To be child-safe an organisation must do more than establish policies and procedures. It also requires ongoing reflection, evaluation and improvement.
An effective approach to Child Safe Standard 10 (CSS 10) includes services taking proactive steps to support learning, accountability, and continuous improvement in everyday practice. Ongoing reflection strengthens child-safe practices and supports continuous improvement.
In early childhood education and care services this means regularly reviewing how effectively Child Safe Standards are being implemented and identifying opportunities to strengthen practice. CSS 10 ensures child safety remains relevant, responsive, and embedded within continuous improvement processes.
Continuous improvement supports services to adapt to emerging risks, reflect on incidents or concerns, and respond to feedback from children, families, staff, and the broader community.
When services regularly and actively evaluate their child safety strategies, they can identify gaps, celebrate strengths, and make informed decisions that enhance children’s safety and wellbeing.
To comply with CSS 10, all early childhood education and care services in Victoria must, at a minimum, ensure they meet the following elements of the standard:
- the service regularly reviews, evaluates, and improves child safe practices (10.1)
- complaints, concerns and safety incidents are analysed to identify causes and systemic failures to inform continuous improvement (10.2)
- the service reports on the findings of relevant reviews to staff and volunteers, community and families, and children and young people (10.3).
What does it look like for a service to successfully embed continuous improvement
In practice, a compliant and effective approach to CSS 10 may include:
- embedding child safety into the service’s Quality Improvement Plan, ensuring it is regularly reviewed and updated
- periodic reviews of child safety and wellbeing policies to ensure they remain current, relevant, and aligned with legislation and best practice
- reflecting on incidents, complaints, or near misses to identify patterns, risks, and opportunities for improvement
- maintaining and clearly documenting reviews, findings, and actions taken to improve child safety
- ensuring continuous improvement actions are assigned, tracked, and revisited to confirm effectiveness.
- staying informed about updates to legislation, standards, and sector guidance, and integrating these into service practices
- using staff meetings and reflective practice sessions to evaluate how child safety is implemented in daily practice
- collecting and responding to feedback through surveys, conversations, or meetings with families, children (where appropriate), staff, and volunteers
- promoting a learning culture where feedback is welcomed and viewed as an opportunity for growth rather than criticism.
What VECRA authorised officers consider when assessing compliance with CSS 10
During visits, VECRA authorised officers may:
- review documentation such as the Quality Improvement Plan, meeting minutes, and policy review schedules to assess how child safety is evaluated and improved
- ask educators and leadership how the service gathers and responds to feedback about child safety
- examine how incidents or concerns have been reviewed and what changes were implemented as a result
- look for evidence that child safety practices are regularly updated and not outdated
- assess whether continuous improvement processes are meaningful, ongoing, and embedded into service operations
- observe whether staff demonstrate reflective practice and an understanding of how improvements are made.
More information and resources
Further guidance on CSS 10 is available from:
- Reviewing Child Safety Practices – VECRA
- NQF Child Safe Culture Guide – ACECQA
- Resources and support for the Child Safe Standards – CCYP
- Child Safety Risk Monitoring, Reviewing and Reporting Quick Reference Guide (PDF) – National Office for Child Safety
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