Protection of minors
The Church, through the mouth of Saint John Paul II, reminds us that no one can remain silent or indifferent when innocent children suffer, are marginalised and have their human dignity wounded. For children and young people, as the most precious treasure of the human family, the future and hope of humanity, are a treasure that is both fragile and delicate. The Pope, recalling that we all have a duty to protect these fragile beings, defend them and raise them with respect and love, he added: any action to protect children and young people, if it is to be effective, must be guided by this due respect for their fundamental rights, which is aptly expressed by the well-known maxim (...) 'the greatest respect is due to the child' (...) Furthermore, Jesus in the Gospel points out to us children as a 'model' for life and firmly condemns those who do not respect them.
When we surround children and young people with pastoral care, we sometimes discover that, as the Holy Pontiff pointed out. Many children in our time, in different parts of the world, suffer and are subjected to multiple risks. They suffer hunger and poverty, die of disease and malnutrition, fall victim to wars, are abandoned by their parents, condemned to homelessness, deprived of the warmth of their own families, and subjected to various forms of rape and violence by adults. Is it possible to be indifferent to the suffering of so many children, especially when this suffering is in some way the fault of adults??
Recent decades show that the harm done to children has also been done by some people institutionally belonging to the Church. It is a particularly grave sin when someone who is supposed to help people on the path to God, to whom a child is entrusted on that path, instead of leading them to the knowledge of God, molests them and leads them away from God Senior Pope Benedict XVI notes.
Sexual abuse of children is particularly condemnable. The Church recognises these abuses as sinful and criminal acts and is making efforts to ensure that children are protected from similar crimes in the future.
Taking all this into account, on the basis of the documents of the Law of the Republic of Poland and of the Universal Church, the principles of "The Church of God" are established. Protection of minors, which are informative, preventive, educational and introduce rules for dealing with the issues that are addressed in this document.
1. PRINCIPLES FOR A SAFE STAFF-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
In all the works carried out by the Franciscan Reintegration Centre OIKOS [hereinafter: OIKOS] we follow the values and teachings of the Catholic Church, respecting the dignity of the human person. We always create and sustain an environment that minimises the likelihood of any form of violence or child abuse. The guiding principle of all activities is to act for the good of the child and in his/her best interest.
We treat the child with respect and take into account their dignity and needs. It is unacceptable to use violence against a child in any form. In pursuing these aims, staff act within the framework of the applicable law, the internal regulations of the establishment and their own competences. Principles
safe staff-child relationships apply to all staff, associates, trainees and volunteers, as well as any adult who has contact with children in the care of the establishment, where such contact is with the permission of the establishment's management and/or on the premises.
Knowledge and acceptance of the rules are confirmed by signing a declaration (Appendix 1). Each person employed at the centre has been checked, as required by law, to ensure that there are no contraindications to contact with children, by providing a certificate of no criminal record for sexual offences and a certificate of no criminal record from the National Criminal Register regardless of whether they are an employee of the centre on the basis of an employment contract, civil law contract, voluntary work, internship or on any other basis.
1. staff relations with children
You are required to maintain a professional relationship with children and each time consider whether your response, message or action towards a child is appropriate to the situation, safe, reasonable and fair to other children. Act in a way that is open and transparent to others to minimise the risk of your behaviour being misinterpreted.
1.2 Communication with children
In communication with children:
1) Be patient and respectful;
2) Listen carefully to children and give them answers appropriate to their age and the situation at hand;
3) Do not embarrass, humiliate, belittle or insult the child. Do not shout at a child in a situation other than for his/her safety or that of other children;
4) do not disclose sensitive information about the child to unauthorised persons, including other children (image of the child, information about the child's family, economic, medical, custodial and legal situation);
5) when making decisions about your child, inform them and try to take their expectations into account;
6) respect the child's right to privacy. If it is necessary to waive confidentiality to protect the child, explain this to the child as soon as possible;
7) ensure that you are within sight or hearing of other members of staff when you are carrying out activities with children. In exceptional and justifiable situations where you need to be alone with your child, always let other staff members know and inform them exactly where you will be with your child;
8) Do not behave in an inappropriate manner in the presence of children. Do not use vulgar words, gestures or jokes, do not make insulting remarks, do not refer in your speech to sexual activity or attraction, and do not use power relations or physical superiority (intimidation, coercion, threats) towards the child;
9) Assure children that if they feel uncomfortable about a situation, a particular behaviour or words, they can tell you or the designated person in charge of the intervention procedure and can expect an appropriate response and/or assistance.
