Safeguarding Policy

A. Introduction

1. Remedy Tutors is part of Remedy Recruitment Group which is run by Daniel Sugarman (Managing Director)

2. Remedy Tutors is based at:

Sterling House, FS101, Langston Road, Loughton, IG10 3TS

3. Remedy Tutors as part of Remedy Recruitment group is overseen by the Managing Director. The Managing Director has responsibility for the safeguarding of children.

4. Remedy Tutors is committed to developing safe practice and procedures, ensuring that child protection concerns are handled with the appropriate sensitivity professionally so as to accommodate and protect all children that we provide a service to

5. Remedy Tutors has adopted this safeguarding policy which aims to provide clear direction to all staff involved with Remedy Tutors and expects them to support and comply with the expected practice and behaviour in dealing with child protection matters. Consequently, this policy shall apply to all staff, directors, IT team, teachers, students, or anyone working for Remedy Tutors.

B. Purpose of the Policy

1. This policy is intended to protect children and young people who receive any service from Remedy Tutors

2. We believe that no child or young person should experience abuse or harm. We are committed to the protection of children and young people. This policy is intended to provide guidance to those who represent us as staff and uphold our principles of child protection and safeguarding.

3. This policy should be read and signed before engaging in tuition arranged by Remedy Tutors. All staff, carers and parents need to read this document and ensure this policy is adhered to. Infringement of this policy may lead to suspension or removal from our services (see Compliance section)

C. The risks to children

Every child should grow up in a safe and happy environment and it is important not to exaggerate or overestimate the dangers that they could face. Nevertheless, there are situations where children need protection including:

Sexual abuse
Grooming
Physical and emotional abuse and neglect
Domestic violence
Inappropriate supervision by staff or volunteers
Bullying, cyber bullying, acts of violence and aggression within our schools and campuses
Victimisation
Self-harm
Unsafe environments and activities
Crime
Exploitation

D. Remedy Tutor Ethos

We recognise that:

the welfare of the child comes first and foremost
all children regardless of race, gender, religious belief, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity have a right to equal protection from harm
some children are more vulnerable to harm as a result of their circumstances, prior experiences, communication needs or level of dependency
working with children, young people, their parents, carers or other agencies is essential to protecting their wellbeing

E. Safeguarding children during educational support:

1. We offer a range of educational support services:

1.1 Tuition at a school - the student is never left alone with a tutor or there is an open door policy – tuition in sight of other school staff

1.2 In-home tuition, accompanied by a named adult

1.3 Tuition at a library or satellite center – this is in public view

1.4 Online tuition – where a parent carer or responsible adult over the age of 18 is also present and in ear-shot of the lesson

2. Children under 16 who meet Remedy Tutors staff offsite (not at school or home) must be dropped off by a named and responsible adult over the age of 18 who not only brings the child but also takes the child home again afterwards. Children under 16 who attend online teaching/tutoring support must be in the presence of an adult over 18 years of age.

Young people over 12 years of age may attend Remedy Tutors sessions unaccompanied if they bring written consent or email consent, with parent contact details including mobile telephone number of one of their parents, and only after the parent has ensured Remedy Tutors have been properly informed in writing. This also will need to be verified and agreed by the referrer beforehand.

3. For children accompanied by a ‘parent’ attending an off-site location, children under 16 must be supervised throughout the support service by an adult over the age of 18 who not only brings the child to the service but also takes the child home again afterwards. All children who attend online teaching/tutoring support must be in the presence of an adult over 18 years of age and for the duration of the tuition. If a lone adult brings more than one child, then the children will have to stay together, so that the one adult can supervise them. Young people aged 16 or 17 may attend unaccompanied if they bring the written consent and mobile telephone number of one of their parents and only after the parent/guardian has put in writing that the young person of 16 or 17 can be unaccompanied.

4. All support services are to be defined broadly to include any occasions where Remedy Tutors will be providing a service whether that be online, home based or in a school environment.

F. Teacher registration

Remedy Tutors ensures that all teachers are fully registered and disclosed prior to working with children for online or in-person tuition sessions
All DBS acquired are enhanced for children and adults. If not obtained originally from Remedy Recruitment Group, the DBS must be on the update service and original certificate viewed
Parental and student personal details, including contact address and phone number will remain private and confidential and will not be available to the tutor until after the support service has initiated and there is a valid reason to release a telephone number that the parent has agreed to be communicated at
All data held by Remedy Tutors is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998
Remedy Tutors conducts interviews with all teachers both face-to-face and online; we request a thorough amount of identification as part of the selection process amongst others including passport ID/driving license, teaching certificates, proof of name change etc.
Remedy Tutors transfers payments to teachers via a secure banking transfer or through Umbrella company

G. Disclosure and Barring

1. Remedy Tutors offers the following educational support for children:

In-person and online tuition

2. Our in-person and online tuition services, require adult teachers to undergo an Enhanced DBS and/or police checks under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. The required level of Enhanced checking reflects the degree and frequency of unsupervised access given to other people’s children. All teachers / tutors have signed a self-declaration form.

3. Remedy Tutors will take any allegation of misconduct very seriously.

4. Remedy Tutors employees who have any safeguarding concerns should notify their designated consultant immediately.

5. Remedy Tutors will review any allegation and the likely risk to children and consider immediate suspension of the employee pending investigation.

If after investigation there is a proven violation or contravention of Remedy Policy, we may have to terminate employment permanently for said employee and from future teaching and notify other agencies.

