July heralds the return of Matariki, a star cluster (known worldwide by many names) which rises midwinter and signals the start of the Māori New Year (te Mātahi o te Tau) - a time of remembrance, joy and peace. An opportunity for New Zealanders to come together, reflect on the year that has been been and the promise of the new one ahead. It is the first public holiday in Aotearoa to recognise te ao Māori. This year it is being celebrated on Friday 14th July 2023.
There are 9 stars or whetū which form the cluster. Matariki is known as the mother of the group and is the brightest. She has a strong connection to health and wellbeing. If the cluster and Matariki star is bright and high in the sky, it is a signal of wellbeing, peace and good luck for observers. Gaze upon this star, set your health goals for the coming year and consider the children you know - do any of them need your help to achieve their best wellbeing?
Take the time to enjoy Matariki 2023 with your loved ones!
In each newsletter we are inviting you to participate in a Safeguarding Challenge. Safeguarding Children would like to help you strengthen safeguarding practices in your organisation to keep
those in your care safe. To engage thought, promote conversation and identify any safeguarding gaps, we would like to challenge you to consider and action the following.
Are your Child Protection Policy and Procedures effective in practice?
Are they understood by your newest and youngest member of staff?
Great! To help set a child safe organisational culture, we recommend regular check ins with your team to ensure the policy and procedures are workable and provide clear guidance.
A great start is simply recognising that improvements could be made. Here are our top tips:
• Create a working group to look at the best ways to further develop your policy and procedures to make them practical and effective.
• Test these procedures with challenging scenarios.
• Involve new team members to ensure practical implementation and understanding.
Still not sure? We can help. Contact Safeguarding Children for a free chat today!
Neglect can be profoundly harmful to children in both the short and long term. It can be difficult to detect due to the lack of visible signs, contextual factors, complex family
dynamics, reporting reluctance and the emotional nature of neglect. Overcoming these challenges requires a proactive and holistic approach to ensure the wellbeing of vulnerable children.
A deep understanding of child neglect can help prevent it, and ensure the child and family get the help and support they need early. It also promotes early help to children by increasing awareness, promoting preventive measures, connecting with support and resources and inspiring advocacy for policy change.
Neglect Course
Don't miss out on upcoming safeguarding and child protection training and advocacy opportunities.
FACE TO FACE TRAINING - July to September 2023
• 18 July, Safeguarding & Child Protection, Nelson (sponsored event)
• 19, September, Applied Safeguarding & Child Protection, Nelson (sponsored event)
For more course details or to register, see our Training Calendar here
WEBINAR TRAINING - August to September 2023
• 8 August, Child Protection Leads for Play, Active Recreation & Sport
• 15 August, Child Protection Leads
• 6 September, Safeguarding and Child Protection (eLearning + Webinar)
For more course details or to register, see our Training Calendar here
CUSTOMISED TRAINING
Can't make a public training session or there isn't one currently listed to meet your requirements, please contact us. We can customise our existing training content to meet your specific needs.
CHILD SAFEGUARDING WEEK 2023 (September 4-10)
The Child Safeguarding Week website is finally here!!! Child Safeguarding Week was launched in 2021 to raise awareness, support and educate individuals, organisations and communities on how they can protect children from abuse and neglect - every day of every week!
Join the movement to STOP child abuse in Aotearoa New Zealand. Learn how, visit www.childsafeguardingweek.org.nz
PLD funding available for teacher aides and kaiārahi i te reo! Safeguarding Children are an approved Ministry of Education Set Category Teacher Aide PLD Provider. The Ministry of Education has funding for you to access Safeguarding Children training. To apply, please complete our Teacher Aide PLD 2023 – Course Request Form (funding limited to the 2023 school year).
FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 - Safeguarding Children are onboard! We have been working with FIFA and It’s a Penalty on projects to keep children safe during the FIFA Womens World Cup, and highlight the issue of child exploitation and trafficking. This includes inflight videos on child abuse and child exploitation for all international flights arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia during the tournament period. For information about the It’s a Penalty Campaign and how to get involved, click here
The Safeguarding Children team has recently grown - AGAIN! We are very excited to announce the addition of Erica to our group, ensuring we continue to deliver outstanding customer service to our clients. Check out her bio and cute picture on our website.
Interested in finding out the story behind Child Safeguarding Week's logo? We’ve chosen the kite to represent Child Safeguarding Week and here’s why
Keep It Real Online. Educators play a vital role in helping develop students online safety skills. This site provides tools and resources to help equip your students with the necessary skills to safely and effectively navigate the internet. Learn more here.
innerBoy - FREE men's mental health APP. She Is Not Your Rehab, is excited to announce the launch of innerBoy, a revolutionary mobile application designed to support men in healing from the profound impacts of intergenerational trauma and abuse. The app, created by survivor and founder of She Is Not Your Rehab; Taimalelagi Mataio (Matt) Brown, aims to provide a free
and accessible platform for men to embark on their healing journeys. It is not yet in the App store but can be freely accessed via your web browser. Find out more here
Code of Integrity for Sport and Recreation – Public Survey 2023. Here is an opportunity to have your say about what you as parents, whānau and people working and supporting tamariki and rangatahi feel is important to keep children safe and participating in sport. Put forward your views on what needs to be included in the Code. For more information and to complete the survey, click here
