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1. Our commitment
 

Beyond Tuition is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every child who takes part in our tuition.

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We recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We aim to provide a safe, respectful and inclusive learning environment in which children can learn, participate and develop with confidence.

Beyond Tuition provides online tuition to children, including primary-aged pupils. We recognise that online tuition presents particular safeguarding considerations and have therefore established clear expectations for tutors, pupils and parents/carers.

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This policy applies to all tutors working on behalf of Beyond Tuition, whether directly engaged by Beyond Tuition or working as self-employed subcontractors.

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This policy is informed by Department for Education guidance on safeguarding children in out-of-school settings and tuition, together with relevant safeguarding guidance applicable in England.

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2. Safeguarding responsibilities

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Samantha Long is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Beyond Tuition.

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The DSL is responsible for:

• responding to safeguarding concerns;

• deciding when a concern should be referred to children's social care, the police or another appropriate agency;

• maintaining confidential safeguarding records;

• ensuring tutors understand their safeguarding responsibilities;

• ensuring appropriate safeguarding checks and training are completed;

• keeping this policy under review;

• liaising with parents/carers and other professionals where appropriate.

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Where another tutor is delivering a lesson, that tutor remains responsible for reporting any safeguarding concern immediately to the DSL.

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A tutor must never assume that somebody else will report a concern.

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3. Recognising safeguarding concerns

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A safeguarding concern may arise where a child:

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• makes a disclosure about abuse, neglect or another form of harm;

• appears frightened, distressed or unusually withdrawn;

• describes behaviour by another person that causes concern;

• appears to be at risk of physical, emotional or sexual abuse;

• appears to be experiencing neglect;

• shows signs of bullying, harassment or exploitation;

• raises concerns about their own or another child's safety;

• behaves in a way that suggests they may be at risk of harm;

• is exposed to inappropriate or harmful material online.

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Safeguarding concerns may relate to something happening inside or outside the tuition environment.

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Tutors should remain alert to changes in behaviour or presentation but should not attempt to diagnose or investigate abuse.

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4. Responding to a disclosure

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If a child tells a tutor something that may indicate they are being harmed or are at risk of harm, the tutor should:

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1. Listen calmly and allow the child to speak.

2. Take the child seriously.

3. Reassure them that they have done the right thing by telling someone.

4. Explain that the information cannot necessarily be kept secret because it may be necessary to tell someone who can help keep them safe.

5. Ask only questions necessary to clarify what the child has said. The tutor should not conduct an investigation.

6. Avoid leading questions or suggesting answers.

7. Record the child's words as accurately as possible as soon as practicable.

8. Report the concern to the DSL immediately.

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Tutors must not promise confidentiality.

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Where a child is in immediate danger, the priority is to contact the appropriate emergency services rather than waiting for the next lesson or attempting to deal with the matter independently.

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5. Reporting concerns

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All safeguarding concerns must be reported to the DSL as soon as possible.

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The DSL will consider the information and decide what action is appropriate, which may include:

• seeking further information;

• speaking with the parent/carer where appropriate;

• seeking advice from children's social care;

• making a referral to children's social care;

• contacting the police;

• taking other appropriate action to protect the child.

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Where there is an immediate risk of serious harm, appropriate emergency services should be contacted without delay.

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A tutor should still report a concern even if they are unsure whether it meets the threshold for a formal referral. It is the DSL's responsibility to assess the concern.

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If a tutor is unable to contact the DSL and believes a child is at immediate risk, they should take appropriate action themselves rather than delaying because the DSL is unavailable.

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6. Recording safeguarding concerns

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Safeguarding records will be:

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• factual, objective and dated;

• kept separately from ordinary educational records where appropriate;

• stored securely;

• accessible only to those who need the information for safeguarding purposes.

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Records should distinguish clearly between facts, observations and opinions.

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Tutors should not keep safeguarding records on personal devices or in ordinary lesson notes.

Information will only be shared where there is a legitimate safeguarding reason to do so.

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7. Online tuition safety

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Because Beyond Tuition operates online, particular care will be taken to ensure that lessons are conducted safely.

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Where reasonably practicable:

• lessons will take place using an approved platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams;

• parents/carers will be aware of the arrangements for their child's lessons;

• tutors will use professional accounts rather than personal social-media accounts for tuition;

• tutors will not communicate privately with pupils through personal social media;

• communication with pupils will remain appropriate, professional and related to their education;

• tutors will avoid unnecessary one-to-one communication outside the agreed tuition arrangements;

• tutors will not request or share inappropriate personal information or images;

• tutors will maintain appropriate professional boundaries at all times.

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8. Online lesson expectations

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Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring that their child is in an appropriate environment for online tuition.

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Where possible, children should participate in lessons from a shared or observable area of the home rather than a bedroom.

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Tutors should conduct lessons from an appropriate professional environment.

