CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
Ceibo Tutoring (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to ensuring the proper education and wellbeing of your child. The purpose of this policy is to protect your child while we offer home tutoring services. This policy is written in accordance with the Cayman Islands Constitution which makes reference to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Our Duties and Responsibilities
- To provide a positive learning environment.
- To provide your child with a broad-based education.
- To record and reward the good performance and progress.
- To keep you informed of your child’s progress through written reports and physical meetings.
- To expect high standards, communicate clear expectations, and promote good order, respect and discipline.
- To contact you if there is a problem with your child’s attendance, behaviour, punctuality, appearance or equipment.
- To implement sanctions if your child does not meet expectations.
- Not to tolerate bullying or personal harassment.
- To respond quickly to your enquiries or concerns and keep you informed.
Parent’s Duties and Responsibilities
- To provide an environment at home that allows your child to attend lessons in a learning frame of mind.
- See that my child attends lessons regularly, arrives on time and is correctly dressed and equipped.
- To ensure that we have up to date contact details.
- Contact the Tutor/teacher as early as possible on the first day of absence if your child will not be attending through illness or any other reason and provide a note to support such absence.
- To tell us about anything that might affect your child’s learning.
- To support our discipline and behavior policies.
- To support your child in homework by checking their planner each week.
- To ensure your child’s cell phone (or other personal electronic devices, unless required by the Tutor) is not brought to lessons and understand that these items may be confiscated.
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Child Abuse is defined as any intentional act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver (e.g. clergy, coach, teacher) that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.
Physical abuse is defined as intentional actual or likely physical injury to a child or failure to prevent injury through neglectful actions.
Child Sexual Abuse is defined as any sexual act, including non-contact acts, with a child performed by an adult or an older child, including but not limited to:
- Sexual touching on any part of the body, clothed or unclothed
- Penetrative sex. including penetration of the mouth
- Encouraging a child to engage in a sexual activity, including masturbation
- Intentionally engaging in sexual activity in front of a child
- Showing children pornography, or using children to create pornography
- Encouraging a child to engage in prostitution
- Exposing oneself or saying sexual things
Emotional Abuse is defined as actual or likely severe negative impact on a child’s emotional, psychological and behavioral development, resulting from persistent or severe emotional/psychological ill-treatment.
Neglect is defined as severe or persistent failure to provide for a child’s physical, emotional or basic needs.
Responsibilities of Ceibo Tutoring Staff
Any of our staff who has reason to believe that a student is being abused is mandated to report that information to our Primary Child Protection Officer or, if that is not possible before the close of day, to the other assigned Child Protection Officer in accordance with Department of Education Services Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse/Neglect procedures.
In deciding whether or not to report an incident or situation of suspected abuse/neglect to our Child Protection Officer, it is not required that the person making the report have proof that abuse/neglect has occurred. Any uncertainty in deciding to report suspicion shall be resolved in favor of the child and the report made immediately.
Our staff will report to our Child Protection Officer what has been said by the student or what has been observed leading to the suspicion of child abuse/neglect, including the context of that information. There shall be no attempt by our tutoring staff to question the child, as the role of investigation lies with Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and/or Family Support Unit (FSU) of Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS). The child shall be protected from repeated disclosures.
If the child is injured, our staff shall escort the student to seek appropriate medical attention and inform our Child Protection Officer of the action.
Our staff referring the suspected case of child abuse/neglect must not contact the parents.
Given the sensitive nature of child abuse/neglect referrals, our staff should not expect feedback following the referral to our Child Protection Officer. Children Law, (2012 Revision) Part IIIA.32C provides protection to the notifier and requires that the receiver of notification of suspected child abuse (DCFS/FSU) shall not disclose the identity of the notifier to any other person other than in the instance of communicating to another person acting in the course of official duty. Only in cases when “the court is satisfied that the evidence is of critical importance in the proceedings and that failure to admit it would prejudice the proper administration of justice” will a notifier be called to provide evidence. In these instances, the DES will support the employee by assigning another professional to accompany them at such hearing.
