Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

1. Guidance and standards

Our arrangements take account of the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 where relevant to our work, the Department for Education's safeguarding guidance for out-of-school settings, Prevent duties/guidance where applicable, and The Tutors' Association Code of Practice. KCSIE is statutory guidance for schools and colleges; as a tutoring provider we use its safeguarding and safer-recruitment principles alongside guidance specifically relevant to out-of-school settings.

2. Our safeguarding principles

Children should never experience abuse, neglect, exploitation or avoidable harm.
All children have an equal right to protection and to be listened to and respected.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility; concerns must be reported, not investigated by tutors.
Children may experience harm in person or online, and different forms of harm may overlap.
Some children may be additionally vulnerable because of disability, SEND, communication needs, care experience, family circumstances, discrimination, exploitation or previous trauma.
We will work appropriately with parents/carers, schools, local authorities and other agencies while keeping the child’s welfare central.
We will maintain an inclusive, anti-discriminatory safeguarding culture and challenge racism and discrimination.

3. Safeguarding leadership

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Hayley Coull – admin@thecommunityschools.co.uk

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (Deputy DSL): Claire Meadows-Smith – Claire@thecommunityschools.co.uk

The DSL provides safeguarding leadership, advice and support; ensures concerns are acted upon and recorded appropriately; supports referrals and liaison with partner schools/agencies; and helps ensure staff training, policies and safer-recruitment arrangements remain current. In the DSL’s absence, concerns should be referred to the Deputy DSL. An immediate risk must never wait for the DSL to become available.

4. Reporting concerns

Tutors must report all safeguarding concerns, disclosures, allegations and relevant low-level concerns promptly through the secure safeguarding notification process in The Community Schools' online administration system and alert the DSL/Deputy DSL as required. Where a child is in immediate danger or requires urgent medical help, emergency services must be contacted without delay.

A tutor must listen calmly, take the child seriously, avoid leading questions, never promise secrecy, make an accurate factual record using the child's own words where possible, and pass the concern on. Tutors must not investigate.

5. Allegations and concerns about adults

Any allegation that a tutor, employee, director or other adult working on behalf of The Community Schools may have harmed a child, committed an offence against a child, posed a risk of harm, or behaved in a way indicating they may be unsuitable to work with children must be reported immediately to the Principal and DSL. Appropriate advice/referral will be sought from the relevant Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and other agencies. Concerns about the Principal or DSL must be reported to another director and, where appropriate, directly to the LADO.

Low-level concerns about adult conduct will be recorded and considered in accordance with our procedures so that patterns or emerging risks can be identified. Decisions about suspension or other protective action will be risk- based and will not assume guilt.

6. Safer recruitment

Tutors are QTS-qualified teachers and are recruited using safer-recruitment procedures. Appropriate identity, right- to-work, qualification, reference and Enhanced DBS/barred-list checks are completed according to the role and current legal requirements. DBS Update Service status is checked where used. Recruitment checks are recorded securely and reviewed.

7. Training and professional conduct

Tutors receive safeguarding induction and updates appropriate to their role, including current child-protection information, online safety and Prevent awareness. The DSL and Deputy DSL undertake role-appropriate refresher training and updates. Tutors must follow the Tutor Code of Conduct, maintain professional boundaries, use approved communication channels and report concerns promptly.

8. Online safety and recordings

Online tuition is subject to the same safeguarding standards as face-to-face tuition. Tutors and students must use approved systems and communication routes. Where sessions are recorded, access is limited to the student, their tutor and authorised Community Schools administrators. Recordings are retained while the student is current and normally deleted within 30 days of the student leaving, unless a safeguarding, legal, regulatory or dispute-related reason requires longer restricted retention.

9. Information sharing and records

Safeguarding information will be recorded accurately, securely and separately from routine educational records where appropriate. Information will be shared on a need-to-know basis when lawful, necessary and proportionate to protect a child. Data protection law is not a barrier to appropriate safeguarding information sharing.

10. Partner schools and commissioned tuition

Where tuition is commissioned by or delivered in partnership with a school or other organisation, we will clarify safeguarding contacts and reporting routes. We will normally share concerns promptly with the commissioning school's DSL where appropriate, but an urgent referral to statutory services will not be delayed while waiting for another organisation.

11. Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner following significant statutory or sector guidance changes, a safeguarding incident, organisational change or identified learning.

Claire Meadows-Smith (Principal of the Community Schools)