Balalardı qorǵaw siyasatı

In short. Every child in a school where a Teach For Uzbekistan Fellow teaches has the right to be safe, respected and treated with dignity. Everyone who works with us — staff, Fellows, Alumni acting for TFU, volunteers, board members, partners and contractors who visit schools — must follow this policy. We publish no photograph or story that identifies a child without the written consent of a parent or guardian, and we report concerns.

1. Our commitment

Teach For Uzbekistan places Fellows in public schools for two years. Children are at the centre of our work, and their safety comes before any organisational interest. We commit to:

• prevent harm to children in everything we do;
• select, train and support the adults we place or send into schools;
• act promptly and correctly when a concern is raised;
• respect the authority of school leadership and the responsibilities of parents and guardians;
• be transparent about how we handle images and stories of children.

This policy applies alongside the school's own rules, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Guarantees of the Rights of the Child", the Law "On Education", the requirements for teaching staff, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Uzbekistan is a party.

2. Who must follow it

Staff, board members, Fellows, Alumni acting on TFU's behalf, volunteers, interns, contractors, photographers and film crews, visiting partners and donors on school visits, and the website team where images and stories are concerned. Every person in these groups signs an acknowledgement of this policy as part of their employment contract, Fellowship agreement or volunteer agreement.

3. Definitions

A child is anyone under 18. Harm includes physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, bullying, exploitation, discrimination and exposure to harmful content or situations, whether by an adult or by another child. A concern is anything that makes you worry about a child's safety or well-being; you do not need proof to report it.

4. Code of conduct with children

Everyone covered by this policy will:

• treat every child with respect, regardless of gender, ethnicity, language, religion, ability, family situation or achievement;
• use appropriate language and never shout at, humiliate, threaten or physically punish a child (corporal punishment is prohibited in Uzbek schools);
• avoid being alone with a child out of sight of others; keep doors open or stay in view; hold individual conversations in visible places;
• never invite a child to a private home, private vehicle or private online chat; communicate about school matters through channels that the school and parents know about;
• never photograph or film a child for private use; use only TFU's or the school's process (section 6);
• never accept or give personal gifts or money that create dependence; class prizes and school-approved rewards are fine;
• keep information about children and families confidential and share it only with those who need it to help the child;
• report every concern (section 7) — even when unsure, even about a colleague or a Fellow.

Fellows additionally follow the school's internal rules and the professional requirements for teachers in Uzbekistan.

5. Safe recruitment and training

• Every Fellow candidate goes through the three-stage selection process (online application with interview, assessment centre, Summer Institute) that assesses character, motivation and conduct as well as knowledge.
• Before placement, Fellows provide the documents required for teaching staff in public schools, including a medical certificate and a certificate of no criminal record.
• Safeguarding is part of the Summer Institute and of the regional coordinators' induction; a refresher takes place every school year.
• Staff and volunteers who visit schools receive this policy and a briefing before their first visit.

6. Images, videos and stories of children (website and social media)

Because this policy is published on the website, this section is detailed.

• Consent first. No photograph, video or story that identifies a child (face, full name, school class, home) is published by TFU without the written consent of a parent or guardian, obtained through the school on the Media Consent Form (Appendix A). Consent is voluntary, explained in the family's language, and can be withdrawn at any time by writing to info@teachforuzbekistan.org; we remove the content within 10 working days from our own channels (content already shared by others may remain outside our control).
• Dignity. Children are shown in a way that respects their dignity: learning, participating, at ease — never in distress, never in a way that exposes private circumstances or health, never in a way that could shame them later.
• Minimal identification. By default we use a first name only, or no name; we do not publish a child's surname, address, contact details or precise location. Group photos in a classroom are preferred to individual portraits.
• Storage. Original images are kept in TFU's media library with a note of the consent; access is limited to the communications team.
• Fellows' own accounts. Fellows may not post identifiable images of their pupils on personal social-media accounts; images are shared through TFU or the school.
• Press and partners. Journalists and partners who visit schools follow the same rules and use TFU's consent process.

7. Reporting a concern

1. If a child is in immediate danger, call the emergency services (102 police, 103 ambulance) and inform the school director.
2. Otherwise, tell the school director and TFU's designated safeguarding lead the same day: the Regional Coordinator, the Training and Support Specialist, the Deputy Director or the CEO. You can also write to info@teachforuzbekistan.org (subject line "Safeguarding"), which is read by our Team.
3. Write down what you saw or heard, when and where, in the child's own words where possible. Do not investigate yourself and do not promise the child secrecy.
4. The safeguarding lead who received the concern records it, decides with the school director on the next steps within one working day, and involves the guardianship and trusteeship authority, the police or medical services where the law requires or the situation demands.
5. Concerns about a Fellow or staff member are handled by the Deputy Director or the CEO together with the safeguarding lead; the person concerned is kept away from children while the matter is examined; the school is informed.
6. Nobody suffers a disadvantage for reporting a concern in good faith. Malicious reports are misconduct.

Anyone — parents, pupils, teachers, the public — may raise a concern at the contacts above.

8. Consequences

Breaches of this policy are misconduct and may lead to a warning, removal from the placement, termination of the Fellowship or employment, exclusion from the Alumni network, and, where the law is broken, a report to the authorities.

9. Review

The Training and Support Specialist reviews this policy every year and after every serious concern, reports to the Director (CEO), and records the review date at the top of the published version.

Appendix A — Media Consent Form (parent or guardian) — template

To be printed by the school in Uzbek, Karakalpak or Russian, kept by TFU with the image.

Teach For Uzbekistan (NGO "Teach For Uzbekistan", Tashkent) asks for your permission to use photographs, video and quotations of your child in its communications: the website teachforuzbekistan.org, social-media pages, reports and presentations to partners, in Uzbekistan and abroad.

• Child's first name and class: ______ School: ______
• How the child may be shown: ☐ in a group photo/video ☐ in an individual photo/video ☐ with first name ☐ with a quotation
• Purpose: to show the work of Fellows and schools. No surname, address or contact details will be published. No payment is involved. Images are stored by TFU with limited access.
• You may withdraw this consent at any time by writing to info@teachforuzbekistan.org or telling the school; TFU removes the content from its own channels within 10 working days.
• Parent/guardian name: ______ Relationship: ______ Signature: ______ Date: ______
• Filled in by (TFU/school): ______

Older pupils (from 14) should also be asked and may refuse even when the guardian agrees.

Appendix B — Media consent for adults (Fellows, Alumni, staff, partners) — template

I, ______, agree that Teach For Uzbekistan may publish my name, photograph, role, cohort, region, school, subject and a short biography/quotation on teachforuzbekistan.org and in TFU's communications. I can ask for changes or removal at any time at info@teachforuzbekistan.org. Signature, date.

(This is the form behind decisions D39–D40; TFU already holds consents for the published Fellows and Alumni — confirm the wording matches what was signed.)