Child & Youth Safety Policy
Scendent Limited (NZBN 9429050458431)
Last updated: 29 July 2026
HOW TO READ THIS POLICY
This document sets the standard Scendent operates to, and it works as a set of gates: where a requirement in this policy cannot be met for a particular activity, that activity does not go ahead with under-18s involved. We would rather cancel a session than run one that falls below this standard.
Scendent is a small organisation. We are not going to claim the safeguarding infrastructure of a large institution, and we are not going to pretend every process below has been running for years. What we will do is refuse to put young people in situations we cannot make safe.
If you believe we have fallen short of anything written here, we want to know: scendentofficial@gmail.com, subject line SAFEGUARDING.
OUR COMMITMENT
Scendent exists to empower young people. That means nothing if they aren't safe with us.
The safety and wellbeing of children and young people comes before our reputation, before our programmes, and before our convenience. Every time. No exceptions.
This policy applies to every director, employee, contractor, facilitator, volunteer, advocate and partner acting for Scendent, in every setting — in person, online, and anywhere in between.
1. WHO THIS COVERS
A child or young person is anyone under 18.
This policy applies wherever Scendent has contact with under-18s, including:
- Workshops, events and training sessions
- The Advocate Training Programme
- The scholarship programme
- School and community partnerships
- Online engagement, social media and direct messaging
- Any content featuring young people
2. THE PRINCIPLES
- Every child has the right to be safe — from physical, sexual, emotional and psychological harm, neglect, bullying and exploitation.
- We listen and we believe. Concerns raised by young people are taken seriously and acted on. Nobody gets brushed off.
- Culture matters. Every young person's culture, identity, whānau, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability and faith is respected. We operate consistently with te Tiriti o Waitangi and recognise the central role of whānau, hapū and iwi.
- Safety over reputation. We will report a concern even when it is embarrassing, inconvenient or damaging to us.
- Whānau are partners, and are involved in decisions affecting their young person unless doing so would put that young person at risk.
- Prevention is the work. Vetting, training, supervision and design prevent harm. Reacting is what happens when prevention has already failed.
3. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
Responsibility for safeguarding sits with the directors of Scendent Limited, and is not delegated away. A director is accountable for:
- Receiving and acting on all concerns
- Making reports to Oranga Tamariki and NZ Police
- Maintaining the incident record
- Confirming that the requirements in clause 4 have been met before an activity proceeds
- Reviewing this policy
Contact: scendentofficial@gmail.com (subject line SAFEGUARDING) · 027 726 0101
If your concern is about a director, you do not have to come to us at all. Report directly to Oranga Tamariki on 0508 326 459 or to NZ Police on 105. Nothing in this policy requires you to raise a concern with the person it is about.
4. WHO IS PERMITTED CONTACT WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
This clause is a gate, not a description. No person may have unsupervised contact with an under-18 through Scendent unless all of the following have been completed first:
- A written application and interview
- Two reference checks, at least one professional
- New Zealand Police vetting, current within the last 3 years
- Confirmation of identity
- Signed agreement to this policy and the Code of Conduct below
- Safeguarding induction
Where these requirements have not been met for a particular person, that person does not have unsupervised contact with under-18s — and if that means an activity cannot run, the activity does not run. There is no version of this where we proceed anyway because it was inconvenient.
Children's worker safety checking. Where a role is a "children's worker" role under the Children's Act 2014, the full safety checking requirements of that Act apply, including periodic rechecking. We do not treat those requirements as optional or as something to catch up on later.
Disqualification. A person with a conviction for a specified offence under Schedule 2 of the Children's Act 2014 will not work with children or young people through Scendent. Any other conviction, pending charge or prior safeguarding finding is assessed individually, and the decision is recorded in writing.
Ongoing obligation. Anyone in these roles must notify a director immediately if they are charged with or convicted of any offence, or become subject to any investigation involving children. Failure to disclose is grounds for immediate removal.
5. HOW WE BEHAVE — CODE OF CONDUCT
Everyone working with young people at Scendent WILL:
- Treat every young person with dignity and respect
- Work in open, visible spaces wherever possible
- Use the two-adult rule — avoid being alone with a young person; where one-to-one contact is unavoidable, remain visible and inform another adult beforehand
- Maintain clear professional boundaries
- Use official Scendent channels for all communication with under-18s, with a second adult or a parent copied in
- Respect physical boundaries — no unnecessary physical contact
- Report concerns immediately
- Model the S-Code
Everyone working with young people at Scendent WILL NOT:
- Meet a young person privately or off-site outside a sanctioned activity
- Contact a young person through personal phone, email or social media accounts
- Add, follow or direct-message a young person from a personal account
- Give or receive personal gifts
- Give a young person a lift alone in a private vehicle
- Use language that is sexual, degrading, discriminatory or intimidating
- Share or discuss a young person's personal circumstances beyond who needs to know
- Photograph or film a young person without documented consent
- Consume alcohol or drugs, or be impaired, at any activity involving young people
- Develop a relationship with a young person that is, or could reasonably appear to be, romantic or sexual
- Keep a disclosure or a concern to themselves
Breach of this Code is treated as a serious matter and may result in immediate removal and a report to the appropriate authority.
