Child Safeguarding Policy

Last reviewed: 2025 | Next review: 2026, then every two years

Purpose

This policy exists to:

  • Protect children and young people who participate in or are affected by Ackee Seed Foundation's programmes and activities including children of adults who use our services.

  • Provide staff, volunteers, partners, children, young people, and their families with the principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy applies to everyone working on behalf of Ackee Seed Foundation, including board members, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff, consultants, contractors, implementing partners, and students.

Legal Framework

Ackee Seed Foundation is registered in the Netherlands and operates primarily in Jamaica. This policy has been drawn up in accordance with child protection legislation, policy, and guidance applicable in the Netherlands, and is applied in full to all activities carried out in Jamaica and any other country where we operate.

Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

  • Integrity Policy

  • Code of Conduct

Our Beliefs

We believe that:

  • Children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind.

  • We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe, and to work in ways that actively protect them.

What We Recognise

  • The welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take.

  • Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers, and other agencies is essential in promoting young people's welfare.

  • All children regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse.

  • Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs, or other issues. Extra safeguards may be needed to keep these children safe.

How We Keep Children Safe

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

  • Valuing, listening to, and respecting them.

  • Appointing a nominated child protection lead, a deputy, and a lead board member for safeguarding.

  • Adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures, and code of conduct for staff and volunteers.

  • Developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures.

  • Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training, and quality assurance so that everyone knows and follows our policies confidently and competently.

  • Recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made.

  • Recording, storing, and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance.

  • Sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families through leaflets, group work, and direct conversations.

  • Making sure that children, young people, and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern.

  • Using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share relevant information with agencies that need to know, involving children, young people, parents, families, and carers appropriately.

  • Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately.

  • Ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place.

  • Ensuring a safe physical environment for children, young people, staff, and volunteers by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance.

  • Building a safeguarding culture in which staff, volunteers, children, young people, and families feel confident to raise concerns.


Definition and Scope

Ackee Seed Foundation defines a child as anyone under the age of 18.

This policy applies to all staff and volunteers of Ackee Seed Foundation, including partners, implementing partners, consultants, contractors, and visitors.

This policy covers all forms of child abuse. Ackee Seed Foundation recognises five categories of child abuse: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Definitions are provided in the Annex below.

Implementation and Review

All violations of the standards set out in this policy will be reviewed by the board, and in the case of child abuse, reported to the appropriate authorities.

Ackee Seed Foundation will review this Child Safeguarding Policy after its initial year, then every two years. This policy and the Code of Conduct together cover all aspects of our operations.

Annex: Definitions

Child Abuse

Child abuse consists of anything which individuals, institutions, or processes do or fail to do which directly or indirectly harms children or damages their prospects of a safe and healthy development into adulthood.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is the non-accidental use of physical force that deliberately or inadvertently causes a risk of, or actual injury to, a child. This may include hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing non-accidental physical harm to a child. Physical harm can also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates or deliberately induces symptoms of illness, or causes temporary, permanent injury, or disability in a child.

Neglect

Neglect includes but is not limited to: failing to provide adequate food, clothing, or shelter; failing to prevent harm; failing to ensure adequate supervision; failing to ensure access to appropriate medical care; or failing to provide a safe physical environment (e.g. exposure to violence, unsafe programming locations, releasing a child to an unauthorised adult, or access to weapons or harmful objects). It can also include Ackee Seed Foundation staff, partners, contractors, or sub-grantees failing to apply the minimum requirements set out in our mandatory procedures.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse involves doing harm to a child's emotional, intellectual, mental, or psychological development. This may occur as an isolated incident or on an ongoing basis. It includes but is not limited to: humiliating or degrading treatment (such as name-calling, threats, yelling, teasing, constant criticism, belittling, or persistent shaming); failure to meet a child's emotional needs; and rejecting, ignoring, terrorising, isolating, or confining a child.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex), or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at or producing sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Sexual abuse can be perpetrated by adults of any gender, as well as by other children.

Child Exploitation

Child exploitation is an umbrella term used to describe the abuse of children who are forced, tricked, coerced, or trafficked into exploitative activities. For Ackee Seed Foundation, this includes modern slavery and trafficking of children, and children forced or recruited into armed conflict.

Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate, or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity, in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology. Within Ackee Seed Foundation, child sexual abuse and exploitation also includes child early and forced marriage.

Child Labour

Child labour is work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful