Safeguarding Policies

Overview

Suited Tutor Ltd and its owners take online safety seriously, placing it at the heart of our organisational procedures, and thus, “we” and “the company” are committed to providing the highest standards of safeguarding, to help ensure a safe learning space.

A set of child protection policies, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults - have been enlisted and can be found below. As there is nothing more important for us to provide effective support to everyone, as soon as a need is identified.

What exactly is a safety policy statement?

A child protection policy statement outlines what an organisation or group will do to keep children and adults safe.

It should state:

The company’s commitment and dedication, to safeguarding all young learning enthusiasts or vulnerable adults
The more thorough rules and procedures an organisation will put in place to keep children safe and respond to child protection issues, the more committed the organisation will be coming across

Company Commitment

Suited Tutor Ltd and its respected legal owners are catering to children’s and adults’ protection, by following and adhering to the governing statutory framework, working together to safeguard children 2018, by HM Government, as well as embracing the guidelines outlined by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) 2022.

In addition, due to the exponential rise and use of online and internet browsing activities, children or students may be exposed to the public or become a target from other serious or harmful cyber activities. Thus, promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility, whereby, all members of staff, tutors, parents, guardians, Suited Tutor owners and other individuals exceeding the 18-year-old age spectrum have the duty to safeguard them. You may visit the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPP) for more safety advice and guidance.

Policy purpose and scope

The purpose of this policy statement is:

to protect children and young people who receive our company’s services from any potential cyber incidents or potential online harm. This includes the children of adults who use our services
to provide staff and/or any prospective volunteers, 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 Suited Tutor, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, (biological and foster) parents, guardians, prospective volunteers, sessional workers, interns, apprentices, agency staff and finally (but not limited to) students.

Legal framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

A summary of the key legislation and guidance is available from: nspcc.org.uk/childprotection.

Supporting documents

This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies, procedures, guidance and other related documents:

role description for any designated safeguarding officers
dealing with disclosures and concerns about a child or young person
managing allegations against staff members, tutors, parents and prospective volunteers
recording concerns and information sharing
child protection records retention and storage
code of conduct for staff members, tutors, parents and prospective volunteers
behaviour codes for children and young people
photography and sharing images guidance
safer recruitment
online safety
anti-bullying
managing complaints
whistleblowing
health and safety
induction, training, supervision and support
adult-to-child supervision ratios.

We believe that:

children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.

We recognise that:

the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take
working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare
all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or
belief, sex, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic 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
extra safeguards may be needed to keep children who are additionally
vulnerable and safe from abuse.

Find out more about:

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

valuing, carefully listening to and respecting them
embracing their feedback and acting in such a manner that will help boost the child’s confidence and well-being
appointing a nominated child protection lead for children and young people, a
deputy and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding
adopting child protection and safeguarding best practices through our policies,
procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers
developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related
procedures
providing effective management for staff members, prospective volunteers, tutors and parents through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff members, prospective volunteers, tutors and parents are aware and familiar, so that they could follow such policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
recruiting and selecting staff members, and/or prospective volunteers safely, by ensuring all necessary checks are made
safely recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation, such as the Data Protection Act 1998 and 2018, (GDPR), and relevant guidance, (more information about this is
available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/fororganisations)
sharing information about safeguarding and best practices with children and
their families via leaflets, posters, group work, online interaction, such as emails or newsletters, and one-to-one discussions
making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go
for help, if they have a concern
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 staff and prospective volunteers appropriately
creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we
have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any unforeseen bullying activities that may arise
ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in
place
ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young
people, staff members, tutors, parents and prospective volunteers, by applying health and safety measures, in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young
people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable
about sharing their concerns or aspirations.

Contact details

Nominated child protection lead(s)

Name: Dimitris Proko
Phone: +44 (0) 77545 62769
Email: info@suitedtutor.com
Address: 4 Nunnery Close, Oxford, OX4 6EG, UK

NSPCC Helpline

Phone: 0808 800 5000
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk
Address: NSPCC, Weston House, 42 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3NH

Arising disputes and reported breaches

In the event a student, tutor, parent or hired member from Suited Tutor is reported for a breach of the above safeguarding policies, depending on the severity of their course of action, they will either undertake and adhere to strict disciplinary procedures, or will be imminently suspended from this current platform, until the matter has been fully investigated by the relevant governing authority or legal UK jurisdiction.

The decision will be related to the relevant party, (if deemed appropriate), via written correspondence, such as an email, so that he/she will be informed of the reached decision/verdict.

Suited Tutor reserves the right to make any decisions, on any inappropriate actions taken by any students, tutors, parents or hired members from Suited Tutor, with respect to Safeguarding Policy breaches.

Any mature student(s), tutor(s), parent(s), prospective volunteer(s), or user(s) who associate themselves with any unsolicited or unethical activities, which are against Suited Tutor’s child protection policies; they will no longer be allowed to use our platform’s services and may be reported to the relevant constitutional authorities or anti-crime governing organisations.

Policies and Procedures Updates

We are committed to reviewing our safeguarding policies and best practices annually. Suited Tutor Ltd reserves the right to review its child protection and vulnerable adults’ policy regularly, if needed, to help ensure they are relevant and still applicable.

This policy was last reviewed on: February 8^th 2023.

Credit: this legally binding document was created with the help of the NSPCC safeguarding policy statement.

Safeguarding Policies