Before you speak at a session

Before the session

• • Confirm the topic, the group (year, programme, roughly how many) and the length with the organiser in writing.
• • Prepare one clear question the session answers, a real example from your own work, and a way to show it rather than only describe it.
• • Plan for questions: ask the organiser for a few from students in advance, and decide how you will answer one you cannot.
• • Check the room, screen and sound with the college contact, or the link and platform for an online session.
• • Do not share your personal phone number or social handles with students. Contact goes through the organiser.

During the session

• • Speak about the work as it is, including the dull and difficult parts. Students can tell a brochure from a description.
• • Do not promote your employer's products, a course, a service or your own business. If a student asks where to find you, point them to the organiser.
• • A member of the institution's staff stays in the room for the whole session. You are never alone with a student or a small group.
• • No photographs or recordings of students unless the organiser has confirmed permission.
• • Be careful with personal stories about hardship or mental health. Share what helps; do not give advice on medical, legal or psychological matters.

If something serious comes up

• • If a student says something that suggests they, or someone else, may be at risk of harm, abuse or serious distress, stay calm, do not promise secrecy, and tell the staff member in the room straight away. Do not investigate or ask for details.
• • Say kindly that you cannot be the right person for this, and that the school has people who can help. National helplines exist, including Tele-MANAS on 14416 and Childline on 1098.
• • Suspected sexual abuse of a child must be reported under Indian law (the POCSO Act). The institution's process should lead to that report; if you are unsure, ask the staff member present.

After the session

• • Thank the organiser, and tell us honestly how it went and what you would change.
• • If students ask follow-up questions after, answer them through the organiser, not privately.
• • Tell us if the topic should be adjusted for next time, or if you would like to speak again.

The standing commitments

These apply to every session with a group that includes people under 18, and are the commitments GullyFuture makes to the institutions it works with.

• • Programmes are arranged through the institution and run in approved group settings, supervised throughout by a school-designated adult.
• • No unsupervised one-to-one mentoring of a student, and no private messaging or personal contact between a contributor and a student.
• • Contributors are screened and briefed for the role they are given, and may not use a session to sell or promote anything.
• • We collect only the information a programme needs, and seek institutional and parent or guardian consent where it is required.
• • A student's photograph, quote or story is used only with specific permission obtained beforehand.
• • Anything touching safety, abuse, severe distress or self-harm follows the institution's own escalation and professional-referral process.