Policy on the protection of children from harm

Preamble

The overriding principle guiding all actions undertaken by staff and volunteers of the Catechetical Ministry is to act for the child’s welfare and in their best interests. Staff and volunteers treat children with respect and take their needs into account. It is unacceptable for staff and volunteers to use any form of violence against a child. In pursuing these objectives, staff and volunteers of the Catechetical Ministry act in accordance with applicable law, the internal regulations of the relevant institution and within the scope of their responsibilities.

Chapter I – Explanation of Terms

§ 1.

1. A member of staff or volunteer of the Catechetical Ministry is a person who runs classes and sessions with children and young people and looks after them.

2. A child is any person under the age of 18.

3. The child’s guardian is a person authorised to represent the child, in particular their parent or legal guardian. For the purposes of this document, a foster parent is also considered a guardian.

4. The consent of the child’s parent means the consent of at least one of the child’s parents. However, in the event of a disagreement between the child’s parents, the parents must be informed that the matter will have to be settled by the family court.

5. ‘Harm to a child’ shall be understood to mean the commission of a prohibited act or a criminal offence to the detriment of a child by any person, including a member of staff at the facility, or a threat to the child’s welfare, including neglect.

6. The person responsible for the Child Protection Policy is a member of staff or volunteer appointed by the congregation’s pastor to oversee the implementation of the Child Protection Policy at the centre.

7. A child’s personal data is any information that enables the child to be identified.

8. The scope of the Catechetical Centre includes: an out-of-school catechetical centre operating within the public education system; congregation-run Sunday schools; children’s churches; and other internal activities for children and young people.

Chapter II – Identifying and responding to risk factors for child harm

§ 2.

1. Staff and volunteers of the Catechetical Ministry have the necessary knowledge and, in the course of their duties, are alert to risk factors and signs of child abuse.

2. Where risk factors are identified, staff and volunteers engage in a conversation with parents, providing information about the support available and encouraging them to seek help for themselves.

3. Staff monitor the child’s situation and wellbeing.

4. Staff and volunteers are familiar with and adhere to the guidelines on safe staff–child and child–child relationships established by the Congregation. These guidelines form Annex [No. 1] to this Policy.

5. The recruitment of staff and volunteers to work with children and young people is carried out in accordance with the principles of safe staff recruitment. These principles are set out in Annex [No. 2] to this Policy.

Chapter III – Procedures for intervening in cases of child abuse

§ 3.

If a member of staff or a volunteer with the Catechetical Ministry suspects that a child is being harmed, they are obliged to draw up an official report and pass on the information obtained (as appropriate) to the congregation’s pastor.

§ 4.

1. A member of staff or volunteer with the Catechetical Ministry contacts the carers of a child whom they suspect of being abused and informs them of their suspicions.

2. A member of staff or a volunteer from the Catechetical Ministry draws up a report on the child’s situation, based on discussions with the child and their parents, and a plan to support the child.

3. The child’s support plan should include guidance on:

a. The Congregation taking steps to ensure the child’s safety, including reporting any suspected abuse to the relevant authority.

b. The support the congregation will offer the child.

c. Referring the child to a specialist child welfare service, if necessary.

§ 5.

1. The support plan for the child is presented by the religious education teacher to the parents or carers, with a request for their cooperation in implementing it.

2. The religious education teacher informs guardians of their duty to report any suspicion of child abuse to the relevant authority (the public prosecutor’s office, the police, the family court, a social services centre or the chair of the interdisciplinary team – the ‘Blue Card’ procedure).

3. Once the religious education teacher has informed the guardians – the Congregation’s Management (the Pastor/Congregation Council) shall file a report of a suspected offence with the public prosecutor’s office or the police, or submit an application to the district court’s family and juvenile division to examine the family’s situation.

4. The next steps in the proceedings fall within the remit of the institutions referred to in the preceding paragraph.

5. Where a suspicion of harm has been reported by the child’s carers and that suspicion has not been confirmed, the child’s carers must be informed of this in writing.

§ 7.

1. An intervention record shall be drawn up detailing the course of the intervention; a template for this is set out in Annex [No. 3] to this Policy. The record shall be attached to the child’s personal file.

2. All teachers and volunteers of the Catechetical Ministry, as well as any other persons who, in the course of their official duties, have received information about child abuse or related matters, are obliged to keep such information confidential, except for information provided to authorised institutions as part of intervention measures.

Chapter IV – Principles governing the protection of a child’s image

§ 8.

1. The catechetical centre ensures the highest standards of protection for children’s personal data in accordance with the applicable legislation.

2. The catechetical guidelines recognise the child’s right to privacy and the protection of personal rights, ensuring the protection of the child’s image.

3. The guidelines on the rules for publishing images of children form Annex [No. 4] to this Policy.

§ 9.

