Safeguarding Policy

Last reviewed May 24

Review July 2025

Legal framework:

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

Purpose and Scope:

The purpose of a safeguarding policy is:

to protect the children and young people who receive tutoring services from Marlow Mentors, from harm;
to respond to any allegations and/or any concerns relating to the welfare
of a child or young adult for whom you provide tutoring services to;
to state the ongoing training you and your team will undertake to ensure that safeguarding protocols are up-to-date and understood by all.

Responsibilities:

Everyone is responsible for Safeguarding.

All children, young people and adults who receive services or have involvement in Marlow Mentors should feel protected. This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Marlow Mentors, including paid contractors, parents and students. This safeguarding policy is a statement which clearly states the steps that tutors will follow to keep their students safe and how tutors will respond to any safeguarding concerns.

Any safeguarding concerns will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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

We believe that:

children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
safeguarding and the protection and welfare of children and young people is the responsibility of all.

We recognise that:

the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take;
all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation 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
working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.

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

making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
ensuring that any concerns are escalated to the appropriate authorities
valuing, listening to and respecting children
appointing a nominated child protection lead for children
adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for employees
developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures
providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
recruiting and selecting employees safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance.
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 employees appropriately
creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place. We recommend that if a parent or tutor has a concern of which they do not wish to report to the DSL, they call the NSPCC helpline below • building a safeguarding culture where employees, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.

During our online lessons:

guidance and assistance is provided to all our tutors involved in 1:1 sessions with children on safeguarding best practice
the sharing with attending children of any private details beyond the name of any tutor working for Marlow Mentors is prevented.a reporting system is in place for our tutors to raise any concerns
our tutors and clients are discouraged from recording online sessions, however, if a request is made parent consent must be given and the video must be deleted after it has been used for learning purposes
both the student and tutor must always have their camera on during the session
students are expected to maintain classroom level behaviour during tutoring sessions
we recommend that children are located in a shared space (not their bedroom) during sessions and are supervised by parents / parents are within earshot of their child.

Response to a Concern:

The process that all Marlow Mentor tutors will follow if (a) a child tells them that they are being abused or (b) they suspect that there are safeguarding concerns for a child who they tutor is clearly explained to all tutors as part of induction and at regular training events.

If a student tells any tutor that they or another child is being abused the tutor will:

show that they have heard what they are saying, and that they take their allegations seriously;
encourage the child to talk, without prompting them or asking them leading questions. They will not interrupt.
when a child is recalling significant events we will not make a child repeat their account;
reassure the child that they can tell us anything that is worrying them, but that we cannot promise not to tell anybody because some things have to be passed on in order to keep them safe;
explain what actions we must take, in a way that is appropriate to the age and understanding of the child;
record what we have been told, as soon as we can, using exact words where possible;
make a note of the date, time, place and people who were present during the disclosure.

We will contact the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authority:

If we are concerned that the child is in immediate danger, we will call the police.
If we have suspicions of a safeguarding or welfare concern in relation to one of our students we will contact the Safeguarding Lead for Marlow Mentors in the first instance
If we remain concerned we will contact the relevant Local Authority.
If we are concerned that the child is in immediate danger, we will call the police.
list here the key contact details for the Local Safeguarding Lead, the LSCB and the police.

Include the details of our own local police station and the Safeguarding Lead for your local authority, but with a note that recognises that, if there were a concern relating to one of your students, you would need to make contact with the Safeguarding Lead for the local authority of your student’s home town.

The responsibilities listed here are shared responsibilities that all team members hold.

We recognise that we are responsible for our students' safety and wellbeing. This responsibility includes:

ensuring we have a DBS check completed each year/ register for the update service;
ensuring that we undertake appropriate safeguarding training at least once every two years;
endeavouring to keep up-to-date with any new information about safeguarding and child protection and updating this policy accordingly to include any changes;
reporting safeguarding concerns correctly to the relevant bodies, following the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures.If we are tutoring any pupils online ,and therefore tutor students across the country, in the event of a safeguarding concern, we will notify the Local Authority Safeguarding Lead for the appropriate county.

We will regularly undertake safeguarding and child protection training and this will take place at least every two years.

Recruitment Process:

We have a detailed recruitment protocol.

Anyone who will work with Marlow Mentors as part of the tutoring business will have a DBS check prior to starting work with the company and that this check will be repeated on an annual basis.

This document and other resources are provided to parents/carers

Contact details :

Nominated child protection lead Name: Rebecca Email:

Nominated child protection Deputy lead : Alison Stewart : alisonstewart1@aol.com

NSPCC Safeguarding Training Completed:

NSPCC Helpline 0808 800 500