1.3 Activities with children
In dealing with children:
1) value and respect children's contribution to the activities undertaken, actively involve them and treat them equally regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, social, ethnic, cultural, religious status and worldview;
2) avoid favouritism towards children;
3) Do not enter into any romantic or sexual relationship with your child or make propositions of an inappropriate nature. This includes sexual comments, jokes, gestures and sharing erotic and pornographic content with children in whatever form;
4) do not record the image of a child (filming, voice recording, photographing) for private purposes. This also applies to allowing third parties to record images of children if the management of the establishment has not been informed, has not given its consent and has not obtained the consent of the parents/legal guardians and the children themselves;
5) do not offer children alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances and do not use them in the presence of children;
6) Do not accept money or gifts from the child or the child's parents/legal guardians. Do not enter into any relationship of dependency with the child or the child's parents/guardians that could lead to accusations of unequal treatment or financial or other benefits;
7) all risky situations, which include the infatuation of a child by a member of staff or a member of staff by a child, must be reported to the Directorate;
8) if you witness them, react firmly but sensitively to preserve the dignity of those involved.
1.4 Physical contact with children
No violent action towards a child is acceptable. However, there are situations where physical contact with a child may be appropriate and meet the principles of safe contact: it responds to the child's needs at the time, takes into account the child's age, developmental stage, gender, cultural and situational context. However, it is not possible to set a universal appropriateness for all such physical contact, as behaviour that is appropriate with one child may be inappropriate with another. Use your professional judgement at all times, listening, observing and noting the child's reaction, asking the child's permission for physical contact (e.g. hugging) and remaining aware that even with your good intentions such contact may
be misinterpreted by the child or by third parties.
Remember that:
1) No child shall be beaten, poked, pushed or in any way violate the physical integrity of the child;
(2) the child must not be touched in any way that may be considered indecent or inappropriate;
3) You should always be able to explain your actions;
4) do not engage in violent physical play or in activities that cross the child's intimate sphere;
5) special care should be taken with children who have experienced abuse, including sexual, physical or neglect. Such experiences can sometimes cause a child to seek inappropriate or inadequate physical contact with adults. In such situations, it is important to respond sensitively but firmly, and to help the child understand the importance of personal boundaries;
6) physical contact with a child must never be covert or hidden, involve any kind of gratification or result from a power relationship. If you witness any of the behaviours and/or situations described above from other adults or children, always inform the person in charge and/or follow the intervention procedure in place;
7) in situations involving the care and hygiene of the child, non-essential physical contact with the child should be avoided. This particularly applies to helping the child with dressing and undressing, eating, washing, changing and using the toilet. Care should be taken to ensure that another adult assists in each of the grooming and hygiene activities. If grooming and hygiene care of children are part of your responsibilities, you will be trained to do this;
8) on trips and excursions longer than one day, sleeping in the same bed with the child is not permitted.
1.5 Out-of-hours contacts
As a general rule, contact with children should only take place during working hours and for purposes that fall within the scope of your duties.
1) Children must not be invited to their place of residence. Contacts through private communication channels are only possible if there is no business communicator (private phone, e-mail, instant messaging, social media profiles).
2) If necessary, the appropriate form of communication with children and their parents/carers outside working hours is through business channels (e-mail, business telephone).
3) If it is necessary to meet with children out of hours, the Director must be informed.
4) Maintaining a social or family relationship (if the children and the children's parents/carers are relatives of the member of staff) requires that all information relating to other children, their parents/carers is kept confidential.
1.6 Online safety
1) Be aware of the digital risks and dangers of recording private online activity by apps and algorithms, but also your own online activities. This includes liking certain pages, using dating apps where you may meet wards, following certain people/pages on social media and the privacy settings of the accounts you use. If a member of staff's profile is publicly available, children and their parents/guardians will have an overview of their digital activity.
2) It is not permitted to make contact with children in the care of the establishment by accepting or sending invitations on social media.
3) During classes or other activities conducted by the organisation, personal electronic devices should be switched off or muted if service devices are available.
2. PRINCIPLES FOR THE SAFE RECRUITMENT OF STAFF
- Prior to employing a person at OIKOS or otherwise establishing cooperation and entrusting him/her with duties/activities involving work with a child, the person's qualifications are established and steps are taken to determine whether he/she is competent to work with a child in the field of activities undertaken in order to exclude the risk of him/her endangering the welfare and safety of children.
- The candidate(s) should be obtained during the recruitment process:
- personal data, such as name(s) and surname, date of birth, contact details, confirmed by verification of an identity document;
- information on: education, professional qualifications, previous employment history (does not apply to childminders who perform activities for the facility resulting from their generally accepted involvement in the life of the facility).
- For further information, the organisation may ask the candidate to provide references from previous places of employment (from a previous employer) or to indicate a contact to obtain references. Failure to submit this document may not have negative consequences for the applicant/candidate.
- Before engaging with a person, the facility is required to check whether the person is on the Sex Offender Register with restricted access. A printout of the Register should be kept in the staff member's personal file or other
personnel records.
- The person referred to above shall submit to the employer or other organiser information from the National Criminal Register in respect of offences specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Penal Code, in Articles 189a and 207 of the Penal Code and in the Act of 29 July 2005 on Counteracting Drug Addiction (Journal of Laws 2023 item 172 and 2022 item 2600) or for corresponding offences specified in foreign law.
