Standards for the Protection of Minors

Annex to Order No. 110 of the Rector of the University of Zielona Góra dated 15 September 2025

Preamble

One of the guiding principles underpinning the actions undertaken by staff at the University of Zielona Góra is the protection and welfare of children, as well as treating children with due respect and taking their needs into account. Violence against children in any form is unacceptable. This document fulfils the legal obligation to implement the standards for the protection of minors set out in the Act of 13 May 2016 on countering the risks of sexual offences and the protection of minors (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1802, as amended).

§1

Glossary

Whenever the Standards for the Protection of Minors refer to:

1. the University, the Higher Education Institution – this shall be understood to mean the University of Zielona Góra, with its registered office in Zielona Góra;
2. the Standards for the Protection of Minors, or the Standards – this shall be understood to mean this document;
3. an employee – this shall be understood to mean employees of the University (regardless of the legal basis for the employment relationship), persons carrying out activities on behalf of the University under civil law contracts, students, PhD students, participants in postgraduate programmes, persons undertaking internships or work placements, volunteers, as well as other persons carrying out activities on behalf of or for the benefit of the University;
4. child – this term refers to any person under the age of 18;
5. guardian of a child – this shall be understood to mean a legal representative (parent), a legal guardian, a foster parent or a temporary guardian as referred to in Article 25 of the Act of 12 March 2022 on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of that state (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2025, item 337, as amended);
6. the consent of the child’s carer – this shall be understood to mean the consent of at least one of the child’s carers; in the event of a disagreement between the child’s carers, the child’s carers must be informed of the need for the matter to be resolved by a family court;
7. harm to a child – this shall be understood to mean any act or omission likely to cause harm to a child, including the commission or attempted commission of a prohibited act or a criminal offence, or a threat to the child’s welfare, including neglect;
8. activities involving children – this shall be understood to mean activities relating to the upbringing, education, leisure, medical treatment, provision of psychological counselling, spiritual development, participation in sport or the pursuit of other interests by minors, or the care of such minors;
9. head of an organisational unit – this shall be understood to mean the person managing the organisational unit specified in the University’s Organisational Regulations;
10. coordinator for the protection of minors – a person appointed by the Rector who is a member of the University’s Centre for Equality, Accessibility and Support and is responsible for implementing the Standards.

§2

Principles of safe recruitment

The principles governing the vetting of staff prior to entering into an employment relationship with them or prior to their being permitted to engage in activities involving children are set out in a separate order of the Rector.

§3

Principles of safe relationships between staff and children

1. An employee is obliged to maintain a safe relationship with a child present on the University’s premises or taking part in activities involving children organised by the University.
2. A safe relationship, as referred to in paragraph 1, means acting for the welfare and in the best interests of the child. An employee shall treat a child with respect and patience, in a manner appropriate to the child’s age and stage of development.
3. Staff members are obliged to maintain a professional relationship with children and, in each instance, to consider whether their reaction, communication or other action towards a child is appropriate to the situation, safe and justified from the perspective of the child’s welfare and best interests.

§4

Prohibited behaviour towards a child

In their dealings with a child, staff members are specifically prohibited from:

1. recording or capturing the child’s image without their knowledge and consent, or without the knowledge and consent of the child’s carer;
2. using any form of violence against a child, in particular:
   a) physical violence,
   b) sexual violence, including violence involving touching or other forms of physical contact, verbal abuse, violence also understood as jokes with sexual undertones or making sexual comments about children’s appearance or clothing, as well as violence involving the use of means of remote communication, such as sending messages or images of a sexual nature,
   (c) psychological violence; in particular, shouting, humiliating, insulting, embarrassing, slandering or other behaviour that belittles the child or excludes them is not permitted;
3. contact with the child outside working hours, lesson times or for purposes not falling within the scope of the employee’s duties, unless the child’s guardian gives their written consent to such contact;
4. communicating with the child outside the official communication channels in place at the University, in particular communicating with the child via private messages or engaging in other forms of communication (e.g. via social media);
5. engaging in sexual or romantic relationships with a child, regardless of the child’s age or consent;
6. using vulgar or sexually suggestive language towards the child or in their presence (even with the child’s consent), or making statements that may be considered indecent or inappropriate;
7. physical contact with a child (including with the child’s consent) that may be considered indecent or inappropriate.

§5

Procedures and persons responsible for reporting suspected child abuse

1. Where an employee suspects that a child is being harmed or has information regarding child harm, the employee is obliged to immediately draw up a report based on the information obtained and forward it to the head of the organisational unit in which they are employed or within or on behalf of which they operate. The report may be in written or electronic form (e-mail) and must be drawn up for every disclosed or reported incident involving a child.
2. The head of the organisational unit referred to in paragraph 1 shall immediately forward the report received to the child protection coordinator.
3. Upon receipt of the report referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the child protection coordinator shall:
   a) inform the child’s carer of the duty to report a suspicion of child abuse to the relevant authority, including the public prosecutor’s office, the police, the family court or a social services centre;
   b) inform the Rector that a member of staff has formed a suspicion of child abuse or is in possession of information regarding child abuse.
4. Once the child protection coordinator has informed the child’s carers of their duty to report suspected child abuse and has provided the Rector with the information referred to in paragraph 3(b), the Rector shall report the suspected offence or notify the family court or another competent authority.
5. In the event of a threat to the child’s life or health, the relevant services must be notified immediately by calling the emergency number 112.
6. Further action shall be taken by the authorities to which the reports have been made, within the scope of their powers.
7. In the event of a child being harmed by a member of staff, paragraphs 1–5 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

