Child Safeguarding Policy

BACCHHO–PALIVI Club Child Safeguarding Policy

This policy protects children and young people participating in the BACCHHO Learning and Stewardship Pathway and PALIVI Club activities. It defines the standards, responsibilities, prohibited conduct, consent requirements, reporting procedures, supervision rules, media controls, data protection expectations, and response procedures required to keep children safe.

BACCHHO is a learning and stewardship pathway. PALIVI Club is a long-term membership community of stewards and custodians. Any activity involving children must be safe, supervised, consent-based, age-appropriate, non-exploitative, non-political, non-coercive, and compliant with applicable child protection laws, school rules, institutional policies, and programme safeguarding standards. Child safety takes priority over mobilisation, publicity, fundraising, recognition, benchmarking, asset formation, practical learning, sponsor visibility, or programme expansion.

This policy applies to: Learners below 18 years of age. Young people participating through schools, Reading Cells, community chapters, clubs, churches, institutions, or partner organisations. School administrators. Teacher patrons. Programme coordinators. Reading Cell leaders. Chapter leaders. Parents and guardians. Sponsors. Ambassadors. Volunteers. Trainers. Custodians and stewards. Media teams. Transport providers. Digital platform administrators. Programme staff. Institutional partners. Any adult or organisation interacting with children through BACCHHO or PALIVI Club.

For this policy, a child means any person below the age of 18 years. Where local law defines a child or minor differently, the stricter child protection standard shall apply.

All BACCHHO and PALIVI Club activities involving children shall follow these principles: Best interests of the child Every decision must protect the child’s welfare, dignity, safety, and development. Zero tolerance for abuse Abuse, exploitation, neglect, harassment, humiliation, unsafe labour, sexual misconduct, and coercion are prohibited. Adult accountability Adults are responsible for maintaining safe boundaries and protecting children from harm. Consent and informed participation Children must participate with appropriate parent or guardian consent and school approval where applicable. Safe supervision Activities involving children must be supervised by responsible adults. No exploitation Children must not be used for financial, political, sexual, reputational, promotional, or personal gain. Privacy and dignity Children’s personal data, images, stories, and identities must be protected. Safe reporting Children and adults must have clear ways to report concerns without fear. Prompt response Safeguarding concerns must be recorded, reviewed, escalated, and acted upon without delay. Compliance before expansion No activity may expand unless safeguarding capacity is adequate.

7.1 Programme Leadership Programme leadership shall: Approve and enforce this policy. Ensure all programme documents align with safeguarding standards. Establish safeguarding reporting channels. Appoint safeguarding focal persons where activities involve children. Ensure staff, coordinators, volunteers, sponsors, and ambassadors understand safeguarding obligations. Review serious incidents. Suspend unsafe activities where necessary. Protect children from programme-related exploitation. Maintain safeguarding records securely. Ensure safeguarding review before expansion, benchmarking, tours, media activity, or practical learning. 7.2 Schools Participating schools shall: Apply school child protection rules. Appoint responsible adult coordinators or teacher patrons. Ensure parent or guardian consent is obtained where required. Supervise learner activities. Prevent unsafe labour, financial pressure, or unauthorised travel. Control photography, video, and publicity involving learners. Keep safeguarding records. Report incidents through approved channels. Ensure learners understand how to report concerns. Prevent unauthorised adults from directly managing children. 7.3 Teacher Patrons and Coordinators Teacher patrons and coordinators shall: Supervise learner participation. Maintain attendance records. Monitor Reading Cell conduct. Ensure activities remain age-appropriate. Protect learners from bullying, manipulation, harassment, or pressure. Ensure no adult is alone with a child in unsafe circumstances. Confirm parent or guardian consent where required. Prevent unauthorised media use. Report safeguarding concerns immediately. Keep learner information confidential. 7.4 Parents and Guardians Parents and guardians shall: Review programme information before giving consent. Support safe participation. Report concerns promptly. Protect children from unsafe fundraising pressure. Approve media use only where comfortable. Confirm travel consent where applicable. Support children to understand safe conduct and reporting channels. 7.5 Sponsors and Supporters Sponsors and supporters shall: Respect child safeguarding rules. Avoid direct unsupervised contact with children. Avoid giving private gifts to individual children outside approved channels. Avoid requesting personal contact details from children. Avoid using children for publicity without consent. Avoid political, commercial, or personal exploitation of children. Accept safeguarding-compliant reporting instead of demanding private access to children. 7.6 Ambassadors, Volunteers, and Custodians Ambassadors, volunteers, custodians, and stewards shall: Follow this policy. Work under approved supervision. Avoid private unsupervised engagement with children. Avoid unauthorised promises. Avoid financial pressure on children. Avoid unauthorised data collection. Report safeguarding concerns immediately. Protect children’s dignity and privacy.

