Policies and procedures

protection of children from abuse

Preamble, or introduction to the document

The guiding principle of all actions taken by the instructors of TAKE Japanese Fencing School in Krakow is to act for the benefit of the child and in his or her best interest. Instructors treat the child with respect and take into account the child's needs. It is unacceptable for instructors to use violence in any form against a child. Instructors, in pursuit of these goals, act within the framework of applicable laws, internal regulations and their authority.

Legal basis of Child Protection Policy

• Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989 (Journal of Laws of 1991, No. 120, item 526, as amended).
• Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997 (Journal of Laws No. 78, item 483, as amended).
• Law of February 25, 1964 Family and Guardianship Code (i.e., Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1359).
• Law of July 28, 2023 on amending the Law - Family and Guardianship Code and some other laws (Journal of Laws, item 1606).
• Law of May 13, 2016 on Countering the Threat of Sexual Crime (i.e., Journal of Laws 2023, item 31, as amended).
• Law of July 29, 2005 on counteracting domestic violence (i.e., Journal of Laws 2021, item 1249).
• Act of June 6, 1997 Criminal Code (i.e., Journal of Laws 2022, item 1138, as amended).
• Act of June 6, 1997, Code of Criminal Procedure (i.e., Journal of Laws 2022, item 1375, as amended).
• Act of April 23, 1964 Civil Code (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1360, as amended)-art. 23 i 24.
• Act of November 17, 1964 Code of Civil Procedure (i.e., Journal of Laws 2023, item 1550, as amended).

Explanation of terms used in the Child Protection Policy document

§ 1

1. TAKE Japanese Fencing School (hereinafter referred to as the "School") is operated by TAKE Association, headquartered at 15/3 Głogowska Street, 30-416 Kraków, NIP 6793095664.
2. The instructor is the person who regularly teaches at TAKE Japanese Fencing School and is listed on https://katorishintoryu.pl/ on the "Instructors" subpage.
3. A child is any person up to the age of 18.
4. The guardian of the child is the person authorized to represent the child, in particular, his parent or legal guardian. According to this document, a guardian is also a foster parent.
5. The consent of the child's parent means the consent of at least one of the child's parents. However, if there is no agreement between the child's parents, the parents should be informed that the case must be decided by the family court.
6. Child abuse should be understood as the commission of a criminal act or a criminal act to the detriment of a child by any person, including instructors, or a threat to the welfare of a child, including neglect.
7. All instructional staff are responsible for the Policy for the Protection of Children from Abuse.
8. A child's personal information is any information that allows you to identify your child.

Recognizing and responding to risk factors for child abuse

§ 2

1. The instructor is knowledgeable and pays attention to child abuse risk factors as part of his duties.
2. When risk factors are identified, members of the School's instructional staff engage in a conversation with parents, providing information on available support and motivating them to seek help for themselves.
3. The instructional staff monitors the situation and welfare of the child.

Rules for the selection of instructional staff

§ 3

The selection of the School's instructional staff is carried out in accordance with the principles of safe recruitment of staff. The rules are attached as Appendix 1 to this Policy.

Principles of safe relations between the School's instructional staff and children

§ 4

The instructional staff is familiar with and applies the principles of safe staff-child relations established at the School. The rules are attached as Appendix 2 to this Policy.

Procedures for intervention in cases of suspected child abuse

§ 5

If an instructor suspects that a child is being abused, he or she is required to make an appropriate note and pass the information obtained to the chief instructor.

§ 6

1. The instructor calls the guardians of the child he suspects of abuse and informs them of the suspicion.
2. The child's support plan should include indications for:
   • take measures by the School to ensure the safety of the child, including reporting suspected abuse to the appropriate institution;
   • The support the school will offer the child;
   • Referral of the child to a specialized child welfare facility, if necessary;
   • report suspected child abuse to the appropriate institution (prosecutor's office/police or family court), if necessary.

§ 7

1. The school ensures the highest standards of protection of children's personal data in accordance with applicable laws.
2. The school, recognizing the child's right to privacy and protection of personal property, ensures the protection of the child's image.
3. Guidelines for the rules of publication of the child's image are attached as Appendix 3 to this Policy.

