Schooly Education LTD (Schooly) is an online tutoring company that provides high-quality academic support to learners aged 11-18 in various subjects. Schooly aims to help learners achieve their full potential and enjoy learning in a safe and supportive environment.
Schooly is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people who use our services.
We recognise that online tutoring poses specific challenges and risks to safeguarding, such as cyberbullying, grooming, inappropriate content, privacy breaches, and technical issues.
We have therefore developed this policy to ensure that we have clear and consistent procedures for preventing, identifying, reporting, and responding to any safeguarding concerns or incidents.
This policy applies to all staff, tutors, learners, parents/carers, and any other parties involved in Schooly’s online tutoring service. It should be read in conjunction with our other policies and procedures, such as our Code of Conduct, Data Protection Policy, Complaints Procedure, and Online Safety Guidelines.
Definitions
For the purposes of this policy, we use the following definitions:
– A child or young person is anyone under the age of 18.
– Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and young people and protect them from harm.
– Child protection is part of safeguarding and refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm.
– Abuse is a form of maltreatment of a child or young person. It can be physical, emotional, sexual, or neglectful. It can also include online abuse, such as cyberbullying, grooming, sexting, or radicalisation.
– A safeguarding concern is any information or suspicion that a child or young person is at risk of harm or has been harmed.
– A safeguarding incident is any event or situation that has caused or could have caused harm to a child or young person.
– A designated safeguarding lead (DSL) is a member of staff who has overall responsibility for safeguarding within Schooly. They are trained and qualified to deal with any safeguarding issues and liaise with external agencies if necessary.
Principles
We adhere to the following principles in relation to safeguarding:
– The best interests of the child or young person are paramount.
– All children and young people have the right to be protected from harm regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, religion, or any other characteristic.
– All staff and tutors have a duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people who use our services.
– All staff and tutors are expected to act professionally and appropriately at all times when interacting with children and young people online.
– All staff and tutors are required to undergo appropriate checks (such as DBS checks) before they can work with children and young people online.
– All staff and tutors are required to complete regular training on safeguarding and online safety.
– All staff and tutors are required to follow our policies and procedures on safeguarding and online safety.
– All staff and tutors are required to report any safeguarding concerns or incidents to the DSL as soon as possible.
– All safeguarding concerns or incidents will be taken seriously and dealt with promptly and sensitively.
– All safeguarding concerns or incidents will be recorded and stored securely in accordance with our Data Protection Policy.
– All safeguarding concerns or incidents will be reviewed regularly by the DSL to identify any patterns or trends and take appropriate action.
– All learners, parents/carers, and other parties will be informed of our safeguarding policy and procedures before they start using our services.
– All learners, parents/carers, and other parties will be encouraged to raise any questions or feedback about our safeguarding policy and procedures at any time.
Procedures
Prevention
We aim to prevent any safeguarding issues from arising by:
– Providing clear and comprehensive information and guidance on our online tutoring service, including the expectations, roles, and responsibilities of all parties involved.
– Ensuring that all staff and tutors are suitably qualified, experienced, and checked to work with children and young people online.
– Ensuring that all staff and tutors are trained and updated on safeguarding and online safety issues and best practices.
– Ensuring that all online tutoring sessions are conducted using a secure and reliable platform that allows for monitoring and recording of the sessions.
– Ensuring that all online tutoring sessions are conducted in a suitable and safe environment, with no distractions, interruptions, or inappropriate content or behaviour.
– Ensuring that all online tutoring sessions are conducted in a respectful and professional manner, with clear boundaries and communication between the tutor and the learner.
– Ensuring that all online tutoring sessions are tailored to the individual needs and abilities of the learner, and that feedback and progress are regularly shared with the learner and the parent/carer.
– Providing ongoing support and supervision to all staff and tutors to ensure they are confident and competent in delivering online tutoring.
– Providing online safety resources and tips to all learners, parents/carers, and other parties to help them stay safe online.
Identification
We aim to identify any safeguarding concerns or incidents as early as possible by:
– Encouraging all staff and tutors to be vigilant and observant of any signs or indicators of abuse or harm in children and young people they work with online.
– Encouraging all staff and tutors to listen to and communicate with children and young people they work with online, and to build a trusting and supportive relationship with them.
– Encouraging all learners, parents/carers, and other parties to report any concerns or incidents they have or witness during or outside of the online tutoring sessions.
– Providing clear and accessible channels for reporting any concerns or incidents, such as email, phone, or online form.
Reporting
We aim to report any safeguarding concerns or incidents as soon as possible by:
– Requiring all staff and tutors to report any safeguarding concerns or incidents to the DSL immediately via the email provided below.
– Requiring the DSL to acknowledge receipt of the report within 24 hours, and to contact the staff or tutor for further information if needed.
– Requiring the DSL to assess the level of risk and urgency of the concern or incident, and to decide on the appropriate course of action.
– Requiring the DSL to inform the learner, parent/carer, or other party of the concern or incident if appropriate, and to seek their consent for any further action if needed.
– Requiring the DSL to refer the concern or incident to external agencies (such as social services, police, or child protection helplines) if necessary, following their procedures and guidance.
– Requiring the DSL to keep a record of all actions taken in relation to the concern or incident, including dates, times, names, details, outcomes, etc.
Response
We aim to respond to any safeguarding concerns or incidents effectively by:
– Providing appropriate support and care to the child or young person who is affected by the concern or incident, such as counselling, mentoring, or referrals to other services.
– Providing appropriate support and guidance to the staff or tutor who reported or was involved in the concern or incident, such as debriefing, supervision, or training.
– Providing appropriate feedback and updates to the learner, parent/carer, or other party who reported or was affected by the concern or incident, as far as possible without breaching confidentiality or data protection laws.
– Taking appropriate disciplinary action against any staff or tutor who is found to have breached our policies or procedures on safeguarding or online safety, such as suspension, termination, or referral to relevant authorities.
– Taking appropriate legal action against any external party who is found to have harmed or attempted to harm a child or young person who uses our services, such as reporting them to the police or taking them to court.
Review
We aim to review our safeguarding policy and procedures regularly by:
– Seeking feedback from all staff, tutors, learners, parents/carers, and other parties on our safeguarding policy and procedures, and making improvements where necessary.
– Monitoring and evaluating our safeguarding performance and outcomes using data from our records and reports.
– Conducting internal audits and inspections on our safeguarding practices and compliance.
– Updating our safeguarding policy and procedures in line with any changes in legislation, guidance, standards, or best practices.
Contact
If you have any questions or comments about our safeguarding policy and procedures, please contact our DSL at:
Name: Mojdeh Deris
Email: Mojdeh@schooly.help
Thank you for choosing Schooly for your online tutoring needs. We hope you enjoy learning with us in a safe and supportive environment. 😊
