Child Protection

Profile

Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA) is an independent, international, day school located in Beijing. Founded in 2001 with a small cohort of students studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, it has now grown into a large K-12 school with over 1100 students. BWYA has developed a reputation for academic excellence coupled with a strong sense of community. We educate students with English and Chinese as the main language of instruction, as well as with a commitment to the Chinese government education policies for national students. BWYA is authorised with International Baccalaureate Organisation (IB), Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school is also a member of Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) and East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS).

Mission

Beijing World Youth Academy strives to provide members of our community excellent learning opportunities that incorporate critical investigation, exposure to different cultural perspectives and assessment against objective criteria. Our mission is to develop principled, open-minded thinkers who are capable of integrating with diverse international communities and who are empowered to shape their environs for the improvement of quality of life for themselves and others.

Values

As a school community, these are our values:

Compassion: We respect and empathise with the rights, opinions, culture and feelings of others.
Trust: We believe that honesty, integrity and reliability in ourselves and others, forms the cornerstone of our community.
Solidarity: We value harmony and oneness while recognising the individuality of each person in our community.
Collaboration: We recognise that the development of the student is the shared responsibility between the student, the family and the school.

Schoolwide Learner Outcomes

We have adopted the International Baccalaureate ® (IB) Learner Profile, which describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success, as our Schoolwide Learning Outcomes as part of our commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.

As learners we strive to be:

Inquirers: We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
Knowledgeable: We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
Thinkers: We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators: We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.
Principled: We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
Open-minded: We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring: We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
Risk-takers: We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.
Balanced: We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives — intellectual, physical, and emotional — to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognise our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.
Reflective: We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

Rationale

BWYA has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that students are provided with the highest possible standard of care. We are committed to devising and implementing policies so that all BWYA staff accepts their responsibilities to safeguard students from harm.

This means to follow procedures to protect them and report any concerns about their welfare. The aim of the policy is to promote good practice, providing our students with appropriate safety/protection and to allow staff to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues.

Guiding Principles

Beijing World Youth Academy considers the health and safety of its students, employees and visitors as being of utmost importance. It is committed to maintaining safe and healthy working conditions and fostering a culture focused on awareness, open communication, safety education and supervision, and safe work practices. Our goal is to have zero school-related injuries and illnesses.

The welfare of the student is paramount
All students, whatever their age, culture, ability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief and/or sexual identity should have access to a safe learning environment
Taking all reasonable steps to protect students from harm, discrimination and degrading treatment and to respect their rights, wishes and feelings
All suspicions and allegations of poor practice or abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
All BWYA employees who work with children will be recruited with regard to their suitability for that responsibility, and will be provided with guidance and training in good practice and child protection procedures
Working in partnership with parents and students is essential for the protection of children
Training all staff, teaching and non-teaching, about Child Protection issues, regulations and school procedures

Promoting Good Practice

To provide students with the best possible experience and opportunities at school BWYA staff must operate within an accepted ethical framework such as The BWYA Staff Code of Conduct.

It is not always easy to distinguish poor practice from abuse. It is therefore NOT the responsibility of the staff, parents or students to make judgments about whether or not abuse is taking place. It is however their responsibility to identify poor practice and possible abuse and act if they have concerns about the welfare of the child, as explained in section 4. This section will help you identify what is meant by good practice and poor practice.

Good Practice

BWYA issued 10 steps of advice for all staff for safeguarding and to prevent allegations:

WeChat. Staff should not have private WeChat links with students. There should be no individual contact between a staff member and a student through private messages. If WeChat has to be used, there should be group messages only and staff should not let students have access to Moments or private material.

Email. Any written correspondence with parents or students should only ever come from a staff member’s school, professional email. There should be no correspondence with students or parents through a private email account.

Social Media. Staff should have no Facebook, Instagram or any other personal social networking contacts with their current students and no contact on a personal level under the age of 18.

Meetings. Staff are advised to keep an office door open when meeting with a student individually or have another person present if possible. Staff in no way should lock any doors whilst there are students in the room.

