Safeguarding is everyone’s business at MyTutor – we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults, and we expect all directors, employees and tutors to share this commitment.
This document outlines MyTutor’s Safeguarding policy and procedures and sets out our business working methods to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring our safeguarding practices reflect our statutory responsibilities, government guidance, and best practice.
This policy establishes a framework to support all who come into contact with MyTutor, protect them from abuse and maltreatment of any kind and clarifies the organisation’s expectations.
We will apply robust risk management processes to identify situations that may require the organisation to make professional judgements to protect learners from harm.
The organisation will collectively manage risks and reduce the likelihood of abuse by:
All directors, employees and tutors are responsible for reading this policy and supporting procedures and knowing what to do in the event of a safeguarding concern.
Tutors, schools, guardians, learners, and MyTutor employees.
Child abuse can be defined as a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Harm can include ill-treatment that is not physical as well as the impact of witnessing ill-treatment of others. This can be particularly relevant, for example, in relation to the impact on children of all forms of domestic abuse, including where they see, hear or experience its effects.
Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by an adult or adults or by another child or children (KCSIE, 2024).
When defining abuse of adults, it is important to see this in the context of whether they are considered vulnerable due to having care or support needs and also taking into account the capacity of that person to make their own decisions about the choices available to them.
All employees and tutors are aware of indicators of abuse, neglect and exploitation, understanding that children, in particular, can be at risk of harm inside and outside of their school/college, inside and outside of the home, and online. Exercising professional curiosity and knowing what to look for is vital for the early identification of abuse and neglect so that employees and tutors can identify cases where individuals may be in need of help or protection.
All employees and tutors are prepared to identify children who may benefit from early help. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years.
All employees and tutors are aware that abuse, neglect, exploitation and safeguarding issues are rarely standalone events and cannot be covered by one definition or one label alone. In most cases, multiple issues will overlap with one another.
Knowing what to look for is vital to the early identification of abuse and neglect. All employees and tutors are aware of indicators of abuse, neglect and exploitation through their experience and training, to enable them to be able to identify cases where individuals may be in need of help or protection. If employees or tutors are unsure, they understand they should always speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), or deputy.
All employees and tutors are aware that individuals may not feel ready or know how to tell someone that they are being abused, exploited, or neglected, and/or they may not recognise their experiences as harmful. For example, they may feel embarrassed, and humiliated, or may face threats not to report what is happening to them. This could be due to their vulnerability, disability and/or sexual orientation or language barriers. This should not prevent employees or tutors from having a professional curiosity and speaking to the DSL or deputy if they have concerns about any individual. It is also important that employees and tutors determine how best to build trusted relationships with children, young people and adult learners, which facilitate communication.
All employees and tutors are aware that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and well-being issues and that individuals are at risk of abuse and other risks online as well as face-to-face. In many cases, abuse and other risks will take place concurrently both online and offline. Children can also abuse other children online, this can take the form of abusive, harassing, and misogynistic/misandrist messages, the non-consensual sharing of indecent images, especially around chat groups, and the sharing of abusive images and pornography to those who do not want to receive such content.
All employees, tutors and especially the designated safeguarding lead (and deputies) should consider whether children are at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families. Extra familial harms take a variety of different forms and children can be vulnerable to multiple harms including (but not limited to) sexual abuse (including harassment and exploitation), domestic abuse in their own intimate relationships (teenage relationship abuse), criminal exploitation, serious youth violence, county lines and radicalisation.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is defined as:
The term ‘children’ refers to any person under the age of 18(KCSIE 2024)
Whilst all children should be protected, MyTutor recognises that some groups of children are potentially at greater risk of harm than others (both online and offline). The list below is not exhaustive but highlights some of those groups:
When defining adult safeguarding, this can be defined as protecting adults at risk of harm. When defining an adult at risk, the Care Act states this is someone who:
If abuse of a child is reported, MyTutor’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) will follow the process laid out in the 1989 Children Act with reference to whether a child is suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm (section 47) or if they are a ‘child in need’ (section 17). This may involve a referral to Children’s Social Care and/or the police, or a referral to early help services, depending on the severity of the risk posed.
If abuse of an adult is reported, MyTutor’s DSL will follow the process laid out in the Care Act 2014 which states that “if an adult is identified to have care and support needs, and is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect and, as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect” then the concern needs to be reported to adult social care and/or the police.
A form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of or deliberately induces illness in a child (KCSIE, 2024).
The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet another person's needs. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions beyond a child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction.
It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.
Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing.
They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at or in the production of sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse.
Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children. The sexual abuse of children by other children is a specific safeguarding issue in education and all employees are aware of it and of their organisation’s policy and procedures for dealing with it (KCSIE 2024)
The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy, for example, as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to: provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
All employees and tutors are trained to understand that both child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation are forms of child abuse and in how to recognise the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child could be at risk of exploitation, reporting any concerns in line with MyTutor’s safeguarding procedures.
All employees and tutors are aware that children can abuse other children at any age (often referred to as child-on-child abuse) and that it can happen both inside and outside of their school or college and online.
All employees and tutors are trained to recognise the indicators and signs of abuse and know how to identify it and respond to reports, in line with MyTutor’s safeguarding procedures.
Child-on-child abuse is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:
Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment can happen both inside and outside of education settings. MyTutor is clear that there is a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment, that it is never acceptable, and it will not be tolerated.
So-called ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) encompasses incidents or crimes which have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or the community, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and practices such as breast ironing. Abuse committed in the context of preserving ‘honour’ often involves a wider network of family or community pressure and can include multiple perpetrators.
All forms of HBA are abuse (regardless of the motivation) and should be handled and escalated as such. All employees are trained in spotting the signs of HBA and in how to report this.
All employees have a legal obligation to report to the DSL any cases where it is known that FGM has been carried out on a child, in line with MyTutor’s safeguarding procedures.
A forced marriage is one entered into without the full and free consent of one or both parties and where violence, threats or any other form of coercion is used to cause a person to enter into a marriage. Threats can be physical or emotional and psychological. A lack of full and free consent can be where a person does not consent or where they cannot consent (if they have learning disabilities, for example). Nevertheless, some perpetrators use perceived cultural practices to coerce a person into marriage. (KCSIE, 2024).
Since February 2023, it has become illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to marry, or for anyone to conduct the marriage or be complicit in enabling the marriage to take place, even if violence, threats or another form of coercion are not used.. As with the existing forced marriage law, this applies to non-binding, unofficial ‘marriages’ as well as legal marriages (KCSIE, 2024)
Use of a person’s income or assets without their informed consent, for example taking money or possessions, or fraud.
Abuse motivated by discriminatory attitudes, for example towards race, religion, culture, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
Accepted working practices or procedures of a service have an abusive effect on some or all users of that service, for example lack of privacy or supervision, lack of choice and consideration.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 requires MyTutor to carry out specific vetting (enhanced DBS and barred list checks) on employees or tutors if they work in an unsupervised capacity with anyone under the age of 18.
In order to deter and prevent unsuitable individuals and inappropriate behaviour on the platform, MyTutor has a rigorous and robust recruitment process. All those involved in the recruitment of tutors or employees have undertaken safer recruitment training, which covers the elements contained in Part 3 of KCSIE 2024.
All employees and tutors must successfully pass an interview before being admitted onto the platform or employed by MyTutor. All employees have to undergo a probationary period, and each tutor is subject to lesson observations periodically as secondary controls.
Employees in regulated activity and all tutors will be required to provide proof of two types of identification during their interview process. The first will be their UK passport and the second can be one of the following UK issued documents: biometric residence permit, birth certificate, adoption certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate. For the second identity document we also can also accept driving licences which can be from any country. The MyTutor interview assessor will verify these documents.
MyTutor requires that all tutors self declare they are physically and mentally fit to deliver lessons, by asking them to sign the Terms and Conditions.
MyTutor discusses with candidates their employment history from the age of 16 at the interview. For tutors, their university placement is discussed and we use a tutor’s declaration of grades. For both employees and tutors valid references (as outlined in KCSIE 2024) are obtained as a secondary control. Any gaps or inconsistencies are noted and explained.
The academic requirements MyTutor set to become a tutor are as follows:
We require all tutors, and employees in regulated activity, to have a valid enhanced criminal background check prior to commencing employment or, in respect of tutors, tutoring on our platform.
MyTutor considers a criminal background record check to be valid if it:
In line with safeguarding requirements, tutors and employees in regulated activity need to have a valid, enhanced DBS check, which is renewed every 3 years.
An enhanced DBS check can be updated by:
When a DBS check reaches 2 years and 11 months old, a tutor will be blocked from seeing new work, until they have had an updated DBS completed and this has been checked by MyTutor.
If a lesson was accepted before the 2 year and 11 month deadline, and takes place after the tutor expiry date, MyTutor reserves the right to reallocate this work to another tutor once a tutors DBS is older than 12 months.
For employees in non-regulated roles, a basic DBS check will be completed, due to the individual having access to children’s data.
As an additional safeguarding measure, we ask all employees in regulated activity and all tutors to complete a self-disclosure form each year until their DBS is renewed, to ensure we are identifying anyone who has been placed on the children’s barred list or to risk assess any new convictions or cautions a person may have received that may make them unsuitable to work with children.
