Adult Code of Conduct

All adults have a legal obligation to act as a responsible and caring parent to students and are expected to:

• Be accountable for the way in which they exercise authority; manage risk; use resources; and safeguard children and young people.
• Keep children/young people safe and protect them from sexual, physical and emotional harm. Children/young people have a right to be treated with respect and dignity. Adults are expected to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety and well-being of children/young people and failure to do so may be regarded as neglect.
• Always act in the child’s best interests.
• Avoid any conduct which would lead any reasonable person to question their motivation and intentions.
• Take responsibility for one’s own actions and behaviour.

Adults should:

• Develop respectful and caring relationships between themselves and children/young people and demonstrate integrity, maturity and good judgement.
• Understand and acknowledge the responsibilities and trust inherent in the role of working with children/young people.

As a result of the knowledge, position and/or authority invested in their role, stakeholders are in positions of trust in relation to the children and young people in their care. They have a responsibility to ensure that an unequal balance of power is not used for personal advantage or gratification.

• They should always maintain appropriate professional boundaries and avoid behaviour which might be misinterpreted by others. They should report and record any incident with this potential.
• As they are in a specified position of trust, it is an offence for them to engage in sexual activity with or in the presence of a person under the age of 18 years, or to cause or incite that person to engage in or watch sexual activity (Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 2018/Abuse of position of trust).
• They should not:
  • use their position to gain access to information for their own or others’ advantage,
  • use their position to intimidate, bully, humiliate, threaten, coerce or undermine children/young people,
  • use their status and standing to form or promote relationships which are of a sexual nature, or which may become so.

A person’s dress and appearance are matters of personal choice and self-expression. However, adults should dress in ways which is appropriate to their role and this may need to be different to how they dress when not at work. If they dress in a manner which could be considered as inappropriate, they could be vulnerable to criticism or allegations.

Clothing should be worn which:

• is appropriate to the role,
• is not likely to be viewed as offensive, revealing, or sexually provocative e.g. staff should not wear beach/swim wear when not in the role of beach activity leader and should not wear sleepwear or casual clothing when online teaching,
• does not distract, cause embarrassment or give rise to misunderstanding,
• is absent of any political or otherwise contentious slogans, is not considered to be discriminatory and is culturally sensitive.

The giving or receiving of gifts or rewards to or from children/young people should be part of an agreed policy for supporting positive behaviour or recognising particular achievements.

• There are specific occasions when an adult may wish to give a child/young person a personal gift but this is only acceptable practice where they have first discussed the giving of the gift and the reason for it, with a Manager. Any gifts should be given openly and not be based on favouritism. It needs to be considered, that the giving of gifts can be misinterpreted by others as a gesture either to bribe or groom a young person.
• Adults should be careful when selecting children/young people for specific activities/privileges to avoid perceptions of favouritism or unfairness.

Communication between children and adults, by whatever method, should take place within clear and explicit professional boundaries. This includes the wider use of technology such as text messaging, emails, digital cameras, videos, webcams, websites and blogs. Adults should not share any personal information with a child/young person and vice versa other than that which might be appropriate as part of their professional role. They should ensure that all communications are transparent and open to scrutiny.

It is important to remember:

• Staff (excluding hosts) should not give their personal contact details to children/young people unless the need to do so is agreed with a Manager.
• They must only make contact with children for professional reasons.
• Text messaging is rarely an appropriate response to a child in a crisis situation or at risk of harm. It should only be used as a last resort when other forms of communication are not possible.
• Not to use internet or web-based communication channels to send personal messages to a child/young person.

Adults should not seek to have social contact with children/young people or their families, unless the reason for this contact has been agreed with a Manager. If a child or parent seeks to establish social contact, or if this occurs coincidentally, they should exercise their professional judgement in making a response but should always discuss the situation with the Manager or with the parent of the child/young person. They should be aware that social contact in certain situations can be misconstrued as grooming. In the case of homestay providers, care should be taken to maintain appropriate personal and professional boundaries when participating in social activities with children and young people or their parents.

This means that adults should:

• have no secret social contact with children/young people or their parents,
• consider the appropriateness of the social contact according to their role and nature of their work,
• always approve any planned social contact with children or parents with a Manager.

There are occasions when it is entirely appropriate for adults to have some physical contact with the child/young person with whom they’re working. However, they should only touch children in ways which are appropriate to their professional or agreed role and responsibilities.

Not all children and young people feel comfortable about physical contact, and adults should not make the assumption that it is acceptable practice to use touch as a means of communication. Permission should be sought from a child/young person before any physical contact is made.

Physical contact should never be secretive, or for personal gratification or represent a misuse of authority. If an adult believes that their action could be misinterpreted, or if an action is observed by another as being inappropriate or possibly abusive, the incident and circumstances should be reported to the school safeguarding staff.

