Child protection training for parents.

1. Child
Protection
Agreement
Prem Tinsulanonda International
School
March 2017

3. Sometimes,
kids have a lot
on their minds.

4. INTERNATIONAL TASK FORCE
ON CHILD PROTECTION
- Recently greater interest in Child Protection
- Thai Ministry of Education - CPP
- CIS and ICMEC joined forces to prevent and
respond to child abuse, neglect and sexual
exploitation wherever you are in the world
- CIS run workshops worldwide - Educational
Portal http://www.icmec.org/education-
portal/

5. United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
Children everywhere should have the right to…
Survival
Development
Protection
Participation

6. PREM
Statement of Intent
The health, safety and well-being of all our students is of
paramount importance to all the adults who work at
Prem.
Our children have the right to protection, regardless of
age, gender, race, culture, sexual orientation or
disability.
Prem endorses the Convention on the Rights of the Child
of which the host Country, Thailand, is a signatory, and
seeks to be a safe haven for students who may be
experiencing abuse or neglect in any aspect of their lives.

7. Dispelling Myths about Abuse
Abuse can happen to anyone, including in wealthy or seemingly supportive
families.
It can happen once, infrequently, or often
Abusers are usually KNOWN to the child; family friends or family members
Abusers can be male or female.
Abuse can often be physically invisible
Children rarely lie about abuse for attention
We are not powerless to respond.
Thai authorities are increasingly responsive to these issues. We can contact
Child Line, Office of Child Protection

9. Why do all of us need to be talking
and learning about this subject?

10. Definitions
Abuse will be defined as an action,
which causes or has the risk of causing
significant harm (this can be physical,
emotional, or sexual).
Neglect will be defined as an absence
of an action, which puts a child at risk
of significant physical, emotional, or
sexual harm.

11. We need to be paying attention to the signs
that are present since children tend to
communicate through behavior.

14. Types of Abuse
1. Physical
2. Emotional
3. Sexual
4. Neglect

15. Indicators of physical abuse (non-
accidental physical injury)
Unexplained bruising, burns, marks or injuries, especially on soft parts
of the body (neck, cheeks, ears, backs of legs, back)
Multiple bruises- in clusters, upper arms
Injuries inconsistent with information offered
Aggressive behaviours
Flinching when approached or touched
Distracted, hypervigilant
Wears inappropriate clothing to hide injuries or is reluctant to get changes
Depressed, withdrawn

16. Indicators of
emotional abuse
Very negative self-talk
Deflated attitude
Fear of making mistakes
Bullying others
Fear of authority figures
Neurotic behaviour- sulking, hair twisting, rocking
Lack of attachment
Distracted in class, symptoms may appear ADHD-like
Self-harm

17. Indicators of
sexual abuse:
Sexual drawings, sexual play
Shutting down, depression, suicidal thoughts
Fear of being alone with one person
Fear of specific places
Age-inappropriate sexual knowledge and behavior
Development of eating disorders
STI, repeated urinary infections
Pain, bruising or bleeding near genital area,
with possible stained/bloody underwear.

18. Indicators of neglect:
Constant hunger
Constantly dirty or “smelly”
Continuous poor personal presentation
Complaining of being tired all the time
Mentioning being left alone
Loss of weight or constantly underweight
Attention seeking, being clingy
Claiming to have forgotten school equipment
Untreated illnesses or injuries

20. How do abusers try and avoid
getting caught?
Sexual abusers:
They may be charming, warm, easy to like, easy to trust
They slowly push boundaries, also slowly testing whether the
child will “keep a secret”
They may normalize the behavior so children end up thinking
that all kids experience this type of abuse
They use “play” to introduce sex
They take advantage of a child’s natural sexual curiosities
They do favors for the child first (giving gifts) so that the child
feels “special” or “locked in”
Statistically, sexual abusers will have molested between
200-400 times before they are caught

21. How do abusers try and
avoid getting caught?
Emotional or physical abuse:
They blame the child for their actions
They can sometimes flip from being
very giving and very loving to very cruel
They threaten the child with more harm if the child
tells, including threatening to harm a younger
sibling or a beloved pet
They befriend YOU
They may tell others that the child lies, makes
stories up, has mental health issues, etc so that
the child is not believed if/when they report the
abuse.

