26 AprIt’s ok to share, you could make a difference.
As an early childhood educator your primary concern is the safety and well-being of the children in your care. The Child Information Sharing Scheme is a Victorian Government initiative that can help you do just that, by allowing you to share information with other professionals who work with children. Here’s what you need to know about this important scheme.
What is the Child Information Sharing Scheme?
The Child Information Sharing Scheme is an initiative that was introduced in Victoria to improve the safety and well-being of children. It allows relevant information about a child to be shared between professionals who work with them, such as early childhood educator, teachers, doctors, social workers, and other professionals.
The scheme is designed to help identify problems earlier and provide more targeted interventions, which can help prevent abuse, neglect, and other harmful situations. By sharing information, professionals can work together to ensure that children receive the support they need, especially if they are at risk of harm.
What kind of information can be shared?
Under the Child Information Sharing Scheme, professionals can share any information that is relevant to the safety, wellbeing, or development of a child. This can include information about their health, education, living arrangements, family background, and any concerns that have been raised about their safety or well-being.
What are the benefits of the scheme?
There are several benefits to the Child Information Sharing Scheme, both for professionals who work with children and for the children themselves. These include:
- improved safety and well-being: by sharing information, professionals can identify problems earlier and provide more targeted interventions to help children who are at risk of harm
- better collaboration: the scheme promotes collaboration between professionals who work with children, which can lead to better outcomes for the child
- more effective support: by sharing information, professionals can ensure that children receive the right support at the right time, which can help them to overcome any challenges they may be facing
- greater accountability: the scheme promotes greater accountability among professionals, as they are required to keep accurate and up-to-date records of any information that is shared.
Services must complete the Victorian Department of Education (DE) training to ensure they can respond to and make information sharing requests appropriately and effectively. To access training, please register for an account on the Information Sharing and MARAM Online Learning Management System.
To promote awareness of CISS, the DE commissioned Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA) to develop a practical resources to address the key questions early childhood teachers, educators and leaders need answered to be able to participate in the scheme with confidence.
ELAA’s The ABC’s of CISS Practice Guide and CISS & FVISS Online Learning Tool 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
- a shared commitment to child wellbeing, in particular between universal, secondary, and tertiary services.
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 CLICK HERE
To access your copy of the online tool CLICK HERE