- A person referred to above who has a nationality of a country other than the Republic of Poland shall, in addition, submit to the employer or other organiser information from the criminal record of the country of nationality obtained for the purposes of professional or voluntary activities involving contact with children.
- The person referred to above shall submit to the employer or other organiser a declaration of the country or countries in which he or she has resided in the last 20 years, other than the Republic of Poland and the country of citizenship, and shall at the same time submit to the employer or other organiser information from the criminal records of those countries obtained for the purposes of professional or voluntary activities related to contact with children (Annex 2).
- If the law of the State referred to above does not provide for the issuing of information for the purposes of professional or voluntary activities involving contact with children, information from the criminal record of that State shall be submitted.
- Where the law of the country from which the information is to be submitted does not provide for its production or there is no criminal record in the country concerned, the person referred to above shall make a statement to that effect to the employer or other organiser, together with a declaration that he has not been validly convicted in that country of offences corresponding to the offences defined in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Penal Code, in Articles 189a and 207 of the Penal Code and in the Act of 29 July 2005. on Counteracting Drug Addiction and no other judgment has been issued against him or her stating that he or she has committed such prohibited acts, and that he or she is not under an obligation arising from a judgment of a court, other authorised body or the law to comply with a prohibition to occupy any or certain positions, to exercise any or certain professions or activities related to education, education, leisure, medical treatment, provision of psychological counselling, spiritual development, sports practice or the pursuit of other
interests by children, or with childcare.
- Declarations are made under the penalty of criminal liability for making a false declaration. The person making the declaration is obliged to include the following clause: "I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false declaration". This clause replaces the authority's instruction on the criminal liability for making a false declaration.
- It is imperative that the person accepted for a position related to working with children signs the following statements:
- Statement of awareness of and commitment to the Child Protection Standards (Appendix 1);
- Statement of countries of residence in the last 20 years other than the Republic of Poland (Annex 2);
- The declarations shall be included in the personnel file of the staff or, in the absence thereof, attached to the civil law or volunteer contract.
- Failure to agree to sign any of the documents listed above prevents any legal relationship (employment/other contract) being established with that person.
3. INTERVENTION PROCEDURE CHARTS
1 Violence is a deliberate and forceful action against another person, violating his or her rights and personal goods, causing suffering and harm. It aims to control and subjugate the person being harmed. It does not necessarily involve physical injury
2. Forms of violence against the child
- harm/harm - any action that leads to physical, psychological, moral suffering; also the inaction of individuals, institutions or society as a whole in the face of harm/violence.
- violence against children - any form of physical and/or emotional maltreatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, commercial or other exploitation resulting in actual or potential harm to a child's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or strength. It is commonly divided into five sub-types: physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, neglect, exposure to family violence, sexual abuse, In the context of the Catholic Church, it is also important to recognise spiritual abuse as an additional sub-type of abuse.
- physical violence is violence where a child suffers physical harm or is potentially at risk of physical harm. This harm occurs as a result of an action or inaction on the part of a parent or other person responsible for the child, or whom the child trusts or has authority over. Physical violence against a child may be a repeated or one-off act.
- psychological and emotional violence is a chronic, non-physical, harmful interaction towards a child, involving both actions and inactions. It includes, but is not limited to: emotional unavailability, emotional neglect, a relationship with the child based on hostility, blaming, denigration, rejection, developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions with the child, failure to recognise or acknowledge the child's individuality and psychological boundaries.
- child neglect is the chronic or incidental failure to meet his/her basic physical/psychological needs and/or to respect his/her basic rights, resulting in disturbances to his/her health and/or developmental difficulties. Neglect occurs in a child's relationship with a person who has a duty to care for, nurture and protect the child.
- exposure to domestic violence - a form of psychological child abuse in which the child is present - hears or sees - when another family member experiences physical, psychological or sexual violence or sees damage caused to persons or property as a result of the family member's aggressive behaviour.
- Sexual exploitation of a child - sexual exploitation of a child is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that the child is not capable of fully understanding and giving informed consent to, and/or to which the child is not developmentally mature and cannot consent in a legally valid manner, and/or which is incompatible with the legal or moral norms of the society in question. Sexual exploitation occurs when such activity occurs between a child and an adult or a child and another child, if these persons, due to their age or stage of development, are in a relationship of care, dependence, authority. The purpose of such activity is to meet the needs of another person (World Health Organization). Includes behaviour involving physical contact (including
penetrative) and without physical contact, it can then take the form of sexualisation, taking sexually explicit photographs or videos of children, forcing children to watch or participate in sexual activities and forcing or coercing children to have sex or engage in sexual activities with other children or adults. It also includes the sexual exploitation of children, i.e. profiting from, for example, pornography or child prostitution.
- Grooming (towards a child) - behaviour aimed at preparing the child for sexual abuse. It includes establishing a special relationship with the child, often also conditioning parents and other adults and weakening their vigilance to think that the relationship with the child is normal and positive.
