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HIS Child Protection Policy(PYP, MYP & DP)
Hiroshima International School

Hiroshima International School Child Protection Policy

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Our mission
HIS will provide an international education that promotes integrity, excellence, cultural sensitivity anda lifelong commitment to peace and a sustainable planet.
広島インターナショナルスクールは、誠実と卓越の精神を重んじ、多様な文化への理解を促し、恒久平和そして持続可能な世界に貢献することのできる、国際的な教育を提供します。

Our vision
HIS will cultivate young people who are prepared for lifelong learning, meeting challenges andoutstanding citizenship anywhere in the world.
広島インターナショナルスクールは、生涯を通じて学び、また挑戦をし続け、世界の一員として貢献をする若者を育成します。

Introduction and background
The HIS Child Protection policy has brought together a number of different policies and procedures
already in place as well as new components necessary to ensure that all children at HIS enjoy a safe
and secure learning environment. A range of policy documents were reviewed during the 2018/2019
school year by HIS teachers to draft this policy which will continue to develop over time as we strive
to ensure a safe environment.

Alignment with mission & vision
Central to a commitment to a more peaceful planet is the commitment to the safety and security of
the learners within the school community. The HIS Child Protection Policy outlines the ways in which
we, as a community, commit to the ongoing protection of our children.

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We believe...
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All children have a right to be safeguarded and protected.
All members of the community should know their rights and responsibilities.
All members of the community should be treated with respect and dignity.
HIS should be a safe space for children, a place for tolerance.
Children should know how they can access help and support.
All staff are accountable for safeguarding and child protection by following policies andprocedures outlined in this document.
It is the responsibility of each staff member to put the needs of the child first at all times,
to be vigilant and act on/report any concerns.
A clear code of conduct should be in place to guide interactions within the community.
All members of the community are role models.
Ongoing training in child-protection for all community members is a necessary part ofproviding a safe environment.
The school community should be informed about local child protection laws andprocedures and the HIS Child Protection policy.
Connections should be maintained with social services, local counselors and medicalgroups supports access to these services.
When the school community works together as a whole, we produce better results foreveryone involved.

We recognise…
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Developmentally appropriate interactions differ with age.
The difficulty of the conversations.
Cultural differences impact perceptions.
The balance between the rights to privacy and protection.
Strong emotions are generated during the process affecting all stakeholders
Off-campus, overnight and before/after school events need special consideration.
The need for teachers to understand the signs of abuse and neglect as well as vulnerable
times.
The importance of children understanding when their rights are not being met and how
to report.
The vulnerability of the younger children as well as young adults.
The parents' responsibility to ensure the child's entitlement to receiving education,
ensuring that the child can attend school and gain enough support for learning.
The needs for teachers to understand the background of each family and their uniquesituations.
Children’s difficulty communicating in English (in school) or Japanese (outside).
The need for training is ongoing.

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We will:
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We will create a safe environment for the whole community
Commit to the ​HIS Safeguarding CodeProvide ongoing training to the school community in safeguarding and childprotection.
Develop a strong relationship with the local community in order to accesssupport.
Identify​ shifts in local laws, procedures and agencies associated with this Child
Protection policy.
Follow procedures related to discovery of abuse and/or neglect, reporting andaction identified in this policy when a staff member has concerns.
Incorporate learning associated with promoting child protection within the units
of inquiry across the school.
Address issues of online safety within the scope of learning to promote childprotection.
Follow procedures related to safe hiring practices outlined in this policy.

Introduction
All students at HIS have a right to safety and wellbeing. This right exists in the home, in their daily
lives, while at school and while on any school-related activity. All HIS staff have a contractual
obligation and duty to defend and uphold this right.
This policy serves to protect students from abuse or neglect and empowers teachers and other adults
with a ‘safeguarding code’ that will support them in maintaining healthy and positive
student-developmental relationships with students.

1. Definitions
Disclosure ​is the action of making something known by revealing or uncovering.
Abuse is defined as a stronger/more powerful individual engaging in a pattern of behaviour in orderto make personal gain at the expense of a weaker/less powerful person. Abuse may be physical,
emotional or sexual. Neglect is also a specific type of abuse.
Emotional Abuse is the routine and harmful shaming, demeaning, belittling, ostracising or otherwise
harming of a child’s sense of self-worth and self esteem
Physical Abuse is the routine anger-motivated and unpredictable causing of physical harm or injury
to students (hitting, scratching, cutting, punching, etc.) with the result of causing the child to be fearfulof the abuser.
Sexual Abuse ​is the exploitation of a student for sexual purposes. It may or may not involve physicalcontact and can include sexual imagery or language and the exposure of a student to any manner ofsexual contexts.
Neglect is a specific type of abuse defined as the failure of responsible adult to provide adequate
care to a child. Care can include ​food, clothing, shelter and supervision, emotional or medical care.