Any school or chapter involving children shall have: A responsible adult coordinator. A teacher patron or approved adult supervisor. A safeguarding focal person or designated responsible adult. Parent or guardian consent records. Attendance records. Approved activity schedule. Reporting channel for concerns. Media consent records where media is used. Incident reporting procedure. Emergency contact information where appropriate.

All adults involved in BACCHHO or PALIVI Club activities shall: Treat children with dignity and respect. Use appropriate language. Maintain professional boundaries. Work in visible and supervised settings. Avoid favouritism. Avoid private arrangements with children. Avoid unnecessary physical contact. Use non-violent discipline. Respect school rules. Protect learner data and images. Report concerns immediately. Act in the best interests of the child.

The following conduct is prohibited: Sexual contact or sexual communication with a child. Sexual jokes, comments, images, messages, or gestures directed at or involving children. Grooming, manipulation, coercion, or secretive relationships with children. Physical punishment, beating, slapping, pushing, or rough handling. Emotional abuse, insults, humiliation, threats, shaming, intimidation, or degrading treatment. Bullying, harassment, discrimination, or exclusion. Unsafe labour or tasks beyond the child’s age, ability, or lawful limits. Financial pressure on children. Using children to raise funds through false promises. Using children for political promotion. Private unsupervised meetings with children. Private transport of a child without consent and approval. Overnight travel without written approval, parent consent, and safeguarding controls. Direct private messaging with children outside approved channels. Requesting personal photos, videos, or private information from children. Publishing a child’s photo, name, testimony, location, or personal story without consent. Sharing children’s data with sponsors or outsiders without authorisation. Giving personal gifts to children outside approved programme procedures. Taking children to private homes, hotels, offices, farms, or events without approval and supervision. Any conduct that places a child at risk of harm, exploitation, embarrassment, or abuse.

Learners participating in the programme shall: Respect other learners. Avoid bullying, insults, harassment, discrimination, or intimidation. Participate honestly in Reading Cells and chapter activities. Report unsafe behaviour. Avoid sharing other learners’ photos or personal information without permission. Follow school rules. Avoid unsafe fundraising or unauthorised sales. Avoid making false claims about programme benefits. Use digital platforms responsibly. Respect adult supervisors and approved coordinators.

Parent or guardian consent is required for minors before: Programme participation. Collection of personal data. Media use. Public recognition involving personal information. Practical learning activities outside normal school activities. Symbolic planting or asset registration involving the child’s name, image, or identity. Travel or benchmarking activities. Participation in public events. Interviews, testimonies, or storytelling. Digital publication of learner outputs where personal identity is shown. Consent must be informed, specific, recorded, and revocable where appropriate.

Children must not be photographed, filmed, interviewed, quoted, tagged, profiled, or publicly identified without appropriate consent. Media involving children must: Respect dignity. Avoid embarrassment. Avoid sensitive personal details. Avoid exact home addresses or private locations. Avoid exploitative poverty imagery. Avoid political messaging. Avoid exaggeration of benefits. Avoid showing unsafe activity. Use group images where possible. Be approved by the responsible coordinator or school authority. No sponsor, volunteer, ambassador, visitor, or partner may independently photograph or film children without approval.

