Tutor Safeguarding Handbook

TUTOR SAFEGUARDING HANDBOOK

1. Introduction

1.1 What is Safeguarding

1.2 Why is Safeguarding important?

1.3 The Safeguarding ‘Umbrella’

1.4 Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory requirements

2. How to respond to a safeguarding concern

2.1 Responding to a direct disclosure

2.2 Responding to concerns regarding welfare

3. Tutor drop-in sessions with the safeguarding team

4. Safeguarding CPD:

4.1 Mental Health

4.2 Online safety for students

4.3 Further safeguarding training

6. Support services Information

7. Feedback

1. Introduction

The aim of this handbook is provide you with a reference guide for allthings safeguarding. Feel free to use this in the way most helpful to you; you can dip in to certain chapters if you would like to find out more about wider safeguarding concerns, such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Mental Health or Online Safety, or it can be a source of support to guide you in responding to concerns about welfare or disclosures of abuse made by a young person you are tutoring and in how to report these into the safeguarding team

Who are the Safeguarding Team?

[ADD VIDEOS OF NEREA AND I HERE]

1.1 What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is about the preventative measures in place to protect the health, wellbeing and rights of the individual (for MyTutor this is all our platform users) to live safely and free from harm and abuse.

You can read MyTutor’s Safeguarding Policy here

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people can be defined as:

Protecting children from maltreatment.

Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development.

Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.

Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

We have a duty of care to safeguard both tutors and students, and to follow up on any disclosures which are made that refer to another person under the age of 18.

Safeguarding Mission Statement:

“Safeguarding is everyone’s business at MyTutor –We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all Directors, staff and tutors to share this commitment.”

1.1 Why is Safeguarding important?

‘Keeping Children Safe in Education' (2022), is the legal framework that all agencies working with people under the age of 18 must adhere to. This statutory guidance makes it clear that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

In summary, everyone that comes into contact with a child or young person under the age of 18 has a legal duty to ensure they know the signs and symptoms of abuse and how to report any concerns to the safeguarding team in order to keep children safe from harm, both in terms of their physical health and development and their mental health.

The NSPCC have produced a short video, which details why safeguarding is important for tutors to know about and adhere to. As a tutor, you are in a privileged position to be able to build a strong relationship with children over a period of time, and so it is vital that you understand how to keep children safe and how to report concerns about a child’s welfare. The below video explains this in more detail.

1.2 The Safeguarding ‘Umbrella’

Safeguarding is a term which is broader than 'child protection'; it is an umbrella term that relates to the action taken to promote the welfare of children at risk, and protect them from abuse or neglect.

Imagine the umbrella below as a whole is safeguarding, and everything under the umbrella is what makes up safeguarding.

As tutors you will come across some situations which are deemed as a safeguarding concern. The level of risk will be determined by the safeguarding team and they will then decide where it may fall under the safeguarding umbrella.

Please be aware that if you are ever concerned about something but are unsure if it is safeguarding it is always best to contact us; remember that we are here to protect and prevent and it's always best to think “What if I’m right and something is wrong”

Keepingchildrensafe IN EDUCATION

What tutors should look out for...

Knowing what to look for is vital to the early identification of abuse and neglect. All tutors should be aware of indicators of abuse and neglect, including exploitation, so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection.

Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. If tutors are unsure, they should always speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy).

Forms of abuse and neglect

Abuse: a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused by other children or adults, in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others

Physical abuse: a form of abuse that may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.

Emotional abuse: the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only

Sexual abuse: involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing.

Sexual abuse continued: This could also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Females can also be abusers as can other children.

Neglect: the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development.

Neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Alltutorsshouldbeawarethatchildsexualandchild criminalexploitationarealsoformsofchildabuse.

Safeguarding issues

All tutors should have an awareness of safeguarding issues that can put children at risk of harm. Behaviours linked to issues such as drug taking and/or alcohol misuse, deliberately missing education, serious violence (including that linked to county lines), radicalisation and consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos (also known as youth produced sexual imagery) put children in danger.

All tutors should:

Be aware of the systems within MyTutor which support safeguarding, and these should be explained to them as part of their induction.

Receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) which is regularly updated. In addition, all tutors should receive safeguarding and child protection updates (including online safety, for example, via emails, e-bulletins and meetings), as required, and at least annually, to provide them with the skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively

Know the identity of the designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) and how to contact them

Know what to do if a child tells them they are being abused or neglected. This includes understanding they should never promise a child that they will not tell anyone else about a report of abuse, as this is unlikely to be in the best interests of the child

Should be able to reassure all victims that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe. A victim should never be given the impression that they are creating a problem by reporting abuse, sexual violence or sexual harassment, nor should a victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report.

All tutors should be aware that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and well-being issues. Children are at risk of abuse and other risks online as well as face to face. In many cases abuse and other risks will take place concurrently both online and offline. Children can also abuse other children online, this can take the form of abusive, harassing, and misogynistic/misandrist messages, the non-consensual sharing of indecent images, especially around chat groups, and the sharing of abusive images and pornography, to those who do not want to receive such content.

Child-on-child abuse

All tutors should be aware that children can abuse other children at any age (often referred to as child-on-child abuse) and that it can happen both inside and outside their school or college and online. It is important that all tutors recognise the indicators and signs of abuse and know how to identify it and respond to reports.

All tutors should be clear about MyTutor’s policy and procedures with regards to child-on-child abuse. Child-on-child abuse is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:

Bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)

Abuse in intimate personal relationships between children (sometimes known as ‘teenage relationship abuse’)

Physical abuse which can include hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm

Sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault

Sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment

What tutors should do if they have concerns about a child...

Tutors working with children should maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, tutors should always act in the best interest of the child.

Tutors should not assume a colleague or another professional will take action and share information that might be critical in keeping children safe

If tutors have any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately. They should follow MyTutor’s child protection policy and report the concern without delay.

The designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) will generally lead on next steps, including who else, if anyone, within MyTutor should be informed and whether to pass a concern to local authority children’s social care and/or the police.

Why is all of this important?

It is important for children to receive the right help at the right time to address safeguarding risks and prevent issues escalating and to promote children’s welfare. Research and serious case reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to take effective and immediate action. Examples of poor practice including failing to act on and refer to the early signs of abuse and neglect.

What tutors should do if they have a safeguarding concern or an allegation about another tutor who may pose a risk of harm to children?

If tutors have safeguarding concerns or an allegation is made about another tutor posing a risk of harm to children, they should speak to the designated safeguarding lead without delay.

What tutors should do if they have concerns about safeguarding practices within MyTutor?

All tutors should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in MyTutor’s safeguarding regime and know that such concerns will be taken seriously by the senior leadership team.

Appropriate whistleblowing procedures are in place for concerns to be raised with MyTutor’s senior leadership team.

Where tutors feel unable to raise an issue with MyTutor or feel that their genuine safeguarding concerns are not being addressed, an NSPCC whistleblowing advice line is available.

Tutors can call 0800 028 0285 – 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Friday and email: help@nspcc.org.uk. Alternatively, tutors can write to: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Weston House, 42 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3NH.

2. How to respond to a Safeguarding concern

2.1 Responding to a direct disclosure

As a tutor, it is possible that a young person you are tutoring may make a disclosure to you that they are suffering harm or abuse. As stated in the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance, it is all of our responsibilities to ensure that we are responding and reporting to these concerns appropriately.

Please watch the following video, which details the importance of active listening in helping young people open up when making a disclosure:

At MyTutor, we use the 4 R's of safeguarding to explain the steps involved in responding to a disclosure of harm or abuse

Recognise - We require all tutors to undertake Safeguarding and Prevent training before being able to access our platform so that you understand the signs and symptoms to look out for and can be alert to whether someone is at risk of being harmed or abused

Respond

- You should remain calm and ask open questions, assuring them that reporting their concerns was the right thing to do. It is important that the person disclosing understands that you cannot promise confidentiality and that you will have to contact the safeguarding team to ensure they are kept safe.

- The safeguarding team are able to review the lesson recordings where safeguarding concerns have been raised, however we cannot always hear the student's audio and so it is important to record what has happened using the student's own words where possible, to avoid interpretation or assumptions of what they may have meant.

