Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy

The purpose and scope of this policy statement

The purpose of this policy statement is:

  • to protect children and young people who receive Teach Wessex Limited’s services from harm.
  • to provide staff and sub-contracting tutors, as well as children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Teach Wessex Limited including Directors, paid staff and sub-contracting tutors.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England. A summary of the key legislation is available from nspcc.org.uk/learning.

CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING POLICY

All children have an absolute right to a childhood free from abuse, neglect or exploitation.  Teach Wessex Limited believes that in all matters concerning child protection and safeguarding, the welfare and protection of the young people[1] we work with is of paramount consideration. All adults involved in Teach Wessex Limited’s activities and who come into contact with children have a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare.

This policy and the procedures contained within it exist not to discourage adults from being involved in the work of Teach Wessex Limited but to ensure, as far as possible, that people who may abuse children do not get the opportunity to do so.

  • There is a duty placed upon us to ensure that all adults who work with or on behalf of our young people are competent, confident and safe to do so. 
  • Adults working or volunteering for Teach Wessex Limited are responsible for their own actions and behaviour and should avoid any conduct that would lead a reasonable person to question their motivation or intention. 
  • Everyone involved in Teach Wessex Limited activities must follow Teach Wessex Limited Code of Conduct.  
  • They must also be familiar with the steps to be taken in the event of becoming aware of, suspecting or receiving allegations of abuse. 

Designated Safeguarding Officer

Teach Wessex Limited have a Designated Safeguarding Officer to:

  • Offer support and training to all staff and sub-contracting tutors involved in Teach Wessex Limited’s work.
  • To ensure that all Teach Wessex Limited staff and sub-contracting tutors are sufficiently vetted.  
  • To act as the main point of contact in the event of any allegation or disclosure.

If there is an allegation, signs and indicators of abuse are identified or if at any point an adult involved with Teach Wessex Limited’s work fails to comply with any element of the Code of Conduct this information must be passed immediately to Teach Wessex Limited’s Designated Safeguarding Officer. It is the Designated Safeguarding Officer’s responsibility to collect all relevant information and make decisions on how to proceed. You have a duty of care to pass on all relevant information regarding any allegations of abuse or identified signs and indicators of possible abuse.

Designated Safeguarding Officer 

Philip Childerhouse – contact@teachwessex.co.uk or 07584 101322 

In the event of the Designated Safeguarding Officer being unavailable please email: contact@teachwessex.co.uk or call the above telephone number. 

Definitions of Abuse  

Physical Abuse: physical injury to a child where there is knowledge, or a reasonable suspicion, that their injury was inflicted or knowingly not prevented.

Neglect: the persistent or severe neglect of a child that results in serious impairment of the child’s health or development (both physical and mental).

Emotional Abuse: the persistent or severe emotional ill-treatment of a child which has severe adverse effect on the behaviour and emotional development of that child.

Sexual Abuse: the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities they do not truly comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent.

Extremism: A vocal or active opposition to fundamental human values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.

Grooming: When someone builds an emotional connection with a child or a young person to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation.

Self Abuse: Any means by which a child or young person seeks to harm themselves. This can take lots of physical forms, including cutting, bruising, scratching, hair-pulling, poisoning, overdosing and eating disorders.

Procedures  

In all cases related to child protection and safeguarding, the main procedure is to treat the allegation seriously, in strict confidence and immediately contact the Teach Wessex Limited Designated Safeguarding Officer.  In the event of Teach Wessex Limited Designated Safeguarding Officer being contacted the following protocol will be followed:  

  1. Teach Wessex Limited shall follow the company procedure for contacting the local Police Child Protection Unit or the Social Services Department of the relevant Local Authority.  Teach Wessex Limited shall support with any action that the Local Authority deems appropriate and shall undertake reasonable endeavours to provide the Police with any assistance or documents.  
  1. Teach Wessex Limited shall not, under any circumstances, undertake any independent investigation or questioning (as this may jeopardise any enquiry) unless or until Teach Wessex Limited is given authorisation by the Authorities.  Following authorisation, Teach Wessex Limited may independently follow up on the allegation. 
  1. All allegations or suspicions shall be referred to the Local Authority no matter how insignificant they seem to be or when they occur.  Any information about suspicious behaviour or circumstances will be passed to the local Police Child Protection Unit or the local Social Services within 24 hours or as soon as shall be reasonably practicable. 

In the event that a young person discloses abuse to an employee of Teach Wessex Limited or a sub-contracting tutor

Employees of Teach Wessex Limited and sub-contracting tutors shall: 

  1. Allow the young person to speak without interruption, encouraging them to tell you only what they feel comfortable telling you, and be accepting and be non-judgemental about what is said. Do not ask investigative or leading questions of any kind.
  2. Advise the young person that you will offer support, but that you MUST pass what they tell you and are not able to keep anything they tell you confidential. 
  3. If they refuse to tell you anything unless you promise to keep it a secret, inform them that you want to help and that there is one person you have to tell. If they then refuse to tell you anymore, please respect their decision and report this incident.
  4. Ensure that the young person is not immediately at risk of any further abuse. 
  5. Immediately after a disclosure, contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer at Teach Wessex Limited.
  1. Report the facts as you know them/ or understand them, including the pupil’s name and the account given to you by the young person using the words that they used as well as including any other information your feel is relevant. 
  2. Provide this detailed information to the Designated Safeguarding Officer at Teach Wessex Limited as soon as you are able.
  3. Teach Wessex Limited shall retain a copy of all such notifications in accordance with GDPR guidelines. 

