To Me Bro for a resilience session (complete with optional ice baths to practise mindset and breathwork). Together, these student‑led initiatives promote help‑seeking, build connectedness, and help us identify concerns early so we can respond with compassion and care.
The OPAC difference is our community’s distinctive blend of faith, excellence, and care—seen in how we live our values of Courage, Curiosity, Craftsmanship, Collaboration, and Compassion and in how we partner with families to nurture each child’s intellectual, social and ethical growth. In other words, our safeguarding culture flows from our College vision and shapes everyday life at school.
We know that strong partnerships with families are vital for keeping children safe. If you or your child has feedback about how we can keep improving, please reach out. Your insights help us strengthen the culture and practices that make OPAC a place where every child is known, valued and cared for.
Thank you for continuing to stand with us—in prayer, in partnership, and in purposeful action—as we keep child safety at the centre of who we are.
God bless,
Mrs Naomi Wilkins
Principal