SAFEGUARDING STANDARDS FOR MINORS

at Fundacja Dla Dobra Dzieci

ADOPTED STANDARDS

Version 2.0 | adopted by Resolution No. 7/2026 of the Management Board dated 7.09.2026

Foundation details

Table of contents

• Preamble and objectives
• Chapter I. General provisions
• Chapter II. Safe recruitment and personnel preparation
• Chapter III. Rules for safe relationships
• Chapter IV. Psychological assistance and therapeutic contact
• Chapter V. Recognising harm
• Chapter VI. Reports and intervention
• Chapter VII. Support plan for a minor
• Chapter VIII. Internet, image and data
• Chapter IX. Publication, monitoring and updating
• Chapter X. Final provisions
• Annexes

Preamble and objectives

Fundacja Dla Dobra Dzieci recognises the safety, dignity, autonomy and wellbeing of every minor as paramount values. The Foundation has zero tolerance for any form of harm to children or young people, including physical, psychological, sexual or peer violence, cyberbullying, exploitation, discrimination and neglect.

These Safeguarding Standards set out rules for preventing harm, maintaining safe contact with minors, responding to suspected harm, and organising assistance after an incident is disclosed. They apply to all employees, contractors, service providers, volunteers, trainees, interns, members of the Foundation’s governing bodies and other persons who may have contact with minors in connection with the Foundation’s activities.

The Foundation conducts assistance, psychological, educational, workshop and family activities in a manner that takes account of the child’s best interests, age, development, disability, and family, cultural and communication circumstances.

Chapter I. General provisions

§ 1. Basis and scope

• These Safeguarding Standards are an internal Foundation document and apply to all activities in which a minor participates, stays under the Foundation’s care, or remains in contact with Foundation personnel.
• The Safeguarding Standards are implemented with regard to applicable law, in particular the Act on Counteracting Sexual Crime and the Protection of Minors, the Patients’ Rights Act — where a given service constitutes healthcare — and personal data protection legislation, including the GDPR.
• If there is any discrepancy between these Safeguarding Standards and the law, the law shall prevail.
• These Safeguarding Standards do not replace the obligation to notify the competent authorities where such obligation arises under the law.

§ 2. Glossary

§ 3. Fundamental principles

• The welfare and safety of the minor take precedence over the Foundation’s organisational convenience.
• The minor is treated with respect, without violence, shaming, discrimination or judgement of the person.
• The minor has the right to age-appropriate information, to be heard and to express an opinion on matters concerning them.
• Intervention should be as prompt, proportionate and documented as possible, and conducted with respect for privacy.
• Personnel must not promise a minor complete confidentiality where information disclosed indicates a threat to the minor’s life, health or safety.

Chapter II. Safe recruitment and personnel preparation

§ 4. Recruitment

• Where applicable, the Foundation states in the advertisement, interview or contract that the position or function involves contact with minors.
• Before permitting a person to work with minors, the Foundation carries out legally required checks in the relevant registers and collects the required documentation.
• To the extent required by law, the Foundation obtains information from the Register of Sexual Offenders and other required documents or declarations.
• The Foundation verifies qualifications, experience, preparation for working with children, and the candidate’s attitude towards protecting children’s rights.
• Missing required documentation or justified doubts concerning the safety of minors preclude permitting a person to have contact with minors until the matter has been clarified.

§ 5. Training and personnel duties

• Every person permitted to have contact with minors reads the Safeguarding Standards before beginning their duties and confirms this by signature or in a recorded electronic form.
• Personnel know the reporting procedure, the responsible person and the basic signs of harm.
• The Foundation organises induction and periodic training appropriate to the scope of duties.
• Personnel must respond to a threat to a minor’s safety and pass the information to the person responsible for intervention.
• A person who learns of harm must not independently conduct an investigation or confront the suspected person with the report.

