Calvary Baptist Church takes its duty of care to children seriously. In the same way that Jesus valued and protected children, we ensure child safety through screening procedures, training, and accountability.

Our client safety policy is accessible here. This policy is reviewed and updated by the church board in May every year.

Working with Children Checks are required of all our teachers these are verified by the church secretary in January every year.

Our teachers use curriculum published by Youthworks.

For Kindy, we use Beginning with God.

Kindy Scope and Sequence

For Infants (Years 1-2), we use Connect.

Infants Scope and Sequence

For Lower Primary (Years 3-4), we use Connect.

Lower Primary Scope and Sequence

For Upper Primary (Years 5-6), we use Connect.

Upper Primary Scope and Sequence

For High School, we use Think Faith.

High School Scope and Sequence

How we select and train

Screening: We require membership at Calvary Baptist Church and a current Working with Children Check for volunteers seeking authorisation as SRE teachers.

The membership procedure includes a written application and an interview. Four references are checked including, if applicable, a reference from their previous church.  

Initial training consists of a two-hour in-house and in-person orientation seminar held inJanuary. This seminar includes the following topics:

1.    Child safety including a definition of child abuse and/or neglect, a review of the church’s policy to protect children, and a review of case studies.

2.    Code of Conduct compliance expected of all teachers.
3.    CoreGuidelines on student safety and classroom management.
4.    Activity specific guidelines including SRE.
5.    Procedure for handling reportable conduct.
6.    Explanation of the curriculum prescribed by the church for use in SRE – why it must be used exclusively and how to use it in an age-appropriate and student sensitive manner. Currently, curriculum supplied by CEP Anglican Youth works is the choice of the church.
7.    Explanation of mentoring and monitoring programmes to ensure ongoing professional development. In the event a person volunteers after January, a special individual session of the above training is provided before authorisation to serve in children’s ministry is granted.

Mentorship is required of volunteers who are new to children’s ministry at our church. They are teamed with an experienced teacher to observe, learn, and have guided experiences.Mentorship continues until an ability to follow the assigned curriculum, communicate to students effectively, and manage the classroom are demonstrated.This normally takes six months to a year.  Formal child protection training takes about 5 hours to complete online. It includes mandatory reporting procedures. This must be completed prior to the beginning of SRE classes. We expect SRE accreditation to be completed before the end of the first year of teaching. These courses, created and offered by the Sydney AnglicanDiocese, are accessible online throughout the year.  SRE accreditation takes about 10 hours to complete online. It includes instruction on how to prepare and deliver lessons, how to manage a classroom, and foundational themes in the Bible.  Refresher training is required in-person at the church every January (identical to the ‘initial training’ outlined above). Formal certification in child protection and SRE standards must be completed or renewed at least once every three years. This normally takes 3 hours to complete online.

Monitoring is conducted routinely to ensure all teachers are implementing best practices and being effective in the classroom.The senior pastor or SRE coordinator will sit in on a class being taught by each authorised teacher at least once every two school terms. Feedback is provided to the teacher, and a report is provided to the senior pastor, AllanMitchell. If additional attention is warranted, additional training and/or a mentor may be assigned

We require adherence to the NSW Education Department Code of Conduct. Our SRE teachers sign a commitment every January during an orientation meeting held at Calvary Baptist Church or a partner church.

SRE teachers authorised by Calvary Baptist Church are expected to be exemplary in word and deed – respectful, courteous, kind, and truthful. Furthermore, they are required to be familiar with this policy and to seek swift resolution if a complaint or problem arises. There are various directions dissatisfaction may be experienced:

1.    A  student, parent, classroom teacher or principal may become concerned about an element of the curriculum.
2.    A student, parent, classroom teacher or principal may become concerned about the conduct of an SRE teacher.
3.    A SRE teacher may become concerned about the conduct of a student, parent or classroom teacher.
4.    A SRE teacher may become concerned about the implementation of SRE in aparticular school.

In all cases, an initial complaint should be made to Pastor Allan Mitchell, the senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church (pastor@calvarybaptistchurch.com.au or telephone 0421 110589).

Alternatively, an initial complaint may be made to the school principal or Scripture coordinator. They will contact Pastor Allan Mitchell on behalf of the complainant.

If a SRE teacher authorised by Calvary Baptist Church becomes aware of a complaint that may not have been reported yet, notice must be made immediately to the senior pastor.  Depending on the nature of the complaint, the SRE teacher in question may be placed on leave pending the outcome of the complaint resolution procedure. If the complaint alleges abuse, the proper authorities will be notified in keeping with the law as well as policies on reportable offences. Within five business days, the complaint will be acknowledged in writing or verbally by the senior pastor. If verbally, a written record will be made of what was said. The senior pastor will gather information from all parties and compare this to relevant policies. Appropriate records of meetings, phone calls, and email correspondence are to be kept by all parties.  Within twenty business days, resolution should be achieved.  Ideally, this will be expeditious and with involvement contained to the parties directly affected.  If, however, a satisfactory resolution is not achieved within the specified time frame, the matter may be referred to the Calvary Baptist Church board for review. This review will be conducted in consultation with the school principal and/or the Scripture coordinator. When resolution is reached, all parties will be informed, and action steps will be recorded.

A final report will be produced by the senior pastor to be signed off by the parties involved.At this point the complaint will be considered closed.