Remedy Tutors staff receive Safeguarding training and are constantly updated on the governmental policy amendments. Parents are equally updated on these legislations.

Monitoring:

Tutors who record online tuition for student benefits keep the recording for two weeks. All recordings are property of Remedy tutors and neither teachers, parents, students or schools are allowed to distribute these recordings elsewhere.

Remedy Tutors will allow UK law enforcement access to any recording where it is reported a criminal offence may have occurred in relation to a specific lesson.

H. Roles and Responsibilities of Remedy Tutors/ teachers

Ensure that student environment does not display any inappropriate images and that they immediately report anything they deem that could possibly endanger students
Ensure that all teaching material is safe and prohibits any inappropriate content and images, treating all clients professionally, safely and fairly, without prejudice or discrimination
Ensure language is appropriate and not offensive or discriminatory when in contact with the student and carer
Not make any inappropriate suggestions to a student
Not send unsolicited communications to the student or parent/responsible adult
Report any dispute with a student or parent/responsible adult to Remedy Tutors, in accordance with the Safeguarding procedures
Report any inappropriate behaviour or illegal activity identified within an educational support session by the student or third party, in accordance with procedures set out in Safeguarding procedures

Students must:

Treat the teacher with respect and not subject them to any type of inappropriate, abusive behaviour
Not make any improper suggestions to the teacher
Have no inappropriate communication with the teacher outside the educational support session
Report any dispute with a teacher to Remedy Tutors in accordance with the Safeguarding procedures
Report to Remedy Tutors any inappropriate behaviour or illegal activity by a teacher within a session in accordance with the Safeguarding procedures

Parents/Carers must:

ensure that the environment for the child is appropriate and meets their needs
Always be responsible for the welfare of the student during the session – more so to be present/ within earshot of online tuition
be available / contactable during or after a support session so any concerns encountered by the student can be reported as soon as possible
ensure that teachers are treated with respect and fairness by the student and will not be subjected to abusive behaviour or language and that no improper suggestions are made by either the teacher or student
ensure the student has no inappropriate communication with the teacher outside the session and report any unsolicited communications between the teacher and student if appropriate
report any dispute with a tutor to Remedy Tutors in accordance with procedures set out in this document
report any inappropriate behaviour or illegal activity by a teacher in accordance with procedures set out in this document

I. Policy on the prevention of bullying

Remedy Tutors will not tolerate the bullying of children either by adults or by other children. If any incident of child-on-child bullying should arise those involved will be separated immediately and the parents of the children involved will be asked to deal with the matter. Remedy Tutors will review all incidents of child-on-child bullying and assess the likely future risk to children. If appropriate, Remedy Tutors will consider withholding a child from future tuition, but only in agreement with the referrer.

J. Photographing children

No photos will be taken or published of any child attending an event or activity unless prior written permission is sought from a person with parental responsibility. If any person has any concerns regarding any person taking photos, that person should contact Remedy Tutors immediately.

K. Managing behaviour, discipline, and acceptable restraint

Adults working with children for Remedy Tutors must never use any form of corporal punishment. If physical restraint is to be used as part of a behavioural intervention, this should be outlined by the referrer in the tuition referral and only restraint-trained tutors would be able to carry out the restraint. Restraint may otherwise be used if it is necessary to prevent injury to any person or to prevent serious damage to property, then the minimum necessary restraint may be used — but only for that purpose only.

L. Safer practice for online tuition

Remedy Tutors recognise the added safeguarding risks of online tuition and have outlined a code of practice for online tuition:

1. On day of tuition the tutor will contact the carer to ensure the student will be online at the agreed time, in the presence of the carer or responsible adult.

2. The tutor can be seen if required but the student will remain unseen. Audio will be shared for both tutor and student much like a phone call. There is also the option for work to be shared with the student (by post, email or a shared drive) and regular tutorials (paper, digital, video or audio) sent to the student if online tuition is unsuccessful.

3. Work can be shared via various platforms -email, by post, screenshots of work emailed, text or messenger services (on carers phone, not student’s phone) or a shared drive

4. If using an online platform such as Zoom or Skype, it is the responsibility of both parties to:

Ensure the program is always updated along with existing computer software
Always use passwords for meetings
Only share details through secure channels
Use virtual waiting rooms if available
Limit/block screen sharing

M. Legal Framework

This policy has been drawn up in accordance with the following:

Children Act 1989
United Convention of the Rights of the Child 1991
Data Protection Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
Sexual Offences Act 2003
Children Act 2004
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Children and Families Act 2014

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice – Guidance on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system for children and young people aged 0 to 25, from 1 September 2014

Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services

Working together to safeguard children (2017)

Compliance

All persons using Remedy Tutors services have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with the Safeguarding Policy.

Any tutor reported for a breach of the Safeguarding Policy will be suspended from providing services until the incident has been investigated by the appropriate authority. The reporter may be informed of the resolution if appropriate.

The final decision on action taken for minor breaches of the Safeguarding Policy will be the responsibility of Remedy Recruitment Group.

Any person reported for illegal activity whilst using Remedy Tutors services will be reported to police and will be barred from the service.

Any person reported for causing harm to a student or subjecting the student to sexual abuse will be reported to police and barred from the service.

Review

The Safeguarding Policy and procedures will be reviewed by Remedy Tutors every 12 Months to ensure it is adequate and relevant to national safeguarding standards.

Safeguard Lead

Dean Pomeroy: - Dean@remedytutors.co.uk

Last Update – July 2023