Child Safe Environments – Code of Conduct

Including Standards of Appropriate Behavior for Motor Driving Instructors

Caring for children and young people brings additional responsibilities for Motor Driving Instructors.

All Motor Driving Instructors are responsible for promoting the safety and well-being of children and young people by:

Adhering to the Motor Driving Instructor child safe policy at all times and taking all reasonable steps to ensure the safety and protection of children and young people
Treating everyone with respect and honesty (this includes fellow Instructors, children, young people and parents)
Treating all children and young people equally regardless of age, gender, cultural background, religion, vulnerability or sexuality.
Remembering to be a positive role model to children and young people in all your conduct with them.
Setting clear boundaries about appropriate behaviour between themselves and the children and young people they work with as a Motor Driving Instructors – boundaries help everyone to carry out their roles well.
Listening and responding appropriately to the views and concerns of children and young people.
Reporting suspected harm, or risk of harm to the Child Abuse Report Line on 13 14 78 as soon as practicable
Responding quickly, fairly and transparently to any serious complaints made by a child, young person or their parent/guardian
Encouraging children and young people to ‘have a say’ on issues that are important to them.
Providing feedback to both children and parents or guardians.
Ensuring the following Standards of Appropriate Behaviour for Motor Driving Instructors are strictly adhered to at all times.
Accepting counselling and professional development offered where a breach of the Code has occurred.

Standards of Appropriate Behaviour for Motor Driving Instructors

Appropriate Behaviour	Inappropriate Behaviour
Using encouraging, positive words and a pleasant tone of voice.	Using insulting words or giving feed back in a negative way.
Encouraging children and young people to ‘Follow’ informative, driving related Social Media pages, blogs or other valuable sources of information.	Connecting or becoming friends through any form of Social Media that allows sharing of personal images, experiences or details.
Time spent with the children or young people is focussed on the agreed training.	Spending time with children and young people beyond what is necessary to conduct the agreed training.
Communicating with children, young people and their parents or guardians in a professional manner	Sending inappropriate emails or messages via SMS or other messaging media.
Meeting / dropping off children or young people at their home (where parents / guardians are likely to be present) or other agreed, populated public place.	Meeting or dropping off children or young people in secluded locations or at a location not of their choice.
Encouraging parent or guardian involvement in the training process.	Discouraging parent or guardian involvement in the training process.
A professional, ‘meet and greet’ hand shake	Any other form of physical touching.
Allowing children and young people their own personal space.	Invading a child or young person’s personal space.
Teaching how to operate air conditioning controls to create a comfortable cabin temperature.	Encouraging the removal of an article of clothing ‘because it is hot’.
Treating all children and young people in an equal, nonpreferential way.	Developing ‘special’ relationships which could be seen as favouritism or special treatment.
Always referring to children and young people in an appropriate way.	Participating in work or social conversations that refer to children and young people inappropriately.
Asking driver training related questions like: Have you been driving lately? Where did you go driving?	Asking unrelated questions like: Have you been to the beach lately? Which beach do you go to?