- peer violence (peer aggression, bullying) - occurs when a child experiences various forms of violence from peers, either directly or using communication technologies. It occurs when the action is intended to cause someone distress or harm (intentionality), is systematic (repetitive) and the victim is weaker than the perpetrator or group of perpetrators. It includes verbal violence (e.g. name-calling, teasing, ridicule), relational violence (e.g. exclusion from a group, ignoring, setting others against a person), physical violence (e.g. beating, kicking, pushing, pulling), material violence (e.g. stealing, destroying objects) and electronic violence (malicious texting or emailing, posting on a social networking site, posting photos or videos ridiculing the victim on the internet), as well as boyfriend/girlfriend dating violence.
- paedophile (Preferential paedophile) - a person with a disturbed sexual preference (paraphilia). A preferential paedophile will always choose a child as a sexual partner.
- paedophilia - a type of paraphilia (ICD-10 - F65.4; DSM-5 - 302.2). A chronic condition that cannot be cured, it can only be well controlled. A condition in which the main or exclusive means of achieving sexual satisfaction is through contact with prepubertal or early pubertal children. It may or may not express itself in acts.
- paraphilia - sexual preference disorder. A condition in which sexual excitement or sexual satisfaction occurs in relation to some unusual stimulus or behaviour that differs from those that are commonly regarded as sexually arousing and satisfying.
- paedophilic act - any sexually motivated behaviour by an adult towards a child for the purpose of arousal and sexual desire. These can be divided into acts: non-contact and touching.
3. 1. A PATTERN OF INTERVENTION IN CASES OF SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE BY THIRD PARTIES (E.G. VOLUNTEERS, STAFF OF THE ORGANISATION/INSTITUTION AND OTHER PERSONS WHO HAVE CONTACT WITH THE CHILD) A FEW LINES OF TEXT AND THEN THE ABILITY TO EXPAND...
You suspect the child:
- is experiencing violence with damage to his or her health (violence with damage to health means causing illness or injury), sexual abuse and/or his or her life is at risk:
- keep the child safe and separate from the suspected abuser;
- provide pre-medical assistance if necessary;
- call an ambulance if necessary;
- notify the police (tel. 112 or 997);
- Remove the suspected abuser from the activity until the investigation is complete;
- notify the Director of the establishment.
- experiences other physical violence (e.g. spanking, pushing, poking) or psychological violence (e.g. humiliation, discrimination, ridicule) on one occasion:
- keep the child safe and separate from the suspected abuser;
- Remove the suspected abuser from the activity until the investigation is complete.
- is harmed by other types of crime:
- keep the child safe and separate from the suspected abuser;
- inform the police or the public prosecutor's office in writing. File a notice of possible criminal offence;
- notify the Director of the establishment.
- experiences other disturbing behaviour (i.e. shouting, inappropriate comments):
- keep the child safe and separate from the suspected abuser;
- conduct a disciplinary interview and, in the event of a further disciplinary penalty by the Director, terminate cooperation.
3. 2. INTERVENTION SCHEME IN THE CASE OF SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE BY ANOTHER CHILD (PEER VIOLENCE)
You suspect the child:
- experiences violence from another child with harm to his or her health, sexual abuse and/or his or her life is at risk:
- keep the child safe and separate from the suspected abuser;
- interview parents/guardians of children involved in violence;
- In parallel, notify the family court with custody proceedings concerning the child, the police/prosecutor's office by sending a notice of possible criminal offence;
- notify the Director of the establishment.
- experiences other physical violence (e.g. pushing, poking), psychological violence (e.g. humiliation, discrimination, ridicule) or other disturbing behaviour (i.e. shouting, inappropriate comments) from another child on one occasion:
- keep the child safe and separate from the suspected abuser;
- interview separately the parents of the abused and the abusive child and develop corrective actions.
3. 3. PATTERN OF INTERVENTION IN THE EVENT OF SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE BY A PARENT OR CARER
You suspect the child:
- is experiencing violence with damage to his or her health, sexual abuse and/or his or her life is at risk:
- ensure the child's safety and separate the child from the suspected abusive parent/guardian (stop contact and leave);
- notify the police or the public prosecutor's office of the possibility that a crime has been committed and inform the family court dealing with custody proceedings concerning the child; notify the Director of the facility;
- is harmed by other types of crime:
- inform the police or the public prosecutor's office in writing. Send a notification that a crime may have been committed;
- notify the Director of the establishment;
- experiences other physical violence (e.g. spanking, pushing, poking), psychological violence (e.g. humiliation, discrimination, ridicule) or other disturbing behaviour (i.e. shouting, inappropriate comments) on one occasion:
- keep your child safe;
- interview the non-offending parent/guardian and inform them of the possibility of psychological support;
- notify the family court in charge of child custody proceedings (suspend leave of absence, introduce supervised contact);
- notify the Director of the establishment.