Digital communication with children must be controlled and appropriate. Programme-related digital engagement shall follow these rules: Use approved group channels where possible. Include adult supervision in learner communication channels. Avoid private one-to-one adult-child messaging unless necessary, recorded, and approved. Do not request personal photos, private videos, passwords, or sensitive information from children. Do not expose children to unsafe links, unmoderated groups, or inappropriate content. Do not publish children’s identities without consent. Do not allow sponsors direct unsupervised digital access to learners. Remove harmful content promptly. Report online abuse, harassment, or grooming concerns immediately. Protect login details and learner records.

Reading Cells involving children must operate under school or approved adult supervision. Reading Cells shall: Meet in safe locations. Follow an approved schedule. Keep attendance records. Avoid secret meetings. Avoid meetings in private homes unless approved and supervised. Avoid night meetings unless approved by the school and parents. Maintain respectful conduct. Report bullying, harassment, or unsafe behaviour. Avoid financial pressure on members. Protect learner privacy. Cell leaders who are minors shall not be treated as adult safeguarding supervisors. Adult responsibility remains with approved adults.

Practical learning activities involving children must be safe, supervised, and age-appropriate. Before any practical activity, the responsible coordinator shall confirm: Activity purpose. Location safety. Adult supervision. Parent or guardian consent where required. Risk assessment. Tools or equipment safety. Weather and environmental safety. First aid arrangements where appropriate. Transport arrangements where applicable. Emergency contact arrangements. No unsafe labour. No exposure to chemicals, dangerous tools, unsafe animals, machinery, or hazardous environments without proper controls. Children must not be used as unpaid labour for commercial production. Practical learning is for education, stewardship, demonstration, and knowledge transfer.

Symbolic planting or stewardship asset activities involving children must follow safeguarding rules. Such activities shall require: School approval where school-based. Parent or guardian consent where a child is personally recognised. Safe location. Adult supervision. Media consent where photos or videos are taken. Clear explanation that symbolic assets are recognition tools, not financial assets. No unsafe labour. No exposure to land disputes. No public identification of a child without consent. Proper recording and privacy controls.

Travel, benchmarking, guided learning tours, exchange visits, and off-site activities involving children require strict safeguards. No child may participate in travel unless the following are in place: Written school approval. Written parent or guardian consent. Clear travel itinerary. Approved adult supervision ratio. Emergency contacts. Transport safety arrangements. Medical or special care information where necessary. Risk assessment. Accommodation approval where overnight stay is involved. Separate sleeping arrangements by age and gender where applicable. Clear conduct rules. Incident reporting arrangements. No private sponsor-controlled travel. No unauthorised diversion from the approved itinerary. Benchmarking is a learning activity, not a guaranteed benefit.

Children must not be placed under unsafe financial pressure. The programme shall not permit: Pressure on children to pay fees they cannot afford. Public shaming of children who have not paid. False promises used to obtain money from children. Children collecting money without adult oversight. Children being sent to unsafe places to sell materials. Sales targets that create distress or exploitation. Sponsor access to children in exchange for support. Use of children’s images to raise money without consent. Misrepresentation of participation as guaranteed profit. Punishment of children for inability to contribute. Authorised sale-forward activity must be age-appropriate, supervised, transparent, and consent-based.

Sponsors may support the programme but must not have unrestricted access to children. Sponsor interaction shall be: Approved by the school or programme. Supervised by responsible adults. Purpose-specific. Respectful and non-exploitative. Free from political or commercial pressure. Compliant with media and data consent rules. Properly recorded where necessary. Sponsors shall receive safeguarding-compliant reports instead of private access to children.

Children’s personal data must be protected. Data collected from children shall be: Necessary. Relevant. Limited. Securely stored. Access-controlled. Used only for approved programme purposes. Not shared with unauthorised persons. Not published without consent. Removed or corrected where necessary. Protected from misuse. Public verification must use minimal information and must not expose sensitive personal details.