Chapter III. Rules for safe relationships

§ 6. Personnel–minor relationship

• Personnel act in the minor’s best interests, within the limits of their competence and in accordance with the law.
• Personnel communicate calmly, patiently and in a way that is understandable for the child’s age and abilities.
• Personnel respect the minor’s privacy and physical and emotional boundaries.
• Physical contact is permitted only when appropriate, safe, justified and accepted by the minor; emergency assistance may be provided in a situation of immediate danger.
• Sensitive conversations are conducted in conditions that ensure safety and the possibility of providing assistance; a person must not close themselves in a room with a minor in a manner preventing others from noticing the situation.
• Personnel use official communication channels. Private accounts and messaging applications may be used only where formally authorised and secured.
• Personnel must not meet a minor privately outside the Foundation’s activities without the knowledge and consent of the guardian and the Foundation.
• The following are prohibited: violence, threats, shouting, humiliation, shaming, ridicule, favouritism, sexualisation of contact, violation of bodily integrity, showing pornographic content and exploiting dependency.

§ 7. Peer relationships

• The Foundation prevents peer violence, exclusion, harassment and cyberbullying.
• Personnel respond to reports concerning relationships between minors, ensuring the safety of the harmed person and not automatically applying collective responsibility.
• Minors receive information about whom they can ask for help.

Chapter IV. Psychological assistance and therapeutic contact

§ 8. Specific rules

• Psychological assistance, consultation, diagnosis, a workshop or a support group is conducted by a person with appropriate qualifications and within their competence.
• Before assistance begins, the parent or guardian receives clear information about its purpose, form, rules of contact and limits of confidentiality, taking the minor’s rights into account.
• The minor receives an explanation appropriate to their age and communication abilities.
• Information obtained in the course of providing assistance is protected. Confidentiality may be limited where necessary to protect the minor’s life, health or safety or where required by law.
• Assistance records are stored with restricted access, in accordance with the law and data protection principles.
• Personnel must not use the assistance relationship for private gain, intimate contact, emotional dependency, promotion of private services or obtaining contact with the minor beyond the agreed scope of assistance.
• If a problem exceeds the competence of the person providing assistance, the minor and guardian receive information about the need for referral to another specialist or institution.
• When harm is disclosed, safety is the priority, rather than a full interview being conducted by the person who received the information.

Chapter V. Recognising harm

§ 9. Forms and signs

• Physical violence: including injuries, physical trauma, complaints of pain, fear of a particular person and sudden changes in behaviour.
• Psychological violence: including humiliation, intimidation, rejection, isolation, chronic fear, withdrawal, low self-esteem or self-destructive behaviour.
• Sexual violence: including age-inappropriate sexualised behaviour, disclosures, sexual content or contact, grooming or crossing intimate boundaries.
• Neglect: including lack of appropriate care, failure to meet basic needs, lack of treatment, leaving the minor without protection or ignoring signs of danger.
• Peer violence and cyberbullying: including harassment, threats, exclusion, publishing materials, impersonation, blackmail or violence within a group.
• The presence of a single sign alone does not establish that harm has occurred, but should prompt attentiveness, a safe conversation and — where justified — a report.

Chapter VI. Reports and intervention

§ 10. Receiving a report

• A report may be made by a minor, parent or guardian, member of personnel, cooperating person or third party.
• A report may be made in person, by telephone, by email or in another form indicated by the Foundation. In a situation of immediate danger, call 112 without delay.
• The person receiving the report listens without judgement, does not suggest answers, does not promise confidentiality and records the basic facts: date, persons involved, description of the incident and actions taken.
• If the report concerns the person responsible for the standards, it is passed to the Management Board or the substitute. If it concerns the Management Board, the independent channel som@dladobradzieci.org must be used.

§ 11. Response levels

§ 12. Rules for conducting an intervention

• The intervention is conducted with respect for the minor’s rights and the principle of data minimisation.
• The suspected person is not informed of the details of the report in a manner that could endanger the minor or hinder proceedings.
• The guardian is informed where this does not increase the risk to the minor. Where harm by a guardian is suspected, the safety of such contact must be assessed.
• The Foundation cooperates with the police, prosecutor’s office, family court, social welfare centre, healthcare services and other competent institutions in accordance with their remit and the law.
• Every intervention is documented in a manner secured against access by unauthorised persons.

Chapter VII. Support plan for a minor

§ 13. Support plan

After harm has been disclosed or reasonably suspected, where the circumstances require it, the Foundation prepares a support plan. The plan may include:

• actions ensuring immediate safety;
• psychological support or referral to a specialist;
• legal, social, medical or educational support;
• appointing a contact person for the minor and guardian;
• the method of contact and monitoring frequency;
• the date of review of the plan and criteria for its completion;
• cooperation with competent institutions.

