Information / POLICIES

Child Protection Policy

(In compliance with UAE Federal Law No: 3 of 2016 and ADEK policy 3 (Article 5) of 2014 unified child protection policy and regulations)

Purpose and Objective

Al Ain American School – Sole Proprietorship L.L.C provides a safe, caring, and supportive environment that enables the children to realize his/ her academic, psycho-socio-emotional, cultural, and physical potentials. The policy also provides clear direction and guidelines to staff and other stakeholders about the conduct and behavior of dealing with child protection issues. This ensures that child protection concerns, referrals, monitoring, and follow-ups must be handled with delicate care and sensitivity. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the School has student protection measures in place: 

  1. The Principal and Designated Team protect the students while in the school’s care from all acts and lapses like any form of physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm. It often occurs within a relationship of trust or responsibility and is an abuse of power or a breach of trust.

  2. Identify and support those students who may have suffered such abuse or neglect, as strongly enforced by the UAE Federal Law No.3 of 2016 on Child Rights (Wadeema’s Law), Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 on Penal Code, ADEK policy 3 (Article 5) of 2014 and other relevant UAE laws. 

  3. UAE Federal Law No.3 of 2016 on Child Rights (Wadeema’s Law), “Every child in the UAE whether residents or tourists have the right to live and be safe, protected from neglect and all forms of abuse”. 

  4. Emphasize that school staff are mandated reporters of cases of abuse and/or suspected abuse inside and outside the school. 

  5.  Define the duties and responsibilities of the Principal and staff for responding to suspected cases of child abuse and/or neglect.

Definition(s):

A Child under this policy is a student who is studying in Al Ain American School – Sole Proprietorship L.L.C; the law applies to all children up to the age of 18. Child protection, for the purpose of this policy, is defined as all measures, steps, and actions that must be taken to protect students from risks that may cause harm or injury while they are in the school’s care, traveling to and from the school using school transport, and moving between, waiting for, and taking part in, all activities organized by the school inside or outside the school campus. A school day is the time period spent by a student under school supervision. It includes the time spent by the student inside the school. 45 minutes before the start of the school day (including the time spent by the student in school buses) and 90 minutes after school hours. 

Abuse refers to any form of physical, emotional, or sexual, corporal punishment, and also includes bullying, exploitation, and neglect. Physical abuse is the deliberate physical injury to a student or the intentional neglectful failure to prevent physical injury or suffering. This involves actions including, but not limited to, hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, confinement, or giving the student drugs not prescribed by a physician to control behavior or to cause harm.

 Possible signs of physical abuse can include: 

  1. Unexplained bruises or injuries 

  2.  Injuries that have not received medical attention

  3. Repeated abdominal pain 

  4. Withdrawal from physical contact 

  5. Arms and legs covered in scalds 

  6. Fear of returning home 

  7. Fear of contacting caregivers/parents 

  8. Self-harm tendencies 

  9. Displaying aggression toward others 

  10. Unusual passive behavior 

  11. Repeated running away from home 

  12. Cigarette burns 

  13. Human bite marks 

  14. Multiple burns with a clearly demarcated edge 

Corporal punishment, a physical punishment inflicted on a child by a teacher or any school staff, to impose discipline is considered Physical abuse. 

Emotional Abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a student such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the student’s emotional growth and development. It involves actions such as, but not limited to, conveying to students that they are worthless, inadequate, or valued only so far as they meet the needs of another person. It involves causing students to feel bullied, frightened, or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of students.

Possible signs of emotional abuse can include: 

  1. Regular tiredness 

  2.  Fear of a new situation 

  3. Low self-esteem 

  4. High levels of anxiety 

  5. Unusually passive or aggressive 

  6. Delayed speech 

  7. Inappropriate emotional responses to painful situations 

  8.  Running away 

  9.  Lying 

  10. Neurotic behavior e.g. sulking, hair twisting, rocking 

  11. Fear of making mistakes 

  12. Self-harm 

  13. Developmental delay in terms of emotional progress

Sexual Abuse and Exploitation involve but are not limited to forcing or tempting a student to take part in sexual activities. The activities involve actions including, but not limited to, physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They include non-contact activities such as involving students looking at or in the production of pornographic material or, watching sexual activities, sexual hinting, or encouraging students to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Possible signs of sexual abuse can include: 

  1. Unusual behavior which could be general or sexual 

  2. Age-inappropriate sexual behavior 

  3.  Sexually transmitted diseases 

  4. Physical indicators in the genital and anal areas 

  5. Pain or itching in the genital area 

  6. Bruising or bleeding near the genital area

  7. Vaginal discharge or infection 

  8. Discomfort when walking or sitting down

Bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior(s) from a student or more to another student and involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated (or is highly likely to be) multiple times. Bullying, as a form of violence, includes physical (hitting, tripping), verbal (name calling, teasing), relational/social spreading rumors, leaving out of the group), and cyberbullying aggression (occurs through e-mail, a chat room, instant messaging, a website, text messaging, or pictures or videos sent through cell phones or posted on websites). A student can be an offender, a victim, or both. 

