All schools educate staff about their responsibilities in reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, which in itself is very important. It is apparent though, that everyday, you and your colleagues, whether you are a teacher, administration or support worker or after-school carer, you are already doing things to prevent child abuse from happening in the first place. You are playing a part in creating child friendly communities and preventing child abuse and neglect.

• Implement a whole of school program focusing on building networks, friendship and social skills. Programs such as these are known to have direct effects in reducing bullying and developing self-esteem.
• Organise regular social occasions for parents to have the opportunity to develop friendships and gain support.
• Offer parents educational support and information that focuses on encouraging and supporting them to maintain healthy, positive relationships with their children. This can be offered through a variety of strategies such as written distribution of information, parent education programs run in the evenings or on weekends, development of a directory of resources and services that families might find useful.
• Organise occasional social activities primarily for children on weekends, offering working parents an opportunity to have some time alone as a couple.
• Prioritise the need for children to be educated in protective behaviours by engaging in an ongoing process of education and awareness raising, in collaboration with professionals with expertise in the area.
• Organise a parent education speaker or course to assist parents to develop their ongoing knowledge of parenting and the needs of their children at different developmental stages (visit www.raisingchildren.net.au; www.pfsc.uq.edu.au; www.aifs.gov.au or other positive parenting websites).