School Commitments

COMMITMENT  TO  RECONCILIATION  WITH  OUR FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians who have walked upon and cared for this land for thousands of years.
We particularly honour & acknowledge the Woi wurrung, Wurrundjeri willam and Boon wurrung clans and language groups of the Kulin Nation that were the custodians of the Greater Melbourne area for thousands of years before European settlement. 

We also acknowledge the continued deep spiritual attachment and relationship of Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander peoples to this country and commit ourselves to the on-going journey of Reconciliation.

COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES

In being a registered school in Victoria, the Victorian Registration & Qualifications
Authority requires all programs of, and teaching in, a school to promote the principles
and practices of Australian democracy.
St. Martin de Porres School therefore affirms its commitment to :
  • elected government, the rule of law, equal rights for all before the law, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and association and the values of openness and tolerance.

COMMITMENT TO VALUES FOR AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLING

St. Martin de Porres School also affirms its commitment to the following values :
  • Care and Compassion, Doing Your Best, Fair Go, Freedom, Integrity, Respect, Responsibility and Understanding, Tolerance and Inclusion.

COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY STANDARDS

‘The catholic school sets out to be a school for the human person and of human persons. The person of
each individual human being, in his or her material and spiritual needs, is at the heart of Christ’s teaching: that is why the promotion of the human person is the goal of the catholic school.’

(Congregation for Catholic Education (CCE) 1997, par. 9)
The Catholic Education Commission Victoria (CECV) holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children and
young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of Catholic Education. The commitment is drawn from, and inherent to, the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the sanctity of each person at the heart of the Gospel. St. Martin de Porres Parish School fully supports the tenets of the above statements of the CCE and CECV and accepts its responsibility to embed a safe and nurturing culture and to ensure that policies and procedures demonstrate zero tolerance of child abuse and neglect in the school.
Standard 1 – To establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.
Standard 2 – Embed child safety and wellbeing in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
Standard 3 – Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
Standard 4 – Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Standard 5 – Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
Standard 6 – People working children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
Standard 7 – Processes for complaints and concerns are child focused.
Standard 8 – Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Standard 9 – Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
Standard 10 – Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is regularly reviewed and improved.
Standard 11 – Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.