Protecting the safety of our students & staff

1. All FIS community members share a collective responsibility for the safety of FIS students. It is their responsibility to report any safeguarding concerns to the safeguarding team. 

2. The school will report any suspected child abuse to Japanese authorities as required by law, including pursuant to Article 5 of the Child Abuse Prevention Act.

3. Any member of the school community who has an evidence-based concern, such as first person observation, and discloses in good faith will not be penalized for making this report.

4. Suspicion is described as a situation in which a community member reports an incident which will be investigated by the safeguarding team. 

5. Reports should be made as soon as possible after observing any suspicious safeguarding incident.

1. The Reporting Members of the Safeguarding Team (RSGT) or Senior Leadership Team (SLT) will determine who will lead the investigation. If any member of these teams are involved in the allegation they will be excluded from the investigation. 

2. The investigator(s) will conduct a prompt, confidential and thorough investigation to determine whether reasonable suspicion has occurred. 

3. Documentation will be submitted to the RSGT or the SLT. 

4. Care must be given to protect the alleged victim(s), the alleged accused(s), and the whistleblower by restricting information access to only the RSGT or SLT. 

5. The RSGT or SLT will decide who needs knowledge of the incident (authorities, Chairperson of the Board, etc...). In situations where the RSGT and/or SLT cannot be involved, the HoS or the acting HoS will decide who needs knowledge of the incident. 

1. If the investigation indicates that reasonable grounds do not exist to support allegations of abuse, a statement to that effect will be given by the Head of School to the FIS employee in question. A second member of the leadership team will be present at this meeting.

2. If the investigation indicates that reasonable grounds do exist to believe that abuse has occurred, the Head of School will submit a copy of the report to the Board Chair.

3. The school will take legal advice as soon as it is evident that abuse has taken place.

4. The Head of School will recommend to the Board Chair suitable disciplinary action, which could result in termination of employment.

5. Substantiated reports of significant abuse will be promptly reported to the police.

6. If inappropriate behavior did exist, but does not constitute abuse, the perpetrator will be subject to appropriate disciplinary consequences.

It is important to note the difference between the terms "safeguarding" and "child protection". The term "safeguarding" is what we do for ALL children and is linked to ‘promoting welfare’.

Safeguarding can be defined as:

• protecting children from maltreatment
• preventing impairment of children’s health or development
• ensuring children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

It is a school's responsibility to make sure they operate in a way that minimises as much as possible the risk of abuse to children and young people.

UNICEF defines child protection as preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse against children. This includes commercial exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation.

Child protection forms a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. Effective child protection processes are an essential part of the wider work to safeguard and promote welfare; they also reduce the need for action to protect children from harm.

There should always be a whole school approach to safeguarding and child protection. This means involving everyone in the school, including the governors or proprietor, all staff, all the children and their parents or carers.

A Child Protection / Student Safeguarding Policy is a statement of intent that demonstrates a commitment to protecting students from harm (to self and from others) and makes clear to all what is required in relation to the protection of students. It serves to create a safe and positive environment for children and to demonstrate that the school is taking its duty and responsibility seriously.

According to the World Health Organization, child abuse constitutes “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill treatment including verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power’ A person may abuse a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional (e.g. school) or community setting; children may be abused by individuals known to them, or more rarely, by a stranger. Often children may experience multiple forms of abuse simultaneously, further complicating the problem.

Most child abuse is inflicted by someone the child knows, respects or trusts. International school communities have unique characteristics of which school personnel must be aware in terms of the individuals who are around our children. School personnel should be knowledgeable of the potential reasons why children may not be able to talk about any victimization they might have experienced.

To increase Fukuoka International School’s community's awareness, this document focuses on four main categories of abuse and provides basic information about the physical and behavioral signs associated with each type.

Child Protection/Student Safeguarding Concerns include suspected, alleged, self disclosed, or witnessed abuse of a child by anyone associated within or outside the school which must be investigated and followed by appropriate action.

Physical abuse may involve hitting, punching, shaking, throwing, poisoning, biting, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing intentional physical harm to a child. (These symptoms could also indicate harm to self, such as, cutting and suicide ideation).

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child so as to cause severe and adverse effects on a child’s emotional development. It may involve: conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved; that they are inadequate or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person; age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children; causing children frequently to feel frightened; or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child, though it may also occur alone.

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (i.e. rape) or non penetrative acts. They may include non contact activities, such as involving children in the production or viewing of pornographic material or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Children involved in commercial sex work are victims of sexual abuse, whether they perceive themselves as victims or not.

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical or physiological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development.