Adults working directly with children through the programme should be selected carefully. Where applicable, the programme, school, or partner shall consider: Identity verification. Role suitability. Reference checks. Prior conduct. School approval. Child protection training or orientation. Agreement to follow this policy. Restriction of access for unsuitable persons. Any person with known conduct that may place children at risk shall not be allowed to work with children under the programme.

All adults involved in child-facing activities shall receive safeguarding orientation before active engagement. Orientation shall cover: This policy. Child protection responsibilities. Prohibited conduct. Consent requirements. Media rules. Digital communication rules. Reporting procedures. Practical learning safety. Financial safeguarding. Non-investment and non-guarantee language. Incident response. Confidentiality.

Any safeguarding concern must be reported promptly. Concerns may include: Abuse. Suspected abuse. Neglect. Exploitation. Harassment. Bullying. Unsafe adult behaviour. Inappropriate communication. Media misuse. Data misuse. Unsafe travel. Unsafe labour. Financial pressure. Sponsor misconduct. Child-on-child harm. Retaliation against a child who reports. Reports may be made by learners, parents, teachers, coordinators, sponsors, volunteers, community members, or programme staff.

Each participating school or chapter shall provide clear reporting channels. Reports may be made to: Teacher patron. School coordinator. Headteacher. Safeguarding focal person. Programme safeguarding officer. Parent or guardian. Relevant school authority. Relevant child protection authority where required by law. Police or emergency services where there is immediate danger or serious abuse. Emergency situations must be referred immediately to the appropriate protection or emergency authority.

When a safeguarding concern is received, the responsible adult shall: Listen calmly. Take the concern seriously. Avoid blaming the child. Avoid asking leading or excessive questions. Record the concern accurately. Protect the child from immediate danger. Maintain confidentiality. Report to the designated safeguarding authority. Escalate serious concerns without delay. Avoid confronting the alleged offender where this may increase risk. Follow school and legal reporting requirements.

Safeguarding records shall include: Date and time of report. Name of person reporting. Name or reference of child involved. Nature of concern. Location of incident. Persons involved. Immediate action taken. Person notified. Further action required. Follow-up decision. Closure record where applicable. Records must be factual, confidential, securely stored, and accessible only to authorised persons.

Safeguarding information must be handled confidentially. Information shall be shared only with persons who need to know in order to protect the child, respond to the concern, comply with legal obligations, or manage programme risk. Confidentiality must not be used to conceal abuse, protect offenders, or delay necessary reporting.

Where an allegation is made against an adult involved in the programme, the programme or school shall: Take the allegation seriously. Protect the child from further contact where necessary. Temporarily suspend the adult from child-facing duties where appropriate. Record the allegation. Notify relevant authorities according to school policy and law. Conduct or support appropriate review. Protect the rights of all parties while prioritising child safety. Take disciplinary or legal action where justified. Prevent retaliation against the child or reporter.

Where a child harms, bullies, harasses, threatens, or exploits another child, the response shall: Protect the affected child. Address the harmful behaviour. Involve responsible adults. Notify parents or guardians where appropriate. Follow school disciplinary and safeguarding procedures. Avoid public shaming. Provide guidance or support where possible. Escalate serious harm to appropriate authorities.

Parents, guardians, learners, schools, sponsors, or partners may raise safeguarding complaints where they believe the programme has failed to protect a child. Complaints shall be: Received respectfully. Recorded. Reviewed promptly. Handled confidentially. Escalated where serious. Resolved with written outcome where appropriate. Used to improve safeguarding practice. A person dissatisfied with the handling of a safeguarding complaint may request review by authorised programme leadership or relevant institutional authority.

