Goodstart Early Learning named as a champion of child protection in Queensland awards

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider Goodstart Early Learning has been announced as one of a number of child protection champions in the 2023 Queensland Child Protection Week (QCPW) awards.

QCPW commences on Sunday 3 September, and runs until Saturday 9 September. More than 200 events will be run during the week across the whole state, celebrating ‘the unsung heroes’ of child protection. 

The awards celebrate Queensland individuals and organisations who have made a significant commitment to creating better outcomes for children who have been harmed by abuse and neglect, or who are at risk of harm. 

In 2023, for the first time, there will be 12 awardees, formally announced on 30 August – a significant milestone in the 38-year history of the awards, and the highest number of winners to date. 

“The fact that the committee simply couldn’t decide between these extraordinary people, is a

testament to the commitment and care in our sector,” said QCPW Chairperson Georgina Livingstone. 

“We are grateful for all of this years’ heroes of child protection and relish the opportunity to

acknowledge their significant efforts, passion and devotion to preventing child abuse and neglect.”

Goodstart wins as Child Safe Organisation 

Goodstart Early Learning was recognised for its commitment to ensuring the 19,195 children who attend its 220 Queensland services have the learning, development and well-being outcomes they need for school and life. 

Increased staff turnover following COVID-19 meant there was inconsistency in understanding what it meant to be child safe, so the organisation took the opportunity to implement a program aimed at improving centre leaders’ knowledge and ability to lead their teams in this vital space.

The program, Safeguarding Children: Responsibilities for Nominated Supervisors, has one simple but significant outcome: an exceptional commitment to the prevention, identification and response to child abuse, neglect and harm.  

The award-winning program offers nominated supervisors access to a comprehensive resource hub which clearly outlines their responsibilities to ‘Look, do, tell and prevent, identify and respond’ to child abuse, neglect and harm. 

“We’re delighted to be recognised for our work in this very important space,” said Sara Evans, Goodstart’s National Lead for Safeguarding Children.

“Every day we ‘look, do and tell’ to promote the voices and rights of the children in our care. We take every action necessary to help ensure children feel safe, and are safe through the prevention, identification and response to child abuse, neglect and harm.”

Queensland’s Child Safety Minister Craig Crawford congratulated all the award winners on their commitment to go above and beyond to protect children from abuse and harm. 

“We honour and applaud the work of these unsung heroes,” he said. “I also pay a heartfelt tribute to the resilience of all the youth within these programs.”

The awards will be presented at a launch ceremony for Queensland Child Protection Week, which will be held at Parliament House on Wednesday 30 August 2023. Learn more about the awards here.