- There are several ways in which you can report your concern into the safeguarding team:

1. Directly through our external safeguarding form, which can be found here

2. Via the MyTutor support team via either phone call or live chat (these are live channels and ensure a quicker direct response)

3. If you are unable to do either or the above, please email the support staff (support@mytutor.co.uk) and mention in the subject line that it is urgent and involves safeguarding.

3.2 Responding to a concern about welfare

You may come across situations where you have concerns about what a student has said, or actions they are undertaking, but they have not disclosed anything specific to you. Usually the "gut-instinct" we feel in these situations is that "something doesn't feel right". In these situations, please refer the concern into the safeguarding team, who will investigate the concern and follow up with you as to whether further action will be taken.

It is always best to check if you are unsure about your concern; the safeguarding team are skilled and experienced in assessing concerns and will always follow up with you to update you of any actions taken, so you know the outcome.

In these situations, please follow the referral routes as stated above

3. Safeguarding Drop-in Sessions

The safeguarding team are available throughout the week if you would like to discuss any concerns that you have about a young person’s welfare, or concerns about a parent/guardian, for which you are not sure whether to make a safeguarding referral about. A member of the team can talk through the concerns and decide on any necessary action that may need to be taken.

The drop-in service is also available for you if you have a personal well-being concern, and need some advice and guidance, or if you have general queries regarding our safeguarding policies or processes.

To book a drop-in session, click the below link to book through Calendly. You can then pick a date and time and this will provide you with a google meet link, for you to access the session.

4. Safeguarding CPD

4.1 Mental health

At MyTutor, we do not expect you to be skilled in supporting a person’s mental health, however it would be beneficial for your role to understand the types of mental health conditions young people can suffer from and the level of risk that these conditions may pose in terms of their safety.

Please note: if any young person’s behaviour makes you concerned that their mental health is suffering, please refer the matter into the safeguarding team as a matter of urgency, following the process in Chapter 2 of this handbook

The KCSIE guidance states that everyone working with children and young people needs to “safeguard and promote the welfare of children” and that this includes “preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development”.

Please view the below short NSPCC video. which details why mental health issues can lead to a safeguarding concern

According to the charity Young Minds - 1 in 6 children aged 5-16 were identified as having a mental health condition in 2021, an increase from 1 in 9 in 2017.

The pandemic and social media/online influences have had a big impact on young people’s mental health over the past couple of years; the impact of which we will undoubtedly see for years to come.

Evidence of this can be seen in the study conducted by Young Minds in 2020, where 83% of young people with mental health needs agreed that the coronavirus pandemic had made their mental health worse

When you are tutoring young people, you may find that they express a higher level of anxiety during exam time and that they may become withdrawn, anxious or emotional. One way you can help in this situation is to allow the young person to talk about how they feel if they wish to, or otherwise, direct them to speak with someone at their school they feel comfortable talking to, or a family member.

It is very important that these feelings do not stay bottled up, as this can cause anxiety and panic attacks in some cases. Young Minds have created the following blog to support young people in the run up to their exams (click on the image on the left to read the study)

5.2 Online Safety

KCSIE sets out the responsibilities that anyone working with young people under 18, must adhere to; one of these requirements is:

“All staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) at induction. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins, and staff meetings), as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively”

In accordance with the above requirements, this chapter focuses on raising awareness of online safety issues that affect children and young people and ways in which MyTutor can support you in recognising these risks and reporting them into the Safeguarding Team.