§ 8

1. The instructional staff is not allowed to allow media representatives to capture the image of the child (filming, photographing, recording the child's voice) during training without the written consent of the child's parent or legal guardian.
2. In order to obtain the consent referred to above, the instructor may contact the child's guardian and establish a procedure for obtaining consent. It is unacceptable to provide the media representative with contact information for the child's guardian - without the knowledge and consent of this guardian.
3. If the image of the child is only a detail of the whole, such as a gathering, landscape, public event, the consent of the parent or legal guardian to capture the child's image is not required.

§ 9

1. Publicizing by the School the image of the child recorded in any form (photograph, audio-video recording) requires the written consent of the child's parent or legal guardian.
2. The written consent referred to in paragraph 1. is contained in the Regulations of the TAKE Japanese Fencing School.

Final regulations

§ 10

1. The policy comes into force on the date of its promulgation.
2. The announcement is made in a manner accessible to instructors, in particular, by posting in the School's announcement area or by sending its text electronically.

Appendix 1

Principles of safe recruitment of personnel

1. The School must ensure that those acting as instructors are qualified to conduct training. In order to check the above, including the potential instructor's attitude towards children and sharing values related to respect towards them and respecting their rights, the School may request data (including documents) on: education, professional qualifications, the candidate's/candidate's previous employment record. In any case, the School must have data to identify the potential instructor. Thus, the School should know: first name(s) and last name, date of birth, contact information.

2. The school may ask the candidate/candidate for references from previous schools or to provide a contact for someone who can provide such references. The basis for providing references or contact to former employers is the consent of the candidate/candidate. Failure to provide such data, in light of current regulations, should not result in negative consequences for that person in the form of, for example, denial of admission to the instructional staff solely on this basis. The school cannot conduct so-called screening of job applicants on its own, as it is limited in this regard by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation.

3. The school may retrieve the personal data of the candidate/candidate, including the data needed to check his/her data in the Sex Offender Registry.

4. The school may collect from the candidate/candidate information from the National Criminal Register on his/her clean criminal record with respect to offenses specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Penal Code, in Articles 189a and 207 of the Penal Code, and in the Act of July 29, 2005 on Counteracting Drug Addiction (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 172, and of 2022, item 2600), or for corresponding offenses specified in foreign laws.

5. If a person has citizenship other than Polish, then he or she should also submit to the School the criminal record information of the country of citizenship obtained for the purposes of professional or volunteer activities related to contact with children, or criminal record information if the law of that country does not provide for the issuance of information for the aforementioned purposes.

6. Under the statements made under penalty of criminal liability, a statement with the following content shall be made:

I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false statement. This statement replaces the authority's instruction on criminal liability for making a false statement.

7. In case of inability to provide a certificate, the School may ask the candidate/candidate to submit a statement that he/she has no criminal record and that there are no pending preliminary, judicial or disciplinary proceedings against him/her for crimes and other acts committed against children.

Below is a sample form of such a statement.

STATEMENT OF NO CRIMINAL RECORD

......................................................................... place and date

I,............, PESEL number ...................../passport number .............................. declare that in the country ......................... no criminal record is kept/no criminal record information is issued. I hereby declare that I have not been validly convicted in the country .................... for criminal acts corresponding to the offenses specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Criminal Code, in Articles 189a and 207 of the Criminal Code, and in the Law of July 29, 2005. on Counteracting Drug Addiction, and that no other judgment has been issued against me stating that I have committed such criminal acts, and that no obligation has been imposed on me by the judgment of a court, other authorized body or the law, to comply with the prohibition to hold any or certain positions, to practice any or certain professions or activities, related to upbringing, education, recreation, treatment, provision of psychological counseling, spiritual development, sports or the pursuit of other interests by minors, or to the care of minors. I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false statement.

............... Signature ..............., on................

STATEMENT ON COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE

I declare that I have resided in the following countries, other than the Republic of Poland and the country of citizenship, during the last 20 years: 1. ............... 2. ............... And at the same time I submit criminal records information of these countries obtained for the purposes of professional or volunteer activities related to contact with children/criminal records information. I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false statement.

