Child protection policy

Children are at the heart of everything that Plan does which is why we take the issue of child protection very seriously.  A reality of life is that children are potentially at risk from abuse or exploitation by some adults and this threat exists throughout the world. Although it is a very small minority that presents this risk, everyone has a responsibility and role in protecting children and following all practical and reasonable steps to counteract the risk.

Plan exists to help children, which is why we have policies and systems so that abuse is not perpetrated or compounded by those that Plan puts in contact with children and in whom children place their trust. These measures also protect sponsors from actions that could be misconstrued and lead to false accusations. This information sheet outlines our child protection measures.

In the Make the Link – Climate exChange project, all of the partners have signed up to ensuring rigorous child protection measures have been put in place. To find out more about this email us at Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. .

Giving child protection priority
As a child-focused organisation, Plan is wholly committed to protecting children.

• Plan has a worldwide child protection policy and Plan UK's policy is in line with it.
• Members of Plan UK's Board are responsible for considering child protection in all Board decisions.
• Our Supporter Relations Manager provides a point of contact for issues relating to child protection.
• Staff and volunteers bring all incidents or concerns to his/her attention however minor.

Recruiting carefully
We have a number of measures to ensure that staff do not put children at risk, either through their actions or lack of action.

• Staff and volunteers undergo a police check/Criminal Records Bureau disclosure and satisfactory clearance is necessary before they start working with us.
• Plan's child protection policy and guidelines forms part of the induction given to all new staff and volunteers.
• Plan staff are trained in child protection issues.

Control within our work
By the nature of our work we hold details of children and their families. This information has been given on the understanding that it will be used to find them a sponsor and then shared during the sponsorship. There are a number of ways that we ensure that information is not abused.

• Access to details of children is based on the role of the volunteer or staff member.
• Details are held securely and access to our computer systems is protected by passwords.
• If information containing details of children and their families has to be destroyed this is done so in a secure manner. The same applies to communications from sponsors.
• Suppliers and agencies working on our behalf are made aware of our child protection policy and appropriate steps are taken to ensure that their operations also offer the same degree of protection.

Taking action if necessary
The vast majority of people Plan UK work with follow our measures to protect children. Plan is careful to thoroughly investigate every case that is brought to our attention where children might be at risk.

Where an individual might go against our policies we may decide to no longer engage with them.  We would do this because:

• We cannot knowingly continue to put a child at risk, or at potential risk - and in making this decision we must err on the side of caution.
• For our development work to achieve results it is vital that we retain the trust and confidence of the children and families that we work with.
• We could not continue to facilitate a relationship knowing that it did not respect basic human rights of privacy and protection from harm.
• We cannot commit to long-term additional monitoring of 'potential risk' individuals, as this additional cost reduces the amount that we can spend on our work for children.
• As a child-focused organisation we have a duty to protect all children.

Laatst aangepast (Vrijdag 19 November 2010 14:49)