Child Protection Policy

Objective

ChangeX indirectly engages with thousands of children within the context of supporting local communities to start a range of innovations on the ChangeX platform. ChangeX is committed to taking the necessary actions to support child protection.

At ChangeX we care about the well-being and safety of children and recognise our fundamental duty to care for the children with whom we directly engage, and our responsibility to ensure that the social innovations we work with, and the local organisations that directly engage with children through the starting of innovations from the ChangeX platform, are also committed to this duty to care for children, and are equipped with the relevant information needed to do so.

ChangeX has a zero tolerance policy for child abuse in any form. People working for or affiliated with ChangeX must always treat children decently and respectfully.

This policy aims to prevent, respond to and resolve any potential child abuse during children's interaction with ChangeX or ChangeX employees by:

• Communicating and enforcing a zero tolerance policy for child abuse, exploitation, neglect and violence
• Promoting a common understanding of child protection issues within the ChangeX context
• Facilitating best practice development across the areas where we may engage with children
• Strengthening our child protection governance, documentation and accountability

Scope of the child protection policy

In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is defined as an individual below the age of 18. This policy covers all children we engage with directly and indirectly through our strategic partners and local communities. It also includes any young people below the age of 18 who work or cooperate with ChangeX or our partners.

ChangeX operates in different geographical contexts where ideas and legislation related to children and child protection vary. ChangeX strives to provide a positive experience for all children, and they must be treated with dignity and respect, no matter where we operate.

It is mandatory that all ChangeX employees comply with this policy, including paid, unpaid, part-time and full-time employees, volunteers, interns and trustees. It is also mandatory that all ChangeX partners, agency employees, contractors, consultants and others acting on behalf of ChangeX comply with this policy. Failure to comply with this policy can result in a loss for ChangeX and/or its strategic partners, and can lead to disciplinary sanctions. In addition, ChangeX will comply with all appropriate procedures and applicable legislation.

Child abuse is intolerable and all ChangeX employees and partners or affiliated parties are expected to comply with the law. It is management's responsibility to ensure that this policy is reflected in the way our business operates and in how our employees and partners behave locally. However, all adults engaged with ChangeX have an individual responsibility to safeguard children in their job, irrespective of their individual roles.

Implementation of this policy will involve the gradual development of best practice guidelines including the following:

• Recruitment processes for screening relevant candidates to prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children within activities related to ChangeX
• Guidelines for communicating best practice to local community organisations starting ChangeX platform innovations
• Instruments to monitor and report incidents and document precautions taken

Supported by ChangeX management and Board of Directors, this policy will be implemented in ChangeX in the most relevant way. Special attention must be given in teams with potential direct child engagement and in those with responsibility for engagement with local community organisations and social innovators.

Even with the most robust mechanisms and procedures in place, incidents may still arise or situations may still create cause for concern. All employees, whether paid or unpaid, are accountable for immediately reporting breaches or suspicions of breaches of this policy to their immediate manager or the CEO, and, if appropriate, to the national authorities.

Model clarification: ChangeX operates primarily as a facilitator, connecting local community groups and social innovators with funding and resources. ChangeX employees do not deliver programming, teaching, coaching, or caregiving to children directly. Direct engagement with children is carried out by the local organisations and innovators ChangeX supports, who are separately responsible for their own safeguarding practices with the children they serve. ChangeX's role in child protection is therefore twofold: (1) ensuring our own team behaves appropriately in the limited circumstances where they may be present around children, and (2) setting expectations for the partner organisations we fund. The classification and requirements below set out how this applies in practice.

Classification of roles and relevant employees

To ensure this policy is applied proportionately, ChangeX classifies roles into the following tiers based on their level of exposure to children:

Tier 1 — No child contact. The majority of ChangeX roles fall here, including operations, HR/legal, finance, and partnerships work conducted remotely or without in-person contact with children. Tier 1 team members are expected to be familiar with this policy and to report any concerns that arise, but no additional screening or training is required.

Tier 2 — Incidental, supervised presence. This applies to ChangeX team members who occasionally attend group site visits at local organisations or innovations where children may be present. On these visits, ChangeX team members do not interact with children on an individual basis, and the children remain under the supervision of the host organisation's own staff, coaches, or teachers at all times. Tier 2 team members are not considered "relevant employees" for the purposes of this policy and as such are not subject to screening, but are expected to follow the staff code of conduct set out below.

Tier 3 — Direct or unsupervised engagement. This would apply to any future role involving individual, unsupervised, or ongoing contact with children (e.g. teaching, coaching, mentoring, or caregiving capacities). No ChangeX roles currently fall into this tier. Should this change, the individual behavioural guidelines further in this policy, including those relating to overnight stays, shared accommodation, and 1:1 contact, would apply in full, and the role would require enhanced screening (e.g. background checks) before commencing.

ChangeX Child Protection Principles

ChangeX:

• is committed to protecting children.
• has put in place a policy, principles and guidelines for protecting children in all aspects of work of the ChangeX staff, strategic partners, individuals and volunteers to ensure the wellbeing of children impacted by our work.
• defines child protection as respecting and protecting children and young people from maltreatment, preventing impairment of their health and cognitive, physical, social and emotional development and ensuring that children and young people feel safe to play, learn and grow.

