1. Introduction

TutorConnect is committed to providing a safe and secure environment in which every learner, tutor, and member of staff can thrive. This policy sets out our approach to recognising, preventing, and responding to abuse or harm, whether tutoring is delivered online or in a learner’s home.

We believe it is always unacceptable for a child or adult to experience abuse or harm of any kind, and we recognise our responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and adults we work with. ‘Safeguarding’ applies equally to children and to vulnerable adults, and unless otherwise stated this policy makes no distinction between them.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is referred to as the DSL, and the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is referred to as the DDSL, throughout this policy.

This policy has been agreed and approved by TutorConnect’s Director, with day-to-day responsibility for safeguarding held by the DSL.

2. Applies To

This policy applies to all TutorConnect staff, tutors, and associates (referred to collectively as ‘staff’ for the purpose of this policy). The term ‘learner’ relates to all individuals receiving tutoring, whether a child or an adult.

TutorConnect recognises that any member of staff, irrespective of role, may be the first point of disclosure for a learner. All staff should:

  • Be aware of the signs that a learner has been neglected or abused.
  • Listen to learners who tell them about abuse.
  • Report concerns promptly and in line with TutorConnect’s safeguarding procedure.

3. Reason for This Policy

Children are amongst the most vulnerable in society, and adults in positions of trust have a duty to ensure that their right to protection from abuse is taken seriously, with effective action taken in response to any sign of abuse or neglect.

TutorConnect has a duty of care for the health, safety, and wellbeing of its learners and staff. This includes the duty to safeguard learners from any form of harm, abuse, or exploitation, and it is the responsibility of the Director and DSL to ensure this duty is discharged at all times.

  • All complaints, allegations, or suspicions of abuse must be taken seriously, adopting a ‘could happen here’ approach.
  • Absolute promises of confidentiality must never be given, as a concern may need to be shared further to protect a learner. This should be made clear to anyone making a disclosure, with reassurance that information will only be shared with those who need to know.
  • If a concern or disclosure comes directly from a learner, questions should be kept to the minimum necessary to understand what is being alleged, and leading questions must be avoided.

4. Policy Statement

We are fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all learners, tutors, and staff by taking all reasonable steps to protect them from harm, and we accept our responsibility for their wellbeing and safety.

Employees, tutors, and associates will show respect and understanding for the rights, safety, and welfare of everyone they work with, and will conduct themselves in a way that reflects TutorConnect’s values. It is our intention to:

  • Recognise that tutoring may provide a source of stability in the life of a learner who has been abused or is at risk of harm.
  • Provide a nurturing environment where self-esteem and self-assertiveness are promoted for all learners, including those who are vulnerable.
  • Establish an ethos where learners feel secure, are encouraged to talk, and are listened to.
  • Adopt robust recruitment procedures that deter and prevent people who are unsuitable to work with children from becoming tutors.
  • Ensure that all tutors undergo an enhanced DBS check and appropriate reference checks before being introduced to any learner.
  • Ensure all staff and tutors are aware of this policy and receive safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
  • Ensure that learners, parents, and guardians are aware of this policy and how to raise a concern.
  • Ensure that appropriate supervision is provided during in-home and online tutoring sessions, particularly for learners under 18.
  • Protect all learners from abuse regardless of protected characteristics, including sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and gender reassignment.
  • Take all suspicions and allegations of abuse extremely seriously and respond with due speed and consideration.
  • Work with other agencies, including Local Authority Safeguarding Partners, Children’s Services, and the Police, where required.
  • Regularly review this policy, at least annually, to ensure our legal, moral, and social responsibilities are met.
  • Ensure that personal information is kept confidential and shared only with permission, unless disclosure is necessary to protect a learner from serious harm.

5. Statutory Obligations and Guidance

This policy has been developed with regard to key legislation and statutory guidance relevant to organisations working with children and vulnerable adults, including:

  • Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018, updated 2023).
  • Keeping Children Safe in Education, applied as best practice (current version 2025).
  • The Care Act (2014).
  • The Online Safety Act (2023).
  • The Data Protection Act (2018) and UK GDPR.
  • The Human Rights Act (1998).
  • The Equality Act (2010).