22. CyberSafety: Friend of Foe?
Easy to fake online personal profiles
‘Catfish’
Predators adapting to Social Networks
Man created 8 fake Facebook profiles
to groom ‘1,000 kids’
Practice of ‘Sextortion’ - digital content
for blackmail
The real face of a 15 year old girl on
Facebook
Amanda Todd - Sextortion victim

23. Pornography Ring Targets Australian Schoolgirls
● Website encouraging boys to
upload graphic images of female
peers
● More than 2,000 images shared
of non-consenting and underage
girls
● Students from 70 Australian
schools
● Treat girls like ‘trading cards’
● Features "wanted" lists -- some
of which offer "bounties"
● Members "contribute" by posting
personal information including
friendship circles, phone
numbers and addresses.

24. Photo sharing
● An image of someone under the age
of 18 in which they are naked, in a
sexualised pose, or engaged in a
sexual act may constitute child
pornography.
● Creating, accessing or distributing
child pornography is a serious
offence, even if you are a child
yourself.
● Child pornography offences have a
max penalty of 10 years’
imprisonment for each count in
Thailand.
● There is NO SAFE WAY TO SHARE A
NUDE PHOTO

25. WHAT IS CYBERBULLYING?
- Bullying through electronic
means
- Everywhere
- Public
- Viral
- Text, Facebook, YouTube
common mediums
- Potentially fatal (Megan
Meier, Phoebe Prince, Alexis
Pilkington)

26. PREM IT User Agreement
1. Respect Yourself. I will show respect for myself
through my actions. I will select online names that are
appropriate, and I will consider the information and
images that I post online will be appropriate and not
obscene.
2. Protect Yourself. I will ensure that the information,
images and materials I post online will not put me at risk.
I will not publish my personal details, contact details or a
schedule of my activities. I will report any attacks or
inappropriate behaviour directed at me. I will protect
passwords, accounts and resources.

27. 3. Respect Others. I will show respect to others.
I will not use electronic mediums to bully or harass
other people. I will not visit sites that are
degrading, pornographic, racist or inappropriate.
4. Protect Others. I will protect others by
reporting abuse, not forwarding inappropriate
materials or communications.

35. What can I do to prevent abuse?
Learn the facts and understand the risks
people we trust
children afraid to report
often older or larger child
Minimize Opportunity
not left alone
know where child is
Talk about it
if you are comfortable they will be comfortable
teach ‘good touch’ / ‘bad touch’
Explain what exactly abuse is
“‘If someone hurts you, tell me” can confuse a child
who is being sexually molested, as the experience
may not “hurt” in the physical sense.
Be Alert
signs, changes in behaviour, physical signs
Make a Plan
How would you react?

36. What can I do to prevent abuse?
Act on suspicion
Report and TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
Get involved
Know who his/her friends are and where they are going
supervise as much as possible
Allow your child to exercise his/her rights
Right to express his/her opinion and feelings
Feelings taken into account in decisions
Listen
Let them know they are being heard
Teach them to share opinions and feelings in respectful
way

37. What if, in spite of all the
protection, you still think
something is happening to a child?

38. You don’t have to be sure that abuse is occurring to report your suspicions.
Suspected abuse: can be based on a “gut
feeling”, child behavioral symptoms, or child
physical symptoms.
Witnessed abuse: abuse that is directly observed
by our staff.
Reported abuse: a student or adult directly
reports that abusive behavior is occurring.

39. Who to Report to?
Designated Child Protection Officers (DCPOs):
Arabella Higgins- Whole School Counsellor
Amandine Lecesne- Whole School Counsellor
Alternatives:
Anita McCallum- Junior School Principal
Paul Sebastian- Senior School Principal
Linda Buck - Director of Boarding
Ajarn Tiew - Thai Principal
Alun Cooper- Head of School

40. How do you report your suspicions?
Come to us - talk privately
Not to be discussed in hallway -
appointment
Write an email
Discourage gossiping

41. Dealing with disclosure:
Listening to the child
Children may hint indirectly at a situation - examples
‘Strings attached’ – asking for promises
Claiming problems are a ‘friend’s’
Often a child will reveal incident only ONCE
Encourage talking to the school counsellor

