Student Safety & Experience Guidelines

CareersPOV is a career exploration and experiential learning platform operated by Giggly Gains, a partnership firm based in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

CareersPOV helps school students explore careers, understand professional environments and participate in educational experiences facilitated through their school communities.

The safety, dignity, privacy and well-being of students are fundamental to every CareersPOV experience.

These Student Safety & Experience Guidelines establish the standards and responsibilities applicable to participating schools, students, parents, legal guardians, mentors, host organizations and other individuals involved in CareersPOV activities.

These Guidelines apply to:

• Online career interactions and mentoring sessions.
• Career talks and workshops.
• Workplace visits and job shadowing.
• Internships and extended professional experiences.
• Communications associated with approved experiences.
• Other career exploration activities facilitated through CareersPOV.

Participating Schools

Participating schools are responsible for administering their CareersPOV communities and establishing appropriate safeguarding arrangements for school-organized activities.

Their responsibilities include:

• Approving student participation.
• Assessing and approving mentor suitability.
• Establishing appropriate supervision arrangements.
• Communicating experience requirements to parents.
• Obtaining necessary parental permissions.
• Reviewing safety concerns and reported incidents.
• Coordinating with host organizations.
• Maintaining appropriate safeguarding procedures.
• Complying with applicable child-protection and reporting obligations.

Parents and Legal Guardians

Parents and legal guardians are responsible for:

• Reviewing experience details before approving participation.
• Providing accurate information and required permissions.
• Understanding relevant supervision and safety arrangements.
• Explaining appropriate safety boundaries to their children.
• Reporting concerns to the school.
• Supporting children who disclose uncomfortable or inappropriate experiences.

Mentors and Host Professionals

Mentors and host professionals must:

• Provide accurate professional information.
• Follow school safeguarding requirements.
• Conduct experiences professionally and respectfully.
• Maintain appropriate boundaries with students.
• Protect student information.
• Provide age-appropriate educational experiences.
• Follow approved supervision arrangements.
• Report safety concerns promptly.
• Comply with applicable legal requirements.

Students

Students are expected to:

• Treat others respectfully.
• Follow appropriate school and experience instructions.
• Respect workplace safety rules.
• Protect their own and others’ privacy.
• Avoid sharing unnecessary personal information.
• Report conduct that makes them uncomfortable or unsafe.

Giggly Gains

Giggly Gains operates the CareersPOV technology platform and is responsible for taking reasonable measures within its control to address platform-related safety risks.

Giggly Gains may restrict platform access, preserve appropriate records, assist participating schools and cooperate with competent authorities where necessary.

Mentors must be approved by the participating school before conducting experiences with students through its CareersPOV community.

Participating schools must assess mentor suitability before authorizing student interactions.

The assessment must be appropriate to:

• The student’s age.
• The nature of the experience.
• The level and duration of contact.
• Whether the activity is online or offline.
• The supervision arrangements.
• Applicable school policies and legal requirements.

Students must not participate in experiences requiring parental authorization without the necessary approval.

Before confirming participation, parents should receive relevant information, including:

• Nature and educational purpose of the experience.
• Mentor or host organization.
• Date, time and expected duration.
• Online or physical location.
• Applicable supervision arrangements.
• Any special requirements or foreseeable risks.

• Workplace visits.
• Job shadowing.
• Internships.
• Travel or transportation.
• Photography or recording.
• Activities involving additional safety considerations.

Online career experiences must be conducted through arrangements approved by the participating school.

All interactions must remain professional, respectful, educational and age-appropriate.

The following standards apply:

• Sessions must focus on approved educational or career-related topics.
• Mentors must not request unnecessary personal information.
• Students must not be pressured to disclose sensitive information.
• Harassment, discrimination and inappropriate conduct are prohibited.
• Meeting links must not be shared with unauthorized individuals.
• Recording or distributing sessions requires appropriate authorization.
• Unauthorized private communication between mentors and students is prohibited.

Individual Online Sessions

Individual interactions between students under 18 and adult mentors must take place under safeguarding arrangements approved by the participating school.

Such arrangements must provide appropriate adult oversight.

Depending on the student's age and the nature of the experience, this may involve a parent, school representative or another authorized adult.

Unsupervised private meetings outside approved safeguarding arrangements are prohibited.

Schools must determine and communicate suitable supervision arrangements before approving individual experiences.

All communication between mentors and students must remain professional and related to an approved career experience.

Mentors must not:

• Initiate unauthorized private communication with students.
• Request personal phone numbers or private social media accounts.
• Send inappropriate or personal messages.
• Arrange meetings outside approved activities.
• Request unnecessary photographs or personal information.
• Offer gifts or incentives in exchange for private communication.
• Seek personal favours or establish inappropriate relationships.
• Engage in romantic, sexual, exploitative or otherwise inappropriate conduct.
• Use student information for commercial solicitation.

Offline experiences require additional planning and safeguarding.

Before approving an experience, the participating school must establish appropriate arrangements covering:

• Workplace suitability.
• Age-appropriate activities.
• Foreseeable workplace hazards.
• Student supervision.
• Transportation responsibilities.
• Student arrival, handover and collection.
• Emergency contact arrangements.
• Accessibility and individual participation needs.
• Applicable permissions and insurance requirements.

Transportation

Transportation responsibilities must be established and communicated before the experience.

Students must not be transported privately by mentors or host professionals unless the arrangement has been expressly authorized through the school's safeguarding procedures and by the parent or legal guardian.

Parents and schools must receive appropriate location and contact information before participation.

Internships and extended professional experiences require additional oversight.

Before participation, the school and host organization must establish appropriate arrangements covering:

• Educational objectives.
• Duration and schedule.
• Assigned supervisor.
• Permitted activities.
• Workplace safety requirements.
• Parental authorization.
• Attendance and reporting.
• Emergency arrangements.
• Applicable age and legal restrictions.

