 child protection child protection goodpushadmin fri 1042019 1541 why is child protection important for skateboarding sport projects  all projects working with children have a responsibility to put safeguarding measures in place the main goal is to keep children safe but it s also important to remember that the reputation and success of your program depends on this most skateboarding projects have chosen to work with children from difficult situations this presents extra challenges and extra responsibilities  both within your programs and what children face externally  what is child protection  definition the prevention of and response to abuse neglect exploitation and violence against children source  child protection working group  child protection refers to some parts of the un declaration of child rights such as safety and nondiscrimination the declaration gives the guiding principle in child protection what are the best interests of the child  example elements of child protection  pledge all staff volunteers must sign a child protection agreement before beginning work with the organization training for new staff every staff or volunteer receives child protection policy training so they understand the policy and act in the right way annual review of the child protection protocols and the incident reporting integration of best practice into all areas ie recruitment communications partnerships child protection policy cpp  what is a cpp  a child protection policy provides guidelines for organizations and their staff to create safe environments for children it is a tool that protects both children and staff by clearly defining what action is required in order to keep children safe and ensuring consistency so that all staff follow the same process it is the responsibility of all staff and volunteers to create a safe and tolerant environment everyone needs to know this policy even those not in direct contact with children every organization should create a cpp that reflects its own needs many have common elements such as defining key terms staff and recruitment behaviour protocols visitor media guidelines partnerships and reporting procedures here s a cpp template example we have created just for social skateboarding projects that you can adapt and use for your own initiative  choosing safe program partners there are many great organizations working with vulnerable children and their families there are also many organizations operating without proper child protection policies in place including some that fail to check the backgrounds of their short and long term visitors this leaves children open to mistreatment and abuse no matter how short their visit safe partnership practices  potential partners share a copy of their child protection policy or protocols partner organizations receive a copy of your organization s cpp partners sign a copy of your cp agreements including media guidelines and any other considerations before the collaboration begins visitor media guidelines media visit best practices  arranged in advance signed media agreement example here  consent for interviews photos for example at skateistan every person who is part of a media visit must sign the organization s media guidelines and agree to follow the cpp ie only taking photos that show children in a positive light not singling out individual children not using real names ensuring parent consent before taking photos every student must also be approached in their native language and give their own permission before having their photo or video taken by any media personnel additionally when each student registers parents guardians are asked whether or not they give permission for their child to appear in both externally and internallyproduced media awareness ad from friends international on voluntourism staff volunteer recruitment recruitment best practices  multiple interviews  here are example questions you can ask about child protection background checks references called relevant skillset long term volunteers able to speak local language must sign a volunteer agreement example here  a note about voluntourism  voluntourism describes a program that invites tourists for a specific fee or through an ngo directly recruiting to volunteer at an organization these programs have been widely criticized because in most cases these organizations do not require candidates to have relevant qualifications or previous work experience in social work or childcare they also often don t do background checks exposing children to the risk of abuse typically volunteers from high socioeconomic backgrounds travel abroad to work with poor communities and lack cultural and historical knowledge about where they are volunteering this can lead to an imbalanced power dynamic which increases the risk of vulnerability for children a high turnover of volunteers poses extra risks to any children they are working with and can be disruptive for children who build relationships with shortterm volunteers safety at the skatepark each skate project and skatepark is different and will have different considerations to take into account to ensure children are safe below are a few examples of skatepark best practices safety gear provided and helmets worn by teachers role modeling participant teacher ratio max 810 participants to 1 teacher organizing space and times for different skate abilities promoting healthy boundaries and having clear rules against favouritism by teachers being professional first aid training and supplies available signed waiver and media permission form by parents guardians for participants under age 18 next steps  as a starting point adapt this child protection pledge for your own project staff volunteers and participants to understand and sign if you don t have one yet create your own child protection policy using our new template as guidance also ensure your organization has relevant supporting documents like a code of conduct and media agreement see some examples in the resources and templates section below    embedded video for child protection any skateboarding project working with children has the responsibility to protect its participants from abuse exploitation and or neglect within their programs and externally this section gives an overview on child protection risks and strategies for skate projects as well as tips on strengthening your project s policies and systems for keeping children safe skateboard project volunteer agreement example pdf  goodpush child protection webinar youtube  safeguarding children in sport sportanddevorg  child protection in sport guideline streetfootballworld  international safeguards for children in sport pdf  safe spaces for girls guide womenwin  sport for protection toolkit unhcr international olympic committee  safeguarding checklist nspcc  goodpush child protection quick guide pdf  participant registration waiver form example docx  goodpush child protection policy template docx  child protection pledge example pdf  code of conduct for staff volunteers example pdf  media agreement example pdf  injury report form example pdf  child protection recruitment questions example pdf  