Safeguarding Policy

Child Protection – Safeguarding Policy Statement 

 

This policy was considered and adopted by the management of GB Education in line with our overall duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as set out in the DfE guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2021’ and has been written with input from an industry expert in the safeguarding field  

 

Safeguarding contact  

The designated safeguarding contact is Richard Goulden, co-owner of GB Education Ltd. 

His email is richard@goldenbrainacademy.com and (t) 07383 421771 

Richard has recently completed Level 3 safeguarding training  

 

Contents  

 

1  Purpose and Aims 
2  Our ethos 
3  Roles and responsibilities  
4  Training and Induction 
5  Procedures for managing concerns 
6  Online safety 
7  Working with parents and carers 

 

  1. Purpose and Aims 

1.1 The purpose of GB Education’s safeguarding policy is to ensure every child, who is a student with us, is safe and protected from harm whilst undertaking our online lessons.   

This means we will always work to:  

  • Protect impairment of our children’s and young peoples’ mental health or development 
  • Undertake that role so as to enable children and young people at our Academy to have the best outcomes.  

1.2 This policy will give clear direction to all staff, teachers and parents about expected behaviour and our responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children at our Academy.  

1.3 We recognise the contribution we can make to protect children from harm and supporting and promoting the welfare of all children who are taking lessons with us. The elements of our policy are prevention, protection and support.  

1.4 This policy applies to all pupils, staff and parents 

 

  1. Our ethos

2.1 The child’s welfare is of paramount importance. Our business will establish and maintain an ethos where students feel secure and are able to learn in a safe online environment.  

2.2 Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. We recognise that teachers at our Academy can play a role as they are in a position to provide help for children to prevent concerns from escalating. All staff when concerned about the welfare of a child must always act in their best interests.  

2.3 At GB Education we ensure that safeguarding and child protection is at the forefront and underpins all relevant aspects of everything we do. We operate with the best interests of the child at all times.  

2.4 Where there is a safeguarding concern, the child’s wishes and feelings are considered when determining what action to take.  

2.5 At all times we will work in partnership and endeavour to establish effective working relationships with parents, carers and colleagues. 

2.6 As part of our responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, we will act upon the advice of parents when additional needs of children are identified. These may include if a child has special educational needs, has a mental health need or is persistently absent from education, including persistent absences for part of the school day. Based on the feedback from parents, we will endeavour to allocate teachers with experience in these areas. 

 

3 Roles and Responsibilities  

3.1 It is the responsibility of every member of staff and of the teachers we work with to ensure that they carry out the requirements of this policy and, at all times, work in a way that will safeguard and promote the welfare of all of the pupils we work with.  

3.2 Richard and Alison Goulden (co-owners) are accountable for ensuring the effectiveness of this policy and our compliance with it. Richard Goulden is designated safeguarding lead (DSL).  

3.3 The co-owners will ensure that the safeguarding policy is in place and is reviewed annually, is available publicly via our website and has been written in line with best practice of online tuition companies taking the content from a variety of sources including the NSPCC and government and local council advice. All teachers, when joining us, discuss safeguarding and are directed to a copy of this policy document and other relevant policy documents. The majority of teachers still work in schools and so receive appropriate child protection training that is updated annually with additional online safety training. For those outside school we encourage training to take place and advice is given as to where to access it. Safeguarding is central to our recruitment particularly around online history and DBS checks.  

3.4 The DSL will provide advice and support to our teachers on child welfare and child protection matters. Any concern for a child’s safety or welfare will be recorded in writing and given to the DSL.  

3.5 Through appropriate training, knowledge and experience our DSL will liaise with agencies where necessary 

3.6 The DSL will maintain records of all feedback from parents/carers and teachers that may be important to ensure the well-being of the student. For example, if they are suffering anxiety in school.   

 

  1. Recruitment and Training

4.1 When new staff start working with us, they will be informed of the safeguarding arrangements in place and they will be asked to make themselves familiar with GB Educations safeguarding policy.  

4.2  GB Education only work with fully qualified teachers. This means that those still in school will have access to latest safeguarding training in school. For those that are still not in school we work with them to ensure they take the relevant courses via the NSPCC or any other relevant providers 

4.3 The DSL will attend Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) training every two years. In addition to formal training, DSL will ensure that they update their knowledge and skills at regular intervals, but at least annually, to keep up with any developments relevant to their role.  

4.4 We actively encourage all of our teachers to keep up to date with the most recent local and national safeguarding advice and guidance including ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (2021)  

4.5 We will ensure that the DSL has completed appropriate safer recruitment training. At all times the Headteacher and Governing Body will ensure that safer recruitment practices are followed in accordance with the requirements of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, DfE (2021).  

4.6 We will use the recruitment and selection process to deter and prevent people who are unsuitable to work with children from applying for or securing employment, or volunteering opportunities.  

4.7 We will undertake Disclosure and Barring Service checks to ensure we are recruiting and selecting the most suitable people to work with our children.  

  1. Procedures for Managing Concerns 

5.1 GB Education provide online tuition where the majority of students are still in school. That said our staff are aware of the ‘it could happen here’ ethos where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff members should always act in the interests of the child and have a responsibility to take action as outlined in this policy.  

5.2 If any concerns are raised, the DSL will record the concern and act upon their training and decide whether further professional advice is required. More details can be provided on request.  

5.3. Any correspondence relating to our students is kept secure at all times  

6.Online Safety  

6.1 At GB Education we recognise that technology, and risks and harms related to the internet evolve and change rapidly. Therefore, we carry out an annual review of our approach to online safety  on at least an annual basis that considers and reflects the risks that children face in our setting. 

6.2 All our lessons are taught beyond a password protected area on our website. Our teachers personal zoom log ins are stored thus ensuring only the student can have access to this meeting. Teachers will need to admit the student to the lesson ensuring further online security  

6.3 As per our terms and conditions, there must be a parent / carer in the vicinity of the student whilst lessons are ongoing  

6.4 Teachers are encouraged to blur or make the background neutral on their zoom calls to ensure there is no distraction and to dress appropriately at all times  

  1. 7. Working with Parents and Carers 

7.1 GB Education is committed to working in partnership with parents/carers to safeguard and promote the welfare of children  

7.2 When new students join us, parents and carers will be informed that we have a safeguarding policy with a link to the relevant page emailed to them.  

7.3 We are committed to working with parents positively, openly and honestly. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information unless we have permission, or it is necessary to do so in order to safeguard a child from harm.  

7.4 We require accurate and up to date information regarding our students’ parents’ names, addresses and contact numbers.