3. 4. WHEN AN EDUCATOR/STAFF MEMBER IS THE VICTIM OF VIOLENCE (INSULTING, HUMILIATING, CROSSING PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES), THE ACTIONS DESCRIBED BELOW SHOULD BE TAKEN.
- An educator/staff member who is a victim of violence by alumni should not hide this fact.
- The wronged party provides information to the psychologist/educator/director of the establishment about the incident of alumni aggression. The educationalist/educator/director makes a note of the incident.
- The director speaks to each violent offender. Each alumni bears individual responsibility for his or her actions.
- The director of the facility notifies the following of the incident: parents/legal guardians, family court.
- If the dignity of an educator/staff member has been violated and there is a suspicion that the law has been broken, the director will file a criminal report with the police.
3. 5. PRINCIPLES OF DRAFTING AN INCIDENT NOTE
When an incident endangering the welfare of a child is discovered or reported, the member of staff who discovered or to whom the incident endangering the welfare of a child is reported makes a detailed note (Appendix 3) describing the situation.
Employees, remember:
1) Write down the exact date and time when the incident was reported as soon as you become aware of an incident that, even if only possibly, may violate your child's rights,
2) Give the child's name, age, home address (if available), school and any other relevant information:
3) describe exactly what has been reported, including the place, time and any relevant details of the incident (you may quote phrases used by the child or other notifier);
4) if they exist, include details of any witnesses to the incident, including their names, addresses and contact telephone numbers. These may also include people to whom the child has previously reported the violence;
5) Describe the steps that were taken in response to the report, including communication with law enforcement, parent(s)/guardian(s), steps to ensure the child's safety, etc;
6) List any institutions or persons contacted in relation to the incident.
1) A meeting is also arranged where the child's parent/guardian is informed of the situation, which is confirmed on the printed minutes of the meeting (Appendix 6). The note and the minutes are kept in the child's file. Staff at the centre
monitor the situation and the action taken by the parent/guardian.
2) If the facility informs law enforcement authorities (prosecutor's office, police) or other
institution (e.g. social welfare centre) a copy of the letter is kept on file
child.
- The director of the organisation enters each incident discovered or reported into the intervention register (Appendix 7). The information in the register is continuously updated during the intervention. The register is stored in a secure cabinet which is accessible to the person in charge of the intervention and the director of the organisation.
Any incident or event disclosed or reported which threatens the welfare of a child is reported to the authority running the establishment, i.e. the diocese/ congregation and the diocesan/ religious delegate.
Records shall be drawn up as a document on paper and shall be kept in an iron cabinet secured by a lock in a room to which only the director of the establishment has access.
3. 6. PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE EVENT OF SUSPECTED SEXUAL ABUSE OF AN ALUMNUS
3. 6. 1. Sexual abuse by another alumni
If you become aware of possible sexual abuse of an alumni by another alumni, you should:
I. separate the abuser from the abused person, providing a safe environment for both parties;
II. if there has been sexual abuse involving a child under the age of 15, the public prosecutor's office appropriate to the place where the act occurred should be notified of the possible commission of the offence;
III. prevent the abuser from having contact with the abused person;
IV. provide medical and psychological care and appropriate care and educational interventions for both the abused person and the perpetrator;
V. notify the police, family court, legal guardians/parents.
3. 6. 2. Sexual abuse by an educator or other employee of the facility
If you become aware of possible sexual abuse of an alumnus by an educator or other employee of the establishment, you should:
I. separate the abuser from the abused person, providing a safe environment for both parties;
II. carry out a supportive interview with the pupil (the abused person) in an environment that provides a sense of security;
III. remove the employee from his/her duties with immediate effect until the matter is clarified;
IV. if there has been sexual abuse involving a child under the age of 15, the law enforcement authorities, the public prosecutor's office appropriate to the place where the act occurred, should be notified of the possible commission of the offence;
V. provide medical, psychological care and appropriate care and educational interventions for the abused person;
VI. notify the family court, legal guardians/parents.
4. A PROCEDURE FOR DEALING WITH VIOLATIONS OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
The employees of the centre are guided by the principle of inalienability of their rights in their behaviour towards the pupil and his/her parents. In addition, all employees of the facility are obliged to respect the rights of the child by respecting the principles resulting from the OIKOS Centre's Child Rights Protection Policy and applicable legislation.
I. In the event of a violation of a child's rights by another pupil, an educator or other employee of the establishment, the child has the right to complain to his/her educator, pedagogue, psychologist, director or other trusted person.