All new tutors joining the platform will be required to have an updated Enhanced DBS Check with Child Barring Service, prior to starting on the platform, unless they are registered on the DBS Update Service and their original DBS has the right level check. Tutors who teach or reside in Scotland, Wales, NI or abroad may be subject to additional checks at the request of MyTutor.
MyTutor uses a certified screening provider to carry out any new criminal background checks, which provides a traffic light result to MyTutor on whether a tutor has convictions before sending a certificate to the individual. MyTutor uses this result to determine appointments.
All tutors must upload a copy of their DBS certificate to their MyTutor account once it has been issued. Tutors will not be allowed to join the platform until we have received the results of their DBS check from our DBS online screening partner.
Tutors on the Update Service will be expected to provide a copy of the original DBS certificate to MyTutor so a check can be conducted before they gain access to the platform.
As an organisation using disclosure information for the purpose of assessing an applicant’s suitability for employment purposes we undertake to treat all applicants fairly. We undertake not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a disclosure on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed.
We are committed to the fair treatment of our employees, potential employees, tutors and users of our services, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, responsibilities for dependants, age, physical/mental disability or offending background.
A disclosure should only be requested after a thorough risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. For those positions where a disclosure is required, all application forms, job adverts, and recruitment briefs will contain a statement that a disclosure check will be requested.
Unless the nature of the position allows us to ask questions about your entire criminal record, we will only ask about “unspent” convictions as defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
We ensure that all those within the company who are involved in the recruitment process have been suitably trained to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences. We also ensure that they have received appropriate guidance and training in the relevant legislation relating to the employment of ex-offenders, e.g. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
We make every subject of a disclosure aware of the existence of the Code of Practice and make a copy available on request.
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar individuals from working in specific industries. It will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of your offences.
Checks will also be made on the applicant’s academic and vocational qualifications and further checks made on TRA Teacher Services system, if applicable, to ensure they are not prohibited from teaching under a teacher prohibition order.
All tutors and employees must submit a minimum of 2 referees for reference checks before gaining access to the platform.
Reference checks must:
Tutors can submit an academic source as a referee, who has been known to the applicant for a minimum of 6 months
MyTutor collects an individual’s address history for the past 5 years, this is to identify if any additional and overseas checks are required on an individual working with children (as per KCSIE 2024). MyTutor defines overseas as “If they have been resident overseas for more than 3 months in one country.”
MyTutor requests this information from employees in regulated activity and all tutors during onboarding. If an overseas address is provided a tutor is flagged into a “holding” phase before being allowed onto the platform. This gives MyTutor the chance to identify the correct check needed to take place, if an overseas check is not viable, MyTutor conducts a suitable risk assessment that supports and informs the decision making on whether to proceed with the appointment, as outlined in KCSIE 2024, para 288.
No employee or tutor can start unless the appropriate checks have been completed.
MyTutor believes that training and raising awareness of safeguarding issues, policies and procedures is fundamental to the development and maintenance of a safer environment, safer organisation and safer employees and tutors.
We ensure that appropriate safeguarding training is provided to all employees and tutors to assist them in:
Safeguarding training at the appropriate level to the role and responsibilities held is a mandatory element of all inductions for employees and tutors and this knowledge is refreshed on an annual basis. Furthermore, safeguarding training is not regarded as a 'once only' activity, but as an ongoing development of skills and knowledge of safeguarding practices via bulletins, safeguarding meetings and awareness training.
MyTutor takes their duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 seriously, and has due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. We deliver annual mandatory Prevent training to all our tutors and employees, refreshed each August ahead of the new academic year, or when there is an update to guidance or legislation.
MyTutor also understands that the online world is intrinsic to young people’s lives and, whilst the internet can be an incredibly positive experience for young people, there is potential for it to be a cause of harm. As such, all employees are trained to recognise online harms, report these concerns to the DSL, and understand how MyTutor protects children and employees using the platform.
MyTutor keeps a record of all training completed and has a “pass rate” record to confirm the status of all courses.
As part of MyTutor's due diligence and commitment to safeguarding, we may conduct online searches on shortlisted candidates and tutors to ascertain information that may need to be explored further at interview or pre-appointment. All information logged will be in line with GDPR and data protection laws.
MyTutor takes a holistic approach to online safety that aims to protect employees, tutors and learners in their use of technology, and specifically on our site. The platform has been developed with the aim of ensuring that lessons take place in a safe environment. This is reflected in a number of key built-in features and a defined set of policies and procedures for the learners, guardians and tutors who use this service. We have also established mechanisms to identify, intervene in, and escalate any concerns where appropriate, in line with the filtering and monitoring standards set out by the DfE and contained within KCSIE 2024.
