Standards for the Protection of Minors in effect at Pineapple Therapy s.c.

§ 1 General provisions

The purpose of the standards for the protection of minors is to eliminate the risk of abuse of children and to minimize the possibility of such abuse in relations with Pineapple Therapy s.c. staff.
The care of children includes concern for their dignity and physical and psychological well-being. All members of the team are responsible for preventing abuse of minors, including intervention when disturbing behavior is observed.

§ 2 Objectives of standards for the protection of minors

The main goal of the standards is to ensure children’s full safety while using Pineapple Therapy s.c. services.
This protection is carried out based on the competence of the staff, the compliance of activities with applicable laws and the internal procedures of the facility.
The standards also aim to build trust with parents and legal guardians by ensuring that Pineapple Therapy s.c. adheres to the highest ethical standards. This includes being open to children’s needs, showing them respect, recognizing their efforts and successes, involving them in decision-making, and focusing on interventions based on positive reinforcement.

§ 3 Terminology

Personal information – information about the customers of Pineapple Therapy s.c., enabling their identification.
Co-owners – persons authorized to make decisions about the activities of Pineapple Therapy s.c.
Cooperator – any company, organization or institution cooperating with Pineapple Therapy s.c.
Child – a customer of Pineapple Therapy s.c. up to the age of 18.
Employee – any person employed at Pineapple Therapy s.c. on the basis of an employment contract or a civil contract, as well as volunteers, apprentices and interns.
Guardian of the child – a person authorized to represent the child, in particular, a parent or legal guardian.
Intervention team – a team of employees appointed by the co-owners in the event of a child abuse situation.
Consent of the child’s guardian – consent of at least one of the child’s parents or legal guardians.
Responsible for protection standards – Krystian Brągiel, co-owner of Pineapple Therapy s.c..

§ 4 Recognizing and responding to child abuse risk factors

All employees of Pineapple Therapy s.c. are familiar with the risk factors and signs of child abuse and pay special attention to them in their duties.
If risk factors are identified, the employee notifies the person responsible for implementing standards for the protection of minors, who initiates a conversation with the child’s guardian, providing information about available support and encouraging them to take advantage of it.
Staff members systematically monitor the situation and well-being of the child by: a. Regular observation of the child’s behavior, health and well-being. b. Conversations with the child, the child’s guardian and therapists working with the child. c. Analyzing documents and information regarding the child’s situation.
Employees adhere to the principles of building safe relationships with children, avoiding any behavior inconsistent with the guidelines described in § 5.

§ 5 Principles of safe relations between minors and employees

The use of physical violence is strictly prohibited, including: a. Hitting, pushing or poking a child. b. Touching a child in a way that may be perceived as inappropriate or indecent. c. Tickling, unless it is a legitimate part of therapy, simulation play or therapeutic technique.
Psychological violence such as intimidation, name-calling, humiliation, taunting, or inducing guilt is not allowed.
It is forbidden to have any romantic or sexual relations with children, including making inappropriate proposals, making comments with sexual overtones, making jokes or transmitting erotic or pornographic content.
Other inappropriate actions such as destroying a child’s personal belongings, leaving him unattended or ignoring his needs are prohibited.
All physical interactions with the child must be overt and based on therapeutic need, involving mainly appropriate prompting or reinforcement. If disturbing behavior is observed, the person responsible for implementing the protection standards should be informed immediately.
The employee, when necessary, assists the child in hygiene activities, always respecting his right to privacy.
It is unacceptable to favor children; each should receive an equally high standard of therapeutic services.
The reward and motivation systems used must be appropriately tailored to the needs of the child, support his development and respect his right to self-determination.
An employee may not accept money or gifts from children or their guardians, except for small occasional gifts (such as a flower on women’s day or chocolate on holidays).
The employee may not maintain a relationship with the child, as well as with the child’s guardian, other than that which arises from the services provided. Any contact that seeks to change the nature of this relationship is unacceptable.
In his work, the employee takes into account the special needs of the child due to his disabilities, difficulties, disorders or other special needs.
The use of physical, psychological or any other kind of violence between children staying at Pineapple Therapy s.c. during group activities is absolutely unacceptable.
All participants in group classes at Pineapple Therapy s.c. are required to follow the established rules. Violation of these rules, leading to discomfort or conflict between children, is unacceptable and requires immediate staff intervention and an action plan to change undesirable behavior.

§ 6 Procedures for intervention in situations of child abuse or having information about child abuse