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Tutors will record lessons in order to safeguard them and the pupils they work with against inaccurate allegation. Recordings will be stored securely for 12 months following the lesson date before being deleted. 

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Children should not be required to turn their camera on where this would create an inappropriate or unsafe situation.

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Any inappropriate behaviour, material or communication encountered during an online lesson should be reported to the DSL.

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9. Communication with pupils

Beyond Tuition maintains clear professional boundaries between tutors and pupils.

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Tutors must:

• communicate with pupils only through agreed professional channels;

• keep communications educational and appropriate;

• avoid personal conversations that are unrelated to the child's welfare or education;

• never meet a pupil privately outside the agreed tuition arrangement;

• never exchange personal social-media details with pupils;

• never engage in sexualised, discriminatory, threatening or otherwise inappropriate communication.

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Where communication with a child outside a lesson is necessary, parents/carers should be included or an approved communication channel should be used.

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10. Parents and carers

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Beyond Tuition recognises parents and carers as important partners in keeping children safe.

Parents/carers will be provided with appropriate information about:

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• how tuition is delivered;

• online lesson arrangements;

• safeguarding expectations;

• how to raise a safeguarding concern;

• who the Designated Safeguarding Lead is.

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Where appropriate and where doing so would not place a child at further risk, parents/carers will be informed of safeguarding concerns.

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There may be circumstances in which information cannot be shared with a parent/carer because doing so could increase the risk of harm to the child or interfere with an investigation.

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11. Tutors and subcontractors

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Any tutor working for or on behalf of Beyond Tuition must understand and follow this safeguarding policy.

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Before undertaking tuition, tutors will be expected to provide appropriate evidence of their identity, qualifications and suitability to work with children. Beyond Tuition will undertake appropriate safeguarding checks in accordance with the requirements applicable to the role. Where a DBS check is appropriate, the tutor must hold an appropriate DBS check before commencing tuition. Tutors will be expected to undertake appropriate safeguarding training and to keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date.

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Subcontracted tutors remain responsible for reporting safeguarding concerns to Beyond Tuition's DSL in accordance with this policy. Beyond Tuition reserves the right to stop a tutor from working with children where there is a safeguarding concern.

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12. Professional conduct

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Tutors are expected to model appropriate professional behaviour.

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The following are not acceptable:

• humiliating or deliberately embarrassing a child;

• shouting at or threatening a child;

• inappropriate physical or verbal behaviour;

• discriminatory or offensive language;

• sexualised comments or behaviour;

• inappropriate communication with pupils;

• sharing inappropriate content;

• developing inappropriate personal relationships with pupils;

• deliberately breaching professional boundaries.

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Any allegation or concern regarding the conduct of a tutor will be taken seriously and considered by the DSL.

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13. Bullying and peer behaviour

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Beyond Tuition does not tolerate bullying, harassment or discriminatory behaviour between pupils.

Where group tuition is used, tutors will establish clear expectations for respectful behaviour. Concerns about bullying, inappropriate comments or behaviour between pupils will be addressed promptly.

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Where a concern may indicate a safeguarding issue, it will be reported to the DSL.

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14. Equality, inclusion and additional needs

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Beyond Tuition is committed to providing an inclusive learning environment. Some children may be particularly vulnerable to harm because of their circumstances, age, additional needs or other factors.

Tutors should remain alert to the individual needs and circumstances of pupils and report concerns rather than making assumptions about the reasons for a child's behaviour or presentation.

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15. Allegations concerning a tutor

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Any allegation that a tutor has harmed, abused or behaved inappropriately towards a child will be taken seriously. The tutor concerned will not be responsible for investigating the allegation.

The DSL will consider the appropriate action and, where necessary, seek advice from the relevant safeguarding authority, children's social care or the police.

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Where an allegation concerns the DSL, the matter should be reported directly to the appropriate external safeguarding authority rather than being dealt with solely by the DSL.

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16. Confidentiality and information sharing

 

Safeguarding information will be handled sensitively and shared only where there is a legitimate reason to do so. Confidentiality does not prevent information being shared where this is necessary to protect a child from harm.

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Beyond Tuition will follow applicable data protection requirements when collecting, storing and sharing personal information. Safeguarding records will be retained securely and only for as long as necessary.

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17. Training and review

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The DSL will maintain appropriate safeguarding knowledge and training.

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Tutors working for Beyond Tuition will be expected to complete appropriate safeguarding training before working with children and to refresh their knowledge regularly.

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This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where there are relevant changes to legislation, government guidance, the nature of the tuition service or safeguarding practice.

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18. Related policies

This policy should be read alongside Beyond Tuition's:

• Privacy Notice

• Terms and Conditions

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In an emergency involving an immediate risk of serious harm, the appropriate emergency service should be contacted.

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For non-emergency safeguarding concerns, the relevant local authority children's social care service should be contacted where appropriate.