...............Signature ..............., on ................

Appendix 2

Principles of safe relations of the instructional staff of TAKE Japanese Fencing School with children

The guiding principle of all activities undertaken by the instructional staff is to act for the benefit of the child and in his best interest. Instructors treat the child with respect and take into account his dignity and needs. It is unacceptable to use violence against the child in any form. The cadre pursues these goals within the framework of the applicable law, the School's internal regulations and its competence. The principles of safe relations of cadres with children apply to all instructors. Knowledge and acceptance of the rules are confirmed by signing a statement.

Relationship of instructors with children

You are required to maintain a professional relationship with children and consider each time whether your response, message or action toward a child is appropriate to the situation, safe, reasonable and fair to other children. Act openly and transparently to others to minimize the risk of misinterpretation of your behavior.

Communication with children

1. Be patient and respectful in your communication with children.
2. Listen carefully to children and give them answers appropriate to their age and the situation at hand.
3. You must not embarrass, humiliate, disrespect or insult the child. You must not shout at the child in a situation other than for the safety of the child or other children.
4. You must not disclose sensitive information about your child to unauthorized persons, including other children. This includes the child's image, information about his/her family, economic, medical, custodial and legal situation.
5. When making decisions about your child, let them know and try to take their expectations into account.
6. Respect the child's right to privacy. If it is necessary to waive confidentiality to protect the child, explain this to the child as soon as possible.
7. If the need arises to talk to your child in private, leave the door to the room ajar and make sure you are within sight of others. You can also ask a second instructor to be present during such a conversation.
8. You must not behave in an inappropriate manner in the presence of children. This includes using vulgar words, gestures and jokes, making offensive remarks, alluding to sexual activity or attraction in your speech, and using power relations or physical superiority (intimidation, coercion, threats) against a child.
9. Assure children that if they feel uncomfortable about a situation, a particular behavior or words, they can tell you or the designated person and can expect an appropriate response and/or assistance.

Activities with children

1. Appreciate and respect children's contributions to activities, actively involve them and treat them equally regardless of their gender, ability/disability, social, ethnic, cultural, religious status and worldview.
2. Avoid favoring children.
3. You must not enter into any romantic or sexual relationship with your child or make propositions of an inappropriate nature. This includes sexual comments, jokes, gestures, and sharing erotic and pornographic content with your child regardless of its form.
4. You are not allowed to capture your child's image (filming, voice recording, photographing) for private use.
5. You must not offer children alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances, as well as use them in the presence of children.
6. All risky situations that involve the infatuation of a child by an employee or an employee by a child must be reported to the School's chief instructor. If you witness them respond firmly but sensitively to preserve the dignity of the associated persons.

Physical contact with children

Any violent action against a child is unacceptable. However, there are situations in which physical contact with a child may be appropriate and meet the principles of safe contact: it responds to the child's needs at the time, takes into account the child's age, developmental stage, gender, cultural and situational context. However, it is not possible to determine the universal appropriateness of any such physical contact, because behavior that is appropriate with one child, may be inappropriate with another. Use your professional judgment at all times, listening, observing and noting the child's reaction, asking the child's permission for physical contact (such as hugging) and remaining aware that even with your good intentions, such contact may be misinterpreted by the child or third parties.

1. You must not hit, poke, push or in any way violate the physical integrity of the child.
2. Never touch a child in a way that may be considered indecent or inappropriate.
3. Always be prepared to explain your actions.
4. Do not engage in activities such as tickling, pretend fighting with children or violent physical play.
5. Be especially cautious of children who have experienced abuse and harm, including sexual, physical or neglect. Such experiences can sometimes cause a child to seek inappropriate or inappropriate physical contact with adults. In such situations, you should respond sensitively but firmly and help the child understand the importance of personal boundaries.
6. Physical contact with a child must never be covert or hidden, involve any gratification, or result from a power relationship. If you witness any of the above behaviors and/or situations from other adults or children, always inform the person in charge and/or follow the applicable intervention procedure.
7. During trips and excursions longer than one day, it is unacceptable to sleep with a child in the same bed or in the same room.