Physical contact. The general rule of advice is no physical contact at all with students, even with good intentions, especially with older students. There may be some instances where physical contact may be acceptable in a public area if a child is hurt or upset and needs comfort, especially in primary school. Staff should be careful when passing between students in the classroom if chairs are too close together. Celebratory high fives and handshakes are acceptable.

Dress code. BWYA has a staff dress code in place, not just for professionalism, but also to prevent unwanted attention from students if clothes are too revealing.

Attendance. At BWYA we should know where all our students are at any given time of the day. Prompt and correct input of attendance is mandatory. Staff should be recognisable with their staff ID badge. Students should be recognisable with labelled BWYA uniform and visitors should be recognisable with a visitor’s badge.

Visitors. Any adult on any school site not recognisable with a badge should be challenged. No one should be on the school site without reporting in first to reception. If you are unsure or there is a language issue, please ask the site’s receptionist to help.

Evacuation. If the alarm bell sounds, you must evacuate the building immediately and make your way to the emergency assembly point designated at each site. If you are not sure, ask. If you see someone in the building not moving, tell him or her to leave the building immediately. If you have a class, escort them in silence to the emergency assembly point in single file.

Incidents. All serious incidents in school should be reported immediately to the Principal / School Manager by using the incident form and collecting witness statements. This includes bullying in any form. If you think a student may be being bullied, first speak with their class teacher / homeroom teacher and report the problem. We will then start an investigation. All staff are not to ignore impolite, rude, or aggressive behaviour, but have high expectations of good manners and behaviour from all students.

In addition to these, all BWYA staff should adhere to the following principles and action:

The School will:

Carry out the late gate duty every day to ensure no students are left on any campus after school, unsupervised
Conduct reference check to ensure any new employees to suitable to work with young people.
Conduct regular safety check of the school facilities and the bus fleet to ensure they are fully operational
Keep the Contact and Medical Information Form and the Emergency Contact Pyramid up to date
Provide guidance and training on child protection to the staff as professional development
Provide guidance and training to students through the extended homeroom programme about topics such as bullying, drugs, alcohol and sex
Regularly monitor the AQI level in the school buildings and outside and act accordingly to ensure student health
Run each type of emergency drills twice a year at each campus to ensure the procedures are followed

The Teachers will:

Treat all students equally and with respect and dignity
Always put the welfare of the student first
Recognise the developmental needs and capacity of the student
Always give enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism
Make the learning experience enjoyable: promote fairness, confront and deal with bullying
Be an excellent role model, this includes not smoking or drinking alcohol in the company of students, not using foul or offensive language and not using sexually, racially, homophobic or teasing comments to victimize students
Avoid unnecessary physical contact with students. Where any form of manual/physical support is required it should be provided openly and with the consent of the student. Physical contact can be appropriate so long as it is neither intrusive nor disturbing and the student’s consent has been given
Always work in an open environment e.g. avoiding private or unobserved situations and encouraging open communication with no secrets
Use the Accident and Incident Report to keep a record of any accident of injury that occurs, along with details of any treatment given
Maintain a safe and appropriate distance with students (e.g. it is not appropriate for staff to have an intimate relationship with a student or to share a room with them on a field trip)

On Field Trips:

Involve parents/guardians wherever possible, e.g. where students need to be supervised in changing rooms, always ensure teachers and parents work in pairs
Conduct risk assessment and risk management for school trips, CAS/SA/Sports/Clubs and any projects in school or out of school hours that involves students in any activity this can be Arts, Drama, Community service, or student or teacher led activities
Gain written parental consent for field trips and excursions with emergency contact details
Request written parental consent if teachers are required to transport students in their cars
Secure written parental consent to give permission for the administration of emergency first aid or other medical treatment if the need arises on a field trip or within school
Ensure that if mixed group are on a field trip, they should always be accompanied by a male and female member of staff
Ensure that on a field trip chaperons should not enter a student’s room or invite students to their rooms and room checks are conducted by two chaperons together

Poor Practice

The following are regarded as poor practice and should be avoided by all staff:
Unnecessarily spending excessive amounts of time alone with students away from others
Take students alone in a car on journeys, however short
Take students to your home or invite them in
Share a room with a student on a field trip
Engaging in rough, physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay
Allow or engage in inappropriate touching of any form
Allow students to use inappropriate language unchallenged
Reduce a student to tears as a form of control
Allow allegations made by a student to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon
Do things of a personal nature that the student can do for themselves

Defining Child Abuse

Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm; it commonly occurs within a relationship of trust or responsibility and is an abuse of power or a breach of trust. Abuse can happen to a young person regardless of their age, gender, race or ability.