If an employee of Pineapple Therapy s.c. obtains information or notices that a child is being abused, he or she is obliged to make a business note with a detailed description of the incident and the people involved and immediately notify the co-owners.
The reported situation is being clarified by the co-owner of Pineapple Therapy s.c., who is taking the following steps:
1. Whenever possible, he conducts a conversation with the child, adapting its form to the child’s communication capabilities,
2. Talks to people who can help assess the situation,
3. Informs the child’s parents or legal guardians of suspected abuse,
4. Draws up a description of the child’s situation based on the interviews and appoints an intervention team to develop a plan to support the child
The child’s support plan should include:
1. Actions to ensure the safety of the child, including reporting suspected abuse to relevant institutions,
2. Forms of support offered to the child by Pineapple Therapy s.c.,
3. Referral of the child to a specialized facility, if necessary.
If, according to the developed plan for supporting the child, the situation does not require legal interventions, and cooperation with the caregivers is possible, the co-owner of Pineapple Therapy s.c. enters into a contract with the parents on joint action to improve the situation of the child and the family, including:
1. Provide the opportunity to obtain psychological help and support for the child on the premises of Pineapple Therapy s.c. or commit to obtaining it in other specialized institutions,
2. Identify institutions offering therapy for perpetrators of violence, addiction therapy or parenting skills workshops, and commit to contacting them for regular therapy meetings,
3. If necessary, identify institutions offering legal or financial assistance.
The child support plan is presented to caregivers by the person responsible for child protection policy at Pineapple Therapy s.c., with the recommendation to cooperate in its implementation.
Within the framework of cooperation, periodic meetings are held with caregivers, the frequency of which is determined by the child’s support plan, from which detailed notes are taken, with particular emphasis on evaluating the effectiveness of the measures taken
In the absence of parental cooperation or in the case of negative evaluation of the effectiveness of the measures taken, Pineapple Therapy s.c. reports suspected child abuse to the relevant institutions, such as the police, the family court, the prosecutor’s office or the interdisciplinary team.
All employees of Pineapple Therapy s.c. are obliged to maintain confidentiality in matters of child abuse, except for information provided to authorized institutions.
The person in charge of the child protection policy monitors the child’s situation and supervises the implementation of planned activities.
In the case of suspected child abuse by an employee of Pineapple Therapy s.c., the procedure follows the same procedure, and, if necessary, disciplinary proceedings are initiated in accordance with applicable regulations.

§ 7 Rules for the protection of the child’s image

Pineapple Therapy s.c., recognizing the child’s right to privacy and the protection of his/her personal rights, is committed to protecting the child’s image.
Employees of Pineapple Therapy s.c. are prohibited from allowing media representatives to record the image of the child (in the form of photos, videos or voice recordings) on the premises of the facility without prior written consent of the guardian.
To obtain the consent referred to in § 7 item. 2, an employee of Pineapple Therapy s.c. may contact the child’s guardian. However, it is not permissible to share the contact information of parents or guardians with media representatives without their express consent.
Pineapple Therapy s.c. guarantees the protection of the image of children residing in the facility.
Publication of the child’s image in any form requires the written consent of the guardian.
Guardians may give written permission for the use of photos and recordings of the child in Pineapple Therapy s.c. materials, such as the website, message boards or promotional materials.
Photos with the child’s image used inside Pineapple Therapy s.c. are used to support the child’s orientation and independence and are kept exclusively on the premises of the facility.
Consent to capture a child’s image is not required if the image is only part of a larger whole, such as a group, landscape or public event.

§ 8 Rules of children’s access to the Internet

At Pineapple Therapy s.c., children are not allowed to use the Internet without adult supervision, which minimizes the risks associated with accessing inappropriate content.
Caregivers are informed about the potential dangers of accessing harmful content on the Internet, especially when there is no control over computer use at home.
Pineapple Therapy s.c. conducts educational activities aimed at children and caregivers by organizing individual talks.

§ 9 Monitoring the application of the policy

The person responsible for child protection standards and the conduct of interventions at Pineapple Therapy s.c. is the designated co-owner of the facility. In a situation where a report concerns this person, the intervention is carried out by another co-owner.
The designated person monitors the implementation of child protection standards, responds to reports of violations of these standards, and makes proposals for changes to child protection policies at Pineapple Therapy s.c.
Once every two years, a designated person conducts a survey among employees of Pineapple Therapy s.c. to assess the level of implementation of the child protection policy (Appendix – survey).
In the survey, employees can make suggestions for changes in child protection standards and point out possible policy violations in the organization.
Based on the results of the surveys, the designated person prepares a monitoring summary report.
The co-owner responsible for the child protection policy, in consultation with other co-owners, makes the necessary changes to the policy and informs Pineapple Therapy s.c. employees of the new wording of the document.

§ 10 Final provisions

The standards for the protection of minors at Pineapple Therapy s.c. come into force on 01.08.2024.
All employees of Pineapple Therapy s.c. are required to familiarize themselves with the Standards for the Protection of Minors and acknowledge this with their signature.
Clients, parents and legal guardians have access to the Standards for the Protection of Minors at Pineapple Therapy s.c., which are made available on the facility’s website and posted in a conspicuous place on the premises, in full and in abbreviated form for children and incapacitated persons.
The standards for the protection of minors at Pineapple Therapy s.c. also apply to partially and totally incapacitated persons.

Appendix – Survey

During the past year, have you used the procedures under the facility’s child protection standards?
1. yes
2. not
In your opinion, are the child protection standards put in place at the facility effective in practice
1. yes

Justify:

In your opinion, are there problems related to the implementation of child protection standards?
1. yes

What kind of problems are these?

In your opinion, have you noticed shortcomings or errors in the operation of child protection standards?
1. yes

What errors have been noted?

If you believe that changes should be made to existing procedures, please describe the proposed changes.

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