We shall undertake to ensure that our staff are provided with information and training that will enable them to carry out their duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect as well as training regarding identifying and responding appropriately to Child Protection issues.
Responsibilities of Ceibo Tutoring After Referring Cases of Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect
Following any report of suspected child abuse/neglect, our Child Protection Officer will assume a role of student support and advocacy as required. Principals and the Senior Management Team will cooperate with DCFS and/or FSU and the DES Child Protection Officer throughout any investigation and release relevant student records and employee/volunteer reports in consultation with Department of Education Services’ Child Protection Officer.
Prior to interviewing a child, DCFS will contact us. It is not our responsibility to inform parents of the interview; however, the subject of parent notification will be discussed with DCFS and a decision taken in the best interest of the child.
We shall assist DCFS by providing an appropriate interview space and arranging discreetly for the student to be interviewed. The DCFS worker may request that one of our staff be present during an interview to offer support to the student. If the worker does not ask for student support, our Child Protection Officer may make this request on behalf of the student.
Following investigation, our Senior Management Team and/or our Child Protection Officer, as appropriate, will participate in DCFS case conferences and liaise with DCFS staff on behalf of the child as requested.
All information related to suspected child abuse/neglect cases shall be treated confidentially. We will provide a secure cabinet for the filing and maintaining of confidential information related to child abuse/neglect cases. No documentation related to child abuse/neglect reports or investigations shall appear within the student’s cumulative folder.
On a regular basis, and no less frequently than on an annual basis, the DES Child Protection Officer will request that our Child Protection Officer submit the total number of child abuse and neglect referrals we make to DCFS.
Staff Safeguarding
Physical Behavior
Ceibo Tutoring staff interacting with children must do so in open, public spaces. If one-on-one meetings are necessary for education or emergency purposes, they should also be conducted in a public area, in a room where the interaction can be (or is being) observed, or in a room with the door left open and another adult is notified about the meeting. The child should always be given the option of having another adult present. For children under the age of 5 in these situations, who may not be able to request the presence of another adult, staff should ensure that another adult is present whenever feasible.
Appropriate physical behaviour includes contact that maintains physical boundaries at all times and only consists of public and nonsexual touches, such as pats on the back or shoulder and child-initiated hugs.
Inappropriate physical behaviour includes contact that abuses, exploits, or harasses the child, such as slapping, shaking, pinching, hitting, punching, pushing, grabbing, kicking; patting the buttocks; touching/exposing private body parts; intimate/romantic/sexual contact; and showing pornography or involving children in pornographic activities.
Communication
Our staff will use caution and discretion in all verbal, nonverbal, and digital communication with students. All employees will be guided by principles of professionalism and integrity. Communication between our staff and children should be transparent and about school activities, with the exception of counselling relationships and other topics, such as the child’s well-being, hobbies, interests, weekend/summer activities etc.
Appropriate verbal communication includes praise and/or positive reinforcement with a pedagogical purpose when used consistently and equally for all children.
Inappropriate verbal communication includes yelling, threatening, ridiculing, use of expletives, degrading comments; and profanity, sexual innuendo, or risqué jokes.
Appropriate digital communication includes emails and/or text messages using our e-mail address/phone with pedagogical purpose and subject to periodical monitoring.
Inappropriate digital communication includes allowing access to electronic devices that may expose children to inappropriate conduct and private messaging via social media and/or online gaming communities.
General Conduct
Our staff will treat your child with respect and provide safe and supportive interactions that foster children’s social, emotional, and academic development; comply with all mandatory reporting procedures; and cooperate fully with any investigation of misconduct or abuse of children.
Our staff will not engage in bullying as defined in the anti-bullying policy; use or be under the influence of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs in the presence of children; or give individual children gifts without the knowledge of the children’s caregivers.
When necessary for the safety of a child, safe handling techniques will be utilised in accordance with safe handling guidelines.
If a student has a toileting accident and for whatever reason cannot clean or change themselves, parents/guardians will be called to do so. The same is applicable if a child needs to change clothes due to spills or other accidents.
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