There are four main types of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. The abuser may be a family member, someone the young person encounters in residential care or in the community, including sports and leisure activities. Any individual may abuse or neglect a young person directly, or may be responsible for abuse because they fail to prevent another person harming the young person.

Abuse in all of its forms can affect a young person at any age. The effects can be so damaging that if not treated may follow the individual into adulthood Young people with disabilities may be at increased risk of abuse through various factors such as stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, isolation and a powerlessness to protect themselves or adequately communicate that abuse had occurred.

Types of Abuse

Physical Abuse occurs when adults physically hurt or injure a young person e.g. hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, biting, scalding, suffocating, drowning. Giving young people alcohol or inappropriate drugs would also constitute child abuse. This category of abuse can also include when a parent/carer reports non-existent symptoms or illness or deliberately causes ill health in a young person they are looking after. In a sports situation, physical abuse may occur when the nature and intensity of training disregard the capacity of the child’s immature and growing body

Emotional Abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a young person is likely to cause severe and lasting adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve telling a young person they are useless, worthless, unloved, inadequate or valued in terms of only meeting the needs of another person. It may feature expectations of young people that are not appropriate to their age or development. It may cause a young person to be frightened or in danger by being constantly shouted at, threatened or taunted which may make the young person frightened or withdrawn.

Ill-treatment of children, whatever form it takes, will always feature a degree of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse may occur when the young person is constant criticised, given negative feedback, expected to perform at levels that are above their capability. Other forms of emotional abuse could take the form of name calling and bullying.

Bullying may come from another young person or an adult. Bullying is defined as deliberate hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those bullied to defend themselves. There are three main types of bullying. It may be physical (e.g. hitting, kicking, slapping), verbal (e.g. racist or homophobic remarks, name calling, graffiti, threats, abusive text messages), emotional (e.g. tormenting, ridiculing, humiliating, ignoring, isolating form the group), or sexual (e.g. unwanted physical contact or abusive comments). Bullying may arise when a parent, teacher or coach pushes the young person too hard to succeed, or a rival athlete or official uses bullying behaviour. BWYA also does not support victim blaming or victim shaming; all allegations must be investigated and treated fairly. The victim should never be made to feel that it is their fault.

Neglect occurs when an adult fails to meet the young person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, to an extent that is likely to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development. For example, failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect from physical harm or danger, or failing to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. Refusal to give love, affection and attention can also be a form of neglect.

Neglect in school could occur when a teacher does not keep the young person safe, or exposing them to undue extremes or possible injury.

Sexual Abuse occurs when adults (male and female) use children to meet their own sexual needs. This could include full sexual intercourse, masturbation, oral sex, anal intercourse and fondling. Showing young people pornography or talking to them in a sexually explicit manner are also forms of sexual abuse.

Indications of Abuse

Even for those experienced in working with child abuse, it is not always easy to recognise a situation where abuse may occur or has already taken place. Most people are not experts in such recognition, but indications that a child is being abused may include one or more of the following:

unexplained or suspicious injuries such as bruising, cuts or burns, particularly if situated on a part of the body not normally prone to such injuries
an injury for which an explanation seems inconsistent
the young person describes what appears to be an abusive act involving them
another young person or adult expresses concern about the welfare of a young person
unexplained changes in a young person’s behaviour e.g. becoming very upset, quiet, withdrawn or displaying sudden outbursts of temper
inappropriate sexual awareness
engaging in sexually explicit behaviour
distrust of adult’s, particularly those whom a close relationship would normally be expected
difficulty in making friends
being prevented from socialising with others
displaying variations in eating patterns including over eating or loss of appetite
losing weight for no apparent reason
becoming increasingly dirty or unkempt Signs of bullying include:
behavioural changes such as reduced concentration and/or becoming withdrawn, clingy, depressed, tearful, emotionally up and down, reluctance to go training or competitions
an unexplained drop off in performance
physical signs such as stomach aches, headaches, difficulty in sleeping, bed wetting, scratching and bruising, damaged clothes, bingeing e.g. on food, alcohol or cigarettes
a shortage of money or frequents loss of possessions