This policy sets out a framework for meeting these responsibilities and should be read alongside TutorConnect’s Online Safety Policy and Privacy Policy.

6. Roles and Responsibilities

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Deputy (DDSL)

The DSL is responsible for acting as a source of advice on safeguarding matters, for coordinating any response within TutorConnect, and for liaising with children’s services, adult services, and other agencies about suspected or actual abuse. The DSL is supported by a DDSL, who may act in their absence.

  • The DSL must be informed immediately if there is suspicion or evidence that a learner is being harmed.
  • The DSL will ensure that records of concerns are kept securely and will supervise and support any referrals to relevant agencies where necessary.
  • The DSL will alert the DBS where a person has been dismissed, or has left, due to a risk of harm they presented, or may have presented, to a learner.
  • The DSL will alert the Police where a crime may have been committed.
  • The DSL maintains a proper record of any safeguarding referral, complaint, or concern, even where it does not lead to a formal referral.
  • The DSL is responsible for reviewing this policy annually, or sooner if there is a change in legislation.

All Staff and Tutors

  • Must have a full and active understanding of this policy, including how to recognise and report concerns.
  • Will be informed of the procedures in place to address any safeguarding concerns, including low-level concerns.
  • Must share any concern about a learner, whether a child, young person, or adult, with the DSL or DDSL without delay.
  • Should always act in the best interests of the learner — doing nothing is not an option.
  • Must never promise a learner that information they share will be kept secret.
  • Must wear or carry identification when attending an in-home tutoring session.
  • Must maintain an appropriate level of confidentiality, while sharing information with relevant professionals where necessary.

Learners

  • Are encouraged to maintain vigilance and a pro-active approach to their own safety and welfare.
  • Should report any concerns to their tutor, or directly to the DSL, if they feel comfortable doing so.

7. Safer Recruitment and Training

TutorConnect selects and recruits tutors in line with safer recruitment best practice. All tutors undergo an enhanced DBS check, with a repeat check carried out at least every three years, alongside verified references and qualification checks. As part of due diligence, we may also carry out an online search on shortlisted candidates, and applicants are informed that this may take place.

Newly appointed tutors receive an induction covering the standards expected of them, including this Safeguarding Policy and TutorConnect’s Online Safety Policy, before being introduced to any learner.

All staff and tutors receive safeguarding training at induction, with refresher training at least annually or when there is a relevant change in legislation. The DSL and DDSL receive additional, more detailed training appropriate to their role.

8. Confidentiality and Information Sharing

The Data Protection Act (2018) and UK GDPR do not prevent or limit the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping learners safe. Concerns about sharing information must never be allowed to stand in the way of protecting a learner from harm, abuse, or neglect.

Staff and tutors should never promise a learner that they will not tell anyone about a disclosure, as this may not be in the learner’s best interests. All suspicions, allegations, and investigations will be kept confidential and shared only with those who need to know, in line with data protection law and government guidance.

  • Base information-sharing decisions on the safety and wellbeing of the individual and others who may be affected.
  • Ensure any information shared is necessary, accurate, up to date, shared only with those who need it, and shared securely.
  • Keep a record of your decision and the reasons for it, whether or not you decide to share information.

9. Safeguarding Code of Conduct

This code of conduct details how tutors and staff can protect themselves against allegations of abuse, avoid inappropriate personal contact with learners, and minimise the risk of any situation arising in which misunderstandings could occur.

You must:

  • Be aware of the procedure for reporting concerns and be familiar with the contact details of the DSL/DDSL.
  • Treat all learners equally, listen to them, and avoid favouritism.
  • Take any allegation or disclosure seriously and report it, including any allegation made against you.
  • Never befriend or chat with learners on personal social media or messaging apps. Always use professional language when writing, phoning, emailing, or messaging learners or parents/guardians.
  • Immediately report any concern relating to the welfare of a learner, whether based on the behaviour of a colleague or a conversation with the learner.
  • Act as a role model, and set and monitor appropriate professional boundaries when working with learners.
  • Respect a learner’s right to personal privacy, but never agree to keep information relating to their risk of harm confidential.
  • Remain calm, ensure no one is in immediate danger, and report any concern to the DSL/DDSL without delay.
  • Ensure any comfort given to a distressed learner is age-appropriate and respectful of their personal space.