As outlined in KCSIE 2024 (para 135) MyTutor recognises the considerable breadth of issues classified within online safety, which have been categorised into the following four areas:
MyTutor ensures online safety is a constant running and interrelated theme through the development and implementation of all our services, policies and procedures.
Social media is a broad term for any kind of online platform which enables people to interact with each other directly. It allows people to share information, ideas, and views, and it can be considered both mainstream and non-mainstream. Examples of mainstream social media include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, which are all moderated to prevent extremist material being uploaded. Non-mainstream social media, however, such as Bitchute, 4chan, and Reddit, do not have much, if any, moderation, and this can lead to young people being exposed to extremist material and susceptible to being radicalised.
MyTutor employees and tutors understand that content uploaded to social media is not private. Even if you restrict it to ‘friends,’ it can still be re-posted or distributed beyond the intended recipients. Therefore, employees and tutors using social media should behave professionally and respectfully.
Employees and tutors should not upload any content to social media sites that:
Employees and tutors on the platform are aware of both professional and social boundaries. They should not accept or invite ‘friend’ requests from students or ex-students under the age of 18, or from parents on their personal social media accounts such as Facebook.
All communication with parents is through the MyTutor platform.
Any content or online activity that raises a safeguarding concern must be reported to the MyTutor safeguarding team via our online case management system (CPOMS).
Following any report of inappropriate use of social media, the Company will conduct an investigation, this may lead to removal from the platform or disciplinary action taken.
MyTutor recognises that it provides tuition across a wide range of age groups, which includes adult learners who, by definition of this policy, are defined as being 18 years and over
The concept of a vulnerable adult no longer appears in DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) documentation, and teaching is not regarded as a regulated activity when working with adults.
Due to MyTutor’s commitment to safeguarding, we will continue to ensure all employees and tutors are adequately trained and prepared to recognise the different types of abuse that can impact different age groups. We remain aware of the additional needs of learners 18 and above who are accessing tutoring on our platform and who were previously considered vulnerable adults. (A vulnerable adult is a person over 18 who “is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age, or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation”.).
In addition, MyTutor recognises its safeguarding responsibilities towards tutors. MyTutor provides support and advice to all tutors by providing open and easy methods of communication and supporting tutors through lesson observations and feedback.
MyTutor recognises that international students use and access the platform. MyTutor uses the same reporting approach to international students as it does to the UK.
The MyTutor safeguarding team will always endeavour to follow the same policy and procedures and notify the relevant local authority equivalent where possible.
It’s vital that you report any safeguarding concerns to MyTutor so our Safeguarding team can investigate fully. All Safeguarding concerns will be assigned and reviewed by the MyTutor safeguarding team, who will respond accordingly.
To help the Safeguarding team respond and refer appropriately, you should follow the guidance below.
To report a safeguarding concern to MyTutor:
MyTutor employees and tutors - all concerns need to be reported via CPOMS.
Guardians/schools - please use our external MyTutor Safeguarding Reporting Form.
If you cannot access CPOMS, or the reporting form, please get in touch via live chat or phone.
+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Monday - Thursday: 8am - 7pm
Fridays: 8am - 6pm
Saturday & Sunday 9am - 5pm
Once a disclosure has been made or a concern has been shared, the Safeguarding team will consider and review the information, keep detailed records (if necessary, seeking external advice), and will decide to either:
Where a child, or adult with care and support needs, is suffering, or is likely to suffer from harm, it is important that a referral to social care (and if appropriate the police) is made immediately.
Once the decision is made to make a referral the Safeguarding team will contact the relevant social care team and make a telephone referral. This must be followed up in writing within 24 hours.
Where an individual is identified as being at immediate risk of harm, the tutor will immediately contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead who will in turn contact 999 and/or the relevant social care department for the area where the risk is located. This is especially important when the individual is being tutored at home and there is no independent school teacher present (in the case of our schools programme).
Within one working day of a referral being made, a local authority social worker should acknowledge receipt to the referrer and make a decision about the next steps and the type of response that is required.
Where tutors are delivering tuition to children and young people in a school or college, the MyTutor DSL/ Deputy must inform the school’s DSL of any safeguarding concern.
MyTutor recognises its duty to report concerns or allegations against its directors, employees, tutors, volunteers or contractors. All directors, employees, tutors, volunteers or contractors must comply with the relevant Code of Conduct when performing their role in order to promote safer working practices.
