As part of our ongoing commitment to child safety, Sesame Lane has swiftly adopted the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and the state-based Child Safe Standards. These frameworks guide us to continually strengthen our practices and ensure that every decision we make helps create safer environments for children to learn, play, and grow.
Child safety isn’t something separate from our teaching, it’s woven through everything we do. The same care, curiosity, and respect that drive high-quality early learning also protect children from harm.
Our world-class teaching and learning practices are built on children’s rights. Every day, educators create opportunities for children to express their ideas, make choices, and develop a sense of control over their own lives, foundational skills that empower them and help protect against abuse, neglect, and harm.
We are equally committed to inclusion. Every child is valued, every family is respected, and every background is welcomed. By embracing diversity and listening closely to each child’s unique voice, we ensure our services remain responsive, inclusive, and deeply connected to the communities we serve.
At Sesame Lane, protecting children is at the core of who we are and everything we do. We take every action necessary to ensure all children feel safe, are safe, and are heard. Always.
Our commitment extends beyond safeguarding children from abuse, neglect, and harm. We’re creating spaces where cultural safety, belonging, and respect are lived values. Where every child, family, and team member is valued, included, and celebrated for who they are.
We embrace and honour the diversity of our community including First Nations Peoples, families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with diverse abilities, and those who identify as LGBTIQA+. Together, we create environments that reflect the richness of our world and the strength found in difference.
At Sesame Lane, child safety is not just a responsibility, it’s a culture. Guided by our “Look, Do, Tell” approach, we empower our educators and families to notice, act, and speak up, ensuring children’s voices and rights are always amplified and protected.
When children feel secure and supported, they develop the confidence, optimism, and wellbeing that form the foundation for lifelong learning, at Sesame Lane and beyond.
The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations were developed from the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. These ten principles set out what it means to truly keep children safe, extending beyond protection from sexual abuse to include all forms of abuse, neglect, and harm.
At Sesame Lane, we’re proud to be actively embedding these principles across all our centres. For us, being a child safe organisation means more than meeting requirements; it means living our values every day.
Families and communities can feel confident that we are always working to create environments where every child’s rights are upheld, their voices are valued, and their safety and wellbeing are at the heart of all we do.
At Sesame Lane, ensuring children feel safe and are safe is not just our responsibility, it’s our most important promise.
Our five-year Safeguarding Children Strategy strengthens this promise by aligning with the 10 National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments in 2019. This strategy builds on our existing child safe culture and ensures that safeguarding is woven into every part of our organisation, not treated as a stand-alone initiative, but as a shared way of working every day.
Our approach is guided by experienced leaders and supported by robust governance. Our Educational Mentor and Child Rights Queensland Ambassador leads this work across all centres, supported by a Protecting Children Committee and overseen by the Head of Sesame Lane.
Together, these teams ensure our protecting goals stay front and centre, driving continuous improvement, accountability, and a strong culture of care that protects and empowers every child in our community.
Our safeguarding children framework was developed as a simple way to build a shared understanding about safeguarding children – together we “Look, Do and Tell” and prevent, identify and respond to child abuse, neglect and harm.
Download Commitments Poster Here: The 8 Commitments for Early Childhood Educators at Sesame Lane
At Sesame Lane, every team member plays a vital role in protecting children. Each year, all educators and staff complete our mandatory training program, “Protecting Children: Together We Prevent, Identify, and Respond to Child Abuse, Neglect and Harm.”
This essential training strengthens our collective understanding of child safety and ensures that every Sesame Lane educator knows how to recognise, respond to, and prevent harm. To deepen learning, we provide a suite of engaging resources including storybooks, reflection journals, staff meeting activity packs, and topic guides, all helping educators translate knowledge into confident, everyday practice.
Each participant also develops a personalised learning plan, tailoring the training to their role and responsibilities so that safeguarding becomes second nature, not just a policy.
Leadership plays a critical role in keeping children safe. Our “Protect Responsibilities for Nominated Supervisors” program supports Centre Directors and senior leaders to fully understand their safeguarding obligations and confidently guide their teams in upholding the highest standards of child protection.
The program provides practical tools, clear guidance, and real-world examples, giving leaders a single, trusted reference point for daily decision-making. With a 100% completion rate since its introduction, this training is now embedded in our induction process to ensure every new Centre Director begins their journey with a strong foundation in child safety and wellbeing.
At Sesame Lane, safeguarding isn’t a checkbox, it’s a shared commitment that begins with leadership and lives in every interaction, every day.
At Sesame Lane, protecting children and upholding their rights is at the heart of everything we do. We believe every child has the right to feel safe, to be heard, and to flourish in an environment built on trust, respect, and belonging.
We’re proud to have a Queensland Children’s Rights Ambassador as part of our upper management team, a passionate advocate who works closely with our Educational Leaders across all centres to ensure the rights of children are not only protected but championed every day.
This partnership helps strengthen our child safe culture, providing guidance, mentoring, and professional learning to support educators in recognising and responding to children’s voices in meaningful ways. From daily practice in classrooms to leadership decisions across our organisation, children’s rights guide our actions and inspire continuous improvement.
At Sesame Lane, advocacy is more than awareness, it’s action. Through strong leadership, education, and collaboration, we’re helping to create a future where every child’s voice is valued, their safety is assured, and their potential is limitless.
Choosing an early learning service is one of the most important decisions a family makes and at the heart of that choice should be one simple question: “Will my child be safe, supported, and heard here?”
A truly child safe organisation doesn’t just meet regulations; it lives and breathes a culture of care. When visiting or researching a centre, look for these signs:
Visible commitment: The service talks openly about child safety and displays its policies and Child Safe Standards.
Empowered educators: Staff can clearly explain how they protect children and respond to concerns and they welcome your questions.
Listening environments: Children are encouraged to express their thoughts, make choices, and have their voices valued in everyday routines.
Ongoing learning: The organisation invests in regular child protection training for all team members and sees safeguarding as everyone’s responsibility.
Inclusive culture: Families from all backgrounds feel respected and included, and diversity is celebrated as a strength.
A child safe organisation sees safety not as a checklist, but as a shared value woven through every decision, every policy, and every interaction.
At Sesame Lane, we believe safety, belonging, and joy go hand in hand. When children feel secure and respected, their confidence blooms and that’s where true learning begins.
Recent Comments