The NextStepAcademy
Child Safety Policy

NextStepAcademy is committed to the safety, wellbeing and empowerment of every child we work with. We have zero tolerance for child abuse, and every allegation or safety concern is treated seriously and handled consistently with this policy.

We know child abuse can take many forms, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, grooming and harm that happens online. We work to prevent abuse, to spot risks early, and to remove or reduce those risks wherever we find them.

Child safety is everyone's responsibility at NextStepAcademy. Our directors act as our Child Safety Officers. They are responsible for this policy, for handling every concern that is raised, and for making reports to the authorities when required. You can reach them at info@nextstepacademy.com.au or on 1300 690 100.

Our approach is guided by the NSW Child Safe Standards.

Child abuse is any action, or failure to act, that harms or is likely to harm a child's safety, wellbeing or development. It includes:

• Physical abuse: hitting, shaking, pushing or any other use of force that causes, or could cause, injury.
• Sexual abuse: any sexual activity or behaviour involving a child, including sexual touching, sexual comments or messages, and exposing a child to sexual material or conversations.
• Emotional or psychological harm: bullying, threatening, humiliating, intimidating, isolating or constantly belittling a child, and exposing a child to family violence.
• Neglect: failing to meet a child's basic needs, such as supervision, food, clothing, shelter or medical care.
• Grooming: building trust or an emotional connection with a child, or with the adults around them, in order to abuse the child.
• Online harm: any of the above carried out through phones, messaging apps, social media, games or video calls.

You can read more in our Recognising abuse and Recognising grooming sections.

Children are safer when they know their rights, feel listened to and know who to tell when something is wrong. We want every child to feel comfortable speaking up about anything that worries them.

• We listen to children and take what they tell us seriously.
• Children can raise a concern themselves, through a trusted adult or through our child report form.
• We ask families to check in with their child after lessons, and we welcome feedback from children about their lessons and their tutor.
• We take a child's age, maturity, abilities and way of communicating into account when we ask for their views.

Every child deserves to feel safe, respected and included, whatever their background. In particular, we:

• promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and never question a child's identity
• promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• make sure children with a disability are safe, supported and able to take part, and adapt how we work to suit their needs
• welcome children and families of every gender identity and sexual orientation
• have zero tolerance for racism and discrimination of any kind

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first Australians and the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work.

We take every reasonable step to make sure the people who work with children through us are safe and suitable. Our job advertisements and recruitment make our commitment to child safety clear from the start. Before a tutor ever works with a student:

• Working With Children Check: every tutor aged 18 or over must hold a valid Working With Children Check. We verify it before any contact with a student and keep a record of that check.
• Ongoing monitoring: we track every check's expiry date, and our system automatically stops a tutor taking on new students if their check expires. Tutors must tell us straight away if their check is suspended, cancelled or expires.
• Convictions: we never knowingly engage anyone with a conviction for a violent or sexual offence. The Working With Children Check screens for these, and tutors must tell us straight away about any charge or conviction.
• Identity verification: every tutor's identity is verified.
• Application and interview: every applicant is screened and interviewed for suitability, professionalism and experience.
• Character references: every new tutor provides two independent referees, and every referee is asked directly whether there is any reason the tutor could be unsuitable to work with children.

If anything raised during recruitment gives us concern, the applicant is given a fair chance to explain it before we make a decision. Our decisions are always thorough, fair and based on evidence, with the safety of children coming first.

Every tutor agrees, as part of their tutor agreement, to follow this policy and our code of conduct. We support tutors to understand how their actions affect the young people they work with, and to recognise when a relationship with a child could become inappropriate.

• Every lesson is booked, logged and confirmed in our own platform, so we always know who is teaching which student, when and where.
• Every online lesson runs through our own classroom and is recorded automatically for quality and safeguarding. Tutors can't turn recording off.
• We ask families for feedback after lessons and act on anything that concerns us.
• Tutors are encouraged to come to us with any question or worry about a student's safety, at any time.