1. Teachers and volunteers must not allow members of the media to record images of a child (filming, photographing or recording the child’s voice) on the premises of the religious education centre without the written consent of the child’s parent or legal guardian.

2. In order to obtain the consent referred to above, a teacher or volunteer may contact the child’s guardian and agree on the procedure for obtaining consent. It is not permissible to provide a media representative with the contact details of the child’s guardian without that guardian’s knowledge and consent.

3. If a child’s image forms only a part of a wider scene, such as a gathering, a landscape or a public event, the consent of the child’s parent or legal guardian to the recording of the child’s image is not required.

§ 10.

1. The publication by a teacher or volunteer of an image of a child recorded in any form (photograph, audio or video recording) requires the written consent of the child’s parent or legal guardian.

2. The written consent referred to in paragraph 1 should specify the context in which the child’s image will be used.

Chapter V – Monitoring the Implementation of the Policy

§ 11.

1. The Congregation’s Pastor, together with the Congregation Council, appoints a person to be responsible for the Congregation’s Child Protection Policy.

2. This person is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Policy, responding to reports of breaches of the Policy, maintaining a register of reports, and proposing amendments to the Policy.

3. Once every 12 months, the person responsible conducts a survey to monitor the extent to which the Policy is being implemented amongst teachers and volunteers.

4. In the survey, staff at the facility may suggest changes to the Policy and report any breaches of the Policy at the facility.

5. The person in charge analyses the survey results and draws up a monitoring report, which they submit to the congregation’s management.

6. The Congregation’s management shall make the necessary amendments to the Policy and communicate the revised version of the Policy to teachers, volunteers, children and their carers.

Chapter VI – Final Provisions

§ 12.

1. The policy comes into force on the date of its publication.

2. The notice shall be published in a manner accessible to teachers and volunteers, children and their carers, in particular by displaying it on the noticeboard for teachers and volunteers, or by sending the text electronically, as well as by publishing it on the website and displaying it in a prominent place at the organisation’s premises, including an abridged version intended for children.

APPENDIX 1 – Guidelines for safe staff–child relationships

Guidelines on safe interactions between staff of the Pentecostal Church in the Mielec congregation and children

The guiding principle behind all actions taken by staff (teachers and volunteers) is to act for the child’s welfare and in their best interests. Staff (teachers and volunteers) treat children with respect and take their dignity and needs into account. Violence against children in any form is unacceptable. In pursuing these objectives, staff act within the framework of applicable law, the institution’s internal regulations and their own remit. The principles governing safe relationships between staff and children apply to all teachers working with children and to volunteers.

In pursuing these objectives, staff act in accordance with applicable law, the institutions’ internal regulations and their remit. The guidelines on safe interactions between staff and children apply to all teachers working with children and to volunteers.

Relationships between staff (teachers and volunteers) and the children

You are required to maintain a professional relationship with the children.

Act in an open and transparent manner to minimise the risk of your behaviour being misinterpreted.

Communicating with children

1. When communicating with children, be patient and respectful.

2. Listen carefully to the children and give them answers that are appropriate for their age and the situation.

3. You must not embarrass, humiliate, belittle or insult the child. Shouting at the child is not permitted, unless the situation poses a risk to their safety or that of other children.

4. You must not disclose sensitive information about the child to unauthorised persons, including other children. This includes, amongst other things, the child’s image, and their family, financial, medical, care and legal circumstances.

5. When making decisions about your child, let them know and try to take their wishes into account.

6. Respect the child’s right to privacy. If it is necessary to waive confidentiality in order to protect the child, explain this to them as soon as possible.

7. If you need to speak to a child in private, leave the door ajar and make sure you remain within sight of others. You can also ask another member of staff to be present during the conversation.

8. You must not behave inappropriately in the presence of children. This includes the use of foul language, gestures, offensive remarks, as well as references to sexual attractiveness and the exploitation of a position of authority or physical superiority (e.g. intimidation, coercion, threats).

9. Make sure that children know that if they feel uncomfortable in any situation, they can tell you or a designated person. They can expect an appropriate response and/or help, in accordance with the established intervention procedures.

Activities with children

1. Value and respect children’s contributions to the activities undertaken; actively involve them and treat them equally, regardless of their gender, ability or disability, social, ethnic or cultural background, or beliefs.

2. Avoid showing favouritism towards your children.

3. You must not enter into any romantic or sexual relationship with a child, nor make any inappropriate advances towards them. This also includes sexual comments, jokes and gestures, as well as sharing erotic or pornographic content with children, regardless of its form.

4. You must not record a child’s image (filming, audio recording, photography) for private purposes. This also applies to allowing third parties to record images of children if the person responsible for the Congregation’s Child Protection Policy has not been informed of this, has not given their consent, and has not obtained the consent of the parents/legal guardians and the children themselves.