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2. HIS Safeguarding Code of Behaviour
All HIS employees and any other adult working with HIS students (including volunteers) are expectedto adhere to the HIS Safeguarding Code. The code provides guideposts for adults to support healthy
relationships and the development of student independence.
The code is established to protect both adults and children and is built upon 4 ‘guideposts’(​Wolowitz, 2013​) ​as follows:
4 Guideposts
1. Roles
Adults should engage in behaviors associated with
their professional roles (teacher, mentor, coach,advisor) and avoid behaviours which are associatedwith personal roles (friend, parent/family, peer,
romantic partner).
2. Boundaries
Boundary violations occur when a person in a positionof power (e.g. an adult) crosses a boundary with aperson who is vulnerable (e.g. a child). Students will
also try to set and test boundaries. It is the adult’s
responsibility to establish, set and maintainboundaries, for example, by making healthy,
role-appropriate choices concerning space, time andlanguage.
3. Power
Adults in schools are in a position of power overstudents. Adults are responsible for ensuring that
there is no abuse of this power. Rather, the role of the(more powerful) adult is to support the (less powerful)student in developing autonomy and independence
rather than to create power-based dependency or anotherwise unhealthy attachment.
4. Accountability
Adults are accountable for their actions. As a school,
HIS is collectively accountable for the welfare of its
students. Adults need to take reasonable safeguards
to ensure that their actions cannot lead to (or be
misinterpreted as) violations of the HIS safeguarding
code. Collective accountability for the safety ofstudents means that all adults are required tointernally report suspicions of abuse (including
neglect) using the process outlined in this policy.

Aim for​: Professional, contextually appropriate
and clear
Avoid​: Personalised and ambiguous

Aim for​: Establishing and reinforcing clear
boundaries; crossing boundaries only when it isclearly in the best interest of the student and in
consultation with the designated person forsafeguarding.
Avoid​: Blurred boundaries between personal andprofessional roles; repeated or serious boundary
violations which do not serve the students’ bestinterests
Aim for​:
Use your power to develop
autonomy and independence in students; Make
student interests paramount when exercising
power
Avoid​: Actions which contribute to unhealthy
attachments or dependency. Using power to meet
the adult’s needs
Aim for​:Actingtransparently
andunambiguously; ensuring that all reasonable
steps* are taken to avoid actual or mistaken
violations of the HIS safeguarding code; reporting
any suspicion of abuse or neglect immediately
Avoid​: Conduct which can be inferred as being
opaque or secretive and/or which lead to student
isolation and regression; failing to immediately
report any suspicion of abuse or neglect;*Examples of ‘reasonable steps’ include leaving your door open when meeting with students, ensuring thewindow to your room is never covered, ensuring any additional sessions with students are well advertised andapproved by the administration, avoiding ‘favoritism’ in working with students, avoiding ‘friending’ students on

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6social media and locking down personal social media so students don’t have access, sharing with the [childsafety officer] or an administrator whenever there is potential for a breach of the safeguarding code)

Safeguarding Code of Conduct(Within the context of the 4 Guideposts)
Reporting●●If a member of staff believes that an action of their own could be misinterpreted, the incident
and circumstances should be recorded as soon as possible.
If a staff member believes that an incident ​may represent a child protection concern, thereporting of the incident and circumstance is mandatory.

Communication with Students

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Electronic communication with students should be through HIS email, when available, and if
not then through the parent’s email.
If a staff collects student phone numbers for safety reasons during an excursion, for example,
those numbers will be deleted and the staff member will ensure that students delete the staff
numbers after the event.
Staff should not connect with a student through social media.
Staff should not arrange to meet a student outside of school hours.
One-to-one meetings should be avoided where possible and should always take place in avisible location.

Physical Contact with Pupils●●

Staff should never have unnecessary physical contact with students and professional
judgement must be used at all times.
A member of staff can never take the place of a parent in providing physical comfort andshould be cautious of any demonstration of affection.

Physical Restraint●

Physical restraint should only be used when a child is in imminent danger of inflicting an injury
on himself/herself or on another.

Physical education and other activities requiring physical contact●●

Where exercises or procedures need to be demonstrated, extreme caution should be used if
the demonstration involves contact with pupils and, wherever possible, contact should be
avoided. It is acknowledged that some staff may, on occasions, have to initiate physicalcontact with pupils in order to support a pupil so they can perform a task safely, todemonstrate the use of a particular piece of equipment/instrument or assist them with an
exercise. This should be done with the pupil's agreement.
Contact under these circumstances should be for the minimum time necessary to complete
the activity and take place in an open environment. Staff should remain sensitive to any
discomfort expressed verbally or nonverbally by the child.

