27 OctIt’s ok to share, you could make a difference.
Victorian educators are being encouraged to share important information about children that improves wellbeing and safety outcomes under a new reform known as the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS).
Under the information sharing schemes, education professionals are now equal partners with other services in the Victorian service system. This means that CISS enables information sharing between authorised organisations such as education and care services, Child Protection, Youth Justice, Maternal and Child Health, and Victoria Police to promote a child’s wellbeing or safety.
To promote awareness of the CISS, the Victorian Department of Education (DET) commissioned Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA) to develop a practical resource-The ABCs of CISS. The resource addresses key questions early childhood teachers, educators and leaders need answered to be able to participate in the scheme with confidence.
The Practice Guide was developed to provide practical and contextual information, supporting authorised early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce to use the Reforms. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the legally binding documents outlined in the Reforms, the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) Ministerial Guidelines, the Family Violence Information Sharing (FVISS) Guidelines and Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM), as well as other resources relevant to the Reforms.
The guide will contribute to:
- greater awareness of the schemes, and the roles and responsibilities of services
- ECTs/educators feeling more confident about their role and capability to share information
- improved quality and timeliness of requests for and responses to requests for appropriate information sharing
- greater collaboration and coordination with other services; and
- a shared commitment to child wellbeing, in particular between universal, secondary, and tertiary services.
To make sure ECEC service can respond to and make information sharing requests appropriately and effectively, services must undergo the DET training.To access training, please register for an account on the Information Sharing and MARAM Online Learning Management System.
Through proactive sharing, the scheme enables a range of allied health and community services to coordinate strategies and ensure greater success for children’s wellbeing and safety in care environments.
To access your copy of the practice guide visit: https://elaa.org.au/resources/free-resources/the-abcs-of-ciss-practice-guide/