5. You must not offer children alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances, nor must you consume them in the presence of children.

6. You must not accept money or gifts from the child or from the child’s parents or carers. You must not enter into any relationship of dependency with the child or the child’s parents or carers. You must not behave in a way that might suggest the existence of such a relationship and lead to accusations of unequal treatment or of deriving financial or other benefits. (Occasional gifts related to school-year celebrations, such as flowers or small tokens, are acceptable.)

7. All situations involving a risk of a staff member developing an inappropriate attraction to a child, or a child developing an inappropriate attraction to a staff member, must be reported to the person responsible for the Congregation’s Child Protection Policy. If you witness such situations, respond firmly but sensitively, so as to preserve the dignity of those involved.

Physical contact with children

Any act of violence against a child is unacceptable. However, there are situations in which physical contact with a child may be appropriate and comply with the principles of safe contact: it responds to the child’s needs at that particular moment, taking into account the child’s age, stage of development, gender, cultural background and the specific context.

Always use your professional judgement, listening, observing and noting the child’s reaction, asking for their consent to physical contact (e.g. a hug) and being aware that, even with the best of intentions, such contact may be misinterpreted by the child or by third parties.

1. You must not hit, jab, push or in any way harm the child’s physical well-being.

2. Never touch a child in a way that could be considered indecent or inappropriate.

3. Always be prepared to explain your actions.

4. Do not engage in activities such as tickling, play-fighting with children or rough-and-tumble play.

5. Take particular care with children who have experienced abuse and harm (including sexual, physical or neglect). Such experiences can sometimes lead to inappropriate or inappropriate physical contact with adults. In such situations, respond sensitively but firmly, helping the child to understand the importance of personal boundaries.

6. Physical contact with a child must never be secret or concealed, involve any form of reward, or arise from a relationship of authority. If you witness such behaviour, inform the appropriate person or follow the applicable intervention procedure.

7. In situations requiring personal care and hygiene, avoid any physical contact with the child other than that which is strictly necessary. This applies in particular to helping the child get dressed, undressed, eat, wash, have a nappy change and use the toilet. Another member of staff from the organisation should assist with these tasks. If personal care and hygiene are part of your duties, you must have received training in this area.

8. During trips and excursions lasting more than one day, it is not permitted to share a bed or a room with a child.

Socialising outside working hours amongst children and young people

As a general rule, contact with children should take place only during working hours and be for catechetical or educational purposes.

1. Where necessary, the appropriate means of communicating with children and their parents or carers outside working hours are work-related channels, such as email or a work mobile.

2. If you need to meet with children outside your working hours, you must inform the person responsible for the congregation’s Child Protection Policy, and the children’s parents or legal guardians must give their consent to such contact.

3. Maintaining social or family relationships (where children and their parents or carers are close to the employee) requires that all information concerning other children, their parents and carers be kept confidential.

Online safety

Be aware of digital threats and the risks arising from apps and algorithms tracking your private online activity, as well as from your own online behaviour.

This applies to liking specific pages, using dating apps, following specific people or pages on social media, and the privacy settings of the accounts you use. If your profile is public, children and their parents or carers will be able to see your online activity.

4. You must not make contact with pupils for personal reasons by accepting or sending invitations on social media.

5. During lessons, personal electronic devices should be switched off or set to silent, and Bluetooth should be disabled within the building (except where Bluetooth or Wi-Fi is used for presentations or multimedia support).

APPENDIX 2 – Guidelines for the safe recruitment of teachers and volunteers

1. Find out more about the candidate’s background, which will enable you to gain the best possible understanding of their qualifications, including their attitude towards the values shared by the congregation, such as the protection of children’s rights and respect for their dignity.

The congregation (pastor) must ensure that those employed as religious education teachers (including volunteers) possess the appropriate qualifications to work with children and pose no risk to them. To verify this, including the employee’s attitude towards children, their commitment to values relating to respect for children, and their respect for children’s rights, the Congregation’s Pastor may request information (including documents) concerning:

a. education,

b. professional qualifications,

c. the candidate’s employment history to date,

d. the candidate’s Catechetical Ministry to date.

In all cases, the Congregation’s pastor must have the details necessary to identify the person conducting Catechetical Ministry within the Congregation, regardless of their basis of employment. The Congregation’s pastor should therefore be aware of:

a. first name(s) and surname,

b. date of birth,

c. the contact details of the person running the sessions/meetings with children and young people.

2. Obtain the candidate’s personal details, including the information required to check their details against the Register of Sex Offenders.

Before authorising a person to carry out duties relating to the upbringing, religious education, leisure activities or care of children, the pastor is obliged to check the person involved in the Catechetical Ministry against the Register of Sex Offenders – the Restricted-Access Register and the Register of persons in respect of whom the State Commission for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of Minors under the Age of 15 has issued a decision ordering their entry in the Register. The register is available at: rps.ms.gov.pl. To access information from the restricted-access register, it is necessary to first set up a profile for the congregation (catechetical centre).