Transporting pupils●

It is inadvisable for a teacher to give a lift in a car to a student alone. If there are exceptional
circumstances that make unaccompanied transportation of a pupil unavoidable, the journey
should be made known to a member of the HIS Administration Team and parents informed.

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Confidentiality● Staff members should never give guarantees of confidentiality to pupils or adults wishing totell them about something serious. They should guarantee only that they will pass on
information to the minimum number of people who must be told in order to ensure that theproper action is taken to sort out the problem and that they will not tell anyone who does nothave a clear need to know.

3. Prevention and Training
HIS shall ensure adequate preventative measures are taken to prevent abuse and support reporting.
These steps shall include:●

Student education: the curriculum and pastoral program shall support students in developing
healthy independence and teach them how to respond when facing behaviors which are (orwhich may potentially lead to) unhealthy relationships. Students will receive training in the HISChild Protection Policy to help them understand the role that ‘roles’, ‘boundaries’, ‘power’ and‘accountability’ have to play in their personal safety, and the safety of their peers.

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Staff education: all new staff shall receive training in the HIS Child Protection Policy. All
returning staff shall receive annual refresher courses in the HIS Child Protection Policy.

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Safe Recruitment and Screening: The HIS Staff Handbook contains details of safer
recruiting practices at HIS. Some of the practices designed to create safe environments forchildren and young people procedures for the following aspects of recruiting:○ References○ Interviews○ Conditional Offer of Appointment: Pre Appointment Checks○ Post Appointment Induction○ Supply Staff and Contractors○ Retention of records○ Pre-employment checklist○ Verification of identity

4. Discovery of Child Abuse or Neglect
All adults at HIS are asked to remain alert for signs of abuse and neglect. T​here are many indicatorsof child abuse and neglect. The presence of a single indicator, or even several indicators, does notprove that abuse or neglect has occurred. However, the repeated occurrence of an indicator, or theoccurrence of several indicators together, should alert teachers to the possibility of a legitimate
concern in which case ​the adults are mandated to report her/his observations to the designatedperson for safeguarding in accordance with the steps indicated under ‘Reporting and Action’, below.
Signs of neglect and abuse include the following:
Warning signs of emotional abuse in children
1. Excessively withdrawn, fearful, or anxious about doing something wrong.
2. Shows extremes in behaviour (extremely compliant or extremely demanding; extremely
passive or extremely aggressive).

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3. Doesn’t seem to be attached to the parent or caregiver.
4. Acts either inappropriately adult (taking care of other children) or inappropriately infantile(rocking, thumb-sucking, throwing tantrums).
Warning signs of physical abuse in children
1. Frequent injuries or unexplained bruises, welts, or cuts.
2. Is always watchful and “on alert,” as if waiting for something bad to happen.
3. Injuries appear to have a pattern such as marks from a hand or belt.
4. Shies away from touch, flinches at sudden movements, or seems afraid to go home.
5. Wears inappropriate clothing to cover up injuries, such as long-sleeved shirts on hot days.
Warning signs of neglect in children
1. Clothes are ill-fitting, filthy, or inappropriate for the weather.
2. Hygiene is consistently bad (unbathed, matted and unwashed hair, noticeable body odour).
3. Untreated illnesses and physical injuries.
4. Is frequently unsupervised or left alone or allowed to play in unsafe situations andenvironments.
5. Is frequently late or missing from school.
Warning signs of sexual abuse in children
1. Trouble walking or sitting.
2. Displays knowledge or interest in sexual acts inappropriate to his or her age, or evenseductive behaviour.
3. Makes strong efforts to avoid a specific person, without an obvious reason.
4. Doesn’t want to change clothes in front of others or participate in physical activities.
5. An STD or pregnancy.
6. Runs away from home.
Child Self-Reporting
In many cases, abuse or neglect is discovered via child self-reporting. In the case that a childconfides in an adult staff member or adult volunteer/visitor that they are the victim of abuse/neglectthat adult should:
1. Believe the child
2. Tell them that you will help them by contacting the designated person for safeguarding who
will make sure that their voice is heard, valued, respected and acted upon
3. Contact the designated person for safeguarding immediately (as explained below) and stay
involved as much as is deemed appropriate and as much as you are comfortable
Under NO circumstances should the adult attempt to resolve the issue him/herself or promise
confidentiality.

