Resilience scale resource supports child safe practices beyond child protection week

Although National Child Protection Week has concluded for 2025, the work of embedding child safe practices continues and a new resource from the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP) is helping early childhood education and care (ECEC) services lead the way.

Developed through the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) and presented in partnership with NAPCAN during Child Protection Week, the Resilience Scale resource – Tipping the Scale is Everybody’s Business, offers a practical, evidence-informed tool for strengthening protective behaviours and promoting child safety across communities.

The resource draws on the Resilience Scale metaphor, originally developed by the FrameWorks Institute with the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, offering a shared language to help families, educators and policymakers better understand the environments children need to thrive.

The model encourages communities to:

• Add positive supports (referred to as ‘green boxes’),
• Reduce adversity (‘red boxes’), and
• Build children’s skills and capabilities to manage life’s challenges.

During a recent keynote presentation to the Queensland Department of Education, TQKP’s Michelle Scott and NAPCAN’s Sarnia Ralston demonstrated how the resource can help early years services embed the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations into everyday practice. They emphasised the importance of engaging families as partners in building safe, supportive and inclusive environments where children can flourish.

The Resilience Scale is a valuable tool for services looking to strengthen child safeguarding practices, support educator reflection, and build meaningful connections with families.

To access the resource and support child safety initiatives in your community, download the Resilience Scale resource here.