Open classrooms only
All tutoring sessions take place in open classrooms on school grounds during agreed school hours. No sessions in enclosed rooms with a single adult and a child.
1. Purpose
We are committed to the safety and dignity of every child in the Reading Corps program. These standards govern how adults interact with children, how concerns are reported, and how the program responds when something goes wrong.
The policy is designed for the specific context of the Reading Corps pilot: daily small-group reading tutoring in open government school classrooms in Assela, Oromia, Ethiopia, in partnership with the Oromia Education Bureau (OEB) and school directors.
2. Who this policy covers
This policy applies to all adults who participate in or observe Reading Corps sessions, including:
- Local community tutors (paid stipend)
- The mentor-coordinator
- BiftuSpark staff, board members, and advisors
- Any donor, visitor, or observer attending a session
- OEB staff and school directors acting in a supervisory capacity
Signing the BiftuSpark Child Safeguarding Code of Conduct is a condition of employment, stipend, or access. No adult joins a session without having signed.
3. Tutor vetting and selection
No tutor or coordinator enters a classroom without completing all three of the following steps:
- School-director screening: The school director reviews and approves each candidate. The school's own knowledge of the community is part of the vetting process.
- Community references: At least two references from people known to the school or the Oromia Education Bureau, confirming the candidate's standing and suitability to work with children.
- Bureau sign-off: The Oromia Education Bureau confirms approval of the tutor and coordinator list before the first session begins.
We will not bypass any of these steps to fill a tutor slot. If a candidate cannot complete all three, they do not work with children in the program.
4. Session rules - non-negotiable
The following rules apply in every session, without exception:
No closed doors
Classroom doors remain open or sessions are visible from outside. A second adult - the mentor-coordinator or a school staff member - is present or accessible at all times.
No off-site contact
No tutor or coordinator contacts a child outside of school grounds or outside of agreed school hours. No home visits. No messaging children directly.
No physical discipline
Physical contact is limited to what the activity requires - pointing to a page, gesturing. No striking, grabbing, or any physical discipline of any kind.
No photography without consent
No adult photographs or films a child during sessions without documented guardian consent on file. Children's names and faces are never published in donor materials without consent.
No preferential relationships
Tutors do not spend time alone with individual children outside group sessions. Tutoring relationships are professional, group-based, and school-supervised.
5. Data privacy for children
Assessment data - reading level scores, group assignments, progress records - is stored under coded IDs. No child's real name is linked to their assessment record in any system accessible outside the program. Data is reported only in aggregate.
Our donor updates, website, and public communications will not name individual children or show their faces without documented guardian consent. Consent is given in writing, in a language the guardian understands, before any content is created. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.
6. Reporting a concern
Anyone who witnesses or suspects harm to a child - or who hears a child disclose harm - must report it. There is no threshold of certainty required to report: if something does not feel right, report it.
If a child is in immediate danger, the first step is always to ensure the child's immediate safety. Everything else follows.
The reporting chain is:
1
Tutor or staff member who witnesses the concern
Report to the mentor-coordinator immediately - the same day, not deferred to a weekly check-in.
2
Mentor-coordinator
Notifies BiftuSpark and the school director within 24 hours. Documents the concern in writing with date, time, and what was observed or heard.
3
BiftuSpark and school director
Jointly decide on immediate protective steps, including whether to pause the program. Notify the Oromia Education Bureau.
4
Oromia Education Bureau
Takes over investigation as the statutory authority. BiftuSpark cooperates fully and does not conduct a parallel internal investigation that could compromise the official process.
5
Donor notification
BiftuSpark notifies donors of any program pause within 48 hours of the decision to pause. The notification names the reason ("a safeguarding concern is under review") without disclosing details that could identify a child.
Any adult in the program who discourages a report, delays a report, or retaliates against someone who made a report will be removed from the program immediately.
7. When the program pauses
BiftuSpark will pause Reading Corps sessions immediately if any of the following occur:
- A credible safeguarding concern is reported and under investigation
- A tutor or coordinator is suspended pending investigation
- The school director or Oromia Education Bureau requests a pause
- Safety or political conditions on the ground change in a way that the school director or BiftuSpark judges unsafe for children
A program pause does not automatically end the cycle. After the school director and Oromia Education Bureau resolve the concern, the program may resume with their confirmation.
If a pause leads to cycle termination, We will publish a plain explanation of what happened, what was done, and what donors should expect with respect to their gifts. This explanation will not name the child involved.
8. Code of conduct
Every tutor and coordinator signs the following commitments before the first session:
- I will work only in open classrooms on school grounds during agreed hours.
- I will not contact a child outside of school grounds or school hours.
- I will not photograph or film a child without documented guardian consent on file.
- I will not use physical discipline of any kind.
- I will report any concern about a child's safety immediately to the mentor-coordinator.
- I understand that violating this code of conduct ends my participation in the program and my stipend, effective immediately.
We retain the signed code of conduct and make it available to the school director and the Oromia Education Bureau on request.
9. Policy review
We review this policy annually and after any safeguarding incident. Revisions are dated and posted here. The version number and effective date appear at the bottom of this page.
Send questions about this policy to info@biftuspark.org.
BiftuSpark Child Safeguarding Policy
Version 1.0 - effective before first tutor training, 2026.
Questions about this policy or the Reading Corps program?
Contact BiftuSpark directly. We respond within two business days.