5. Reporting and Action
At HIS, internal reporting of suspected abuse is mandatory.

Mandatory Reporting Step One: Making an Initial Report
All staff at HIS are required to report to the designated person for safeguarding in the case ofreasonable grounds for concern that a student may be in danger from abuse from any adult, including
parents, carers, other staff or community members. The report should be made to the designatedHiroshima International School Child Protection Policy

9person for safeguarding ​prior to any contact with the adult(s) who may be subject to an investigative
process.
At HIS the designated person for safeguarding is the principal. In the case that the principal cannot be
contacted a report can also be made to the Vice Principals.
The act of making a report does not assume ‘guilt’, rather the report should simply be made in goodfaith based upon a ​reasonable​ presumption that there is a situation which is worthy of investigation.
Notes:The term ‘abuse’ ​includes, but is not necessarily limited to: neglect, medical neglect, physical abuse,emotional abuse, sexual abuse or dangerous home environment (e.g. violent household).
The term ‘reasonable grounds for concern’​ includes, but is not limited to, evidence such as:-

Explicit reference to abuse verbally or in writing (e.g. the student reports that they or theirfriend is a victim of abuse)-

Implicit reference to abuse verbally or in writing (e.g. artwork, poetry)-

Signs of physical abuse (frequent/repeated unexplained marks, bruises, etc.)-

Erratic and/or unhealthy behavioural patterns (overly familiar or excessively nervous aroundadults, excessive risk taking, excessively introverted, tardy/attendance problems, excessive
tiredness, self-harming, etc.)-

Age-inappropriate behaviours (e.g. sexually explicit behaviours)

Mandatory Reporting Step Two: Initial Investigation:
The designated person for safeguarding should then immediately arrange for a Disclosure Response
Team made up of administration and teaching staff to meet and start conducting a reasonable
small-scale investigation into the case. In the case that the parent/carers are NOT the subject of theinvestigation they should be contacted at this time and included fully in the process. However, in thecase that the parents/carers are the subject of the investigation they should not be involved at thisstage.
The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether or not there is a legitimate cause forconcern for child safety. Consequently, the investigation may include a combination of the following:● Conversation with the reporting teacher and examination of any documentary/supporting
evidence● Conversation with the child (to include any involved siblings)● Conversation with members of staff as appropriate● Conversation with any other significant adults (with the exception of those who are named as
being potentially culpable)

Mandatory Reporting Step Three: Decision for Action
Following this small-scale investigation the designated person for safeguarding, together with
Disclosure Response Team will evaluate the evidence presented and make a decision as to the next
steps which will be formulated into an Action Plan.
The decision will be taken as follows:
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1. In the case that there remains reasonable grounds for concern that a student may be indanger from abuse from any adult, including parents, carers, other staff or community
members:oo

The local child protection office will be contacted for advice with the aim that thisadvice will be followed.
▪

http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/www/contents/1110261911364/​ 児童相談所
Jido-sodan sho▪

http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail/?id=2221&vm=04&re=02
Japanese law of prevention of child abuse 児童虐待の防止等に関する法律

Parents/carers will be contacted prior to contacting the child guidance centre in thecase that the alleged perpetrator is NOT a parent/carer. In the case that theparent/carer is the alleged perpetrator contact will be made as soon as possible asauthorised/guided by the child welfare office (Hiroshima City).

2. In the case that there is no longer ​reasonable grounds for concern that a student ​may be indanger from abuse from any adult, including parents, carers, other staff or community
members:o The child welfare office (Hiroshima City) will not be contacted and no further action will
be takeno Parents/Guardians will be contacted for a debrief of the situation as appropriate

Flowchart for post-disclosure process

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SourcesWith gratitude, HIS acknowledges the following sources used in the construction of this document:
1. Setting Behavioral Expectations Based on 4 Guideposts, David Wolowitz
2. Helpguide.org (nonprofit guide to mental health and well-being)
3. Nagoya International School, Child Safety Policy
4. British School of Tokyo, Safer Recruiting resource from CIS Child Protection Workshop
5. American British Academy, Oman

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Appendix 1
Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Community Members

Name: ……………………………………………….
Reporting●●Date:..........................

If you believe that an action of my own could be misinterpreted, the incident andcircumstances should be reported as soon as possible.
If you believe that an incident ​may represent a child protection concern, the reporting of theincident and circumstance is mandatory.

Communication with Students

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Electronic communication with students should be through HIS email, when available, and if
not then through the parent’s email.
If you collect student phone numbers for safety reasons during an excursion, for example,
those numbers will be deleted and the staff member will ensure that students delete the staff
numbers after the event.
You should not connect with a student through social media.
You should not arrange to meet a student outside of school hours.
One-to-one meetings should be avoided where possible and should always take place in avisible location.

