CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

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POLICY STATEMENT

This Policy is to ensure the protection of the children and teachers who attend Kidz Corner. All children will be treated with dignity and respect, kept free from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and have their needs met in a safe environment.

Definitions (Criteria HS31)

This Policy applies to adult (staff or other adult) to child abuse. Abuse relating to child-to-child or child-to-adult is not within the scope of this Policy.

Child abuse is defined in the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 as “the harming (whether physically, emotionally, or sexually), ill-treatment, abuse, neglect or deprivation of any child or young person”. Neglect may be the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical or psychological needs, leading to adverse or impaired physical or emotional functioning or development.

Objectives

  1. To provide a safe environment for all children and staff at Kidz Corner.
  2. To ensure that there are clear policies in place, minimising the risk of abuse in Kidz Corner and outlining procedures to be followed if abuse is suspected.
  3. To provide support systems for teachers, children, and whānau when they are dealing with suspected child abuse*.
  4. To ensure all records and conversations remain confidential to the appropriate people and the informant is protected.
  5. To ensure that teachers are protected from unsubstantiated allegations of abuse, and are treated fairly if a complaint is made against them.

    6. * Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008. Regulation 43 Curriculum standard: general (1) (a) (ii) (IV), (b) (c) (ii), (2). Regulation 46 Health and safety practices standard: general (1) (a). Regulation 47 Governance, management, and administration standard: general (1) (e), (2); Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989; Vulnerable Children Act 2014; Privacy Act 1993.

    Procedures

  6. Management and teachers are required to be familiar with this Policy. Staff have access to, and will be encouraged to attend, a child protection training course to maintain awareness of how to prevent, recognise and respond to abuse (Criteria GMA7).
  7. Staff have up-to-date working knowledge of agencies which have the statutory power and skill to respond to allegations of child abuse and to protect children from all forms of abuse. Teachers should not assume responsibility beyond their level of expertise and should contact a professional agency for support if necessary (Criteria GMA7).

    8. Safe recruitment of staff

  8. All appointments, whether permanent, fixed term, casual or volunteer, to positions that have direct and/or frequent contact with children will be conditional on a satisfactory Police vetting and safety check (see Staff Safety Checking Policy and Staff Policy).
  9. All student visitors to the centre will be screened, safety checked, and vetted by their Tertiary Institution, which must be confirmed in writing prior to their start.
  10. Teachers will inform families about relievers, visitors, and students in the centre.
  11. All relief teachers must screened by the supplying agency using the following criteria: work history covering the preceding 5 years, at least one reference check, information from any relevant professional organisation, experience working with children, interview, NZ Police vetting, check of original qualifications and photo identification.

    12. Safe play

  12. Safe play will be part of our programme, to support children’s developing social competence and understanding of appropriate behaviour. This includes the correct naming of parts of the body and children learning their right to say “NO” in situations where they feel uncomfortable or which they believe to be wrong (Criteria C10).
  13. All written material (such as magazines, books, and newspapers) and ICT / internet access will be monitored by teachers, and limited to child appropriate content (see Cyber Safety, Information, Communication and Technology Policy).
  14. There will be physical contact as part of the care and teaching of children, but is not acceptable to force unwanted affection or touching on a child.
  15. All children will be in sight of the teacher responsible for them, with all indoor and outdoor areas readily observable by the teachers supervising. Where practical, teachers will be observed by other staff members (Criteria PF2, PF25).

    16. Professionalism

  16. Staff are encouraged to keep their professional and personal lives separate. Staff working outside centre hours to look after children of Kidz Corner are not acting as employees, and Kidz Corner accept no responsibility for any staff member who is working in this capacity. Staff are to be aware of strategies for protecting themselves from suspicion of abuse.

    17. Toileting routine

  17. We have an open-door policy for toileting and nappy changing areas. Teachers will consider their visibility whilst assisting children with toileting, nappy, or clothes changing, and inform another teacher when assisting a child (Criteria PF25).
  18. Teachers will record toileting and nappy changes for each child, including the day, date, name of the child, name of the staff member, and description on the Nappy Chart (Criteria HS3).
  19. Visitors, parents, relievers and students will not assist children (other than their own) with care taking tasks, toileting, changing clothes, or be alone with them.

    20. Parent, guardians and Whānau

  20. Our policies and information will be available to parents, caregivers and whānau, to increase awareness of how to prevent, recognise, and respond to abuse (Criteria GMA2).
  21. Parents must identify the people who have the authority to collect their child/ren on the Kidz Corner enrolment form. If a person picking up a child is not identified on the enrolment form parents are to inform a staff member and record this on the sign in sheet (Criteria GMA10).
  22. Parents and whānau are welcome to visit Kidz Corner but must report to the Supervisor on arrival.
  23. If there is a legal custody arrangement regarding a child, then a copy of the document outlining the legal arrangements must be given to the Supervisor on enrolment or as soon as possible after the change in circumstances (Criteria GMA10).

    24. Accusations concerning/involving teachers

  24. If it is suspected that a staff member has perpetrated abuse, the staff member will be prevented from further access to children at the centre during the investigation. They will be informed of their rights, including the right to a support person.
  25. Our Service Provider and the person nominated to take responsibility for meeting the regulatory requirements of the centre (named on the Centre Licence) will ensure that the Procedures for Reporting Abuse and Centre Complaints Procedure is followed and report the matter to the statutory authorities (Criteria GMA7).
  26. The centre will provide a list of support agencies for families involved in allegations of suspected abuse. A member of the Management team will be appointed to support the remaining teaching team.

    27. Reporting disclosures

  27. Teachers will take seriously any disclosure from a child. In any action the safety of the child is paramount.
  28. No decisions or actions in respect of suspected or actual child abuse are to be made by any staff member in isolation unless there are concerns for the immediate safety of the child. Management will work with teacher/s to discuss concerns and appropriate steps.
  29. Teachers will keep a record of what has been observed and disclosed by the child, including verbal and behavioural observations, the date/s, and time. All follow up actions will be recorded.
  30. Teachers will maintain appropriate confidentiality. Where possible, parents and guardians will be kept informed if information is shared to relevant agencies, and for what purpose. Guidance for sharing information will be sought from the appropriate agencies.

When abuse is disclosed by a child:

APPENDIX A - Information required for reporting

When a notification is made to Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children, (Oranga Tamariki), Kidz Corner needs to provide the following information:

What happens once a report has been made?

  1. Oranga Tamariki will generate a letter to the person named as ‘notifier’ acknowledging the reporting and advising which Oranga Tamariki site the matter was referred to recommending either further action or no further action.
  2. Oranga Tamariki will make the final decision as to whether further action will be taken and by whom.
  3. Depending on the assessed level of needs for the child and their family a referral may be made to a nongovernment organisation (NGO) social service for their support.
  4. If further action is to be taken the social worker allocated to the case will develop an investigation plan. This may require input from the notifier.
  5. Once the reporting has been investigated Oranga Tamariki will contact the notifier to advise if any further action has been taken or will be taken or whether a referral will be made to an NGO for either an assessment or for provision of family support.

If reporting is urgent the above actions will take place immediately.

The notifier may contact Oranga Tamariki Contact Centre at any stage to obtain information on the status of the notification.

A person’s name will not normally be released in the absence of a request under the Official Information Act or Privacy Act. If a request is made the information will be released unless there is a reason to withhold such as:

However, we cannot guarantee confidentiality. (Refer to Appendix 1: Release of notifier details under the Official Information Act 1982 and Privacy Act 1993).