Our Commitment to Safeguarding

Find Your Tutor is an online tutoring platform providing live, one-to-one video sessions between tutors and students. We take the safety and well-being of all children, young people, and vulnerable adults on our platform extremely seriously — and we recognise that online learning environments carry specific safeguarding risks that must be carefully managed.

This policy applies to all tutors, students, parents, guardians, and any staff associated with Find Your Tutor. All tutors must read and agree to this policy before accessing the platform.

1. Scope and Purpose

This Safeguarding Policy sets out:

• Our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from harm in an online tutoring environment.
• The specific responsibilities of tutors delivering sessions online.
• Safe online practices for video sessions, communications, and platform use.
• How concerns or disclosures should be reported.
• How Find Your Tutor will respond to safeguarding concerns.

A ‘child’ means any person under the age of 18. A ‘vulnerable adult’ means any person aged 18 or over who may be at risk due to disability, illness, or other circumstances.

2. Legal Framework

This policy is informed by and compliant with:

• Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2023
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
• UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) guidance on online safety
• UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018
• The Online Safety Act 2023

3. Tutor Responsibilities — Online Sessions

All sessions on Find Your Tutor are delivered online via video call. The following rules are mandatory for all tutors.

Tutors must:

• Conduct all sessions using only the video platform confirmed at the time of booking through the Find Your Tutor platform (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams).
• Never ask a student to move the session to an alternative, unmonitored, or private platform, app, or communication channel.
• Ensure their video background is professional, neutral, and appropriate. Tutors should blur or use a virtual background if their home environment is unsuitable.
• Keep their camera on throughout the session unless there is a genuine technical reason. Sessions must not take place audio-only with a student under 18 without parental knowledge.
• Never conduct a session from a private or inappropriate location (e.g., a bedroom visible in the background).
• Do not record any session without obtaining explicit written consent from the student’s parent or guardian in advance.
• Immediately end the session and report to Find Your Tutor if a student shares or displays anything distressing, harmful, or inappropriate during a video session.
• Hold a valid Enhanced DBS check when tutoring students under 18. Tutors are encouraged to upload their DBS reference number to their profile.

4. Online Communication Rules

All communication between tutors and students must take place through the Find Your Tutor platform’s messaging system or through the confirmed video session link. Outside of this:

• Tutors must not share their personal phone number, personal email address, or social media accounts with students, especially those under 18.
• Tutors must not follow, connect with, or message students on social media platforms.
• Tutors must not communicate with students via WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or any other personal messaging app.
• If a student contacts a tutor outside the platform, the tutor must redirect them to use the platform’s official messaging system and inform Find Your Tutor.
• All platform messages may be monitored by Find Your Tutor for safeguarding purposes.

5. Online Session Environment — Guidance for Parents

Find Your Tutor strongly recommends that parents and guardians of students under 18 follow this guidance:

• Ensure your child’s device is set up in a shared, common area of the home (e.g., kitchen or living room) rather than in their bedroom, wherever possible.
• Be available nearby during the session, particularly for younger children or first sessions with a new tutor.
• Check that the video session is taking place on the platform confirmed in the booking confirmation email.
• Monitor your child’s communications with their tutor through the Find Your Tutor platform.
• Ensure your child knows they can speak to you if anything makes them feel uncomfortable during or after a session.
• Do not allow your child to share personal information such as their home address, school name, or phone number with a tutor.

6. Screen Sharing

Screen sharing may be used during sessions for legitimate educational purposes only. Tutors must:

• Only share content that is directly relevant to the tutoring session.
• Immediately stop screen sharing if any inappropriate, harmful, or irrelevant content appears on their screen.
• Do not request access to a student’s device beyond what is needed for the tutoring session.

Students and parents should be aware that they can end a screen-sharing session at any time if they feel uncomfortable.

7. Session Recordings

Sessions must not be recorded without explicit written consent from all parties. For students under 18, written consent from a parent or guardian is required.

Where both parties have agreed in writing to record a session:

• The recording must be used solely for the student’s own educational review.
• Recordings must not be uploaded to any website, social media, or video platform.
• Recordings must not be shared with any third party without consent.
• Recordings should be stored securely and deleted once they are no longer needed.

Find Your Tutor does not routinely record sessions. Any recording functionality is between the tutor and student and is subject to consent.

8. Recognising Signs of Concern — Online Context

When tutoring online, tutors should be alert to the following:

• A student appearing distressed, fearful, or upset during or before a session.
• Unexplained bruising, marks, or physical signs of harm visible on camera.
• A student disclosing abuse, neglect, or that they feel unsafe at home.
• Inappropriate comments, language, or behaviour by the student that may indicate abuse or exploitation.
• Evidence that a student is being coached or supervised in an unusual or concerning way during sessions.
• A student appearing malnourished, neglected, or who consistently appears from an unsafe environment.

If in doubt, report it. It is always better to raise a concern than to ignore it.

9. Reporting a Safeguarding Concern

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 immediately. Do not wait to contact Find Your Tutor first.

For all other safeguarding concerns:

• Email Find Your Tutor at contact@findyourtutor.co.uk with the subject line ‘SAFEGUARDING CONCERN — URGENT’.
• Include as much detail as possible: the student’s name, the date and time of the concern, and what was observed or disclosed.
• Contact your local Children’s Services team or call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.
• Contact the Police on 101 for non-emergency concerns.

Find Your Tutor will respond to all safeguarding reports within 24 hours. We will take immediate action, which may include suspending a tutor’s account, referring the matter to the relevant statutory authorities, and cooperating fully with any investigation.

Safeguarding reports will be kept strictly confidential and handled only by designated team members. The safety of the child will always take priority over confidentiality.

10. DBS Checks

Find Your Tutor strongly requires all tutors working with children under 18 to hold a current Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. While we do not administer DBS checks directly, we:

• Require tutors to confirm they hold a valid DBS check when registering to tutor students under 18.
• Encourage tutors to display their DBS reference number on their profile.
• Strongly encourage parents to ask to see a tutor’s DBS certificate before commencing sessions.
• Reserve the right to immediately remove any tutor from the platform if we become aware that they are barred from working with children.

Tutors can apply for a DBS check via a registered umbrella body or through the government’s DBS website at www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-guidance.

11. Platform Monitoring and Enforcement

Find Your Tutor reserves the right to:

• Suspend or permanently remove any tutor or student from the platform if a safeguarding concern is raised and under investigation.
• Monitor platform messages for safeguarding and compliance purposes.
• Cooperate fully with police, social services, or any other statutory authority.
• Report barred individuals to the Disclosure and Barring Service where appropriate.
• Retain relevant records relating to safeguarding concerns for as long as required by law.

12. Useful Contacts

NSPCC Helpline (24/7, free): 0808 800 5000 | help@nspcc.org.uk

Childline (for children and young people): 0800 1111 | www.childline.org.uk

Internet Watch Foundation (report illegal online content): www.iwf.org.uk

CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection): www.ceop.police.uk

Police Emergency: 999 | Police Non-Emergency: 101

Find Your Tutor: contact@findyourtutor.co.uk | WhatsApp: +44 1442 780307 | www.findyourtutor.co.uk

13. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually or following any significant safeguarding incident or change in legislation. The latest version will always be published on our website.