24/08/2026
In the lead-up to National Child Protection Week (6–12 September), we’ve been focusing on safe recruitment at IOE.
We recently updated our Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure, and staff from across IOE involved in recruitment, interviewing and reference checking completed Bravehearts’ Focused Learning: Child Safe Recruitment, followed by a 1.5-hour IOE workshop to put the learning into practice.
Together, we worked through our own recruitment processes, including interview questions, reference checking and screening, and looked at how we can make child safety an even stronger part of each step.
Safe recruitment is about much more than Police Checks and Working with Children Checks. It’s about screening in the right values, not just screening out risk, and making sure we are recruiting people with the skills, attitudes and understanding to keep children and vulnerable people safe.
It was a great opportunity to build on what we already do and keep improving our practice and a fitting focus as we head towards National Child Protection Week and its theme: Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action.
