POCSO Committee
The school's child-protection committee under the POCSO Act, 2012 — its members, its mandatory reporting duty and how a child can reach it.
The school has constituted a child-protection committee under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, together with the CBSE guidelines on child safety. Its duty is preventive and responsive: to keep the campus a place where abuse is difficult, and to act correctly and immediately if a disclosure is made.
The reporting obligation under the Act is not discretionary. Any member of staff who receives information about an offence against a child is required to report it, and the school will do so — a matter of this kind is never handled quietly in-house.
Composition
| Position | Held by |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Principal |
| Focal teacher | Senior woman teacher designated as the child-protection focal point |
| Counsellor | School counsellor |
| Members | One woman teacher from the primary section and one from the middle school |
| Parent representative | One woman parent of a child on roll |
| External member | An external member with a background in child rights or law, where available |
Standing arrangements
- Police verification and reference checks for every member of staff, including support and transport staff
- No adult alone with a single child in a closed room without a line of sight
- Washrooms, changing arrangements and transport supervised by designated staff
- No CCTV in washrooms, the medical room or the counselling room
- Age-appropriate personal-safety education for every grade
- Staff trained annually on recognising and reporting signs of abuse
- A sealed complaint box and direct access to the counsellor for children
- Records kept confidentially, accessible only to the committee
If a disclosure is made
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Listen and record
The child is heard once, without repeated questioning, by the focal teacher and the counsellor, and their words are recorded verbatim.
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Protect
The child is made safe immediately, and any staff member concerned is removed from contact with children pending inquiry.
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Report
The matter is reported to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police as the Act requires, and to the parents, unless the parent is the subject of the disclosure.
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Support
Counselling support for the child, continuity of their schooling, and full cooperation with the statutory process.
Confidentiality
The child’s identity is protected absolutely. It is not discussed in the staff room, with other parents, or with anyone outside the committee and the statutory authority.
Come and see the school on an ordinary day — call the office and we will keep someone free to walk you around.