In part of implementing the Child Protection Policy ChangeX:

• takes guidance and leadership from the social innovations we work with, who hold expertise on child protection measures as it relates specifically to their innovation.
• agrees that the Management Team and Board of Directors should promote child protection and must ensure that all staff members are aware of the ChangeX Child Protection Policy, Principles and Guidelines.
• recognizes a child as a human being under the age of 18 years.
• considers child protection the responsibility of every individual working with children on behalf of the ChangeX.
• screens relevant ChangeX employees where a role's classification requires it (see "Classification of roles and relevant employees" above).
• provides appropriate training/information for relevant employees, volunteers, partners and local community organisations.
• requires relevant strategic partners to comply to the ChangeX Child Protection Policy, Principles and Guidelines in contracts or statements.
• requires all individuals/entities to whom this policy applies to report all concerns of abuse or potential child abuse to the relevant ChangeX person or authority.
• will put in place an incident reporting system for child protection.

Staff Code of Conduct — Site Visits and Incidental Presence

The following applies specifically to Tier 2 team members attending site visits or events where children are present:

• Always defer to the host organisation's own staff, coaches, or teachers for any direct interaction, instruction, or supervision of children.
• Do not engage with children on an individual or 1:1 basis, or seek to separate a child from the group or their supervising adult.
• Do not take children's contact details, or arrange to meet or communicate with children outside of the organised visit.
• If a child approaches you directly, be polite and friendly but redirect them to their supervising adult.
• Immediately report any concerns about the conduct of any adult — whether a ChangeX colleague, a host organisation staff member, or another visitor — toward a child, using the reporting lines set out below.

Photography, Media and Reporting Content

Site visits, case studies, and partner reporting may involve photography, video, or written stories that include children. To protect children's privacy and safety:

• Photography or video of children should only be taken with the prior consent of the host organisation and, where required by local practice or law, the child's parent or guardian.
• Avoid capturing or publishing identifying details of individual children (e.g. full names, school, home location) in external-facing content such as social media, donor reports, or marketing materials, unless the host organisation has confirmed appropriate consent is in place.
• Where possible, favour group or activity-based imagery over close-up images of individual children.
• Store and share any images or footage of children securely, and only for the purpose for which consent was given.
• Any concerns about how a partner organisation is using images of children should be raised via the reporting lines below.

Partner and Grantee Requirements

Local organisations and social innovators funded or supported through the ChangeX platform are directly responsible for the children they engage with, and are expected to:

• Have their own child safeguarding policy or measures appropriate to their work with children, and to confirm this as part of the funding or partnership agreement.
• Comply with the ChangeX Child Protection Policy, Principles and Guidelines as set out in this document.
• Report any concerns or incidents involving child protection to ChangeX promptly, using the reporting lines below.

ChangeX takes guidance and leadership from these organisations, who hold direct expertise on child protection as it relates to their specific innovation and local context, while requiring that a baseline standard of safeguarding is in place as a condition of support.

Reporting

All employees, partners, and other individuals to whom this policy applies — whether paid or unpaid — are accountable for immediately reporting breaches or suspicions of breaches of this policy, including concerns about the conduct of a partner organisation, to their immediate manager or the CEO, and, if appropriate, to the national authorities.

ChangeX Child Protection Guidelines

ChangeX staff, partners, and other individuals representing ChangeX, as well as social innovation teams, and local community organisations starting innovations from the ChangeX platform, must never:

• hit, otherwise physically assault, or physically abuse children.
• engage in sexual activity or have a sexual relationship with anyone under the age of 18 years or below the age of consent in the country of operation. Mistaken belief in the age of a child is not a defense.
• develop relationships with children which could in any way be deemed exploitative or abusive.
• act in ways that may be abusive in any way or may place a child at risk of abuse.
• use language, make suggestions or offer advice which is inappropriate, offensive or abusive.
• behave physically in a manner which is inappropriate or sexually provocative.
• have a child/children with whom they are working to stay overnight at their home unsupervised unless exceptional circumstances apply and previous permission has been obtained from the immediate manager.
• sleep in the same bed as a child with whom they are working.
• sleep in the same room as a child with whom they are working unless exceptional circumstances apply and previous permission has been obtained from the immediate manager.
• do things for children of a personal nature that they can do themselves.
• condone, or participate in, behaviour of children which is illegal, unsafe or abusive.
• act in ways intended to shame, humiliate, belittle or degrade children, or otherwise perpetrate any form of emotional abuse.
• discriminate against, show unfair differential treatment or favour to particular children to the exclusion of others.
• spend excessive time alone with children away from others in a manner which could be interpreted as inappropriate.
• expose a child to inappropriate images, films and websites including pornography and extreme violence.
• place themselves in a position where they are made vulnerable to allegations of misconduct.

(Note: the clauses above regarding overnight stays, shared accommodation, and similar provisions are primarily relevant to Tier 3 roles involving direct or unsupervised engagement with children. They are retained here as they would apply automatically should any ChangeX role evolve to include such engagement.)

This is not an exhaustive or exclusive list. Staff, partners and other representatives should at all times avoid actions or behaviour, which may allow behaviour to be misrepresented, constitute poor practice or potentially abusive behaviour.

ChangeX staff, partners, and other individuals representing ChangeX, as well as social innovation teams, and local community organisations starting innovations from the ChangeX platform must:

• listen, value and respect all children.
• know the culture in which you are working and the appropriate behaviour and language around children.
• listen to children carefully if a child has a concern.
• as a member of staff or a volunteer, run projects in a safe, fun and positive manner.
• let children know you are there to help them.

Last updated: 18/09/2026)