Our Commitment to Child Safety
Child safety comes first
Ensuring a safe, steady, and nurturing home away from home. Our single-level centre was designed with clear lines of sight throughout.
Our commitment
Ensuring a safe, steady, and nurturing home-away-from-home.
At Okeedokee, the safety and wellbeing of your child is our highest priority. As a small, boutique centre, we have the unique advantage of knowing every child deeply. We are committed to providing an inclusive environment where children feel protected, respected, and free to thrive.
Safeguarding children is a shared responsibility. From Sara and our educators to our kitchen team, every member of the Okeedokee family plays an active role in ensuring your child is safe, every hour of the day.
1. The National Child Safe Principles
We proudly uphold the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. These principles guide our policies, our culture, and our daily practices, ensuring that child safety is woven into the very fabric of our centre.
2. Trusted People: Recruitment & Screening
We maintain strict “gold standard” screening for everyone who enters our centre:
- Blue Cards: Every staff member and volunteer holds a current Working With Children Check.
- Rigorous Vetting: We conduct comprehensive background, criminal history, and reference checks.
- Always Supervised: Volunteers are never left alone with children; they are always under the wing of our experienced educators.
- Ongoing Learning: Our team participates in regular mandatory training to stay at the forefront of child safeguarding and reporting procedures.
3. A Culture of Transparency
Our single-level centre in Norman Park was designed with safety in mind. Our rooms feature open layouts and clear lines of sight, ensuring that children are always supervised in a way that feels natural and non-intrusive. We strictly comply with the National Quality Framework (NQF), often exceeding the required educator-to-child ratios to ensure every child has the attention they deserve.
4. Empowering Our Kids
We believe children have the right to understand their own safety. We support this through gentle, age-appropriate learning that builds their confidence and “agency.” Through programs like Bravehearts and the Resilience Project, we help children:
- Trust their “tummy feelings” and instincts.
- Identify their “safety circle” of trusted adults.
- Understand their right to privacy and the correct names for their bodies.
- Communicate openly and honestly about how they feel.
5. Privacy & Digital Safety
In a digital world, we take your child’s privacy seriously. We adhere to the National Model Code regarding media:
- Centre Devices Only: Educators only use Okeedokee-issued tablets for photos and Kinderloop updates.
- Your Choice: No child’s image is ever used in marketing or on social media without your explicit, signed consent.
- Secure Sharing: Images are shared through secure, private platforms only with the families involved.
6. Our Shared Commitment
Okeedokee follows a robust Risk Management Strategy endorsed by the Queensland Commission for Children and Young People. We have both a moral and legal obligation to act if we suspect a child is at risk of harm. Our team is trained in mandatory reporting, ensuring that we are a voice for children both within our service and in the wider community.
We believe children have the right to understand their own safety.
Come and see it for yourself
The best way to understand the Okeedokee difference is to feel it for yourself. Most tours take 15 to 20 minutes.