§6

Support following the disclosure of harm

Upon receipt of the note referred to in §5(2), the child protection coordinator shall organise a meeting with the child’s carer, provided that there is no suspicion of child abuse against that carer. During the meeting, the child protection coordinator shall inform the carer referred to in the preceding sentence about the incident and the need to seek specialist support. The child and the carer of the child in respect of whom there is no suspicion of child abuse shall be provided with a list of local organisations and institutions to which they may turn for help, together with their contact details (support plan).

§7

Documentation and retention rules

1. The Child Protection Coordinator shall draw up an intervention record for every disclosed or reported incident involving a child, containing at least the child’s full name, the details of the person reporting the suspected child abuse or possessing information about child abuse, the reason for the intervention, a description of the incident, details of the actions taken by the University, and the name of the institution to which the report of child abuse was referred. The following shall be attached to the intervention record referred to in the preceding sentence:
   a) the memorandum referred to in §5(2),
   b) notifications submitted by the Rector regarding a suspected offence or notifications to the guardianship court or other competent institutions referred to in §5(4).
2. The intervention records referred to in paragraph 1 shall be registered by the Child Protection Co-ordinator and stored, together with their attachments, at the University’s Centre for Equality, Accessibility and Support. A template for the intervention record referred to in paragraph 1 is set out in Annex 1 to the Standards.
3. The Child Protection Coordinator maintains a register of interventions. A template for the register of interventions is set out in Annex 2 to the Standards.

§8

Rules for the review and updating of the Standards

1. At least once every 2 (two) years, the Child Protection Coordinator shall review the Child Protection Standards to ensure they comply with applicable legislation and to ensure they are adapted to current needs (hereinafter: the assessment).
2. The assessment of the Standards for the Protection of Minors may be preceded by discussions with staff or by conducting a staff survey regarding their knowledge of the Standards and their assessment of how they are implemented at the University.
3. The assessment of the Standards for the Protection of Minors shall be drawn up in writing.
4. The Child Protection Coordinator shall submit the assessment to the Rector, together with written recommendations on how to proceed.

§9

Guidelines for training staff in the application of the Standards

1. The duties of the Child Protection Coordinator include preparing staff to apply the Standards.
2. Preparing staff to apply the Standards involves, in particular, disseminating the Standards amongst staff, organising meetings or training sessions aimed at familiarising staff with the concept and content of the Standards or refreshing their knowledge of the content.
3. The Child Protection Coordinator shall draw up minutes on each occasion of activities aimed at preparing staff to apply the Standards.

§10

Rules and procedures for making the Standards available

The Standards are made available on the University’s website, in the University’s Public Information Bulletin, and are displayed by the person responsible for implementing the Standards for the Protection of Minors in a prominent location where activities involving children take place, in both a full version and an abridged version intended for minors.

§11

Rules for the use of electronic devices with internet access

1. When providing a child with access to the internet, the University is obliged to take measures to protect children from accessing content that may pose a threat to their healthy development.
2. On the University’s premises, a child’s access to the Internet is permitted:
   a) under the supervision of a member of staff on devices owned or held by the University,
   b) via the University’s Wi-Fi network.
3. The staff member under whose supervision a child has access to the internet is obliged to inform the child about the rules for safe use of the internet. This information relates in particular to harmful content and risks on the internet and in other forms.
4. The manner in which a child uses electronic devices with internet access that are owned by the child or by the child’s carer is not subject to supervision. The rules governing the use of the devices referred to in the previous sentence are determined by the child’s carer.
5. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply to the procedure for protecting children from harmful content and threats on the internet and in other forms.

§12

Collective accommodation

1. The rules set out in these Standards for the Protection of Minors and in internal university regulations shall apply to a child’s accommodation in collective accommodation, subject to paragraphs 2–4.
2. A child may be admitted to collective accommodation only with their consent and that of their guardian.
3. The identification of the child and their relationship to the adult with whom they are staying in the hall of residence, in particular their family relationship, shall be verified by the hall of residence manager on the basis of documents belonging to the child and the adult with whom the child is staying in the hall of residence, and, in the absence of such documents, on the basis of an interview with the adult and the child. Where the adult is not the child’s guardian, the child’s guardian’s written consent is required for the child’s accommodation in shared accommodation.
4. Should the person carrying out the identification referred to in paragraph 3 have any doubts regarding the relationship between the child and the adult with whom the child is staying in the student hall of residence, or should they suspect that the child is being harmed, or possess information regarding harm to the child, §5, §6 and §7 of the Standards shall apply accordingly.

§13

Final provisions

The Standards for the Protection of Minors shall enter into force on the date of their publication.