Services

1. Child — for the purposes of this document, a 'child' is defined as anyone under the age of 18, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
2. Child Abuse (WHO definition) — 'Child abuse' or 'maltreatment' constitutes 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.
3. Child Protection — a broad term describing philosophies, policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures to protect children from both intentional and unintentional harm, applying particularly to the duty of organisations and individuals towards children in their care.
4. Direct Contact with Children — being in the physical presence of a child or children in the context of the organisation's work, whether occasional or regular, short or long term.
5. Indirect Contact with Children — having access to information on children in the context of the organisation's work, such as names, addresses, photographs, and case studies.

Aspee Nutan Academy Group of Schools expects all adults who work with children to safeguard and promote their welfare. The public, employers, and parents have the right to expect professionals who work with children to behave to a certain standard, and to always maintain and protect children. Staff are required to:

1. Always act, and be seen to act, in the best interest of the child.
2. Avoid any conduct which would lead any person to question their conduct, motivation, and intentions.

The Principal of each school holds responsibility for child protection, and is referred to as the designated person for child protection or the child protection coordinator.

Safe Recruitment: the school recognizes that the appointment of new staff is the single most effective time to minimize the possibility of abuse to children in its care. All staff working with children — direct or indirect, paid, contractual, or voluntary — are appropriately vetted and screened.

The school recognizes that it is critical for each employee to be aware of the school's policy on Child Abuse, Child Protection, and the POCSO Act.

1. All staff, including new recruits, attend a session covering child abuse and protection policy in the first week of June or the first week after the academic year begins.
2. The policy is translated into Hindi, and the Principal designates a Hindi department teacher to explain it to Class IV employees, bus drivers, conductors, and lady attendants — conducted in the same timeframe.
3. The Child Protection Policy is included in the Teachers' Manual for easy reference and revisited regularly in staff meetings and training sessions.
4. Staff are expected to know how to respond to children affected by child abuse and family violence.
5. The school ensures such knowledge is kept up-to-date and relevant.

Educating Children

1. The school recognizes it is important for children to be educated about the prevention of abuse through a life-skills programme.
2. This programme starts from Kindergarten and continues till Grade X, delivered by experts and counsellors.
3. The programme is aimed at improving self-esteem and interpersonal skills.
4. The school informs parents and encourages their participation in such training programmes.

Role of Counsellors

1. Counsellors play an important role in the school, facilitating staff training in identifying abuse and educating children of various age groups through life-skill development programmes.
2. Counsellors are instrumental in the early detection of abuse, as well as counselling children post-detection.

The school believes that, as far as possible, staff working with children and families should keep their personal and professional lives separate, and does not encourage close personal relationships outside the work environment.

1. All staff — paid, voluntary, or contractual — are expected to follow guidelines that clarify appropriate behaviour, reviewed regularly to meet evolving needs.
2. All staff members have a clear understanding of, and agree to, the school's Code of Ethics.

Confidentiality: the school expects staff to maintain full confidentiality regarding information about a child, which may be highly sensitive and private. Care must be taken with sharing information — but if a child is at risk of or suffering abuse, that information must be passed to the appropriate person to take action.

Any allegation that a member of staff has behaved in an inappropriate or unsafe way is taken seriously and handled in a manner that ensures the child's safety.

1. The school responds to suspicions and allegations in a manner that best ensures children's immediate and long-term safety, treating them with the same seriousness as allegations against any other person.
2. The school will not act alone, and will refer all suspected situations of child abuse to the Police. The safety of the child is the primary consideration.
3. When abuse is suspected, staff follow the school's SOP on Dealing with Disclosure of Child Abuse.

Sharing of Information: all staff must act within the POCSO Act 2012 and the IPC Act, which provide for sharing information needed to protect children. In general, staff will not share information if doing so would endanger the child.

One-to-One Situations: the school understands one-to-one situations cannot always be avoided, and takes reasonable, sensible precautions when they occur. If an unscheduled one-to-one meeting arises, staff are expected to inform the Principal or Supervisor, avoid secluded areas, and move to a public area or one covered by CCTV.

Physical Interaction: the school advocates a no-touch policy. Where physical contact is made, it should be in response to a child's needs at the time, of limited duration, and appropriate to their age, stage of development, and gender.

Sexual Contact: all staff clearly understand the need to maintain appropriate boundaries with children. Any intimate or sexual relationship, or conduct that could lead to one, is regarded as a grave breach of trust and a criminal offence, and will always be a matter for disciplinary action.

Transmission of Images

1. Children are not exposed to unsuitable material on the internet.
2. Movies, films, or material shown to children are age-appropriate.

Working with Children Off-site: on occasions when work with children takes place outside the normal work environment — field trips, camps, educational tours, and similar — special care is taken to ensure safe practices are maintained.