Safeguarding Policy
Helping Hands Tuition: Safeguarding policies
1. Overview
1.1 Helping Hands Tuition is committed to providing the highest standard of safeguarding. The safety of our users is our paramount concern.
1.2 Our site and coordinating policies have been designed to ensure students and tutors work together in a safe environment.
2. Legislation
2.1 Our site and coordinating policies have been developed to ensure we comply with all relevant safeguarding legislation.
3. Aims of Policy
3.1 Helping Hands Tuition seeks to provide the best service possible and provide a safe experience in which children can learn.
3.2 This policy aims to ensure we safeguard all users of Helping Hands Tuition (including users, students and tutors) whilst they engage with our website or lessons.
3.3 Alongside this policy, users of Helping Hands Tuition (including users, students and tutors) must comply with the The Tutors’ Association Child Protection Policy, whether or not they are a member of The Tutors’ Association, and all relevant legislation and government guidance.
3.4 If any user has a concern regarding child protection, they must contact Helping Hands Tuition immediately.
3.5 Contravention of any of the terms contained within this policy may result in immediate removal of access to and permanent barring from our services.
4. Helping Hands Tuition Responsibilities
4.1 Helping Hands Tuition will use reasonable endeavors to check the identity of all tutors.
4.3 Helping Hands Tuition requires all tutors to have an enhanced background check to use the website. Background checks must have been awarded within 3 years for them to be accepted. Within these time frames, background checks will be accepted if there enhanced checks provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure Scotland or Access Northern Ireland.
4.4 Helping Hands Tuition encourages students to leave a review of tutors they have lessons with. “review” means any review, comment or rating.
4.5 Helping Hands Tuition will take precautions we consider reasonable to protect students’ and Tutors’ information.
4.6 Helping Hands Tuition will protect all data in accordance with all relevant legislation and our Privacy Policy.
4.7 Helping Hands Tuition will record all online lessons (aside from where any unforeseen malfunction of the recording equipment occurs) and store these recordings for a minimum of 28 days and a maximum of 1 year. These recordings remain the property of Helping Hands Tuition.
4.8 Helping Hands Tuition may review any online lessons at any time for the purposes of improving our service or where a complaint or safeguarding report has been made.
4.9 Helping Hands Tuition will deal with reports of possible illegal activity promptly, focusing on the safety and wellbeing of users. Helping Hands Tuition will allow access to UK law enforcement of any recording where a criminal offense may have occurred in relation to a specific lesson.
5. Student (responsible adult) Responsibilities
5.1 Students must be at least 18 years old to book a tutor for themselves or another learner. Learners under the age of 18 must be represented by a parent or legal guardian who gives consent for them to receive tuition. Helping Hands Tuition is not responsible for any dispute regarding parental consent.
5.2 Students must ensure that all of their personal details and contact information are accurate and up-to-date.
5.3 Students must ensure that there is no inappropriate communication between themselves, a learner they represent, and the tutor outside the website and report any unsolicited communications from the tutor if appropriate.
5.4 Students must immediately report to Helping Hands Tuition any defamatory, offensive, or illegal material they view on our website.
5.5 Any student who is the parent or legal guardian of a learner under the age of 18 who has a lesson with a tutor should not leave the child in the sole care of that tutor. They must be available for the learner to report any inappropriate behavior or concerns. Learners must report any concerns to a parent or legal guardian immediately.
5.6 Students must ensure the physical environment is safe.
5.7 Students must ensure that tutors are treated with respect and are not subjected to abusive behavior or language.
5.8 Students must ensure no improper suggestions are made to the tutor.
5.9 Students are responsible for their own security in conjunction with our services, both online and offline.
6. Tutor Responsibilities
6.1 Tutors are not employees of Helping Hands Tuition and are solely responsible for their own actions both on and off the website.
6.2 If tutors contact students who are under 18, they must ensure that these students are represented by a parent or legal guardian who gives consent for the student to receive tuition.
6.3 Tutors may cancel lessons if no parent or legal guardian is present during a lesson with a learner who is under 18 and they or the learner do not feel comfortable to continue.
6.4 Tutors are responsible for ensuring that the personal information they provide and their personal statements on the website are accurate and in no way misleading. They must update this information promptly to maintain its accuracy.
