British Scientific School

Child Protection Policy

This policy will help guide our school towards safer, more effective, and clearer practices to safeguard the health and welfare of our students. It will help us work more uniformly and systematically to assure the appropriate protection of our students. As a school, we are committed to training staff appropriately and to keeping parents and students well-informed about the practices.

Child abuse and neglect are violations of a child’s human rights and are obstacles to the child’s education as well as their physical, emotional, and spiritual development, therefore our management, staff, students, volunteers, counseling psychologist and the school’s security, are required to minimize the threat of child abuse in our school and to respond effectively should abuse be observed, suspected, or disclosed. And to assure all that, we at the British Scientific School apply the following steps and procedures:

· School‘s staff are sufficient in numbers and with the qualifications, competencies and sound moral character to ensure student protection and well-being.

· Recruitment process is in place to ensure that employees in all categories are appropriately qualified and of sound moral character.

· A culture of shared responsibility for the social and emotional well-being and protection of students is promoted by the school’s leadership and teachers through programs to address awareness, prevention and responsiveness to issues such as sexual harassment, substance abuse, hazing and bullying, and discrimination in any form.

· When a child reports abuse or there is reasonable cause to believe that abuse is occurring, the teacher will seek instant advice from the counselor.

· The counselor will take initial steps to gather information regarding the reported incident and in cases of serious physical or sexual abuse or neglect, will immediately inform the Head of School and together they will set up a school-based response team to address the allegation. The response team will include the school nurse, counselor, principal and other individuals as the Head of School sees fit. In all cases, follow up activities will be conducted in a manner that ensures that information is documented factually and that strict confidentiality is maintained.

Where there is cause to suspect child abuse or neglect, it is the responsibility of the staff member to report their suspicions to a member of the team and the Head of School. All staff and administrators are mandated to report incidences of abuse and neglect. Reports of abuse and neglect must be made to the counselor and the head of school immediately.
After a report is made, the following procedure will be used:
- We go back to review the cameras that are recording 24/7.

- Interview staff members as necessary and document information relative to the case.

- Consult with school personnel to review the child’s history in the school.

- Let the counselor talk to the abused student.

- Determine the course of follow-up actions.

· Procedures for reporting suspected cases of child abuse or neglect:

a) Minor Cases:
Most minor cases of suspected abuse or neglect will be handled by school counselors, such as those involving:

- Student relationships with peers.

- Parenting skills related to disciplining children at home Student-parent relationships

- Student relationship with a teacher.

- Minor physiological issues such as low self-esteem, grieving.

b) Major Cases:
Some cases will be referred to outside resources, for example:
Mental health issues such as depression, psychosis, dissociation, suicidal thoughts.

Based on acquired information, a plan of action will be developed to assist the child and family. Appropriate actions would include:

- Discussions between the child and counselor in order to gain more information.

- In-class observations of the child by the teacher, counselor, or administrator.

- Meetings with the family to present the School’s concerns.

- Referral of the student and family to external professional counseling.

c) Serious Allegations:

In addition to the all the previous actions more seriousallegations will also involve reporting to outside resources, examples:

· Severe depression

· Severe and/or ongoing physical abuse or neglect
· Sexual abuse and/or incest.

The following actions will be taken:

· Reporting to the social services where the law requires it.

· Reporting to the police authorities where the law requires it.

· Consultation with the school’s attorney.

Subsequent to a reported and/or substantiated case of child abuse or neglect:

· The counselor will maintain contact with the child and family to provide support and guidance as appropriate.

· The counselor will provide the child’s teachers and the Head of School with ongoing support.

· The counselor will provide resource materials and strategies for teacher use.

· All documentations of the investigation will be kept in the child’s school confidential records file.

. The academic supervisor will make an academic plan for the abused child in coordination with hisher teachers.

d) Unintentional accidents:
applied procedure:

. Safety measures: anti slip stairs, fire alarm and fire fighting system, fire distinguisher and first aid kit in all labs, emergency shower at the chemistry lab, door slower and stopper, etc..
. When an accident occurs, the nurse checks if first aid at the clinic is enough, or if heshe needs to be taken to a hospital.
. In case a student needs to be taken to a hospital, we immediately contact the insurance company before the driver takes himher to the nearest hospital.
. We contact hisher parents
. Academic supervisor makes an academic plan for the student if heshe needs more than a few days to recover, in coordination with hisher teachers.