Student privacy must be respected during all experiences.

Consent to participate in a CareersPOV experience does not automatically authorize photography, recording, publication or commercial use of a student's name, image, voice or other identifying information.

Separate, specific authorization must be obtained where required.

This applies to:

• Photographs.
• Video recordings.
• Audio recordings.
• Screenshots.
• Social media posts.
• Testimonials identifying students.
• Promotional materials.

Personal information shared through CareersPOV must be used only for authorized educational and administrative purposes.

Mentors and host organizations must not:

• Collect unnecessary student information.
• Copy or distribute student records without authorization.
• Use student information for unrelated marketing or recruitment.
• Retain student information beyond an authorized purpose.
• Disclose student information to unauthorized individuals.

All participants must be treated with dignity and respect.

CareersPOV experiences must not involve:

• Bullying or intimidation.
• Harassment.
• Sexual harassment or exploitation.
• Discriminatory conduct.
• Humiliation or degrading treatment.
• Inappropriate physical contact.
• Threats or coercion.
• Financial exploitation.
• Unauthorized commercial solicitation.

Students, parents, mentors and school representatives should promptly report suspected safety concerns.

These may include:

• Inappropriate mentor communication.
• Harassment or bullying.
• Unsafe workplace conditions.
• Unauthorized photography or recording.
• Requests for private meetings.
• Misuse of student information.
• Suspected abuse or exploitation.
• Other conduct creating a safeguarding concern.

Protection of Individuals Reporting Concerns

Reports must be handled sensitively.

Information should be shared only with persons who reasonably require it for safeguarding, investigation or legal compliance.

Retaliation against a student or another person raising a concern in good faith is prohibited.

Students must not be required to confront an alleged offender or continue participating in an activity while a credible safety concern is being assessed.

Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where disclosure is necessary to protect a child or comply with law.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) establishes legal obligations concerning the reporting of certain offences involving children.

Where a person has knowledge that an offence covered by POCSO has been committed, or apprehends that such an offence is likely to be committed, the matter must be reported to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police in accordance with Section 19 of the Act.

Reporting a matter to a school coordinator, principal, mentor or CareersPOV does not replace mandatory reporting to the appropriate authorities.

A legally required report must not be delayed while awaiting an internal investigation or administrative approval.

Schools, mentors, host organizations and other participants must comply with applicable mandatory reporting obligations.

Giggly Gains will comply with reporting obligations applicable to information or incidents brought to its attention.

If a student is in immediate danger, participants must prioritize the student's safety and contact appropriate emergency services or authorities.

In India:

Participating schools must maintain appropriate procedures for reviewing and responding to student safety concerns.

Depending on the circumstances, action may include:

• Ensuring the student’s immediate safety.
• Suspending or cancelling an experience.
• Restricting mentor participation.
• Informing parents or guardians where appropriate.
• Preserving relevant information.
• Investigating the reported concern.
• Coordinating with Giggly Gains regarding platform access.
• Reporting matters to competent authorities where legally required.

Parents may withdraw their child's participation from an experience.

Schools may cancel or suspend experiences for safety, administrative or other appropriate reasons.

Mentors and host organizations must promptly communicate circumstances that could affect an experience's suitability or safety.

Where a credible safety concern arises, participation should not continue until appropriate protective measures have been considered.

A student's decision to report a concern or withdraw from an unsafe situation must not result in retaliation.

Participating schools and experience providers should consider reasonable accessibility and participation needs.

These may relate to:

• Physical accessibility.
• Communication requirements.
• Learning needs.
• Age and maturity.
• Appropriate supervision.
• Other relevant participation arrangements.

Organizations hosting students must:

• Provide an appropriate and safe environment.
• Identify a responsible adult supervisor.
• Explain relevant workplace safety rules.
• Restrict access to hazardous or inappropriate areas.
• Ensure activities are suitable for students’ ages.
• Maintain professional conduct.
• Protect student privacy.
• Report incidents promptly.
• Comply with applicable legal requirements.

CareersPOV provides technology infrastructure that helps participating schools organize career exploration and experiential learning activities.

Giggly Gains operates the platform and is responsible for taking reasonable measures within its control to address platform-related safety risks.

Participating schools are responsible for school administration, mentor suitability decisions, supervision and school-organized experiences.

Mentors and host organizations are responsible for their conduct and the activities they provide.

Giggly Gains does not automatically conduct independent criminal background checks, supervise every experience or inspect every host workplace.

Where Giggly Gains receives a credible report of serious misconduct or a safeguarding concern, it may restrict relevant accounts, preserve appropriate records, cooperate with participating schools and take other necessary action.

Giggly Gains will report matters to competent authorities where legally required.

Nothing in these Guidelines excludes or limits responsibility or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

All participants must comply with applicable Indian laws and regulations, including those relating to:

• Child protection and safeguarding.
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
• Personal-data protection and privacy.
• Workplace safety.
• Child and adolescent labour.
• Education and school administration.
• Mandatory reporting of relevant offences.

Giggly Gains may update these Guidelines to reflect changes in platform functionality, safeguarding practices, applicable laws or operational requirements.

Updated versions will be published on CareersPOV.

Where required, significant changes will be communicated to participating schools or users.

Student Safety and Experience Concerns

For concerns involving student participation, mentors, online sessions, workplace visits or other school-organized experiences, parents and students should contact their school's designated CareersPOV coordinator.

Serious safeguarding matters should be escalated to the school's designated safeguarding authority.

Where the coordinator or another school representative is involved in the concern, the matter may be reported directly to the principal, designated safeguarding authority or competent authorities.

Platform Security and Technical Concerns