6.5 Tutors are solely responsible for the material they or the learner they represent post on the website, including messages sent, and they must not post defamatory, offensive, or illegal material.
6.6 Tutors must immediately report to Helping Hands Tuition any defamatory, offensive, or illegal material they view on our website.
6.7 Tutors must disclose any criminal convictions or cautions they may have to Helping Hands Tuition, including any criminal convictions or cautions received at any time after having registered a tutor account on the website and for as long as the tutor remains registered.
6.8 Tutors must disclose any other relevant information which may lead Helping Hands Tuition to determine they are not suitable to tutor.
6.9 Tutors must use their own judgement about whether they wish to offer their tuition services to each individual student.
6.10 Tutors must take every precaution to ensure that they work in a safe environment and are responsible for taking out and maintaining their own insurance policies to cover the work they undertake.
6.11 Tutors must ensure that their environment does not display any inappropriate images or documents when conducting a session.
6.12 Tutors must treat students fairly and without prejudice or discrimination, whatever their age, culture, ability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief, and/or sexual identity.
6.13 Tutors must ensure all reasonable steps are taken to protect children from harm, discrimination, and demeaning treatment and to respect their rights.
6.14 Tutors must value students and take their contributions seriously.
6.15 Tutors must ensure they work in partnership with parents and children, which is essential for the protection of children.
6.16 Tutors must ensure the language they use is appropriate and not offensive or discriminatory.
6.17 Tutors must ensure no improper suggestions are made to the student.
6.18 Tutors must ensure that any contact or communication they have with the student is appropriate to their role as a tutor and confined to the field for which they have been selected to tutor.
6.19 Tutors must ensure that there is no inappropriate communication between themselves and the student on or outside of the website and report any unsolicited communications from the student if appropriate.
6.20 Tutors are responsible for their own security in conjunction with our services, both online and offline.
6.21 Tutors must report any safeguarding concerns or illegal activity immediately to Helping Hands Tuition.
7. Parent/Responsible Adult Responsibilities
Any reference to students in this section is a reference to students who are under the age of 18 years.
7.1 The parent/legal guardian will be responsible for the selection of the tutor and must make any reasonable checks to ensure the tutor is suitable for the student (including, if required, reviewing the tutor’s CRB/DBS certification documentation).
7.2 The parent/legal guardian will ensure the student is fully aware of Helping Hands Tuition’s Safeguarding Policy.
7.3 The parent/legal guardian will always be responsible for the welfare of the student during the session.
7.4 The parent/legal guardian will always be responsible for the physical environment of the pupil during the session, ensuring it is safe and appropriate.
7.5 The parent/legal guardian will, if they consider it appropriate, be present or available during a tutor session so any concerns encountered by the student can be reported as soon as possible and to ensure the student and tutor are behaving in an appropriate manner.
7.6 The parent/legal guardian will use their best endeavors to ensure that tutors will be treated with respect and fairness by the student and will not be subjected to abusive, inappropriate behavior or language.
7.7 The parent/legal guardian will ensure the student has no inappropriate communication with the tutor outside the online messaging and lesson sessions.
7.8 The parent/legal guardian will report any unsolicited communications between the tutor and student if appropriate.
7.9 The parent/legal guardian will report any dispute with a tutor to Helping Hands Tuition.
7.10 The parent/legal guardian will report any inappropriate behavior or illegal activity by a tutor.
8. Reported Breach
8.1 Any student or tutor reported for a breach of our Safeguarding Policy will be immediately suspended from the site until the matter reported has been investigated by the appropriate authority. We will inform them of their suspension and seek guidance where required. The student or tutor reporting the breach may be informed of the resolution, if appropriate.
8.2 Helping Hands Tuition reserves the right to make a final decision on action taken for minor breaches of our Safeguarding Policy.
8.3 Any student or tutor reported for illegal activity whilst using the Helping Hands Tuition website may be barred from the service, reported to the police, and any other relevant organisations.
9. Dating our Policies and Procedures
9.1 This Safeguarding Policy and our Procedures will be reviewed by Helping Hands Tuition on a regular basis to ensure it is adequate and relevant to safeguarding standards.