II. Complaint procedure in case of violation of the rights of the child:
III. an alumni or a person with knowledge of a violation or breach of the rights of a child shall inform the educator of the particular group in which the child is present;
IV. the form tutor informs the director of the establishment;
V. the pedagogue takes note of the views of the parties to the conflict; mediates between the parties in order to clarify and resolve the conflict;
VI. together with the psychologist, the educationalist analyses the problem the child has encountered;
VII. the Director shall hold an interview with the alumni or staff member concerned (where the matter concerns a staff member);
VIII. the headmaster informs the parents or legal guardians of the pupil concerned of the situation (if the matter concerns the pupils themselves, the parents or legal guardians of both parties are informed of the incident);
IX. the pupil is provided with therapeutic assistance.
5. PROCEDURES AND PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING SUSPECTED OFFENCES AGAINST A CHILD, NOTIFYING THE FAMILY COURT.
- In the case of a suspected criminal offence against a child who is an alumnus of the establishment, the member of staff who suspects such an offence shall inform the director of the establishment or his/her deputy, as indicated, and make a written note documenting this fact. The note ( Appendix 9 ) shall contain all relevant information coming into the possession of the employee, together with a description of the situation in which the suspicion arose. The note shall be kept in the file of the child to whom the suspicion relates.
- The director of the facility informs the parents/guardians of their obligation to report suspected child abuse to the relevant institution (public prosecutor's office/police/family court/social welfare centre). The director of the establishment is responsible for drawing up a notice of suspected offence, which is sent to the law enforcement authorities.
- In the case of a child who is being abused in the family environment, the director of the establishment sends a notice to the law enforcement authorities of the suspicion that an alumni is experiencing domestic violence.
- In the event of suspicion of abuse or knowledge of abuse of a child by an employee of the institution, the director or a person designated by him shall inform the superiors of the Province of St. Francis of Assisi of the Order of Friars Minor - Franciscans in Poland. The director of the institution shall also cooperate with the person responsible for prevention in the province, if necessary.
6. PRINCIPLES FOR REVIEWING AND UPDATING STANDARDS
At the Franciscan Reintegration Centre OIKOS, an evaluation of the standards developed for the facility is carried out at least once every two years. The director of the facility is required to carry out the monitoring at the facility, who conducts a survey among all staff at the facility to monitor the level of implementation of the child protection standards. A template for the survey is attached as Appendix 4 to these child protection standards. A compilation of the results of the survey including any conclusions and proposals for changes to the standards is discussed by the director with the educators and any changes are then made.
The results of the survey, as well as recommendations for changes, can be discussed by the director of the facility with the person responsible for prevention in the province.7 Competence of the persons responsible for preparing the staff of the facility to apply the standards, the principles for preparing the staff to apply the standards and how to document this activity
- In the facility, the director of the facility, or in his/her absence his/her deputy as indicated, shall be responsible for preparing staff to apply the standards, for observing the rules for preparing staff to apply the standards and for documenting this activity. When hiring a new employee, the director of the facility will familiarise the employee with the facility's child protection standards and provide instruction, which will be documented by a written statement of the employee's familiarity with the facility's standards and commitment to their application (Appendix 1). This statement is placed in the employee's personal file.
- The centre's staff (employees under employment contract, civil law contract, member of an organisation, volunteer, trainee) are obliged to undergo mandatory training in recognising the symptoms of child abuse and the procedure for responding to such symptoms (training takes place at least once a year). All employees of the facility are included in the training, including service and administrative staff. The centre's staff completes the training by signing a declaration that they have received training on how to prevent sexual abuse, in particular how to recognise the symptoms of child abuse and how to react to them.
- The director of the service liaises with the person responsible for prevention in the diocese/congregation. The co-operation includes the possibility to organise meetings of those responsible for standards in the diocese/congregation, the organisation of training, conferences, workshops, as well as support in difficult situations requiring consultation.
7. THE RULES AND MANNER IN WHICH STANDARDS ARE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PARENTS OR LEGAL OR ACTUAL GUARDIANS AND CHILDREN TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH AND APPLY
- In the establishment, the person responsible for making the standards available to parents/guardians and children for familiarisation and application is the director of the establishment or, in his/her absence, his/her deputy as indicated.
- When a new child is admitted to the facility, the parent/guardian of the child is presented with the full version of the standards applicable to the facility, which is documented by a written statement of the parent/guardian that they have read the standards (Appendix 5). In addition, the full version of the standards is posted on the organisation's website, displayed or displayed in a visible place within the organisation's premises and made available to any interested person upon request.
- An abridged version of the standards is prepared for the children in the care of the centre, which contains relevant information formulated in a way that is accessible to the children. The abridged version is displayed in a prominent place in the centre. When new children are admitted to the centre, they are introduced to this version of the standards. The rules set out in the standards, which are directly relevant to the pupils, are also communicated to the pupils on an ongoing basis during individual talks, group activities and community meetings. In addition, the educators will address issues such as safe use of the Internet, good and bad secrecy, building self-esteem, setting boundaries, growing up, reacting to threatening situations in their classes.
- As far as possible, the centre's staff will organise meetings/workshops for parents of alumni, where child protection standards will be presented and discussed, as well as other relevant topics, such as psychosexual development of children and adolescents, safe boundaries, principles of safe internet use, recognition of signs of abuse.
8. THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR RECEIVING REPORTS OF INCIDENTS THREATENING THE CHILD AND PROVIDING SUPPORT TO THE CHILD
In the establishment, the person responsible for receiving reports of child endangering incidents and providing support to the child is the director of the establishment or, in his/her absence, his/her deputy as indicated. In the event that a child endangering incident involves the head of the establishment, the educator of the group the child attends or another adult employed by the establishment is obliged to report the incident directly to the police/prosecutor/
family court.
9. THE PRINCIPLES OF SAFE RELATIONS BETWEEN CHILDREN
The Franciscan Reintegration Centre OIKOS is a space without violence. The facility's staff has been trained to recognise and counter so-called peer aggression, including cyberbullying.
Peer violence (peer aggression, bullying) - occurs when a child experiences various forms of violence from peers, either directly or using communication technologies. It occurs when the action is intended to cause someone distress or harm (intentionality), can be systematic (repetitive) and the victim is weaker than the perpetrator or group of perpetrators. It includes verbal violence (e.g. name-calling, teasing, ridicule), relational violence (e.g. exclusion from a group, ignoring, setting others against a person), physical violence (e.g. beating, kicking, pushing, pulling), material violence (e.g. stealing, destroying objects) and electronic violence (malicious text or email, posting on a social networking site, posting photos or videos ridiculing the victim on the internet), as well as boyfriend/girlfriend dating violence.
- cyberbullying - any violence using information and communication technologies - instant messaging, chat rooms, websites, social media, blogs, SMS, MMS. It can take the form of vulgar messages, offensive comments (heckling, trolling), dissemination of pictures showing the child in a negative light, bullying, stalking (cyberstalking), disclosure of secrets (outing), etc.
- Staff are aware of and monitor the application of the safe child-child relationship principles established in the establishment.
- We implement the content of the principles of safe child-child relationships on an ongoing basis with the children and taking into account the specific nature of the establishment and the needs of the children in it.
- Children attending the centre are instructed by professional staff on the principles of safe child-child relationships in a form that is accessible to them taking into account the intellectual and emotional development of the child.
- When there are children of different age groups and with different needs, we try to develop a version of the rules for the different groups.
- Evaluation and review of the Safe Relationships between Children Policy takes place at least once every two years, including after any crisis situation, if the establishment has intervened because of peer abuse or because of abuse by a third party.
- Topics we introduce children to include:
- principles of communication between children;
- prohibition of violence in any form;
- ways of resolving conflicts (in particular peer mediation);
- respect for other people's property, privacy and space;
- equal treatment, respect for diversity, individual identity
- When an act of peer violence is identified, the staff of the centre completes an intervention procedure sheet (Appendix 3).
10 .RULES FOR THE USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH INTERNET ACCESS
- At OIKOS, preventive educational measures are taken with regard to children, indicating ways of acting, communicating and reacting, which make it possible to avoid and protect oneself from dangers resulting from children's activity on the Internet. During individual conversations, group activities and community meetings, the consequences of undesirable actions are presented to the pupils, as well as the principles of avoiding problems related to the use of the Internet.
- The centre has established rules for the use of internet-enabled devices that specify what online activity is allowed and what is prohibited. The rules regulate the time limit for a given pupil to use the devices for entertainment purposes. Children's use of electronic devices with Internet access on the premises is continuously supervised and monitored by adults employed at the
the facility, having an ongoing view of the content and materials used by the alumni, as well as the websites, social networks with which they connect.
- The rules for the use of electronic devices with Internet access on the premises of the facility call out activities that are not allowed, that are harmful to the children, that pose a risk, i.e. accessing websites with violent, aggressive, sexual or criminal content. This policy includes constant supervision and monitoring by the centre's staff of children using devices with Internet access. It is forbidden in the centre to bring and share with others material recorded electronically or in any other form containing content harmful to children.
- Anti-virus software is installed on the computers in the organisation to which the children have access, and a harmful content filtering service is activated and appropriately configured. In addition, each time pupils use computers with Internet access, they are supervised by an adult employed by the centre, who has an ongoing overview of the content and materials used by the child, as well as the websites and social networks to which they are connected.
- Whenever possible, the person responsible for the Internet in the establishment conducts periodic workshops with the children on safe use of the Internet.
○ The facility provides continuous access to educational materials on safe use of the Internet. These are located next to computers from which free access to the web is possible.
○ Alumni may only download files under the supervision of an educator.
○ The educator supervises the children's safe use of the Internet during class. Computers are set up so that the educator can monitor the content viewed by children and young people in real time.
○ In the situation of the use of private devices, the mentor is obliged to control the content viewed or shared by the pupils.
○ Internet provided in the form of wi-fi is password-protected.
○ The use of the Internet shall respect copyright.
○ Any form of violence, including cyberbullying, is prohibited on the premises of the facilities.