6. WHEN A YOUNG PERSON TELLS YOU SOMETHING
If a young person discloses harm:
DO:
- Listen. Stay calm. Let them speak in their own words.
- Believe them. Say so.
- Reassure them they were right to tell you.
- Be honest about confidentiality — never promise to keep it secret. Say: "I'm really glad you told me. I have to tell one other person whose job it is to keep you safe, because you matter too much for me to keep this to myself."
- Record it in the young person's own words, as soon as possible, with date and time.
- Report it to a director immediately.
DO NOT:
- Investigate, or ask leading or probing questions
- Promise to keep it secret
- Express shock, anger or judgement
- Confront the person alleged to have caused harm
- Discuss it with anyone who doesn't need to know
- Delay because you're not certain
You do not need proof. You do not need to be sure. Reporting a concern is not an accusation.
7. REPORTING
Immediate danger
Call 111.
Suspected abuse or neglect
Oranga Tamariki: 0508 326 459 — free, 24 hours. Reports can be made by anyone, at any time, and may be made anonymously.
Internal
scendentofficial@gmail.com (subject line SAFEGUARDING) · 027 726 0101
Our target timeframes:
| Step | Target |
|---|---|
| Acknowledge receipt | 24 hours |
| Initial assessment | 48 hours |
| Report to Oranga Tamariki / Police where thresholds are met | Immediately — this one is not a target, it is a rule |
| Outcome communicated to the person who raised it | 10 working days |
Concerns about Scendent people. If a concern involves a Scendent director, employee, contractor, facilitator or volunteer, that person is stood down from all contact with young people immediately while it is assessed. This is a neutral protective step, not a finding.
If the concern is about a director, report externally — Oranga Tamariki 0508 326 459, or NZ Police 105. You never have to go through the person your concern is about.
Protection for reporters. Nobody who raises a concern in good faith will face any detriment. Retaliation against a reporter is itself a serious breach of this policy.
8. PARENTAL AND GUARDIAN CONSENT
For any participant under 18 we require written consent from a parent or legal guardian before participation, covering:
- Participation in the specific activity
- Collection of personal information (see our Privacy Policy)
- Emergency contact details and any relevant health or support information
- Consent for emergency medical treatment if needed
- Photography and filming — separate, optional, and refusable without affecting participation
Consent is specific to the activity and is not open-ended. It can be withdrawn at any time.
Parents and guardians are told before the session: what will be covered, where and when, who is facilitating, and how to raise a concern.
9. ONLINE SAFETY
- Under-18s are engaged only through official Scendent accounts, never personal ones
- No private, unmonitored one-to-one messaging with an under-18
- Online sessions must have at least two vetted adults present — a session that cannot meet this does not run
- We do not ask under-18s for personal contact details through social media
- We report harmful content, grooming behaviour or abuse to the platform and, where warranted, to NZ Police
Under our Privacy Policy, accounts and purchases require age 16+, and under-18 programme participation requires guardian consent.
10. PHOTOGRAPHY, FILMING AND STORIES
Young people's stories are theirs, not our marketing assets.
- Written consent from the young person and their guardian before any photo, video or story is captured
- Consent is specific — what it's for, where it will appear, how long it will be used
- Refusing has no consequence. Participation is never conditional on being photographed.
- No full names alongside images without explicit separate consent
- No identifying details — school, location, address — published
- Consent can be withdrawn at any time, and we will remove the material from anything we control
- Never depicted in a way that is undignified, exploitative, or that presents a young person as a victim for fundraising effect
11. TRAINING
Safeguarding induction must be completed before a person starts in any role involving young people, with a refresher at least annually, covering recognising harm, responding to disclosures, this Code of Conduct, reporting, and online safety.
A person who has not completed induction does not work with young people. Directors undertake to maintain safeguarding training appropriate to their responsibility under clause 3.
12. RECORDS
Safeguarding records are kept securely, confidentially, and separately from general records, with access limited to directors.
Our retention standard is 10 years from the young person's 18th birthday, or longer where required by law or by an ongoing investigation, consistent with the Privacy Act 2020.
13. REVIEW
We review this policy at least annually, and immediately after any serious incident, any change in law, or any finding that the policy failed.
We treat every incident as evidence that something in our system needs to change — not as an individual failing to be managed away.
14. HOW TO RAISE A CONCERN
If a child is in immediate danger — call 111.
| Route | Contact |
|---|---|
| Scendent (subject line SAFEGUARDING) | scendentofficial@gmail.com · 027 726 0101 |
| Oranga Tamariki | 0508 326 459 (free, 24/7) |
| NZ Police | 105 (non-emergency) · 111 (emergency) |
| Safe to talk (sexual harm) | 0800 044 334 · text 4334 |
| Youthline | 0800 376 633 · text 234 |
You do not need to be certain. You do not need evidence. If something doesn't feel right, tell someone.
Scendent Limited · NZBN 9429050458431 · 9 Pacific Park Way, Papamoa Beach, Bay of Plenty 3118, New Zealand