Child Protection Policy

Our Purpose:

Great Bridge Presbyterian Church considers children an integral part of the church. At all times we wish to safeguard all members of the church, whether children, leaders or the general church community. It is our aim to enable children, through contact with the church and with designated leaders, to learn about Jesus and be nurtured in their faith, free from concern about their personal and emotional safety. We will provide dedicated and conscientious leaders who will take all reasonable care of our children and accept that we have a duty to protect children in our care from abuse. We are a church dedicated to ministering to children and committed to being proactive in their safety and protecting the integrity of our adults. As a result, we submit the following standards of conduct at GBPC.

Standards of Conduct

· Employees of the church must undergo a criminal background check.

· Teachers of children must have regularly attended GBPC for three months, complete a volunteer application and provide a reference from a member of this church. Prior to that, individuals are welcome to assist or observe in the classroom.

· We will provide training for our workers and volunteers in the nature of child abuse and in other child protection matters.

· Common expressions of affection (hugs), affirmation (pats on the back), support (prayer), or physical caretaking (changing diapers,etc.) are appropriate in this community of caring Christians. Care must be taken, however, that physical expressions of affection are appropriate for the age (for example- a four year old could sit in an adult’s lap but not a 16 year old) and are not excessive or imposed upon another individual.

· Church teachers/ assistants should work in pairs. There will always be a hallway monitor present to assist. Two leaders must be present if any class size exceeds ten students.

· Two persons must be present in the 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old classes at all times. One of the pair must be at least eighteen years old.

· Windows and doors are to be unobstructed. No door will be locked during a program event with leaders and children inside.

· During Sunday morning classes at least one adult will function as a Superintendent in the children’s wing. This person will circulate classrooms to assess and address supervision needs.

· Children will only be released to their parents or other prearranged individuals. Parents must sign-in their child in the class before leaving them. Preschoolers through 5^th grade will be held in their classroom until a parent picks them up.

· Children should be supervised by their parents at all times while attending church functions. All members of our congregation should show concern for a child who is unsupervised. So during a church function, children should either be in their class or with their parent, and if not, the child will be directed to one or the other.

· Children under the age of ten are not permitted to play on the playground without adult supervision. No child should ever play on the playground alone.

Behavioral Guidelines:

Expectations for students:
• Come to class with a positive attitude, ready to share and cooperate and learn.
• Realize that attending class is a privilege.
• Respect your teachers and peers in action and speech.

Expectations for parents:
• Volunteer to teach or assist and have some presence in your child’s class through the year.
• Accompany your child to class and sign-in your child.
• Pick-up your child promptly after your service or class ends.

Expectations of the teachers:
▪ Reflect the attitudes of Christ to students.
• Do your utmost to insure a positive and interesting experience in each class.
• Plan a variety of activities that will meet the different learning styles of the students
• Enforce the behavior guidelines consistently and fairly.
• Be in your classroom 10 minutes prior to the beginning of class. Realize that teaching the Bible and sharing Christ’s love with your students is a privilege

Guidelines for the Correction of Behavior:

Step 1: If a student’s behavior has to be corrected, e.g. for being disruptive, the teacher will verbally warn him/her once.

Step 2: If it is necessary to correct a student again, removal of a privilege is appropriate or the child may be excused from class for a time-out with the superintendent. At no time will physical force be used to control a child. This includes all forms of corporal punishment (hitting, shaking, etc.)

Step 3: If the inappropriate/disruptive behavior continues, the parents will be contacted and asked to sign out a pager and parent will be paged if behavior needs to be corrected again.