It must be recognised that the above list is not exhaustive, but also that the presence of one or more of the indications is not proof that abuse is taking place. It is NOT the responsibility of those working at the school to decide that child abuse is occurring. It IS their responsibility to act on any concerns.

Responding to Suspicions and Allegations

It is not the responsibility of any member of the staff to decide whether or not child abuse has taken place. However, there is a responsibility to act on any concerns by reporting them to the school management so that inquiries can be made and necessary action taken to protect the student.

This section explains how to respond to allegations/suspicions.

Receiving Evidence of Possible Abuse

We may become aware of possible abuse in various ways. We may see it happening, we may suspect it happening because of signs such as those listed in this document, it may be reported to us by someone else or directly by the student affected.

In the last of these cases, it is particularly important to respond appropriately. If a student says or indicates that they are being abused, you should:

Stay calm so as not to frighten the young person
Reassure the student that they are not to blame and that it was right to tell
Listen to the student, showing that you are taking them seriously
Keep questions to a minimum so that there is a clear and accurate understanding of what has been said. Only ask questions to clarify.
Inform the student that you have to inform other people about what they have told you. Tell the student this is to help stop the abuse continuing.
Safety of the student is paramount. If the student needs urgent medical attention call an ambulance, inform the doctors of the concern.
Record all information with the Accident and Incident Report
Report the incident to the Principal or Campus Manager within 24 hours

Recording Information

To ensure that information is as helpful as possible, a detailed record should always be made at the time of the disclosure/concern. In recording you should confine yourself to the facts and distinguish what is your personal knowledge and what others have told you. Do not include your own opinions.

Information should include the following:

The student’s name and homeroom
Whether or not the person making the report is expressing their concern or someone else’s
The nature of the allegation, including dates, times and any other relevant information
A description of any visible bruising or injury, location, size etc. Also any indirect signs, such as behavioural changes
Details of witnesses to the incidents
The student’s account, if it can be given, of what has happened and how any bruising/injuries occurred
Have the parents been contacted? If so what has been said?
Has anyone else been consulted? If so record details
Has anyone been alleged to be the abuser? Record detail

Reporting the Concern

Any suspicion that a student has been abused by an employee should be reported to the Principal / School Manager who will take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of the student in question and any other student who may be at risk. This will include the following:
Principal / School Manager will refer the matter to another member of the SLT; advice can be sought through BWYA Grievance Policy
Principal / School Manager will refer the matter to the School Counselor for advice and any back ground knowledge
The SLT with the Principal / School Manager decides whether to implement any immediate disciplinary proceedings
If the Principal / School Manager is the subject of the suspicion/allegation, the report must be made to other member of the SLT
The parent of the student will be contacted as soon as possible following advice from either the Counselor or the member of SLT

Where there is a complaint against an employee, there may be three types of investigation:

Criminal in which case the police are immediately involved
Child protection in which case the SLT (and possibly) the police will be involved
Disciplinary or misconduct in which case SLT will be involved

NB: If there is any doubt, you must report the incident: it may be just one of a series of other incidences which together cause concern

Internal Inquiries and Suspension

The SLT will make an immediate decision about whether any individual accused of abuse should be temporarily suspended pending further investigation.

Irrespective of the findings of the investigation or police inquiries, the SLT will assess all individual cases to decide whether a member of staff can be reinstated and how this can be sensitively handled. This may be a difficult decision; especially where there is insufficient evidence to uphold any action by the police. In such cases the SLT must reach a decision based upon the available information which could suggest that on the balance of probability, it is more likely than not that the allegation is true. The welfare of the student should remain of paramount importance throughout.

Confidentiality

Every effort should be made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned. Information should be handled and disseminated on a need to know basis only.