In the event that a sub-contracting tutor suspects abuse, but it has not been disclosed by the young person

Employees of Teach Wessex Limited and sub-contacting tutors shall: 

  1. Do not discuss your suspicions with the young person in question or conduct any form of investigative work.
  1. Report the facts as you know them/ or understand them, including the pupil’s name and the account given to you by the young person using the words that they used as well as including any other information your feel is relevant. 
  1. Provide this detailed information to the Designated Safeguarding Officer at Teach Wessex Limited as soon as you are able.
  1. Teach Wessex Limited shall retain a copy of all such notifications in accordance with GDPR guidelines. 

If you receive an allegation about any adult or about a sub-contracting tutor (including the person hearing the allegation)  

Employees of Teach Wessex Limited and sub-contracting tutors shall:

  1. Immediately after receiving an allegation or disclosure, contact the Designated Safeguarding Children Officer at Teach Wessex Limited.
  1. Report the facts as you know them/ or understand them, including the names of relevant adults and/or young people and the account given to you using the words that they used as well as including any other information your feel is relevant. 
  1. Provide this detailed information to the Designated Safeguarding Children Officer at Teach Wessex Limited as soon as you are able.
  1. Teach Wessex Limited shall retain a copy of all such notifications in accordance with GDPR guidelines.  

If you deal with the personal data of young people (including names, grades and school)

Employees of Teach Wessex Limited and sub-contracting tutors shall:

  1. Handle all information with sensitivity and confidentiality and in accordance with GDPR guidelines.
  1. The information should be kept securely and not be made available to others without the authority of Teach Wessex Limited.

Recruitment and Training:

Teach Wessex Limited maintain a high standard in recruiting staff and volunteers. Teach Wessex Limited employees and sub-contracting tutors will be subject to an enhanced DBS check before they can begin working. Every sub-contracting tutor and employee must be able to fulfil one of the following:

  1. Have an existing enhanced DBS check not more than 2 years old verified by a member of Teach Wessex Limited staff, with the disclosure number and date of issue recorded, along with photographic ID.  
  2. Arrange to have a new enhanced DBS check.

Teach Wessex Limited staff and sub-contracting tutors are aware of the contents of this policy as part of their induction, this policy is made available to all adults involved in Teach Wessex Limited’s activities and all sub-contracting tutors confirm they have read and understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.

The Code of Conduct

All adults coming into contact with children and young people through Teach Wessex Limited’s work must comply with this Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and this Code of Conduct. 

You must:

  • Act in accordance with Teach Wessex Limited’s policies and procedures regarding child protection and safeguarding.
  • Treat all young people with respect.
  • Remember that someone else might misinterpret your actions, no matter how well intentioned.
  • Be aware that any physical contact with a young person can be misinterpreted and should always be avoided. Shaking hands in a public setting is considered acceptable. 
  • Be aware that social networking sites are in the public domain if not protected by privacy settings. Strongly consider strengthening any privacy settings so that young people would not be able to access your online profiles and be privy to any information you would not want in the public domain.
  • Block any young people that approach you online and inform Teach Wessex Limited’s Designated Safeguarding Officer immediately.
  • Recognise that special caution is required when discussing sensitive issues with young people.
  • Challenge unacceptable behaviour and report all allegations/suspicions of abuse to the Teach Wessex Limited’s Designated Safeguarding Officer.
  • Operate within Teach Wessex Limited’s procedures in the event of any disclosure/concern.
  • Raise any questions or concerns about child protection and safeguarding with Teach Wessex Limited’s Designated Safeguarding Officer, or if unsure of a procedure, information should be sought from Teach Wessex Limited’s staff.

You must not:

  • Promise confidentiality to young people in any situation.
  • Seek out or add young people on any social networking site.
  • Respond to any online communication from a young person, for example on social networking sites.
  • Share any personal contact details[2] with young people, or seek out their personal contact details.
  • Arrange to meet a young person outside of the allocated tutoring time, unless on the business premises and with the prior knowledge of a member of staff.
  • Act in a manner that excludes the young people you are working with.
  • Make suggestive or derogatory remarks in front of young people.
  • Have inappropriate physical contact or verbal contact with young people.
  • Show favouritism to any individual. 
  • Be under the influence of alcohol or other substances when working on activities involving young people.
  • Take photographs of young people.

This policy will be formally reviewed every year, or in line with Governmental guidance.

This policy statement came into force in February 2020.

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually. 

This policy statement and accompanying procedures were last reviewed on 1st May 2022

[1] For the purposes of this policy a young person is defined as any person under the age of eighteen.

[2]Includes email address, telephone number or address.