. School counselor checks on the student, every day until heshe recovers and is ready to go back to school.

Definitions:

Child Protection: is a broad term used to describe philosophies, policies, standards, guidelines and procedures to protect children from both intentional and unintentional harm. also includes harm to self.

Child Protection Policy is a statement of intent that demonstrates a commitment to protecting students from harm (to self and from others) and makes clear to all what is required in relation to the protection of students. It serves to create a safe and positive environment for children and to demonstrate that the school is taking its duty and responsibility seriously.

Child protection concerns include suspected, alleged, self-disclosed, or witnessed abuse of a child by anyone associated within or outside the school which must be investigated and followed by appropriate action.

Child Abuse - According to the World Health Organization, child abuse constitutes “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.”

A person may abuse a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional (e.g. school) or community setting; children may be abused by individuals known to them, or more rarely, by a stranger. Often children may experience multiple forms of abuse simultaneously, further complicating the problem. Most child abuse is inflicted by someone the child knows, respects or trusts. International school communities have unique characteristics of which school personnel must be aware in terms of the individuals who are around our children

This policy focuses on four main categories of abuse:

I. Physical abuse:
May involve hitting, punching, shaking, throwing, poisoning, biting, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing intentional physical harm to a child. (These symptoms could also indicate harm to self, such as, cutting and suicide ideation).

Possible Signs of physical abuse:

· Bruises, burns, sprains, dislocations, bites, cuts.

· Improbable excuses given to explain injuries.

· Injuries which have not received medical attention.

· Repeated urinary infections or unexplained stomach pains.

· Refusal to discuss injuries.

· Withdrawal from physical contact.

· Arms and legs kept covered in hot weather.

· Fear of returning home or of parents being contacted.

· Showing wariness or distrust of adults.

· Self-destructive tendencies.

· Being aggressive towards others.

· Being very passive and compliant.

· Chronic running away.

II. Emotional abuse:
Is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child so as to cause severe and adverse effects on a child’s emotional development. It may involve: conveying to children that are worthless or unloved; age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children; causing children frequently to feel frightened; or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill-treatment of a child, though it may also occur alone.

Possible Signs of emotional abuse:

· Physical, mental and emotional development is delayed.

· Highly anxious.

· Showing delayed speech or sudden speech disorder.

· Fear of new situations.

· Low self-esteem.

· Inappropriate emotional responses to painful situations.

· Extremes of passivity or aggression.

· Drug or alcohol abuse.

· Chronic running away.

· Compulsive stealing.

· Obsessions or phobias.

· Sudden under-achievement or lack of concentration.

· Attention-seeking behavior.

· Persistent tiredness.

· Lying.

III. Sexual abuse:
Involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (i.e. rape) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in the production or viewing of pornographic material or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Children involved in commercial sex work are victims of sexual abuse, whether they perceive themselves as victims or not.

Possible Signs of sexual abuse:

· Pain or irritation to the genital area.

· Difficulty with urination.

· Infection, bleeding.

· Fear of people or places.

· Aggression.

· Regressive behaviors, bedwetting or stranger anxiety.

· Excessive masturbation.

· Sexually provocative.

· Stomach pains or discomfort walking or sitting.

· Being unusually quiet and withdrawn or unusually aggressive.

· Suffering from what seem physical ailments that can’t be explained medically.

· Showing fear or distrust of a particular adult.

· Mentioning receiving special attention from an adult or a new “secret friendship” with an adult or young person.

· Refusal to continue with school or usual social activities.

· Age inappropriate sexualized behavior or language.

IV. Neglect:
Is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical or physiological needs, likely

to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development.

Possible indicators of neglect:

· Medical needs unattended.

· Lack of supervision.

· Consistent hunger.

· Inappropriate dress.

· Poor hygiene.

· Inadequate nutrition.

· Fatigue or listlessness.

· Self-destructive.
· Extreme loneliness.

· Extreme need for affection.

· Failure to grow.

· Poor personal hygiene.

· Frequent lateness or non-attendance at school.

· Low self-esteem.

· Poor social relationships.

· Compulsive stealing.

· Drug or alcohol abuse.