Child Protection Policy

หน้าแรกChild Protection Policy

01 - Purpose

All children have the right to be protected and safeguarded from harm and abuse. The purpose of the CISB Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy is to ensure that all CISB students are afforded with an opportunity for a quality education in a secure and safe environment. To properly safeguard all children within the school then it will require systematic procedures, effective cooperation and an organized community.

02 - Legal Framework

Our policy has been drafted on the basis of Thai and International Law that seeks to protect children, specifically:
  • Article 52 of Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, 2007:
    • Children and youth have a right to receive physical, mental and intellectual development in a safe and suitable environment
  • Article 52 of Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, 2007:
    • Children and youth have the right to be protected against violence and unfair treatment and have the right to medical treatment or rehabilitation
  • Section 29 of The Child Protection Act, 2003:
    • A staff member shall report suspected cases of harm to the child to a designated administrator
  • Section 25 of The Child Protection Act, 2003:
    • A guardian shall not treat a child in any manner which obstruct his or her growth or development or treat a child in any manner which constitutes illegal care
  • Section 26 of The Child Protection Act, 2003:
    • A person is forbidden to commit or omit acts which result in torturing a child’s body or mind
  • Article 19 of The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, 1991
    • The State shall protect the child from all forms of maltreatment by parents or others responsible for the care of the child and establish appropriate social programs for the prevention of abuse and the treatment of victims
  • Article 34 of The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, 1991
    • The State shall protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution and involvement in pornography

03 - Definitions and Indicators

All members of CISB must be able to recognize any signs and symptoms of abuse because they have the responsibility to take the appropriate action. Definitions are complex and can differ depending on the situation. The definitions and indicators below provide both the meaning and examples of vocabulary that is related to abuse. However, these should not be seen as a final record.
  • Child Abuse

All forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial 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

  • Physical Abuse

Any nonaccidental physical injury to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a guardian fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child

Indicators

  • Unexplained bruises and welts on any part of the body;
  • Bruises of different ages (various colors);
  • Injuries reflecting shape of article used (electric cord, belt, buckle, stick, hand);
  • Injuries that regularly appear after absence or vacation;
  • Unexplained burns, especially to soles, palms, back, or buttocks;
  • Burns with a pattern from an electric burner, iron, or cigarette;
  • Rope burns on arms, legs, neck, or torso;
  • Injuries inconsistent with information offered by the child; Immersion burns with a distinct boundary line; or
  • Unexplained lacerations, abrasions, or fractures.
  • Emotional Abuse

Persistent emotional maltreatment that impacts on a child’s emotional development. Emotionally abusive acts include restriction of movement, degrading, humiliating, bullying, and threatening, scaring, discriminating, ridiculing or other non-physical forms of hostile or rejecting treatment.

Indicators

  • be overly-affectionate towards people they have not known for very long;
  • lack confidence or become wary or anxious;
  • not appear to have a close relationship with their parent;
  • be aggressive or nasty towards other children and animals;
  • use language, act in a way or know about things that you wouldn’t expect them to know for their age;
  • struggle to control strong emotions or have extreme outbursts;
  • seem isolated from their parents; or
  • lack social skills or have few, if any, friends.
  • Sexual Abuse

Forcing, coercing 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 or non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse

Indicators

  • Sexual knowledge, behavior or use of language not appropriate to age level;
  • Unusual interpersonal relationship patterns;
  • Venereal disease in a child of any age;
  • Evidence of physical trauma or bleeding to the oral, genital, or anus areas;
  • Difficulty in walking or sitting;
  • Refusing to change into physical education (PE) clothes, fear of bathrooms
  • Child running away from home and not giving any specific complaints;
  • Not wanting to be alone with an individual;
  • Pregnancy, especially at a young age; or
  • Extremely protective parenting
  • Neglect

Persistent failure (intentional or not) to meet a child’s basic physical or physiological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development.

Indicators

  • Child is unwashed or constantly hungry;
  • Parents are uninterested in child’s academic performance;
  • Parents do not respond to repeated communications from the school;
  • Child does not want to go home;
  • Guardians are absent from for any period of 24 hours or greater; or
  • Parents do not respond to contacts by school in the case of concern