Grooming is the process during which a child sexual offender draws a child in by gaining his or her trust in order to sexually abuse the child and maintain secrecy. The offender may also groom the parents by persuading them of his or her trustworthiness with children. The process of grooming may last months or even years to break through a child’s defenses and increase the child’s acceptance of physical contact. 

In accordance with best practices for recruitment, the school shall seek confidential references on short listed candidates and the Head of School will follow this up with a direct phone/Skype conversation with regard to the teaching candidate. The school shall also require the successful candidate as a precondition to employment, to furnish criminal background check documentation from the country in which they are currently working and, if they have worked internationally, criminal background checks covering each country in they have worked. FIS is aware that not all countries provide criminal background documentation, or, are unable to provide them retrospectively. In such cases, they can provide a statement to this effect, and seek alternate testimonials from their school(s). Apart from the information that this gives the school, this also acts as a deterrent for those who abuse children and makes it less likely for them to seek employment at FIS. 

• Bruises, burns, sprains, dislocations, bites, cuts

• Improbable excuses given to explain injuries

• Injuries which have not received medical attention

• Injuries that occur to the body in places that are not normally exposed to falls, rough games, etc.

• Repeated urinary infections or unexplained stomach pains

• Refusal to discuss injuries

• Withdrawal from physical contact

• Arms and legs kept covered in hot weather

• Fear of returning home or of parents being contacted

• Showing wariness or distrust of adults

• Self Destructive tendencies

• Being aggressive towards others

• Being very passive and compliant

• Chronic running away

• Physical, mental and emotional development is delayed

• Showing delayed speech or sudden speech disorder

• Fear of new situations

• Low self-­esteem

• Inappropriate emotional responses to painful situations

• Extremes of passivity or aggression

• Drug or alcohol abuse

• Chronic running away

• Compulsive stealing

• Obsessions or phobias

• Sudden under­achievement or lack of concentration

• Attention­ seeking behavior

• Persistent tiredness

• Pain or irritation to the genital area

• Vaginal or penile discharge

• Difficulty with urination

• Infection, bleeding

• Fear of people or places

• Regressive behaviors, bed wetting or stranger anxiety

• Excessive masturbation

• Sexually provocative

• Stomach pains or discomfort walking or sitting

• Being unusually quiet and withdrawn or unusually aggressive

• Suffering from what seem physical ailments that can’t be explained medically

• Showing fear or distrust of a particular adult

• Mentioning receiving special attention from an adult or a new “secret” friendship with an adult or

• Refusal to continue with school or usual social activities

• Age inappropriate sexualized behavior or language

• Some indicators of neglect

• Medical needs unattended

• Lack of supervision

• Consistent hunger

• Inappropriate dress

• Inadequate nutrition

• Fatigue or listlessness

• Self­ destructive

• Extreme loneliness

• Extreme need for affection

• Poor personal hygiene

• Frequent lateness or non attendance at school

• Low self esteem

• Poor social relationships

• Compulsive stealing

• Drug or alcohol abuse

The impact of child abuse can persist for a lifetime after the abuse has been committed. Some victims of abuse are resilient and thus manage to function and survive. Much research has established the relationship between long term child abuse and life­time health and well­being, especially if the children do not get appropriate support to help them cope with the trauma. The most important point to consider is that children often are exposed to multiple forms of abuse and suffer a myriad of symptoms. Furthermore, all forms of abuse have the potential for long term impact on the victims, and can affect the victim's ability to function as a human being. Abuse challenges the self value, self esteem, and sense of worth of its victims, rendering them hopeless, helpless and unable to live a complete life.

• Poor educational achievement

• Inability to complete responsibilities

• Inability to live according to plan/ability

• Inability to care for self

• Inability to coexist, cooperate or work with others

• Lack of self confidence, prone to addiction

• Inability to express love / or accept love

• Inability to lead a family, constant health problems

• Prone to mental health problems

• Low self esteem, depression and anxiety

• Post­traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Attachment difficulties

• Eating disorders

• Poor peer relations, self injurious behavior (e.g., suicide attempts)

Students

• Unusual interest in sex, sexualizing inanimate objects and activities

• Does not stop sexual misbehavior when told to stop

• Uses force and coercion in social situations

• Unusual intensity when discussing sex and sexuality

• Socializes with children much younger

• Gives gifts, requires secrecy in relationships

Adults

• Has “favorite” student or child

• Attempts to find ways to be alone with children

• Inappropriate language, jokes and discussions about students/children

• Sexualized talk in the presence of students/children

• Gives private gifts or has private chats on Facebook/internet