Child safeguarding
We take children's safety and wellbeing very seriously and this page describes our commitment to this, along with rules and procedures in case of conflict.
Last updated: 14/02/2023
We may update this Child Safeguarding Policy from time to time, in order to reflect changes to our practices or for any other reason. If we make changes, we will post the revised version on our website and update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.
​
This policy should be considered together with applicable national laws and regulations. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by email at support@lewibo.org.
Who does this policy apply to?
This policy applies to all members, collaborators, volunteers and any other persons working within the scope or on behalf of LeWiBo and/or attending its activities. For the purposes of this policy and on the scope of our work, "a child" is defined as any indivual who has not yet turned 18 years of age.
What is child safeguarding?
Safeguarding means:
​
-
Ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care;
-
Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes;
-
Preventing harm to children's health or development;
-
Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment.
our commitment
-
Recognise at all times that the welfare of the child is paramount.
-
Guarantee that all children who engage with LeWiBo are treated with dignity, respect, listened to, and valued.
-
Recognise that all children, regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religious belief, or other, have a right to equal protection from all types of harm and abuse.
-
Recognise that some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs, or other issues.
-
Guarantee that all suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and dealt with in confidence and free from harassment.
-
Recognise that anyone who is bound by this policy has the responsibility to highlight concerns.
-
Recognise that working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting children's welfare.
-
Provide LeWiBo members, collaborators, volunteers and others with support and supervision so that those working directly with children know what to do in the event of a child safeguarding incident.
rules
People participating, managing or coordinating LeWiBo programmes involving children are required to read our Code of Conduct and to adhere to our guidelines and instructions on how to deliver our programmes and work with children. Furthermore, people participating, managing or coordinating LeWiBo programmes directly involving children have to abide by the rules, guidelines and code of conduct of hosting schools.
​
The participation of children in our activities and questionnaires is voluntary. Activities and questionnaires are carefully designed and monitored to provide a positive experience for children. All activities require the authorisation of the school’s representatives, or at least the active consent of the hosting teacher. A child's participation in an activity and/or questionnaire may require that a parent or legal guardian fills in a consent form.
​
All activities involving children require that at least one host institution staff member (e.g., teacher, school assistant, librarian, or any other individual nominated and deemed qualified by the host institution), or two designated parents/legal guardians, are present at all times and in the same space of the activity. At our activities, the teacher or parents/legal guardians are responsible for overseeing the safety and wellbeing of the children.
​
Taken into consideration that our programmes do not involve regular contact with children but rather one-off or sporadic contact, we are not required and do not perform criminal record checks on LeWiBo members, collaborators, volunteers and others. Instead, we share this safeguarding policy and further instruct people to refrain from physical contact with children or any other type of contact (e.g., messages, emails, social media) that is not strictly necessary and not related to LeWiBo. When needed, we are committed to collaborating with all the parties involved in the activities to assess the risk and co-decide on additional safeguarding measures.
​
All audiovisual materials (e.g., photographs, videos, audios) of children collected during LeWiBo activities require formal informed consent from a parent or legal guardian. The audiovisual materials collected are handled and stored with care and used mainly to (i) share the activity results with its participants, on our website, and on social media; (ii) present the work in conferences, meetings and similar events; (iii) report the work to stakeholders; and (iv) apply for future funding.
​
Audiovisual materials used by LeWiBo or their partners in their various media and marketing outlets, including but not limited to websites and social media channels, are used with the sole purpose of disseminating the work carried out, and focus, at all times, on the activity as a whole rather than a particular child, strictly avoiding the exposure of the full face and body of the child and/or angles that may be more prone to misinterpretation or misuse.
​
No personal information about individual children is disclosed alongside the audiovisual materials or any other type of materials unless agreed otherwise with the children's parents/legal guardians and deemed important by LeWiBo. Furthermore, no information about any indivual student is collected or recorded before, during or after our events.
reporting procedures
Anyone who suspects or becomes aware of a behaviour or situation raising any form of concern regarding Child Safeguarding must report this concern immediately to the Board of LeWiBo. This can be done through email (support@lewibo.org), chat or other contact channels. The Board will open an investigation, then assess the gravity of the behaviour/situation, and based on the information available/gathered, take the most suitable course of action. All enquiries and concerns will be treated promptly and with confidentiality.
Adapted from the safeguarding policy of Native Scientists Ltd. on 14/02/2023