Everyone who works with children through NextStepAcademy must:

• follow this policy and treat every child and family with respect
• take all reasonable steps to protect children from harm
• listen to children, and respond when they share a worry about their safety or someone else's
• make sure a lesson never happens with the child alone and out of sight of a parent or guardian
• keep professional boundaries with students and families at all times
• report any concern or allegation to our Child Safety Officers straight away, and make sure it reaches the police or child protection
• if an allegation is made, make sure the child is safe as quickly as possible

Tutors must never:

• be alone with a student out of sight of a parent or guardian, or teach in a closed or locked room
• have physical contact with a student
• develop a "special" relationship with a student, such as giving gifts or treating one student differently
• help with things of a personal nature a child can do for themselves, such as toileting or changing clothes
• have conversations of an adult or sexual nature, swear, or share inappropriate personal stories
• show a student inappropriate images, videos or websites
• share personal views on culture, race or sexuality with a student, or discriminate against any child
• contact a student directly by phone, text, social media, messaging or gaming apps, or follow or friend them online
• meet or spend time with a student or their family outside our service without our Child Safety Officers knowing (bumping into someone by chance doesn't count)
• photograph, film or record a student
• ask a student to keep a secret from their parents
• ignore or dismiss a concern about a child, whether they suspect it or are told about it

By working with us, every tutor accepts their responsibility to report any breach of this code immediately. A breach leads to immediate action, up to and including permanent removal from our platform and a report to the relevant authorities.

Abuse needs somewhere it can't be seen, so we design our lessons to leave no such place.

In the home

• Lessons take place in a common area, such as the dining table or living room, with a clear view from the rest of the home.
• A parent, guardian or responsible adult is home for the whole lesson.
• Doors stay open and are never locked during a lesson.
• If no adult is home when the tutor arrives, the lesson does not start. The tutor contacts the family and lets us know.

Online

• Online lessons happen only through the lesson links in our own classroom, never personal video accounts.
• Every online lesson is recorded automatically for safeguarding.
• All communication about lessons goes through the parent or guardian, not the student.
• Tutors don't connect with students on social media, messaging or gaming apps.

We take every allegation seriously and act quickly. When a concern is raised:

• We make sure the child is safe first. If anyone is in immediate danger, we call 000.
• If the concern involves a tutor, we remove their access to students straight away while it is looked into. Anyone found to have abused a child is permanently removed from our platform.
• We report it to the police and the child protection service in the relevant state whenever there is a risk of harm to a child, and we cooperate fully with any investigation. We also notify our insurer.
• If a concern involves one of our Child Safety Officers, it goes to the other director, and you can always report straight to the police or child protection.
• We record the concern and every step we take in our secure incident register.
• We keep the child and family who raised the concern updated on what we are doing, while protecting everyone's privacy.
• We are fair to everyone involved. Our decisions are thorough, transparent and based on evidence, and the child's safety always comes first.

Everyone at NextStepAcademy knows what to do and who to tell if they see abuse, experience it, or notice behaviour that isn't right. You can read the steps in If you're worried about a child.

You don't need proof to report a concern. If you have a reasonable belief that a child has been harmed, or is at risk of harm, you should report it. A reasonable belief might come from:

• a child telling you that they, or someone they know, has been harmed (sometimes a child talks about "a friend" when they mean themselves)
• seeing behaviour or signs that are consistent with abuse
• someone else sharing a suspicion but not wanting to report it themselves

Every concern is handled under our complaints process and followed up promptly and responsibly.

Every allegation and safety concern is recorded in our incident register, along with every step we take in response. The register is stored securely and only our Child Safety Officers can see it.

We respect the privacy of everyone involved, whether they are a child, a parent or a tutor, and we only share information when the law requires it or someone's safety depends on it. Anyone is entitled to know how their information is recorded, what it will be used for and who can see it.

We take our legal responsibilities seriously, and so do our tutors:

• Failure to report (NSW): it is a crime in NSW for an adult to conceal information about a child abuse offence. If you know or reasonably believe a child has been abused, you must tell the police, unless you have a reasonable excuse, such as knowing it has already been reported.
• Failure to disclose (VIC): in Victoria, any adult who reasonably believes an adult has committed a sexual offence against a child under 16 must report it to the police, unless they have a reasonable excuse.
• Failure to protect: in NSW and Victoria, a person in authority in an organisation commits an offence if they know of a serious risk that someone working there will abuse a child, have the power to reduce or remove that risk, and negligently fail to do so.
• Mandatory reporting: some people must report to child protection because of the work they do. In NSW this includes people who deliver education to children as part of their paid work, which can include tutors. Anyone with a mandatory reporting duty must meet it.
• Working With Children Checks: adults doing paid child-related work must hold a valid check for the state they work in.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled a concern, please tell us at info@nextstepacademy.com.au and a director will review it. You can also contact the Office of the Children's Guardian in NSW or the Commission for Children and Young People in Victoria.

We welcome ideas from families, tutors and children about how to make this policy better. You can share them through our feedback form.

We review this policy at least once a year, after any significant incident, and whenever the law or our services change. Families and children are always welcome to contribute.

Last reviewed: 30 September 2026. Next review: September 2027.