Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

 Person Responsible for this Policy: Sam Noakes

Policy last updated: 16/09/26

Next update: 16/12/26

1.     Introduction, Government Guidance and Aims

Sam Noakes is committed to the wellbeing and safeguarding of all children, adults and staff who attend tuition with him. This policy’s main aim is to provide all children and adults with a comprehensive, secure and clear commitment to safeguarding and a framework to ensure all children attending tuition are protected from harm.

Under no circumstances must Sam Noakes use physical force as a punishment. 

This Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is written with consideration of the following Department for Education statutory guidance:

·      Keeping Children Safe in Education (2026)

·      Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023)

and the following guidance from HM Government:

·      Prevent Duty Guidance (2023)

·      Information Sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services (2024)

and the following Department for Education non-statutory guidance:

·      After-school clubs, community activities and tuition: safeguarding guidance for providers (2023)

·      What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused (2015)

Tuition operates online instead of a specific setting. If you have a concerns about a child, details of the appropriate local authority can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council

In cases where a criminal offence has been committed or it is suspected that one has been committed, the matter must be reported immediately to the local police force using the 101 service. In an emergency this must be reported using the 999 service. 

Definitions of ‘significant harm’ are taken from Section 47 of The Children Act (1989)

For the purpose of this policy, ‘children’ refers to any student under the age of 18 attending the setting. ‘Adults’ refers to parents or other responsible adults who drop off or collect their child at or from the setting. 

The aims of this policy are:

·      To support any child who makes a disclosure of abuse 

·      To ensure I, the tutor, and parents/guardians know who to inform in the event of a disclosure, concern or safeguarding issue and to ensure they are alert to the signs of possible child abuse

·      To aid everyone in understanding and recognising specific safeguarding concerns

·      To ensure, in accordance with The Children Act 1989, that the welfare of the child is paramount at all times

2.     Designated Safeguarding Lead [this is normally you if you are a lone provider, unless you are outsourcing this to an external agency]

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is

·      Name: Sam Noakes

·      Job Title: Independent Tutor/Sole Trader

·      Contact Details: contact@mrnoakes.co.uk

The role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is to:

·       Be a point of advice on safeguarding and pastoral issues

·       Have overall responsibility for safeguarding (this cannot be delegated)

·       Manage referrals from to the local authority

·        Manage the record-keeping of safeguarding concerns and ensure records are kept up to date

·       To update their own Level 3 safeguarding training at least once every two years using an external provider including Online Safety training and Prevent training

·       Make referrals to the local authority Prevent Officer under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

3.     Safeguarding Issues

For further details and definitions of types of abuse and neglect, we can reference DfE guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) and Keeping Children Safe in Education (2026). External training will also reference these documents including definitions of abuse and neglect. 

a. Types of abuse

For the purposes of this policy, Sam Noakes is aware of and vigilant to the following types of abuse and safeguarding issues:

·      Physical abuse

·      Emotional abuse

·      Sexual abuse

·      Neglect

·      Child on child abuse (see below)

·      Extremism and radicalisation

·      Sexual harassment

·      Bullying

·      Substance abuse

·      Online exploitation and abuse

·      Domestic abuse

b. Contextual safeguarding

I am also aware that safeguarding incidents and behaviours can occur outside the home environment and am vigilant to reports of these. These contextual safeguarding issues form part of external training. These include:

·      Child Sexual Exploitation

·      Child Criminal Exploitation

·      Female Genital Mutilation

·      Honour Based Abuse

·      Knife Crime

·      Children Absent from Education

c. Child on child abuse

Sam Noakes is vigilant to the possibility of child on child abuse in the homes of children Sam Noakes tutors.

Such abuse can include:

·      abuse in intimate personal relationships between children

·      harmful sexual behaviour including but not limited to the use of inappropriate sexual language, sharing of nude of semi-nude images or videos, upskirting, sexual violence

·      bullying (including cyberbullying)

·      physical abuse such as:

o   hitting

o   kicking

o   shaking

o   biting

o   hair pulling

o   otherwise causing physical harm

In the event of suspected child on child abuse involving one or more children who Sam Noakes tutors against another child and where there is reasonable cause to suspect significant harm the case must be referred to the local authority. 

d. Children with Additional Educational Needs, Disabilities and other vulnerabilities

Sam Noakes is aware that children with Additional Educational Needs, disabilities or health issues may face additional safeguarding issues. Sam Noakes is vigilant to:

·      Any indicators of possible abuse not in keeping with the child’s additional needs or history

·      Any communication challenges the child faces in disclosing the abuse (for example, if the child is non-verbal)

·      The fact that children with additional needs or other vulnerabilities are disproportionally impacted by abuse and behaviours such as bullying

·      That children who are (or are perceived to be) lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans are more likely to suffer child on child abuse and are more vulnerable to abuse

4.     Reporting Concerns about a child

Sam Noakes is aware that barriers to reporting abuse exist, and that some children may not be ready or not know how to tell someone that they are being abused. Sam Noakes is aware that children with Additional Educational Needs or disabilities are more vulnerable to abuse. Sam Noakes never assumes that an issue has been reported or disclosed by another person.

If a child discloses abuse:

·      Sam Noakes will stop and listen straight away without delay

·      Sam Noakes will write notes as soon as possible after the conversation

·      Sam Noakes must not guarantee confidentiality 

·      Sam Noakes uses TED – Tell me, Explain to me, Describe to me. We can ask children whether they have been harmed and the nature of that harm, without asking leading questions. 

·      Sam Noakes will not conduct his own investigation but will refer immediately

·      Sam Noakes will maintain a calm and professional attitude and prioritise the wellbeing of the child at all times. 

Reports to the local authority children's safeguarding board must be undertaken:

·      As soon as possible and within 2 hours of the concern being raised or suspected

·      For a child at risk or suspected to be at risk of significant harm, the concern must be raised immediately 

·      In person or by telephone as required by local services.      

Sam Noakes notes that it is usually best practice to share concerns with parents/ carers. However, for children at risk of significant harm (or where there is reasonable cause to suspect this), it may not be appropriate to do so. Decisions on whether to share information must be made in conjunction with the DSL. It may be helpful to refer to the following guidance:

o   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-practitioners-information-sharing-advice

The DSL will decide if a concern should be raised with the local authority. If a child is at risk of significant harm, in accordance with Section 47 of The Children Act (1989), statutory child protection agencies will conduct the investigation and the DSL must not investigate. At all times, decision-making in this regard must be documented, including:

·      Who raised the concern (include details of date, time, job title)

·      Who was the concern raised about (include details of child’s name, date of birth, address, school)

·      What decision was made and why – what were the reasons for making the referral

·      Who was consulted

·      What action was taken

·      Whether parents/ carers were consulted and if not, why not

5.     Useful Contact Details

Contacts

DSL

·      Name: Sam Noakes

·      Job Title: Independent Tutor/Sole Trader

·      Contact Details: contact@mrnoakes.co.uk

Local authority contacts

Tuition operates online instead of a specific setting. If you have a concerns about a child, details of the appropriate local authority can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council

Specialist helplines

Police – immediate threat - 999

Police – serious concerns – 101

Prevent (non-emergency advice) – 0800 011 3764

NSPCC helpline – 0808 800 5000

Childline – 0800 1111

Ofsted – 0300 123 4666