A breach of this policy may result in: Warning. Corrective instruction. Removal from child-facing duties. Suspension from programme activities. Withdrawal of school or chapter participation. Cancellation of ambassador, sponsor, volunteer, or coordinator role. Withdrawal of recognition. Reporting to school authorities. Reporting to child protection authorities. Reporting to law enforcement where required. Legal action where necessary.

Any activity involving children may be suspended where there is: Safeguarding risk. Lack of adult supervision. Lack of consent. Unsafe venue. Unsafe travel arrangement. Media misuse. Financial pressure. Sponsor misconduct. Data protection concern. Unreported incident. Misrepresentation of the programme. Failure to follow this policy. Activities may resume only after risks have been addressed.

Community chapters involving children must meet the same safeguarding standards as school chapters. Community chapters shall not involve children unless: Responsible adult supervisors are approved. Parent or guardian consent is obtained. Safe meeting locations are identified. Reporting channels are established. Media and data rules are followed. Financial pressure is prohibited. Practical activities are risk-assessed. Programme leadership or authorised custodians approve the arrangement.

Children may participate in age-appropriate PALIVI Club activities only where allowed by programme rules and with parent or guardian consent. Child participation in PALIVI Club does not create financial rights, investment rights, asset ownership rights, employment rights, scholarship rights, or travel rights. Children must not be enrolled into activities that expose them to unsuitable financial, legal, contractual, investment, or adult governance responsibilities.

Recognition must not compromise child safety. Recognition involving children must: Use consent-based information. Avoid exposing private details. Avoid public ranking that humiliates children. Avoid publishing sensitive information. Avoid sponsor-controlled recognition. Avoid political use. Avoid false claims of guaranteed benefits. Protect children who do not receive awards. Recognition must be encouraging, fair, dignity-preserving, and safeguarding-compliant.

Public events involving children must have: School approval. Parent or guardian consent where required. Adult supervision. Safe venue. Controlled media access. Clear programme schedule. Safe arrival and departure arrangements. Emergency contacts. Child-friendly conduct rules. Safeguarding focal person on duty. No political exploitation. No unauthorised sponsor access.

Children may participate in knowledge-transfer activities where activities are safe, supervised, age-appropriate, and consent-based. Knowledge-transfer activities may include reading presentations, group discussions, role-plays, translations, posters, school exhibitions, community demonstrations, and supervised practical learning. Children must not be sent into unsafe environments, exposed to hostile audiences, required to perform beyond their ability, or used for adult commercial or political objectives.

This policy shall be reviewed periodically to reflect: Lessons from implementation. School feedback. Parent feedback. Incident reports. Legal requirements. Partner requirements. Digital safety risks. Practical learning risks. Media risks. Programme expansion needs. Any amendment must remain consistent with the BACCHHO–PALIVI Club Master Doctrine and the principle that child safety takes priority over all programme objectives.

The following statement shall be included in relevant school-facing materials: BACCHHO and PALIVI Club activities involving children must be safe, supervised, consent-based, age-appropriate, and compliant with child safeguarding requirements. No child may be exploited, pressured, exposed to unsafe labour, used for unauthorised publicity, contacted privately by unauthorised adults, or promised guaranteed jobs, scholarships, assets, travel, income, markets, or investment returns. Child safety takes priority over mobilisation, fundraising, recognition, publicity, benchmarking, practical learning, and programme expansion.

All schools, coordinators, teacher patrons, parents, guardians, sponsors, ambassadors, volunteers, custodians, partners, and programme representatives must comply with this Child Safeguarding Policy. Where any verbal statement, local arrangement, school practice, sponsor request, media activity, travel plan, practical learning activity, or programme document conflicts with this policy, this policy shall prevail unless formally amended by authorised programme leadership following safeguarding review.

BACCHHO and PALIVI Club exist to support disciplined learning, stewardship formation, knowledge transfer, food security awareness, climate and environmental responsibility, land and legacy stewardship, value addition, jobs-readiness, market-readiness, and social-economic transformation. Children must be protected while participating in this pathway. No programme objective is more important than the safety, dignity, privacy, and welfare of the child.