42. Listening to the child
If a child wants to tell you something,
listen to them
Remain calm
Listen without shock or disbelief
Accept what is being said

43. Listening to the child
Allow the child to speak freely
Do not promise confidentiality
Reassure that it is not their fault
The right thing is to tell and that help is
available

44. Listen rather than ask direct questions
Do not ask leading questions
Do not criticise the alleged perpetrator
Explain who has to be told
Maintain a supportive presence
Listening to the child

46. Recording a Disclosure
Record keeping important - prevent offenders
Observe and take factual / clinical / specific notes
What would a camera on the wall capture?
Use child’s own words
Record the date, time, place
Non-verbal behaviour
Describe any injuries you see
Draw a diagram to indicate injuries

47. What is Prem doing?
Training
Training of all professional staff (teachers, boarding, IT staff,
admissions, VSP, Farm, Thai staff etc)
Sign declaration that they adhere to agreement
Counsellors have gone to special workshops on Safeguarding
& Child Protection - UK
All Teaching Staff, Boarding and Admissions staff are taking
online safeguarding course from the UK
Staff have Codes of Conduct guidelines regarding
appropriate behavior around students
Staff given guidelines regarding how to report abuse

48. Codes of Conduct
Protect both students and teachers
Always maintain professional boundaries
AVOID ambiguous comments or conduct
Communicating:
- use professional email accounts
- communications should be school related
- not personal
Avoid Social Media
Standards are the same for female and male staff.

49. Recruitment
In interview, staff given opportunity to disclose
information that gives concern, if they were to work
in a school environment
Up to date police records from staff country of
origin and previous country of employment
Telephone contact made with previous schools to
ascertain whether there are any concerns

50. Security Measures
Closed the hotel to all outside clients.
Erected a security fence around the school.
Certain gates have been permanently closed around the campus
Built guard posts at strategic points around the campus to control access
Appointed a Director of Security.
Opened a security office in the main administrative building
Installed a new fibre optic system for the CCTV cameras
Installed new CCTV cameras around the school
Monitors installed in the security office to look at activities across the campus
All teachers, admin etc required to wear ID badges at all times.
Parents can only come onto campus if they are wearing ID badges and then only
to the classrooms and library.
Parents who want to bring their cars onto campus have to apply for a special
badge for their car
VSP schools cannot come into the school
VSP schools are identified by a special wristband
Guards are trained how to serve as security agents
Each guard post has its special written orders

51. Security Measures
The guard detail operate 24 hours per day and 7 days per week
Parents wishing to see their child in boarding have to make an appointment
Visitors to school can only go to the location in the school that is needed eg
admissions, or the library
Parents and visitors are not allowed to take photographs of the children at play
Modified our recruitment strategies to focus on the recommendations of the Child
Protection Task Force
All teachers have to have an up to date police background check form all most
recent countries in which they have served
Police background checks will be required for all Thai staff (we have started on
this)
Police background checks will be necessary for all parents serving as volunteers
Police background checks will be necessary for all parents living in The Residence
All Artists in residence now have to present police background checks before we
will accept them
All IB and other workshop leaders must present a police background check before
we will accept them on campus
All teachers accompanying VSP groups to our campus must have current police
background checks vouched for by their host school

52. Training Students
Recognizing and responding to unsafe situations
Strengthening values of equality, respect and responsibility
Recognize abuse and potentially dangerous situation
Child’s right
- To be safe
- To be listened to and believed
- To be respected
- To privacy
- To be protected from abuse
- To ask for help

55. Student Code of Conduct
Students should be respectful of all members of the
school community
Students should never engage in any intentional
physical contact which may hurt another student or
member of the school community
Students should not engage in behavior which
emotionally hurts another or is intended to demean
Comments or communications that are conducted
via the internet are considered subject to the
agreement above.

57. We hold a “Prem Culture”. We believe that using harsh language
or physical punishment that demeans a student damages their
sense of safety, sense of self, and sense of community. As such,
any student attending Prem will be free from verbal or physical
punishment both at school and also at home.

58. Some cultures believe that being harsh
verbally or physically is necessary so
that children listen to adults, behave
better, and perform better.
Let’s take a look at the evidence.
.

62. If you tried to understand me instead of change me,
this whole parenting thing would be a lot easier.

63. Questions?