04 – CISB Child Safety Pledge

We, at CISB, pledge that:
  • teacher and staff are familiar with the instructions on student protection and safety;
  • the safety of all students shall be guaranteed at all times and any potentially unsafe situations shall be avoided;
  • the Leadership Team at CSIB shall ensure that, with reference to matters of this kind, appropriate cautionary steps are understood and respected;
  • written consent from parents or legal tutors shall be obtained prior to student participation in any activity outside the school campus;
  • all activities and events organized outside of the school shall be subject to supervision.
  • the use of bathroom, bedrooms and showers and/or changing rooms are situated outside general access areas. These rooms that are used by students shall be separated for male and female students and shall not be situated next to those to be used by teachers;
  • to have a minimum of two teachers (or one teacher and an assistant teacher) in activities taking place outside school grounds.
  • travelling alone with a student in a vehicle shall be avoided, except in the case of an emergency.
  • If a student wishes to speak to a teacher alone, or vice versa, the conversation shall take place in a public place or in an area where they can be seen at all times.
  • except under special circumstances, teachers shall make telephone calls to families from the school, shall not give out personal mobile numbers and shall not send text messages from personal phone devices. The same criteria will apply to students.
  • when meetings are held with families at the school outside school hours, these shall always take place in the spaces provided for this purpose and these shall remain open and within public view. In all cases, school staff shall always be present.
  • if staff members are made aware of information that may imply a possible case of child abuse, he/she shall proceed swiftly and with restraint and clarity. There matters are the responsibility of the entire CISB Head of School.

05 – Procedures for abuse outside of CISB

When a child reports abuse, or there is reasonable cause to believe that abuse is occurring, the teacher or trusted adult will seek advice from the Head of School as quickly as possible using the Suspected Child Abuse Reporting Form. The Head of School will take initial steps to gather information regarding the reported incident. In every case, there will be a follow-up and will be conducted in a manner that ensures that information is documented factually and that strict confidentiality is maintained.

The following procedure will be used:

  • Interview staff members as necessary and document information relative to the case;
  • Consult with the administration and academic department to review the child’s history in the school;
  • Report status of case to the Director; and
  • Determine the course of follow-up actions.

Based on the information that is provided, the following actions that may be taken:

  • Discussions between the child and the Head of School in order to gain more information;
  • Techniques/methods that are age appropriate may be employed to retrieve more information as to what may have occurred;
  • In-class observations of the child by the teacher, other individuals as the Head sees fit;
  • Meetings with the family to present the school’s concerns; and/or
  • Referral of the student and family to external professional counseling.

In cases of severe abuse or where outside the school’s authority:

  • Consultation with the consulate of the country of the involved family.
  • Consultation with the school or another attorney.
  • Informal consultation with local authorities.

After a case has been reported and investigated, the following follow-up procedure will apply:

  • The Head of School will maintain contact with the child and family to provide support and guidance as appropriate;
  • The Head of School will provide the child’s teachers with ongoing support;
  • The Head of School will provide resource materials and strategies for teacher use; and
  • The Head of School will maintain contact with appropriate outside personnel to update the progress of the child in school.

06 – Procedures for abuse inside of CISB

If the suspected offender is within CISB, which can include a teacher, staff, leadership or volunteer, the following procedures are to be followed:
  • The suspected abuse is reported to Head of School (unless the Head of School is suspected, then it will be referred to the School Director);
  • The child’s parents are informed immediately; and
  • Restrictions are placed on the teacher’s access to the student, and possibly to all students.
Once the first steps above have been applied, the following will occur:
  • The Head of School discusses with suspected offender, with a witness;
  • The suspected offender is isolated from the school, with no access allowed to the school, pending an investigation;
  • The Head of School meets with the suspected offender, outside the school, if necessary, for further discussion;
  • Appropriate disciplinary procedures may be invoked from the staff disciplinary policy;
  • In light of evidence, the Head of School decides the appropriate course of action; and
  • All parties that are involved will be informed of the appropriate course of action.

07 – CISB Responsibilities

The CISB leadership team provides the oversight and strategic leadership of the child protection policies in the school. It is led by the Head of school, who is responsible for the monitoring, review and improvement of the child protection policies at CISB, including the following:
  • Every year, all staff should be made aware of the school’s policies and procedures regarding child protection. The school will have regular, mandatory child protection training.
  • The Head of School will undergo training in safeguarding children not less than every three years.
  • Temporary and voluntary staff who work with children are to be made aware of the arrangements in this guidance.
Many cases of suspected abuse or neglect will be handled entirely by The Head of School, for example, those involving:
  • Student relationships with peers
  • Parenting skills related to disciplining children at home
  • Student-parent relationships
  • Mental health issues such as depression, low self-esteem, grieving
Some cases will be referred to outside resources, for example:
  • Mental health issues such as depression, psychosis, suicidal ideation
Cases reported for investigation and outside resources:
  • Severe and ongoing physical abuse or neglect
  • Sexual abuse and incest

08 – Professional Confidentiality

All documentation of an investigation will be kept in the child’s confidential school file. Records sent to schools to which the student may transfer may be flagged to let the receiving school know there is a “confidential” file for the child and CISB will make every attempt to share this information in a way that will protect a victim. For a child who has indulged in sexual misbehaviour, CISB may share that we advise that the child receives continued therapy.

09 – Monitoring and Review

This policy, and all procedures, guidelines and programs developed under it, will be consistent with Thai law. The policy will be reviewed at least once every three years by the Head of School. The implementation of this policy will be monitored by the Head of School, who will report on the effectiveness of the implementation to the Board of Directors.