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a student’s basic physical, emotional, and/or psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development

Possible signs of neglect can include: 

  1. Stealing

  2. Poor social relationships 

  3. Failure to thrive 

  4. Poor personal hygiene 

  5. Frequent hunger 

  6. Untreated medical complaints 

  7. Frequent lateness or absence from school 

  8. Inappropriate clothing 

  9. Substance or alcohol misuse

Policy

All school staff who has regular or temporary contact with students and who provides services to students or the school – are authorized and mandated to report all cases of suspected abuse and/or neglect (conducted by any perpetrator inside or outside of the school) directly to the Ministry of Interior's – Child Protection Center within 24 hours upon suspicion. If a child is in immediate danger (risk of serious harm), the police will be called using the 999 services, followed by reporting to the Ministry of Interior – Child Protection Center within one hour upon discovery. In addition, school staff will inform the School Principal immediately when they suspect the exposure of any student to any form of abuse and/or neglect. The school principal or school staff shall not impede or inhibit reporting of a suspected case of child abuse and/or neglect by a third party, nor take any actions against the reporter. Schools will conduct awareness and campaigns among the students on the importance of reporting any suspected case of student abuse and/or neglect inside or outside the school that becomes known to them, as stated in this policy. 

Confidentiality of Data

The school will keep the case reports, student data, and identities of the both alleged offender and victim and the person reporting the case strictly confidential. The data shall be shared only with authorized individuals from the ADEK PSQA Division and the Ministry of Interior – Child Protection Center and Social Support Center authorized staff. School staff is strictly prohibited from discussing active or closed cases with the media, any third parties or other staff, unauthorized ADEK staff, with the exception of investigative and judicial authorities, and within legal responsibilities. 

Training

The school had given critical importance to the provision of ongoing knowledge regarding all health, safety, Child protection, and prevention matters. The ministry of interior- Child Protection Centre in coordination and collaboration with ADEK shall conduct child protection training for school leaders and other specified staff for which attendance is mandatory. The School leaders and the specific staff who got the child protection training should cascade the session to other staff. So that all staff knows what to look out for with respect to the protection and safety of students. 

Counselling and School Support Service

The school is committed to encouraging respect for human rights and every student is treated as unique. The school enables students to have access to a trusted professional School counselor and Social Worker, enabling students to cope with their emotional and academic problems.

Child Protection Committee

The school has a Child Protection Committee which consists of the following members: 

  1. Principal

  2. Vice Principal 

  3. Section Supervisors.

  4. School Counsellor/Social Worker 

  5. The School Nurse (Types of injuries and frequency are recorded) 

Child Protection Committee Members

Designation

Ruba Shadid 

School Principal 

Sahar Sayed

Head of Section 

Mahra Al Neyadi

Social Worker

Fatima Al kaabi

Social Worker / School Counselor 

 Rasha Isleem

Student of Determination (SOD) Teacher 

 

School Nurse 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The committee takes measures to: 

  1. Promote a positive, supportive and secure environment in the school.

  2. Provide counseling and school support services, enabling students to have access to a trusted professional counselor or a social worker. 

  3. Make, implement and review child protection policy regularly. 

  4.  Liaison with other professionals and support centers to support the child. 

  5.  Develop, productive, supportive relationships between schools and parents. 

  6.  Provide guidance to parents, students, and staff regarding child protection policy. 

Roles and Responsibilities

Principals will:

  • Ensure the supervision of students at all times while in school’s care. 

  • Ensure that there is a priority emphasis on the protection of the students and for taking immediate actions when there is suspicion of cases of student abuse or neglect.

  • Ensure that the students can safely report their concerns about abuse and neglect without fear of punishment. The principal should be in a caring and supportive manner when disclosing any student regarding abuse or neglect. 

  • Ensure that staff and others can safely report their concerns about the potential exposure of any student to abuse or neglect without fear of retribution or punishment. 

  • Gain views from students and parents regarding security and protection within the school.

  •  Ensure that all staff and administrators targeted for student protection training are fully attended to and participated in all training sessions. 

  •  Immediately report any case of potential abuse or neglect of students as stated by this policy. 

  •  Conduct orientation sessions for parents/guardians upon student registration or enrollment and at the start of every school year to promote this policy and to inform them of their roles and responsibilities, and their rights and duties. 

  • Maintain student records in compliance with the Students Records policy, and ensure confidentiality of open and closed cases. 

  • Immediately suspend any staff member who is suspected of an office involving student abuse or neglect on a temporary basis until the suspicion is adjudicated.

All School Staff will: 

  • Report a suspected case of abuse and/or neglect upon immediate discovery. 

  • Supervise students at all times while in school's care. 

  • Understand this policy to address suspected or alleged student abuse or neglect cases. 

  • Attend and participate in mandated student protection training.

The process to Report A Suspected Case of Abuse and/or Neglect: 

  1. Recognize the signs of child abuse or neglect. 

  2. Record clearly, remembering to include the time, date, name, and role. 

  3. Record the case reference number, date, time, place, and any noticeable non-verbal behavior and the words used by the student. 

  4. The school-designated officials thoroughly investigate and report immediately to ADEK all incidents of abuse they may students face including exploitation, violence, and or any other physical harm, sexual abuse or emotional threat, or harm of any kind all of which will be referred to as abuse of students. 

  5. Report the case to the Ministry of Interior-Child Protection center using the telephone hotline (116111). 

  6. When handling cases of student abuse, to conduct an investigation, the School will maintain clear and scrupulous communications and actions with the Government entities such as the Health Authority- Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the Social Welfare institutions, and Police. 

  7. The school should maintain a detailed report concerning the incident and procedures taken in this regard. This report should be kept in the student’s folder. If the abuse is a crime, the school is required to notify the relevant official entities

  8. Inform the Principal when suspecting a case of student abuse or neglect. 

  9. Ensure confidentiality and privacy of reported cases. 

  10. Cooperate with the Ministry of Interior –Child Protection Centre by implementing the required measures.

This Policy will be revised if any amendment is made by AAS to the existing ADEK Unified Child protection policy and regulation 2016.