3. In order to check a person’s details in the Register, the congregation requires the following information from the candidate:

a. first name and surname,

b. date of birth,

c. PESEL,

d. family name,

e. father’s first name,

f. mother’s first name.

A printout from the Register must be kept in the personnel file of the person employed in the Catechetical Ministry.

4. Obtain from the candidate a certificate from the National Criminal Register confirming that they have no criminal record in respect of offences specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Criminal Code, in Articles 189a and 207 of the Criminal Code and in the Act of 29 July 2005 on Combating Drug Addiction (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 172, and of 2002, item 2600) or for prohibited acts corresponding to these offences as defined in the laws of a foreign state.

5. If a person holds a nationality other than Polish, they must also submit a criminal record extract from the country of their nationality, obtained for the purposes of professional or voluntary work involving contact with children, or a criminal record extract if the law of that country does not provide for the issuance of such information for the aforementioned purposes.

6. Obtain from the candidate a declaration, made under penalty of criminal liability, stating the country or countries in which they have resided over the last 20 years, other than the Republic of Poland and their country of citizenship.

7. If the law of the country from which the certificate of no criminal convictions is to be provided does not provide for the issue of such a certificate or does not maintain a criminal record, then the candidate/candidate shall, on pain of criminal liability, submit a declaration to that effect, together with a declaration that they have not been finally convicted in that country for offences corresponding to those specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Criminal Code, in Article 189a and Article 207 of the Criminal Code, and in the Act of 29 July 2005 on Combating Drug Addiction, and that no other ruling has been issued against them finding that they have committed such offences, and that she is not subject to any obligation arising from a ruling by a court, another authorised body or an Act to comply with a prohibition on holding any or specific positions, practising any or specific professions or carrying out activities related to the upbringing, education, leisure, treatment, the provision of psychological counselling, spiritual development, the practice of sport or the pursuit of other interests by minors, or with their care.

8. Below the declarations made under penalty of criminal liability, the following statement must be included: “I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false declaration.” This statement replaces the authority’s warning regarding criminal liability for making a false statement.

9. If a certificate of no criminal convictions cannot be provided, ask the candidate to submit a declaration stating that they have no criminal convictions and to provide details of any ongoing preliminary investigations, court proceedings or disciplinary proceedings.

APPENDIX NO. 3 – Rules on the publication and protection of children’s images and personal data

The rules have been drawn up in accordance with the applicable legislation.

Our values

1. In our work, we act with a sense of responsibility and prudence when it comes to recording, processing, using and publishing images of children.

2. Sharing photos and videos of our activities serves to celebrate the children’s achievements, document our work, and always prioritises the children’s safety. We use photos and videos that show a broad cross-section of children – boys and girls, children of different ages, with different talents and levels of ability, and representing different ethnic groups.

3. Consent from parents/legal guardians for the use of their child’s image is only binding if the children and their parents/legal guardians have been informed of how the photographs/recordings will be used and of the risks associated with the publication of the image.

We ensure the protection of children’s images by adhering to rules based on the Act of 10 May 2018 on the protection of personal data (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1000), the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright, and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).

1. In the annex to the agreement with the catechetical centre concerning the rules governing the provision of catechetical, care and educational services by the congregation, and the rights and obligations of the Parties, the parent does/does not consent to:

a. publishing information about the child and their image (photographs) on the premises of the Pentecostal Church in Mielec, e.g. from various celebrations, classes or other extracurricular activities, performances and events organised by the Mielec congregation.

b. publishing information about the child and, free of charge, posting photographs and videos containing the child’s image, recorded during the catechetical programme at the congregation, in the following media: the internet, the press, television, and information and promotional leaflets of the Catechesis Centre of the Pentecostal Church in Mielec.

c. the use, free of charge, of my child’s image (photographs, video recordings) captured during religious education classes and other events (e.g. celebrations, school trips, etc.), through publication on Facebook, Instagram and the website of the Pentecostal Church in Mielec.

These consents remain valid until further notice and do not require the photo or video to be approved on a case-by-case basis prior to publication.

At the same time, the parent acknowledges that they have the right to withdraw their consent to the publication of information and images of their child at any time.

Storing photos and videos

For professional purposes, we store material containing images of children in a manner that is lawful and safe for the children.

1. Analogue media containing photographs and recordings are stored in a locked cabinet, whilst electronic media containing photographs and recordings are stored in a protected folder with access restricted to persons authorised by the congregation. The media will be retained for the period required by archiving legislation and/or for the period specified by the congregation in its personal data protection policy.

2. We do not store electronic material containing images of children on unencrypted or mobile storage devices, such as mobile phones and portable storage devices (e.g. USB sticks).