○ Staff in the establishment have a duty to respond immediately to any type of worrying signals regarding the use of mobile devices and desktop computers by children
and, in the event of a breach of the rules, fills in an intervention procedure sheet (Annex 3 ).
11. PRINCIPLES FOR ESTABLISHING A SUPPORT PLAN FOR THE CHILD FOLLOWING DISCLOSURE OF ABUSE
- In the event of the disclosure of abuse of a child, also in the form of cyberbullying, who is an alumni of the centre, the educator/therapist responsible for working with the child includes a support plan for the child after the disclosure of the abuse in the diagnosis and the concept of work with the child. The support plan is discussed with the head teacher. As part of the child's support, consideration is given to the possibility of the child receiving therapeutic interventions from a therapist employed at the
facility and possible referral of the child to specialist child welfare services, including medical facilities, if necessary.
- The support plan is formulated taking into account the child's health, emotional, family situation, on the basis of interviews with the child, observations of the child's behaviour, group functioning, discussions with parents, legal guardians, teachers and others in the child's environment with insight into the child's life situation.
When formulating a support plan for a child following an abuse disclosure, consideration is given to the child's family situation and the child's ability to cooperate with the child's parents/legal guardians. The support plan is presented to the parents/guardians with a discussion of the extent of cooperation in its implementation. In the case of neglect and lack of cooperation on the part of the parents/legal guardians to the extent necessary to improve the child's situation and adequately meet the child's needs, the director of the centre applies to the family court for a review of the family situation.
12. THE RULES ON THE PROTECTION OF THE CHILD'S PERSONAL DATA (INCLUDING: THE RULES ON THE PROTECTION OF THE CHILD'S IMAGE)
§ 1
The child's personal data are protected under the terms of Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27.04.2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ EU L 119, p. 1) - hereafter RODO.
An employee of the OIKOS facility is obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the personal data he/she processes and the means of securing them against unauthorised access. The child's personal data are made available only to persons and entities authorised on the basis of separate regulations.
A member of the establishment's staff is entitled to process the child's personal data and share it in the course of their professional activities by virtue of their direct care of the child.
§ 2
A member of staff at the establishment does not put media representatives in contact with children and does not provide media representatives with information about the child or their parents/legal guardians.
A member of the establishment's staff shall not give information about a child's case or that of his/her parents/guardians to the media, even if he/she is convinced that his/her statement is not being recorded in any way.
A member of the establishment's staff, in exceptional and justifiable circumstances, may speak to media representatives about a child's or their carer's case - with the written consent of the child's carer.
Selected premises of the organisation may be made available to the media for the production of media material. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the director of the organisation. The selected room of the organisation for the production of media material is recorded in such a way that it is not possible to film the children and other persons present.
§ 3
A member of staff may only use information about a child for training or educational purposes while maintaining the child's anonymity and in such a way that the child cannot be identified.
14. RULES ON THE PROTECTION OF THE CHILD'S IMAGE
§ 1
The establishment, recognising the child's right to privacy and protection of personal rights, ensures that the child's image is protected.
A member of staff of the establishment must not allow media representatives to record a child's image (filming, photographing, recording the child's voice) without the written consent of the child's parent/legal guardian.
In order to obtain permission from the child's carer to record the child's image, a member of the media may contact the child's carer and establish a procedure for obtaining permission. It is unacceptable to give a media representative the contact details of a child's carer - without the knowledge and consent of that carer.
If the image of a child is only a detail of a whole, e.g. a gathering, a landscape, a public event, without clear labelling (description) identifying a specific child, the consent of the guardians for the recording of the child's image is not required.
The publicising of the child's image in any form (photograph, audio-video recording) by an employee of the centre requires the written consent of the child's legal guardian. Before the image of the child is recorded, the child and the guardian must be informed of where the recorded image will be placed and in what context it will be used (e.g. it will be placed on the organisation's website for promotional purposes).
§ 2
Basic guidelines for capturing the image of a child (photos, videos)
The following rules apply when capturing images of children:
- all children must be dressed;
- The images recorded should focus on children's activities and, where possible, depict groups of children rather than individuals. Where possible, images should be used that show a wide cross-section of children - boys and girls, children of different ages, talents, levels of ability. Ensure that the photographer or filmmaker does not spend time with or have unsupervised access to children.
Any suspicions or concerns about inappropriate images of children should be reported and recorded, as well as any other worrying signs that children's safety is at risk.
§ 3
Basic guidelines on the publication of images of children
When publishing a child's image, we observe the following rules:
- we only use the children's first names; we do not reveal too many details about the children, e.g. their place of residence or interests;
- we ask the child for permission to use his or her image;
- we require the prior consent of the child's parents/guardians and inform all concerned about where and how we intend to use the child's image;
- we will ask the professionals for advice on the placement of the children's images on the website and, if the opinion of the professionals dictates a treatment, we will carry it out and the final product will be placed on the server only after a consensual opinion has been obtained.