It is important to remember:

• that even well intentioned physical contact may be misconstrued by the child, an observer or by anyone to whom this action is described,
• never to touch a child in a way which may be considered indecent,
• to always be prepared to report and explain actions and accept that all physical contact be open to scrutiny,
• not to indulge in horseplay,
• to always encourage children, where possible, to undertake self-care tasks independently,
• to be aware of cultural or religious views about touching and always be sensitive to issues of gender,
• that physical contact in some circumstances can be easily misinterpreted.

It is recognised that some children who have experienced abuse may seek inappropriate physical contact. Adults should be particularly aware of this when it is known that a child has suffered previous abuse/neglect. In all circumstances where a child or young person initiates inappropriate physical contact, it is the adult’s responsibility to sensitively deter the child and help them understand the importance of personal boundaries. Such circumstances must always be reported and discussed with the school safeguarding staff.

One to one situations should only take place where there is a need, agreed with a Manager and/or parents/carers, for an adult to be alone with a child or young person. This could involve one to one teaching or excursions and procedures and explicit safeguards must be in place.

One to one situations have the potential to make a child/young person more vulnerable to harm by those who seek to exploit their position of trust. Adults working in one to one settings with children and young people may also be more vulnerable to unjust or unfounded allegations being made against them.

Managers will undertake a risk assessment in relation to the specific nature and implications of one to one work and will take into account the individual needs of the child/young person and the individual worker, being reviewed on a regular basis.

Meetings with children and young people outside agreed working arrangements should not take place without the agreement of Managers/parents/carers.

This means that adults should:

• ensure that when lone working is an integral part of their role, full and appropriate risk assessments have been conducted and agreed,
• avoid meetings with a child or young person in remote, secluded areas,
• always inform other colleagues and/or parents/carers about the contact(s) beforehand, assessing the need to have them present or close by,
• avoid use of ‘engaged’ or equivalent signs wherever possible. Such signs may create an opportunity for secrecy or the interpretation of secrecy,
• always report any situation where a child becomes distressed or angry to a Manager,
• carefully consider the needs and circumstances of the child/children when in one to one situations.

There will be occasions when adults are expected or asked to transport children as part of their duties. Adults, who are expected to use their own vehicles for transporting children should ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy, appropriately insured and that the maximum capacity is not exceeded.

It is a legal requirement that all passengers should wear seat belts and it is the responsibility of the staff member to ensure that this requirement is met. Where adults transport children in a vehicle which requires a specialist driving license/insurance staff should ensure that they have an appropriate licence and insurance to drive such a vehicle.

This means that adults should:

• ensure they are fit to drive and free from any drugs, alcohol or medicine which is likely to impair judgement and/or ability to drive,
• ensure that their behaviour is appropriate at all times,
• ensure that there are proper arrangements in place to ensure vehicle, passenger and driver safety. This includes having proper and appropriate insurance for the type of vehicle being driven.

There are no circumstances that will justify adults possessing indecent images of children. Adults who access and possess links to such websites will be viewed as a significant and potential threat to children. Accessing, making and storing indecent images of children on the internet is illegal. This will lead to criminal investigation and the individual being barred from working with children and young people, if proven.

Adults should not use equipment belonging to their organisation to access adult pornography; neither should personal equipment containing these images or links to them be brought into the workplace. This will raise serious concerns about the suitability of the adult to continue to work with children.

Adults should ensure that children and young people are not exposed to any inappropriate images or web links. Organisations and adults need to ensure that internet equipment used by children have the appropriate controls with regards to access e.g. personal passwords should be kept confidential.

This means that adults should:

• follow the St Brelade’s College guidance on the use of IT equipment,
• ensure that children are not exposed to unsuitable material on the internet,
• ensure that any films or material shown to children and young people are age appropriate.

Adults have a duty of care to be role models for children and young people – people they can look up to or turn to if advice or guidance is needed.

It is therefore inappropriate for staff to engage in behaviour which may not be that of a role model nature. This would include the drinking of alcohol, smoking, drug use, in front of or around younger students.

With regards to privacy in the home or residences, the following guidance should be noted:

• Student bedrooms – hosts/host’s children/residence staff must always knock before entering and enter on invitation only (if the student is in the bedroom).
• Host/residence staff bedrooms – these rooms are completely out of bounds for students. Should a student need something during the night, all issues should be dealt with outside of bedrooms e.g. in communal areas.
• Own children’s bedrooms in homestays – students should knock and go in on invitation only.
• Bathrooms – it is inappropriate to enter a bathroom a student is using, unless in emergency.

Whistleblowing is a mechanism by which adults can voice their concerns, made in good faith, without fear of repercussion.

St Brelade’s College has a clear and accessible whistleblowing policy that meets the terms of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. If an adult uses whistleblowing procedures their employment rights are protected. Adults should report any behaviour by colleagues that raises concern regardless of source.