The support plan should be understandable to the minor, practicable and updated when the situation changes. The conclusion of formal proceedings does not automatically mean that support ends.

Chapter VIII. Internet, image and data

§ 14. Digital safety

• The Foundation does not make harmful, pornographic, violent or discriminatory content available to minors.
• Use of devices and the Internet during activities takes place in accordance with the purpose of the activity and under personnel supervision.
• Personnel do not send private materials to minors or conduct private conversations of a prohibited nature.
• Incidents involving cyberbullying or disclosure of data are treated as requiring intervention.

§ 15. Image and data

• Publication or recording of a minor’s image requires a separate legal basis and appropriate consent, where required.
• The Foundation limits data to the necessary minimum and does not publish information enabling identification of the child in a manner increasing risk.
• Reports and assistance records are stored with restricted access, and disclosure takes place only to authorised persons or on a legal basis.

Chapter IX. Publication, monitoring and updating

§ 16. Publication

• The full version of the Safeguarding Standards is available on this Foundation website and at the Foundation’s registered office.
• An abridged version for minors is available in a form that is understandable and adapted to age.
• Parents and guardians receive information about the Safeguarding Standards when their child begins participating in the Foundation’s activities.
• Personnel confirm that they have read the Safeguarding Standards and receive access to the procedures and contact details of the responsible person.

§ 17. Monitoring and updating

• The person responsible for the standards monitors their application, keeps an intervention register and submits findings to the Management Board.
• The Safeguarding Standards are reviewed at least once every two years and after each serious incident, change in law or change in the scope of activities.
• Monitoring may include analysis of reports, conversations with personnel, minors and guardians, surveys and assessment of the document’s accessibility.
• Changes are approved by the Management Board in the form of a resolution or another internal document.

Chapter X. Final provisions

• The Safeguarding Standards enter into force on 7.09.2026 pursuant to Management Board Resolution No. 7/2026.
• The annexes form an integral part of the Safeguarding Standards.
• Matters not regulated herein are governed by law and the principles of protecting the child’s welfare.
• Annexes containing personal data or information about interventions are stored securely and are not published in full on the website.

ANNEX 1. Statement by a member of personnel

I, [name and surname], declare that I have read the Safeguarding Standards for Minors at Fundacja Dla Dobra Dzieci, know the rules for safe relationships and the reporting and intervention procedure, and undertake to comply with them.

Date: ____________________ Role: ____________________ Signature: ____________________

ANNEX 2. Report form

Form instructions: complete the form factually, without making diagnoses and without unnecessary data. The document must be stored in a secure place.

ANNEX 3. Support plan for a minor — template

ANNEX 4. Information for minors — abridged version

You have the right to feel safe. No one may hit, humiliate, frighten or exploit you, or force you into contact you do not want.

• You can say “no” and ask for a break.
• You can tell a trusted person that something is worrying you.
• If someone harms you or you see someone else being harmed, tell an adult from the Foundation, a parent, guardian or another trusted person.
• We will not blame you for what happened.
• If someone is in immediate danger, call 112 or ask an adult for help.
• You can contact the Foundation: fundacja@dladobradzieci.org, 737-686-949.

Person you can contact at the Foundation: Bernadetta Stachura-Terlecka, President of the Foundation, tel. 737-686-949.

ANNEX 5. Information for parents and guardians

Fundacja Dla Dobra Dzieci applies Safeguarding Standards for Minors to prevent harm and respond when a sign of risk appears. A parent or guardian may ask about safety rules, report a concerning incident and receive information about available forms of support, with due regard for the child’s welfare and privacy.

Reports: fundacja@dladobradzieci.org, tel. 737-686-949. In a situation of immediate danger to life or health: 112.

ANNEX 6. List of organisational data to be completed or updated

• number and date of the Management Board resolution;
• date on which the Safeguarding Standards enter into force;
• responsible person and substitute;
• email address and alternative reporting channel;
• local list of institutions and notification details;
• location of the paper version of the Safeguarding Standards;
• link to the full and abridged versions on the website;
• report register template and access rules;
• personnel training rules and training frequency;
• procedure where a report concerns a member of the Management Board.