Everyone is responsible for Safeguarding
All children, young people and adults who receive services or have involvement in Roots Tutor should feel protected.
This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Roots Tutor, including paid contractors, parents and students.
Any safeguarding concerns will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Legal framework
This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in the United Kingdom. A summary of the key legislation is available from nspcc.org.uk/learning.
We believe that:
children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
safeguarding and the protection and welfare of children and young people is the responsibility of all.
We recognise that:
the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take
all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.
We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:
General:
making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
ensuring that any concerns are escalated to the appropriate authorities
valuing, listening to and respecting children
appointing a nominated child protection lead for children
adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for employees
developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures
providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
recruiting and selecting employees safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance.
using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
using our procedures to manage any allegations against employees appropriately
creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place. We recommend that if a parent or tutor has a concern of which they do not wish to report to the DSL, they call the NSPCC helpline below
building a safeguarding culture where employees, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.
During our online lessons:
guidance and assistance is provided to all our tutors involved in 1:1 sessions with children on safeguarding best practice
the sharing with attending children of any private details beyond the first name of any tutor working for Roots Tutor is prevented.
a reporting system is in place for our tutors to raise any concerns
our tutors and clients are discouraged from recording online sessions, however, if a request is made parent consent must be given and the video must be deleted after it has been used for learning purposes
both the student and tutor must always have their camera on during the session
students are expected to maintain classroom level behaviour during tutoring sessions
we recommend that children are located in a shared space (not their bedroom) during sessions and are supervised by parents / parents are within earshot of their child.
This document and other resources are provided to parents/carers.
Contact details
Nominated child protection lead Name: Sarah Roots
Email: sarah@rootstutor.com
NSPCC Safeguarding Training Completed: August 2023