Safeguarding & Protection Reporting & Response

Handling Disclosures

First Responder

• Listen empathically without judgement

• Ask the basic, minimal 1 or 2 questions to decide if there is something of concern

• Ask open ended questions “tell me about it?” “what happened” “what makes you say that?”

• Do not ask leading questions “did he…?”

• Tell the victim you have to report this (do not promise to maintain confidentiality)

• Afterwards immediately record, verbatim (what you can on the incident report form) and provide this and your account to a member of the child safeguarding team.

• Sign and date the report, review with a member of the CPT. The original report is to be kept in the CMO's locked cabinet and in locked google files.

Follow-up Care and Services

Beyond our legal obligation to report suspected abuse, neglect and/or harassment, we believe we have a moral and ethical obligation to assist our families with follow-up care and services that will enable them to move forward in a healthy manner. Therefore, we offer the following post-traumatic intervention strategies and work closely with families to develop an appropriate plan of action. Because each experience of abuse, neglect or harassment is unique, so are the intervention strategies applied. Below you will find the types of support we are able to provide to our students and families in need.

ICS provides:

• Preliminary counseling and guidance in a confidential and supportive environment

• Referrals to licensed counselors, therapists or mental health professionals for continued individual or family therapy outside the school setting

• Weekly check-ins with student/parents to monitor the intervention plan, share feedback on progress, and revise strategies as needed

• Supportive resources such as websites, articles, books, support blogs, etc.