POCSO Training & Child Safeguarding
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) protects everyone under eighteen from sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. It places a duty on any person who knows of, or suspects, an offence to report it to the police. POCSO training explains that duty, and how to recognise and respond to abuse, to the people who work with children.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Rules, 2020 add duties for institutions that house children or come into regular contact with them, such as schools, crèches and sports academies: periodic police verification and background checks of staff, regular training, and a child protection policy.
When you need it
At the start of each school year
New teachers, support staff, drivers and attendants join every year, and all of them are covered by the duty to report.
When staff do not know what to do with a concern
Most failures to report come from uncertainty about who to tell and when, not from indifference.
When adopting or revising a child protection policy
A policy needs a session that explains it, or it stays unread.
When an organisation works with children outside school
Coaching centres, sports academies, hostels, camps, hospitals and non-profits have the same duties.
After an incident or a complaint
A review of what happened usually shows where the procedure or the training fell short.
How the process works
Five stages. Timings are typical, not promised.
- 1
Understand the institution
A call or meetingEstablish who works with the children, including contract and transport staff, what policy and reporting procedure exist, and what has prompted the training.
Documents
- The child protection policy, if there is one
- The current reporting procedure
- Numbers of staff by role
- 2
Design the sessions
About a weekPlan separate sessions for management, teaching staff and support staff, since each has a different role when a concern arises, and choose the language of delivery.
- 3
Staff sessions
Typically about two hours for each groupCover what the Act treats as an offence, that a child’s consent is not a defence, how to recognise signs, how to respond when a child discloses, the duty to report and to whom, confidentiality of the child’s identity and what not to do, such as questioning the child at length.
- 4
Management session
About two hoursCover the duties of the person in charge of an institution, staff verification, the policy, record-keeping, dealing with the police and the Child Welfare Committee, and supporting the child and family.
- 5
Records and follow-up
After the sessionsKeep attendance records and materials, note any gaps in the policy or procedure that came out of the sessions, and set the next session for new joiners.
Common questions
Any person under the age of eighteen, whatever their gender. The Act is gender-neutral for both the child and the offender, and a child’s consent is not a defence to an offence under it.
Under section 19, any person who has knowledge that an offence has been committed, or an apprehension that one is likely to be, must report it to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police. The duty is on every adult, not only on the institution.
Under section 21, failing to report is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months, a fine or both. The person in charge of a company or institution who fails to report an offence by a subordinate faces up to one year and a fine. A child is not penalised for failing to report.
The 2020 Rules provide for regular training and orientation for people who come into contact with children, and require institutions that work with children to follow a child protection policy and verify their staff. Training is how an institution shows its staff know the duty to report.
No. An internal inquiry does not replace the duty to report to the police. Delaying a report to investigate, to protect the institution’s name or to persuade a family not to complain can itself be an offence under section 21.
No. Section 23 prohibits any report or comment that discloses the identity of the child, including name, address, photograph, family details and school. Staff should share information only with those who need it to protect the child.
POCSO is a criminal law that protects children everywhere and requires reporting to the police. The 2013 workplace law protects women at work and is handled by an Internal Committee. A school is an employer under one and an institution under the other, and needs both in place.
Related
To discuss POCSO training, write to info@ireniclegal.com or call +91 96547 47331. Written by Adv. Kanika Marwaha Bindal; last updated 7 October 2026.