Safeguarding Policy

Our commitment

A child's welfare comes before our schedule, our reputation and our revenue. If those ever pull in different directions, the child wins.

Everyone who teaches for RS Remote Tutoring works to clear professional boundaries, and is expected to notice when something is wrong and report it. A worry does not have to be proven before it is raised. It is better to say something and be wrong than to say nothing and be right.

Who this covers

This policy applies to every learner under 18 and to any adult at risk who uses our service. It covers everyone teaching or working for us, including self-employed tutors, and it applies before, during and after lessons: trials, regular lessons, messages, emails, calls, shared files and anything else arranged through us.

We are a private tuition provider, not a school. Where a concern needs referring, we follow the procedures of the local authority where the child lives.

Who to contact

Every safeguarding concern comes to one person.

Where a concern involves the person named above, it should be raised directly with the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 or with children's social care at the relevant local council.

How we keep online lessons safe

Most of what keeps a child safe in an online lesson is unglamorous and procedural. These are the rules every tutor works to.

• Lessons run on the platform we arrange, using accounts we control. Tutors do not move lessons to their personal accounts or another app.
• Tutors and learners join with cameras on, in a room where they can reasonably be seen or overheard. Bedrooms are avoided where possible.
• A parent or carer can join, sit in, or ask what was covered at any point. You never need a reason.
• Tutors do not contact a learner privately. No personal phone numbers, no social media, no messaging apps, no email outside our arranged channels.
• Lesson times are agreed with the parent in advance. Tutors do not arrange sessions directly with a child.
• Tutors do not meet learners in person, give lifts, exchange gifts, or arrange anything outside the tutoring relationship.
• Anything a tutor finds concerning is reported the same day, whether or not it happened during a lesson.

Who teaches your child

Before anyone teaches for us we confirm their identity, check qualifications against the certificates rather than the CV, take up references, and talk through their experience of working with young people. Every tutor placed with a learner under 18 holds a current enhanced DBS check, and we see the certificate ourselves.

Suitability is not a one-off test. Tutors work to the boundaries above, and if any are crossed it gets dealt with rather than excused. A concern about a tutor is treated as a safeguarding matter, not a customer service matter, and we will stop them teaching while it is looked into.

Spotting something wrong

You do not need to be certain, and you do not need to work out what is happening. Things worth mentioning include a child who becomes withdrawn or unusually anxious, unexplained injuries, something a child says about home or about an adult, contact from someone they have met online, or a change in a child that nobody can account for.

Tutors are told to report the same list, plus anything in a lesson that feels off. If you are unsure whether something counts, tell us anyway and let us work it out.

What happens when you report something

1. We listen and write it downWe record what was said in the words used, with the date, time and who was involved. We do not interview a child or press for detail.
2. We decide quicklyWe work out whether this needs an immediate referral, advice from the NSPCC or a local authority, or action from us. If a child may be at immediate risk we call 999 first and think about process afterwards.
3. We refer where we shouldReferrals go to children's social care in the child's area, or to the police. We do not need consent to refer if asking for it would put a child at greater risk.
4. We tell you what we didAs far as we are able to. Sometimes we cannot share everything, and if that happens we will say so rather than go quiet.

We will never ask a child to keep a concern secret, and we will never discourage anyone from reporting something to an outside agency.

Records and privacy

Safeguarding records are kept securely, separately from ordinary tutoring notes, and seen only by people who need them. We share information with social care, the police or another agency where that is necessary to protect someone. Confidentiality is not a reason to leave a child at risk, and we will not promise a child that a disclosure can be kept between us.

How we handle personal data generally is set out in our Privacy Policy.

Adults at risk

Some of our Functional Skills learners are adults. An adult with care and support needs who may be experiencing abuse or neglect, and who cannot protect themselves, is covered by this policy too. Concerns go to the adult safeguarding team at their local council, and to the police where a crime may have been committed.

Complaints and concerns

Not everything that goes wrong is a safeguarding matter, and the two are handled differently.

• Lessons, scheduling, a tutor's manner or the service generally. Email admin@rsremotetutoring.co.uk. This is an ordinary complaint and we will come back to you within two working days.
• A child's safety or wellbeing. Use the safeguarding contact above, or the emergency routes at the top of this page if someone may be at risk now.

Whichever route is used, we record what was raised, look into it properly, and hear every account involved before reaching a view. Where a concern turns out to be a misunderstanding, we say so and explain why. Tutors are entitled to the same fair process as anyone else, and an allegation is investigated rather than assumed. We cooperate fully with any statutory agency making an enquiry.

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