Child Safeguarding Policy

Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Be Heard Children’s Counselling (“we, us, our”) recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi as Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document.  Be Heard Children’s Counselling is committed to upholding the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principles of partnership, protection and participation.

Child Safeguarding Policy Background

Working with children and young people is a privilege.  Children and young people have the right to thrive in a safe and supportive environment.  Be Heard has embraced policies and procedures that support and protect children and young people.  We acknowledge that every person involved in Be Heard has a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from abuse and neglect.  Children and young people have a right to receive counselling in a safe environment and to receive the support they need if they are at risk or vulnerable.

Every childhood is important, and every child and young person has the same rights to enjoyment, to have their views considered and to be free from abuse.  All children and young people, regardless of their backgrounds have the right to access the support they need.  It is crucial that all children and young people are in the care of safe and skilled adults at Be Heard who are supported, trained and guided by effective policies, procedures and standards.

The Purpose of this Policy

This policy gives details of Be Heard’s commitment to the protection of children and young people.  The policy:

1. Sets standards to protect children and young people, our staff, volunteers and contractors.

2. Contains procedures for our staff, volunteers and contractors to guide them in identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect to meet our obligations under the Children’s Act 2014.

3. Creates a mandatory requirement for all staff, volunteers and contractors to report any concern about the safety of a child or young person, no matter how small they believe it may be, to the Child Protection Lead.

4. Sets out the Child Protection Lead’s role and responsibilities.

5. Provides details of other procedures in place that are to be followed by all staff, volunteers and contractors at all times.

6. Ensures Be Heard creates a safe environment and that all staff know what to do if there are concerns about a child or young person.

Scope: Who Does the Policy Apply to?

Staff:

This policy applies to all staff who are employed, volunteer or are engaged/contracted by Be Heard, including Board members.  The term “staff” will be used in this document to cover all people named above.

Children and young people:

This policy applies to all children and young people who are receiving counselling from our service.

Our Commitment

Be Heard provides one to one counselling to primary and intermediate aged children.  Be Heard wants all children and young people to have a positive experience when accessing counselling.  Be Heard is committed to provide a safe and child-centred environment where children and young people are protected from abuse that may occur inside or outside the organisation.  We do this by having a range of policies and procedures alongside safe and trained people working with children and young people.  We are committed to having an embedded culture of safeguarding and child protection in place, which goes beyond compliance.

To Children and Young People:

• We commit to always putting children and young people’s welfare first in every decision we make.

• We will ensure all children and young people feel respected, listened to, valued and encouraged to share.

• We have a Child Protection Lead to ensure concerns are dealt with quickly, sensitively, effectively and consistently.

• We will provide safe people to work with children and young people.

• We will provide staff and volunteers who are trained and confident to respond to any concerns for the safety of a child or young person.

• We will listen to and believe children and young people.

To Parents, Caregivers and Whanau

• We will support and respect the vital role parents, caregivers and whanau play in the lives of their children, while always making sure the safety of the child or young person is our priority.

• We will have open, transparent and honest communication with parents, caregivers and whanau about their child’s welfare, as long as we can keep the child or young person safe while we do that.

• We will raise any concerns we have as soon as we have them, and offer support and options for other services that might be able to help.

• We will take every concern about a child or young person’s safety seriously and respond consistently and effectively.

• We will provide staff and volunteers who are trained and confident to respond to any concerns for the safety of a child or young person.

To Staff, Contractors and Volunteers:

• We will ensure all staff are inducted to our child safeguarding culture.

• We will provide clear expectations, policies and procedures to support keeping children, young people, staff, contractors and volunteers safe and protected from harm.

• We will provide support and regular training to ensure these expectations can be met.

• We will provide adequate supervision so staff, contractors and volunteers always know who they can talk to, and the process involved, if they have a concern about a child or young person.

Procedures

1. Responding to actual or suspected child abuse.

2. Responding to an allegation of child abuse or neglect by a staff member or volunteer.

3. Responding to a disclosure from a child of abuse or neglect.

Appendices

1. Child Concern Form.

2. Indicators of Abuse.

3. Body Map.