Physical Contact with Pupils●●

You should never have unnecessary physical contact with students and reasonablejudgement must be used at all times.
You can never take the place of a parent in providing physical comfort and should be cautiousof any demonstration of affection.

Physical Restraint●

Physical restraint should only be used when a child is in imminent danger of inflicting an injury
on himself/herself or on another.

Physical education and other activities requiring physical contact●●

Where exercises or procedures need to be demonstrated, extreme caution should be used if
the demonstration involves contact with students and, wherever possible, contact should be
avoided. It is acknowledged that p may, on occasions, have to initiate physical contact withpupils in order to support a pupil so they can perform a task safely, to demonstrate the use ofa particular piece of equipment/instrument or assist them with an exercise. This should bedone with the student's agreement.
Contact under these circumstances should be for the minimum time necessary to complete
the activity and take place in an open environment. Staff should remain sensitive to any
discomfort expressed verbally or nonverbally by the child.

Transporting pupils

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It is inadvisable for you to give a lift in a car to a student alone. If there are exceptional
circumstances that make unaccompanied transportation of a pupil unavoidable, the journey
should be made known to a member of the HIS Administration Team and parents informed.

Confidentiality● You should never give guarantees of confidentiality to students or adults wishing to tell you
about something serious. You should guarantee only that they will pass on information to theminimum number of people who must be told in order to ensure that the proper action is taken
to sort out the problem and that you will not tell anyone who does not have a clear need toknow.

I understand the agreement and will follow the Code of Conduct to help keep all children safe:
Signature……………………………………………

Date:..................................

Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Community Members (​Japanese Version)​様
当校では、児童の安全を確保するため、児童保護規約を設けております。今年度より認可の関係で、教職員以外の学内でお仕事をされる皆様にも子ども達と安全に接して頂くため、以下の事項をご理解頂き、ご同意頂
きます様お願い致します。

子どもと安全に接して頂くためのお願い
報告について●もし自分の取った行動が生徒に誤解を与えたのではないかと感じた時は、どういう事情で何があったのかをすぐに記録しておきましょう。そして、もしその出来事が、子どもの安全に関わると感じた場
合は、必ず報告しましょう。

生徒とのコミュニケーションについて●

生徒とのコミュニケーションは、学校のメールアドレスがある場合は、それを使い、そうでない場合
は、保護者のメールアドレスを通じて連絡しましょう。

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遠征や遠足等で、安全上の理由により生徒に電話番号を聞いた時は、そのイベントが終わり次第生徒の電話番号を消去し、生徒もスタッフの電話番号を消去した事を確認しましょう。

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生徒とソーシャルメディア（SNS)で繋がらないで下さい。

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学校がある時間外で生徒と会う約束はしないようにしましょう。

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生徒と話す時は、できるだけ二人きりにならず、他の人からも見える場所で話しましょう。

生徒とのスキンシップや身体の接触について●

生徒との不必要なスキンシップは避け、常に自分の立場を考えて行動しましょう。

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スタッフは、身体の触れ合いで子どもに安らぎを与える上で、決して親の代わりをする事はできません。愛情表現には注意しましょう。

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身体の拘束について●

生徒本人又は、他の生徒に危害を加える危険が迫っている時に限り、生徒の手足を抑える等の行為が認められます。

生徒との身体の接触を伴う体育やその他のアクティビティーについて●演習や演技指導、体操のデモンストレーションが必要な場合は、生徒との接触に細心の注意を払う
か、できれば接触を避けましょう。安全に実演する場合や、特定の器具や楽器のデモストレーションを行う場合又は、その実演を補助するために、時には生徒の身体に触れる事も考えられますが、その場合は、生徒の同意を得て行いましょう。

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これらの状況での身体の接触は、開かれた環境下で必要最小限で行いましょう。生徒の言動や行動か
ら生徒が不快に感じている事を敏感に感じ取りましょう。

生徒を自家用車に乗せることについて●

車に生徒を一人で乗せることはお勧めしません。もし生徒が他に交通手段がない等やむを得ない時は、保護者に連絡を取り、当校の管理職に了承を得るようにしましょう。

守秘義務について●深刻な内容の相談を受けた時は、誰にも言わないという約束はせず、問題解決に動いてくれる限られた人にだけ話して、知る必要がない人には話さない事を約束しましょう。

私は、上記御校の「子どもと安全に接するためのお願い」に関する内容を理解し、これに同意致します。
氏名:_________________________________________

Hiroshima International School Child Protection Policy______年____月____日