Context

In 2022, The NSPCC published a briefing paper entitled ‘Online harm and abuse: learning from case reviews’ to highlight learning from Serious Case Reviews where children either died or were seriously injured in one of the following circumstances:

Suicide following cyberbullying

Suicide or serious harm after accessing harmful content online

Online grooming leading to sexual abuse or child sexual exploitation (CSE)

Children sexually abused in order to share images or videos of child sexual abuse online

Contact child sexual abuse by perpetrators who had previously been known to police for sharing child sexual abuse images online

The following is a summary, but the full briefing can be read by clicking the below link:

Summary of findings:

Online communication makes it easier to find, contact and interact with other people and this can enable abusive adults to make contact and build relationships with vulnerable children online

Online grooming - adults can pose as children in order to gain the child’s trust and illicit personal information from them, which they can then use to blackmail or coerce the child into doing something against their wishes

Sending nude images - images/videos can be shared online without the child knowing who this is really going to. These may then be circulated by perpetrators of sexual abuse or used as a way of blackmailing the young person (Sextortion)

Children accessing harmful content on personal devices - this makes it really difficult for parents/carers to prevent the child being exposed to harmful content. The Internet Matters website details many ways parents can support their child in using the internet safely

Exposure to harmful content - due to the above, children who have unrestricted access to the internet can view harmful content, which may advocate self-harm or suicide, for example, or show videos or images of distressing content

Children who are particularly vulnerable to online harm include those who have been subjected to neglect, abuse and trauma in the past, as they may be looking to seek comfort from someone. Also, those who have mental health difficulties can find themselves joining online chat groups where they may have access to view harmful content, such as promoting self-harm, eating disorders etc. Young people with Special Educational Needs may also not understand the risks involved in their online behaviour and this may make them more vulnerable to abuse or being groomed online.

How can MyTutor support you in recognising children and young people who may be at risk of online abuse?

By providing you with information, such as that contained in within this handbook, to raise awareness of online safety issues that can make young people vulnerable to being abused or groomed online

Providing regular safeguarding bulletins to tutors which detail specific safeguarding issues, including latest online safety considerations, so that you are kept up to date with how to recognise if a young person may be being harmed online, and with regards to types of harmful content that young people may be viewing online.

Developing a robust online safety policy, which details information on how tutors, the safeguarding team and wider MyTutor staff, parents and carers can be supported to help young people to recognise these risks, and acknowledge the dangers of young people sharing harmful information with their peers.

5.3FurtherSafeguardingTraining

Thebestwaytosafeguardchildrenandyoungpeopleistokeepuptodatewith currentsafeguardingissuesthatareaffectingthem. Theseconcernsarelaidoutin KeepingChildrenSafeinEducationPart1,Annex:FurtherInformation. Tounderstand someoftheseissuesingreaterdetail,youmaybeinterestedinaccessingthelinks below.

*Disclaimer:someoftheinformationcontainedwithinthese coursesmaybedistressingoremotionally-triggering.Please ensureyouseeksupportifyoubecomedistressedatanypoint whencompletinganyofthetrainingcourses.

Young People’s Mental Healthfurther learning

In addition to the information provided in chapter 4.1, below are links to information regarding a wealth of other mental health struggles young people may face, and ways in which they can access support

Adverse Childhood Experiences

One-third of mental health problems in adulthood are directly connected to an event that occurred in that person’s childhood (Kessler, R. (2010)

‘Childhood adversities and adult psychopathology in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys’ British Journal of Psychiatry 197(5): 378–385)

Adults who experienced four or more adversities in their childhood are four times more likely to have low levels of mental well-being and life satisfaction

These adversities are commonly known as ACE’s (click on the video for further explanation)

ACE's explained

Depression

One of the most common types of mental ill health and can happen as a reaction to something like abuse, bullying or family breakdown, but it can also run in families.

Depression can happen to anyone, as explained by the singer Stormzy (click video to view)

Resources

Young People's Mental Health cont

The What is Mental Health? poster details a pictorial description of what mental health means Complete the NHS Mind Plan Quiz and download a copy of your Mind Plan

The NHS - Every Mind Matters website also has lots of resources for supporting wellbeing

The Little Book of Mental Health Life Hacks

Training

MindEd have a series of free training courses looking at adolescent mental health, attachment and emotional development

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation is a form of child abuse and can affect any child who has been coerced into engaging in sexual activities.

This includes 16- and 17-year-olds who can legally consent to have sex. Some children may not realise they are being exploited for example they believe they are in a genuine romantic relationship, and this could mean they do not realise they are at risk of significant harm until it is too late.

