Child protection policy

Every student at Zenshin Dojo is a child. Judo involves close physical contact and adult supervision, so keeping children safe is not a side-concern — it shapes how we run classes and how we built our app.

Our commitments

• A child’s welfare comes before the reputation of the dojo, an instructor, or the sport.
• Every adult who works with our students is police-verified before they teach.
• We have a named designated safeguarding lead, and their contact details are published here.
• Parents are welcome to watch any class, at any time, without notice.
• No adult is ever alone with a child in a closed space.

Designated safeguarding lead

[Name to be confirmed]
safeguarding@zenshindojo.in
+91 98918 38186

If you have any concern about a child’s safety — something you saw, or something your child told you — contact them directly. You do not need to be certain, and you will not be asked to justify raising it.

On the mat

• Children train in age and size bands. Beginners are not paired with much older or heavier students.
• Physical contact is limited to what teaching judo requires, and is explained before it happens.
• Instructors do not transport students alone, or meet them outside class.
• Instructors do not contact students privately by phone or social media.

In the app

Several design decisions exist specifically to remove risk rather than manage it:

• Parents hold the accounts. Under-13s have no independent login.
• Students cannot message each other. There are no public comments.
• Practice videos go to the instructor only, are visible to the child’s own parent, and are deleted after 90 days.
• Instructor feedback goes to the parent and child together. There is no private adult-to-child channel.
• At least two adults can see the practice video queue, so no single adult has sole private access to footage of children.
• Every viewing of a child’s video is logged, and parents can see who viewed it.
• Your child appears in class photos only if you have given permission, and you can withdraw it at any time.

Reporting a concern

Tell the designated safeguarding lead, in person, by phone or by email. We will listen, write down what you tell us, and act.

We are legally required to report any apprehension of a sexual offence against a child to the police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit under the POCSO Act 2012. This is a duty on us as individuals, not a discretion. We will tell you if we make such a report, unless doing so would put a child at greater risk.

You can also contact Childline India on 1098, free, at any hour, without going through us.

If a concern is about an instructor

They are removed from contact with students while it is looked into. That is not a judgement about them; it is how a concern gets examined fairly without a child being at risk in the meantime.

Grievances

If you are unhappy with how we handled something, our grievance officer is reachable at grievance@zenshindojo.in.