Safeguarding Policy

Purpose:

This policy is created to protect the children and young people, who receive tutoring services from Grow With Confidence Tutoring, from harm.

It will include:

• How I ensure the protection and well-being of all learners.
• How I protect myself against allegations, especially when working alone with a child.
• How I communicate any concerns.
• How I will keep my knowledge updated.
• How often the policy will be reviewed and updated, if required.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Grow With Confidence Tutoring.

This policy will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis or earlier if there is a change in safeguarding protocols.

 

Responsibilities:

My sessions will take place in my home, without any of my family members present, although they may be in my home at the same time. I will not leave a child in a room with anyone else whilst they are in my home.

I believe children work better when not distracted by having a parent or carer present or are concerned about how they 'perform' in front of them. However, I understand that some adults will want to stay for a few sessions to settle their child.

My tutoring room will leave me working with a child alone. I close the door to ensure we can focus without distraction or interruption. If you have concerns about this, please discuss this with me.

Each session is flexible and I will always ensure the well-being, as well as the safety, of all learners. If a child becomes dysregulated, I will stop learning and engage in a calming activity to help them regulate. I offer tools to help self-regulation throughout the session.

If a child needs the toilet, there is a downstairs toilet, just by the tutor room, so they are able to safely and independently access this. I will not offer any assistance.

If I am working in the home of a learner, I would expect to work in a public space, such as a lounge or kitchen, even if the parent is not present.

I recognise that for some families, the only quiet space may be in a bedroom; in this instance, I would need the door left open at all times to safeguard both the learner and myself.

At times, I take photographs of children’s work so that I can share with parents or add to my website and social media pages. I will NEVER include a photo of any child under any circumstances.

If a child becomes physically abusive to me, I will walk away from them and remind them to make the right choice and to have kind hands. I will NOT restrain a child in any way.

If the abuse continues, I will leave their home immediately, if based there, or phone their adult to arrange immediate collection.

 

Collection of children:

I will only release children to adults who are known to me. If a different adult is collecting your child, please ensure I am informed at drop-off or by text message. If it is last-minute, I will not check my phone for messages, so please phone me.

If in any doubt, I will phone you before releasing your child.

If you are unable to collect your child on time, I will keep the child with me in my home until you arrive. This may mean that they are in another tutoring session with me and another child, but they will be kept safe.

 

Reporting Safeguarding Concerns:

If a student tells me that they or another child is being abused I will:

• show that I have heard what they are saying, and that I take their allegations seriously;
• encourage the child to talk, without prompting them or asking them leading questions. I will not interrupt when a child is recalling significant events and will not make a child repeat their account;
• reassure the child that they can tell me anything that is worrying them, but that I cannot promise not to tell anybody because some things have to be passed on in order to keep them safe;
• explain what actions I must take, in a way that is appropriate to the age and understanding of the child;
• record what I have been told, as soon as I can, using exact words where possible;
• make a note of the date, time, place and people who were present during the disclosure.
• I will contact the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authority. If I am concerned that the child is in immediate danger, I will call the police.
• If I have suspicions of a safeguarding or welfare concern in relation to one of my students, I will contact the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authority or agency that I am working through.
• If I am concerned that the child is in immediate danger, I will call the police.

 

Recuitment

At this time, there are no other tutors working for Grow with Confidence Tutoring. Should this change, a Safer Recruiting process will take place and a policy will be put in place.

• I have an enhanced DBS in place, specific to my role as a tutor, and am subscribed to the ‘update service’ so this can be checked on request.

 

Training

I regularly update my knowledge of safeguarding through forums that I am signed up to and will undertake a universal safeguarding course every two years.

Useful Contact Details

If I work for an agency or a local authority, I will follow their safeguarding procedure and will share any concerns with the Designated Safeguarding Lead for their organisation.

For any work for private clients, I will contact Bracknell Forest MASH team (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) on:

email: mash@bracknell-forest.gov.uk · phone: 01344 352005

 Bracknell Forest Safeguarding Board (BFSB): BFSB@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

www.bracknellforestsafeguarding.org.uk

Police: 101 for non-emergencies and 999 for emergencies.

 

GDPR, Confidentiality and Privacy Policy

 

Privacy statement:

I will only keep information on file about you and your family which is relevant to being able to wholly support your child in their learning and emotional well-being.

 

Will information about my family be kept confidential?

information given to me, either verbally or in writing, regarding your child or your family, will be treated as confidential. I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and am aware of my responsibilities under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act, 2018.

Any information relating to your child is stored on my laptop and Onedrive, which are both password protected.

 

Sharing of your information:

Information about your child will not be discussed with anyone else, except those named on initial agreements (namely parents/carers).

Exceptions can be made where written permission has been given to speak to a named individual, either as a one-off or an ongoing basis, e.g. a grandparent, school or another tutor your child might be working with.

If these permissions have been given, they can be withdrawn at any time and in that circumstance, no further communication will be made.

I will, however, divulge confidential information to the relevant authorities if there appears to be a safeguarding issue that potentially affects a child’s welfare and/or safety.

 

Storing of information:

I will only store relevant data for your child’s tuition. This will include details about yourself and your child including:

The full name of your child (including any other names they are known by), their date of birth, their school, your home address, your contact details and details of any special educational needs for me to adequately support them.

I will only be storing information that is required for your child’s tuition to go ahead. If you have any questions about why specific information is required, please contact me for clarification.

 

How long will information be stored:

Information will be stored for the duration of your child’s tuition, unless otherwise specified. This information will be deleted once it is no longer required.

 The exception to this is invoices, which I need to keep for a full 6 years after the financial year has ended.

 

Sharing of my information:

I welcome you to share your positive experience of my tutoring provision and you may pass on my public contact details to other parents/ carers seeking tuition.

However, during the course of our working relationship, you will most likely find out information about myself and my family. This information should also be kept confidential in order to respect my family’s privacy.

Parents/carers should not discuss any personal information they see, hear or are informed about, with anyone else.

 

For more information about your full data rights, please take a look at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website.