You must NOT:

  • Engage in flirting, innuendo, or suggestive remarks or gestures, or show favouritism towards a child or vulnerable adult.
  • Make sexually suggestive remarks or discriminatory comments to, or in front of, a learner.
  • Engage in any sexual relationship with a learner, even where the learner is aged 16 or over and legally able to consent.
  • Photograph or film a learner without prior consent.
  • Invite or allow a learner you have met through your work to your home, or another location, for the purpose of friendship or an intimate relationship.
  • Engage in or tolerate any inappropriate physical activity involving a learner.
  • Allow the use of inappropriate language to go unchallenged.
  • Dismiss an allegation of any sort relating to a learner’s welfare, or delay reporting it.
  • Discourage anyone from reporting a concern, or ask an individual to keep a secret.
  • Spend excessive time alone with a learner away from others, beyond what a tutoring session reasonably requires.
  • Make unnecessary physical contact with a learner. Where contact is unavoidable, such as providing comfort at a time of distress, it should only take place with the learner’s consent.
  • Give or receive gifts, alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or any substances to or from a learner or their family.
  • Smoke or vape with, or in front of, a learner.
  • Share, or otherwise disclose, personal data relating to a learner to anyone other than TutorConnect.

10. Online and In-Home Tutoring Safety

Communications

When communicating with learners online, staff and tutors should observe the same standards of behaviour as if speaking with them in person: professional, polite, and respectful, with nothing that could be regarded as sexual innuendo, bullying, or discrimination.

  • All communication regarding tutoring should have a clear purpose and take place through TutorConnect-approved channels.
  • Never disclose non-public or confidential information about TutorConnect, its tutors, or its learners.
  • Do not use private messaging facilities on social media or apps where there is no permanent record of what has been said; email or phone (with a note of the conversation) should be used instead.
  • There should be no use of anonymous messaging apps.

The Online Learning Environment

  • The safeguarding of learners takes precedence over all other considerations.
  • Learners should be discouraged, where possible, from taking video calls or lessons from their bedroom.
  • Appropriate clothing should be worn by all participants, and personal items should not be visible in the background.
  • Cameras should be used where possible, and distractions minimised.
  • Any recording of a session must only take place with the informed consent of the learner and, where the learner is under 18, their parent or guardian.

In-Home Tutoring

  • All tutors undergo an enhanced DBS check and identity verification before being matched with any learner.
  • Parents or guardians are encouraged to be present in the home, or reasonably nearby, during sessions with learners under 18.
  • Sessions should take place in a communal area of the home wherever possible, rather than a learner’s bedroom.
  • Any concern about the home environment, or the conduct of a family member or tutor, must be reported to the DSL immediately.

Consent and Storage of Images

If a learner or parent/guardian does not give permission for photographs or videos to be taken, TutorConnect will respect this, and a learner will not be excluded from tutoring as a result. Any images taken will be stored securely in line with TutorConnect’s Privacy Policy.

11. Anti-Bullying and Harassment

TutorConnect does not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind, including cyberbullying, and any incidents involving learners, tutors, or staff will be taken seriously and addressed promptly. We recognise that learners with additional needs or disabilities may be more susceptible to bullying, and staff should remain alert to this.

12. If a Learner Tells You Something That Causes You Concern

  • Listen to the learner.
  • Never promise to keep a secret — explain that if what they tell you puts them at risk, you will need to tell someone who can help keep them safe.
  • Encourage the learner to talk, but do not prompt them or ask leading questions.
  • Do not ask the learner to repeat what they have said more than necessary.
  • As soon as you are able, write down what the learner told you, using their own words where possible, along with the date, time, and place.
  • Report the concern to the DSL without delay.
  • Do not confront an alleged abuser.
  • Try to remain calm and avoid appearing shocked.
  • If you have a concern about the behaviour of a colleague, do not dismiss it — report it to the DSL.

13. Definitions

Children/Young People: any person up to the age of 18 years.