Child protection policy
Version 2026-01-15 · Reviewed annually
Every child who comes into contact with HomeNest has the right to be safe. This policy sets out what we do about that. It applies to everyone: our employees, caregivers on the platform, centre staff, contractors, and our directors.
Our commitments
- The welfare of a child comes before our commercial interest, our reputation, and the convenience of any adult — including us.
- Every concern is taken seriously. You do not need proof to report something, and you will not be treated as a nuisance for being wrong.
- We recruit safely, and we say no to applicants where we have doubts we cannot resolve.
- We report to the authorities where we are required to, and where a child’s safety requires it — regardless of who is implicated.
- Allegations against our own staff and directors are handled by exactly the same process, with the person concerned removed from all contact with children while it is investigated.
Safe recruitment
No caregiver reaches a family without all of the following:
- Ghana Card identity verification with a live selfie compared by a HomeNest reviewer.
- A Ghana Police Service criminal record clearance, renewed every 24 months.
- At least two previous employers contacted by phone and scored against structured questions.
- Two guarantors with verified Ghana Cards.
- A health screening and current paediatric first aid and CPR certification.
- HomeNest child protection training passed at 80% or above.
Any recorded offence against a person or a child ends an application. So does a reference we cannot verify, a document we believe has been altered, or a Ghana Card already registered to another account.
What we mean by harm
Physical harm, emotional harm, sexual harm, neglect, and exploitation. It includes harm caused by another child. It includes a caregiver who is themselves being harmed — by an employer, by a household member, or by another caregiver.
Reporting a concern
If a child is in immediate danger, call the Ghana Police Service on 191 or the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) first. Then tell us.
Otherwise, tell us in whichever way is easiest:
- The SOS button in the app, which reaches a person immediately with your location.
- info@homenestcc.com
- Our WhatsApp or phone line, asking for the safeguarding team.
- Our contact form, selecting “A child safety concern”.
Anyone can report: a parent, a caregiver, a relative, a neighbour, a member of centre staff, or a member of the public. You can report anonymously, though it limits what we can investigate.
What happens next
- Within one hour. A designated safeguarding lead acknowledges your report — day or night, weekend or public holiday.
- Immediate protective action. Where there is any risk of continuing harm, the caregiver or staff member is removed from contact with children while we look into it. This is a neutral protective step, not a finding against them.
- Investigation. We take accounts from everyone involved, review records, and where necessary involve the Department of Social Welfare and the Police. Restricted cases are visible only to the safeguarding team — not to general staff, and not to the wider company.
- Outcome. We tell you what we found and what we did. Where we cannot share a detail — usually because it is another person’s personal data or would prejudice a police matter — we will tell you that is why rather than going silent.
- Learning. Every serious case is reviewed for what we should change. Where our own process failed, we say so.
Automated systems never make these decisions
We scan messages, reviews and incident reports for signals that may indicate harm, and those signals raise a flag to a human queue. No account is ever suspended, and no case is ever closed, by an automated decision. A person reviews everything — because the cost of getting this wrong is a child left at risk, or a caregiver’s livelihood destroyed on a false signal.
Protection for the person reporting
We will not tell a family that a caregiver raised a concern about them without the caregiver’s agreement, unless we are legally obliged to. A caregiver who reports in good faith will not lose work over it. Retaliation against someone who reports is itself a breach of our terms.
Photographs and images of children
- Photographs are taken only with parental consent, only for the daily report, and only on HomeNest-issued or personal devices via the app — never saved to a caregiver’s camera roll.
- Images are stored privately and served only through links that expire within five minutes.
- We never use images of children in marketing.
- We do not use facial recognition on children. Our reasoning is set out in our engineering decision log and in our privacy policy.
Review
This policy is reviewed annually, and immediately after any serious incident. The current designated safeguarding lead is named in the app and on request.