Allegations of abuse against directors, employees, tutors, volunteers or contractors can be made by either a child or an adult and are made immediately to MyTutor’s DSL. Allegations made against the DSL should instead be made to another member of the leadership team who will arrange for a suitable senior member of employees to be appointed to take the place of the DSL in response to the allegation.
This guidance is followed when any MyTutor representative has:
MyTutor will deal appropriately and promptly with all allegations or concerns and refer all safeguarding concerns or allegations about its directors, employees or tutors immediately to the appropriate local authority designated officer (LADO) in accordance with local safeguarding procedures and practical guidance, in accordance with the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2023.
MyTutor will consider immediate suspension (without prejudice) if a safeguarding allegation is made against any director, employees member or tutor pending investigation when there is cause to suspect that another child(ren) is /are at risk of harm from their continued contact with children, in line with KCSIE 2024 recommendations.
Suspension will also be considered even if the allegation is not linked to their role or activity with MyTutor.
Under legal duties to make referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service, MyTutor will report any concerns about unsafe practice by any of its directors, employees or tutors who undertake regulated activity to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This applies where an individual has engaged in conduct that has either harmed (or is likely to harm) a child; or if a person otherwise poses a risk of harm to a child. (KCSIE 2024)
MyTutor is committed to learning any lessons, alongside support and guidance with the LADO to determine whether there are any improvements to be made to our procedures or to help prevent similar events in the future. This includes lessons learned about suspension reinstatement after suspension. (KCSIE 2024).
We aim to create a culture where all concerns about all adults working on behalf of MyTutor are dealt with promptly and appropriately.
The term ‘low-level’ concern does not mean that it is insignificant. A low-level concern is any concern – no matter how small, and even if no more than causing a sense of unease or a ‘nagging doubt’ - that an adult working in or on behalf of MyTutor may have acted in a way that:
If at any time MyTutor dismisses a director or employee undertaking a regulated activity role, or a tutor due to relevant conduct, risk of harm, or receiving a caution or conviction for a relevant offence (or the person has resigned or left that post in circumstances where they may have been removed), then the DSL will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Employees and tutors should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in MyTutor’s safeguarding regime. Appropriate whistleblowing procedures, suitably reflected in employees and tutors’ induction, training, and code of conduct, are in place for such concerns to be raised with MyTutor’s leadership team.
Where an employee or tutor feels unable to raise the issue with their manager or feels that their genuine concerns are not being addressed, other whistleblowing channels are open to them:
MyTutor is committed to providing support to all those involved with the organisation. A clear structure of safeguarding accountability supports everyone in understanding their individual and collective responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults who may be considered vulnerable.
MyTutor will ensure it has arrangements in place to fulfil its commitment and duty to safeguard children, young people and adults who may be considered vulnerable, in accordance with legislation and statutory guidance.
Directors play a vital role in ensuring that they are legally compliant to manage the organisation’s resources effectively and provide a long-term vision and protect the organisation’s reputation and values.
The Board of Directors may delegate some or all of these responsibilities to individual directors or members of the leadership team in order to fulfil these responsibilities.
Directors are responsible for:
The leadership team will ensure a commitment to safeguarding is integral in delivering all its services, activities and contracts. They will assist in the safer recruitment and selection of employees and tutors.
The Leadership Team will ensure that:
The Named Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) will be provided with the appropriate level of training to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities in supporting and guiding employees and tutors on safeguarding matters. Their training is updated every two years. They are responsible for responding to initial concerns or disclosures.
The Named Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputies will:
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Name: Sarah Jack
Phone: 0203 773 6020
Email: sarah.jack@mytutor.co.uk
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Name: Shinae Bae
Phone: 0203 773 6025
Email: shinae.bae@mytutor.co.uk
Further information on the role and responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputies in the context of schools can be found in the statutory guidance KCSIE 2024, Annex C.
All MyTutor employees and tutors are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. They should know how to recognise, respond to, report, and record safeguarding concerns.
All employees and tutors are responsible for following the organisation’s safeguarding procedures for immediately reporting any concerns relating to abuse or neglect or suspected abuse or neglect.
In an emergency, employees and tutors will be expected to report urgent concerns directly to the relevant statutory agency.
Safeguarding procedures will be followed if a complaint is identified as a potential safeguarding concern.
MyTutor is committed to striving for excellence in providing all its services. We do this by actively reviewing the safeguarding systems in place.
We use an electronic recording system to capture all relevant data supporting the evidence and monitoring of safeguarding compliance. This quality assurance mechanism is a crucial and integral part of the governance structure.
The leadership team will review the safeguarding policy and supporting procedures annually to ensure they continue to reflect legislation and guidance. Any amendments to the policy and supporting procedures will be submitted to the Directors for approval.