Online security

Be aware of the digital risks and dangers of having your private online activities recorded by apps and algorithms, but also your own online activities. This includes liking certain pages, using apps where you may meet wards, watching certain people/pages on social media and the privacy settings of the accounts you use. If your profile is publicly accessible, children and their parents/guardians will have insight into your digital activity.

Appendix 3

Rules for the protection of children's image and personal data at TAKE Japanese Fencing School

Our values:

1. Our actions are guided by responsibility and caution towards capturing, processing, using and publishing images of children.
2. Sharing photos and videos of our activities, serves to celebrate successes and document our activities. We use photos/recordings showing a wide cross-section of our students - including minors - boys and girls of different ages, talents, fitness levels and representing different ethnic groups.
3. The consent of parents/legal guardians for the use of their child's image is only binding if the children and parents/legal guardians have been informed about the use of photos/recordings and the risks associated with the publication of the image.

We take care of the security of children's images by:

1. Collecting written consents from parents/legal guardians as part of the signed Regulations.
2. Provide an explanation of what we will use the photos/recordings for and in what context, how we will store the data, and the potential risks of publishing the photos/recordings online.
3. Avoid signing photos/recordings with information that identifies the child by name. If it is necessary to sign a photo/recording we use only the first name.
4. Resignation from disclosing any sensitive information about the child regarding, among other things, health, financial situation, legal situation and related to the child's image.
5. Reduce the risk of copying and inappropriate use of children's photos/recordings by adopting rules:
   • all children in the photo/recording must be clothed, and the photo/recording situation does not demean, ridicule or show the child in a negative context;
   • Photos/recordings of children should focus on children's activities and, if possible, depict children in a group rather than individuals.
6. Cancellation of publication of photos of children for whom we no longer have custody, if they or their parents/legal guardians have not consented to the use of photos after leaving the School.

Recording images of children for use at TAKE Japanese Fencing School

In situations where our School records images of children for its own use, we declare that:

1. Children will be informed that the event will be recorded.
2. The consent of parents/legal guardians to register the event will be accepted by us in writing (if not previously given to us in the signed Regulations).
3. If the registration of the event is outsourced to an external person (hired photographer or videographer), we will ensure the safety of children by:
   • The commitment of the person/company registering the event to comply with these guidelines;
   • The commitment of the person/company registering the event to wear a badge during the event;
   • To prevent the person/registrant from being with the children without the supervision of our School's instructor;
   • Informing parents/legal guardians and children that the person/company recording the event will be present during the event, and making sure that parents/legal guardians have given written consent to the recording of their children's image. If the child's image is only a detail of a whole such as a gathering, landscape, public event, the consent of the child's parents/legal guardians is not required.

Recording the image of children for private use

In situations where parents/guardians or spectators of School events and ceremonies, etc. record images of children for private use, we inform at the beginning of each event that:

1. The use, processing and publication of photos/recordings containing images of children and adults requires the consent of these persons, in the case of children - by their parents/legal guardians.
2. Photos or recordings containing images of children should not be shared on social media or open services, unless the parents or legal guardians of these children give their consent.
3. Before publishing a photo/recording online, it's always a good idea to check your privacy settings to make sure who will be able to access your child's image.

Recording of children's image by third parties and the media

1. If representatives of the media or any other person wish to record an event organized by us and publish the collected material, they must make such a request in advance and obtain permission from the School. In such a situation, we will make sure that the parents/legal guardians have given written permission to record the image of their children. We expect information about:
   • The name, surname and address of the person or editorial office requesting consent;
   • justification for the need to record the event and information on how and in what context the collected material will be used;
   • A signed declaration that the information provided is factually correct.
2. The instructional staff shall not allow media representatives and unauthorized persons to capture the image of the child during training without the written consent of the child's parent/legal guardian and without the permission of the School.
3. The instructional staff does not put media representatives in contact with children, does not provide the media with contact to the children's parents/legal guardians, and does not make statements to media representatives about the child's case or its parent/legal guardian.