Child Sexual Exploitation cont

The short films in the links section will give you an overview of what CSE is and how we can safeguard young people from being sexually exploited

Further learning

This is a 20 minute e-learning course from the Virtual College, which gives an introduction to child sexual exploitation and will enable to you to:

Understand child sexual exploitation

Find out how to spot the signs

Know who to report any concerns to

The NSPCC define CCE as: "child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing crimes"

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and County Lines

Studies show that a child is more at risk of being recruited into a gang and criminally exploited if:

They have been excluded from school

They have special education needs

There are problems at home like neglect, domestic abuse or sexual abuse

They live in existing gang territory

Keep Them Safe: Protecting Children from Child Sexual Exploitation free course

David's story:

Emma's story:

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and County Lines: Further Learning

The Virtual College offer a free introductory course which will help you to:

Gain an understanding about how children are groomed and criminally exploited. Learn what county lines are and how it is operated across the UK

Understand the impact this form of child abuse has on families and how to seek support if you have concerns about a child at risk.

At the end of the course, you have the option to download a certificate for your CPD record

In addition to the section on Prevent that you would have gone through in your SG training, the following resource and videos further context to what Terrorism, Extremism and Radicalisation mean and how young people can become drawn into this world - click on the icon to view pdf

Prevent

Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines

Prevent

Further learning:

The Home office has produced an awareness training module which details what the Prevent strategy is, and the signs to look out for when it comes to someone being at risk of radicalisation.

At the end of the course you can download a completion certificate for your own CPD log

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

FGM is illegal in the UK and is considered child abuse. It is important that, as professionals, we are aware of any children and young people who may be travelling out of the country in order to have this procedure and report this to social care and the police to prevent this from taking place, as it causes long-term physical and psychological damage to girls and women.

NSPCCWhat is FGM?

Further learning

The Home Office, in conjunction with Virtual College offer a free introductory training course on recognising the signs of FGM and how professionals can safeguarding children and young people from having this happen to them (1 hour)

Introductory course on FGM

Child on child abuse and sexual harassment

Sexual Violence

KCSIE states that all people working with children should be aware that children can abuse other children and that it can happen both inside and outside of school

This type of abuse includes, but is not limited to:

Physical and sexual abuse

Upskirting

Sexual harassment and violence

Emotional harm

On and offline bullying

Teenage Relationship Abuse

Consent - It's like a cup of tea (see video in link column)

Children witnessing domestic abuse is a form of child abuse

Domestic Abuse

The NSPCC in the links columm puts into context why domestic abuse is a child protection issue

9.SupportServices

AtMyTutorwehaveadutytosafeguardourtutors,aswellastheyoungpeoplewho useourplatform.Attimesuniwork,tutoringanddealingwiththingsinour personallifecansometimesgettoomuchand,ifthathappens,wewantyouto knowthatweareheretosupportyou,whetherthatistocancel/rearrangedbooked lessonsuntilyoufeelabletorestart,orchatthroughanissueviaoneofour safeguardingdrop-insessions.

Wealsoappreciatethatsometimesyouneedtimeandheadspacetoworkthrough issuesyourselfandsobelowisalistingsguidetosignpostyoutoavarietyof supportagenciesifyouneedsomeadditionalsupport

Service Information Link

Online support tool to help manage your mental health

Every Mind Matters

Let's Talk

NHS service providing advice and support for many types of mental health conditions Get support via the website or call 0800 073 2200.

Nightline

Student-run listening and information services, open at night when other services on campus may be closed. Use the Contact form to get in touch Mind

Provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem

Men's Advice Line

Support and advice for male survivors of domestic abuse. Phone, email and webchat options for getting in touch

Women's Aid

Live chat and email support, plus links to local support groups and resources

Text Services

Apps

SHOUT

24/7 text service, providing free crisis support for anyone who is anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed and needs immediate support.

Bright Sky

Provides meditation techniques, and support for sleep, stress and anxiety difficulties

Under 25 year old support text messaging service

Service

We hope that you have found this handbook useful and that it will be a valuable resource during your tutoring time at MyTutor.

Please can you complete the below short form as we would love to hear your feedback on this handbook, to include anything you think you would like to see added, or any recommendations for future versions, so that we can ensure this is tailored to your needs.