How to Embed Child Safeguarding into Everyday Practice
Online Masterclass
21-22 July – Online
The shift from compliance to ownership: Moving staff mindsets to collective responsibility
We are currently at a crossroads in the child-serving sector. Despite an abundance of research, national principles, and state-based standards, headlines continue to reveal breaches.
These failures rarely stem from a lack of paperwork; they stem from cultures where unacceptable behaviour goes undetected. While frameworks and reporting schemes are essential tools, they are not a shield in themselves. Policies do not keep children safe; people do. True safety is found in the living, breathing culture of an organisation where child wellbeing is woven into every interaction and decision.
This masterclass addresses the critical gap between compliance and genuine protection. It is designed to help you move beyond the ‘rules and tools’ and focus on the human element of safeguarding. Guided by Brad Poynting, a dedicated advocate with deep experience in frontline child protection, you will unpack the key facets to embracing and embedding genuine protection.
Your masterclass experience
Identify risk indicators and spot warning signs for unsafe or inappropriate behaviour – even in otherwise ‘compliant’ environments
Strengthen everyday practices that build safety
Shift mindsets from ‘ticking boxes’ to ‘taking ownership’
Build confidence in addressing questionable conduct, language, or practices immediately and constructively
Create conditions for disclosure and trust
Brad Poynting
Principal Consultant, Poynting Consulting & Advisory
Brad is a tenacious advocate for the well-being of children and young people. From working in front-line child protection in Queensland to developing child safeguarding frameworks for some of the largest providers of Early Education in Australia, safeguarding strategies for faith-based organisations and child safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse roles for international humanitarian aid agencies.
Brad Poynting
Brad is a tenacious advocate for the well-being of children and young people. From working in front-line child protection in Queensland to developing child safeguarding frameworks for some of the largest providers of Early Education in Australia, safeguarding strategies for faith-based organisations and child safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse roles for international humanitarian aid agencies. Brad is on a mission to prevent children and young people from experiencing abuse and neglect.
Key benefits
Translate regulatory requirements into practice: Move beyond theory to apply the ‘Child Safe Standards’ and ‘Universal Principle’ within your organisational context
Navigate the ‘Reportable Conduct Scheme’: Gain the practical knowledge required to identify, manage, and report conduct concerns with confidence and clarity
Consider and build your multi-year implementation roadmap: Discuss your strategy to move from basic compliance to cultural maturity
Operationalise the ‘Three Pillars of Safety’: Use the ‘Culture, Operations, and Environment’ framework to embed child wellbeing into every level of your daily operations
Identify your blind spots: Identify subtle risk indicators and ‘unacceptable behaviours’ that often bypass traditional documentation and checklists
Learn how to communicate about child safety in ways that empower staff, reduce ambiguity, and foster accountability across all levels
Who will attend
This workshop is designed for advocates of children’s rights and child safeguarding within organisations, middle or senior managers who oversee children’s safeguarding, or middle or senior managers who oversee children’s programs and services from the following sectors/services:
- Schools and Education
- Domestic and Family Violence
- Refuge Services
- Out of Home Care
- Homelessness Services
- Child Safety & Protection
- Youth, Sports, Recreation Groups, and Community Services
- Federal and State Government
- Early Learning
Agenda
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Day One
Opening remarks & Context Setting
Key Concepts: The regulatory foundation: Beyond theory navigating the frameworks that govern our work
- The ‘Child Safe Standards’ & ‘Universal Principle’: Understanding the ‘why’ behind the standards and how to lead your team through their implementation
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Grounding your safeguarding work in a rights-based approach that empowers children
Strategic Planning: Tools for the multi-year journey moving from reactive to proactive safeguarding
This session introduces the practical tools you need to map out a multi-year CSO strategy. We assess your current ‘safeguarding maturity’ and identify priority gaps that require immediate action versus long-term cultural work.
Break
The Three Pillars: Embedding safety into the DNA practical application of culture, operations, and environment
This is the ‘how-to’ of the day. We move past the high-level principles to look at the three levers you can pull to change your organisation’s safety profile:
- Pillar 1: Culture: How to foster a ‘speak-up’ environment where staff feel safe to report concerns and children feel heard
- Pillar 2: Operations: Hard-wiring safety into your recruitment, induction, training, and risk management processes
- Pillar 3: Environment: Designing physical and digital spaces that reduce risk and promote transparency (e.g., line-of-sight policies, online safety protocols)
End of Day One
Day Two
Opening remarks & reflections from Day One
Facilitated Workshop: Drafting your multi-year framework: The practical blueprint session
This practical session is where the day’s learning turns into your organisation’s future strategy. Using a dedicated workshop template, you will begin to develop your own safeguarding framework.
- Mapping the Three-Year Horizon: You will work through a structured process to define what ‘Year 1: Foundation,’ ‘Year 2: Integration,’ and ‘Year 3: Maturity’ look like for your specific team
- Cross-Sector Brainstorming: Leverage the expertise of other leaders to pressure-test your ideas and find solutions to common roadblocks
- Setting the Compass: While you won’t leave with a finished, ‘ready-to-print’ document, you will leave with a clear, prioritised roadmap of actions. You will identify exactly which policies need updating, which cultural initiatives to launch first, and how to measure success
- Blue Sky Thinking: A dedicated space to identify the ‘gold standard’ ideas – those long-term projects that will eventually set your organisation apart as a leader in child safety
Break
C.T.D: Facilitated Workshop: Drafting Your multi-year framework: The practical blueprint session
Closing summary
- Next steps: final reflections
- A checklist for your first 30 days back in the office
- Extended questions and answers
Close of Online Masterclass
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The insights I took away from this helped me make instant applications in my workplace. I’m excited for the learning journey to continue.”
Penelope Hucker
Director Communications and Reporting, Aboriginal Hostels, Safeguarding Children & Young People March 2026
A considered and thorough unpacking of the child safe standards, which many organisations find difficult to implement in practical and effective ways.”
Bettina Cruise
Manager L2P Program, Department of Transport and Planning, VIC, How to Embed Child Safeguarding in Organisational Culture Seminar, Sept 2025
A valuable session that was informative and practical for services at the beginning or well established in the implementation of the standards.”
Claire Bell
Quality and Risk Officer, Toora Women Inc How to Embed Child Safeguarding in Organisational Culture Seminar, Sept 2025
Very inspirational course to help keep implementing what we know and keep learning all the time. Child safeguarding is everyone’s business, and together we can keep children safe.”
Felicity Townsend
Manager of Child and Family Services, Uniting, Safeguarding Children & Young People March 2026
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