Children are important to Grace Church; we want to give our best to them so they can become true disciples of Jesus.

We believe the Church Community should be one of the safest places, outside the family unit, where children are loved, celebrated, and nurtured.

Children’s Ministry is not a baby-sitting service, it is the foundation for a lifetime of following and worshipping Jesus.

Considering this, all management, staff, volunteers, and contractors at Grace Church are required to abide by this Code of Conduct.

It is also Grace Church’s desire to ensure, as far as possible, that the welfare and well-being of all Staff and Volunteers is monitored knowing that this will promote the care and consideration of the children under their care.

The Senior Pastor and Executive Leadership Team will:

  1. Be responsible for developing and maintaining processes and procedures to facilitate the management and monitoring of the welfare and well-being of staff and volunteers, to ensure Grace Church’s Duty of Care to staff and volunteers is maintained.

  2. Nominate a Child Protection Officer to provide information and support to all staff, volunteers, children, young people, and their carers regarding child protection matters.

All people involved in the care of children on behalf of Grace Church will:

  1. Work towards the achievement of the aims and purposes of the organisation

  2. Be responsible for relevant administration of programs and activities in their area

  3. Maintain a duty of care towards others involved in these programs and activities

  4. Establish and maintain a child safe environment in the course of their work

  5. Be fair, considerate, and honest with others

  6. Treat children and young people with respect and value their ideas and opinions

  7. Act as positive role models in their conduct with children and young people

  8. Be professional in their actions

  9. Maintain strict impartiality

  10. Comply with specific organisational and legislative guidelines on physical contact

    with children

  11. Respect the privacy of children, their families, and teachers/carers, and only disclose

    information to people who have a need to know

  12. Operate within the policies and guidelines of Grace Church; and

  13. Contact the Police if a child is at immediate risk of abuse, phone 000

Revised August 2022

No person shall:

  1. Shame, humiliate, oppress, belittle, or degrade children or young people

  2. Unlawfully discriminate against any child

  3. Engage in any activity with a child or young person that is likely to harm them

    physically or emotionally

  4. Initiate unnecessary physical contact with a child or young person, or do things of a

    personal nature for them that they can do for themselves

  5. Be alone with a child or young person unnecessarily and for more than a very short

    time

  6. Develop a “special” relationship with a specific child or young person for their own

    needs

  7. Show favouritism through the provision of gifts or inappropriate attention

  8. Arrange contact, including online contact, with children or young people outside of

    the organisation’s programs and activities

  9. Photograph or video a child or young person without the consent of the child and

    his/her parents or guardians

  10. Work with children or young people while under the influence of alcohol or illegal

    drugs

  11. Engage in open discussions of a mature or adult nature in the presence of children

  12. Use inappropriate language in the presence of children; or

  13. Do anything in contravention of the organisation’s policies, procedures, or this Code

    of Conduct.

Agreement with the Grace Church Child Safe Policy & Code of Conduct

I acknowledge that I have received a copy of the Grace Church Child Safe Policy and Code of Conduct.

I have read and fully understood the Grace Church Child Safe Policy and Code of Conduct and agree to abide by it and uphold the values embodied in it as I work/volunteer with children in the Grace Church environment.

I agree to obtain a ‘Working with Children Check’ and provide all relevant details to the Administrator of Grace Church in a timely manner.

Furthermore, I am aware that if I do not abide by the Grace Church Child Safe Policy and the Grace Church Code of Conduct, I will be asked to remove myself from the presence of children at Grace Church ministries and step down from providing child related services within Grace Church.

Grace Church’s current Child Protection Officer is Jodie Lindfield

FULL NAME: ______________________________________________ DATE: ____/____/________

SIGNATURE: ______________________________________________ Date of Birth____/____/____