HANNAH'S TUTORING
SAFEGUARDING & CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
Effective Date: 8 October 2026 (replaces version dated 21 September 2026) Hannah Smith trading as Hannah's Tutoring (Sole Trader) 28 Marconi Place, Exchange Mews, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9TW
1. Statement of Commitment
Hannah's Tutoring is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The safety and wellbeing of Students is paramount in all tutoring activities.
2. Legal Framework
This policy operates in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children (latest guidance), the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, and the Data Protection Act 2018.
It also has regard to Keeping Children Safe in Education (current edition), the statutory guidance schools follow, and to the Prevent duty guidance, so that the Business works to the same standards as the schools its Students attend.
3. Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Hannah Smith acts as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and holds overall responsibility for safeguarding. The DSL is responsible for receiving safeguarding concerns, maintaining records, and liaising with external agencies where necessary.
Contacting the DSL. hannah@hannahstutoring.co.uk. Tutors, parents and schools should raise any safeguarding concern with the DSL directly.
If the DSL cannot be reached. Where a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Where a concern is urgent and the DSL is unavailable, contact children's social care in the local authority where the child lives, then inform the DSL as soon as possible.
4. Safer Recruitment & DBS Requirements
All Tutors engaged by the Business must hold a valid Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. A Basic DBS certificate is the minimum requirement, although Tutors who hold a valid Enhanced DBS certificate may also provide this.
Where a Tutor does not currently hold a valid DBS certificate, they must apply for a Basic DBS check within seven (7) days of engagement with the Business.
Tutors may begin delivering tutoring sessions while a DBS application is in progress, provided that:
the DBS application has been submitted
identity verification checks have been completed
no safeguarding concerns have been identified
all other safeguarding onboarding requirements have been satisfied
The Business reserves the right to suspend or terminate tutoring arrangements if a DBS certificate is not obtained within thirty (30) days of engagement, or where safeguarding concerns arise.
DBS renewal. A DBS certificate reflects an individual's record only as at its date of issue. To ensure ongoing suitability, all Tutors are required to obtain a new DBS certificate every two (2) years, calculated from the issue date of their current certificate. The Business operates a reminder process to support Tutors in renewing before their certificate reaches two years old. This requirement applies to all Tutors, who engage with the Business as self-employed contractors and remain responsible for arranging and funding their own DBS checks.
Verification and record-keeping. Each Tutor’s DBS is verified before that Tutor is matched with any Student, either by the DSL or by a member of the Business’s operations team who has completed safeguarding training and acts under the DSL’s direction. Submission of a certificate is not treated as verification; the certificate itself is reviewed. The DSL also meets each Tutor by video call before they are matched with any Student, and confirms their identity as part of that call. For data protection purposes, the Business records only the last four (4) digits of the DBS certificate number together with its issue date and level. Full DBS certificate numbers and certificate copies are not retained beyond the period necessary to complete verification.
5. Safeguarding Training
All Tutors must complete recognised safeguarding awareness training within sixty (60) days of engagement. Tutors who already hold safeguarding training completed within the previous twelve (12) months may evidence this instead.
Safeguarding training must be refreshed every twelve (12) months. The Business operates a reminder process to prompt renewal before a Tutor's training reaches twelve months old. The DSL will ensure safeguarding awareness across the Business remains up to date.
6. Online Safeguarding Procedures
All tutoring sessions are conducted online via approved platforms such as Google Meet. Communication must remain professional and, where possible, transparent (for example, monitored WhatsApp groups or platform messaging). Tutors must not engage in private, unmonitored communication with Students. All communication must remain within Business-approved channels.
7. Recognising Signs of Abuse
Abuse may include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or online exploitation. It may also include abuse by other children, and radicalisation or exposure to extremist views. Tutors must remain vigilant to behavioural or academic indicators that may suggest safeguarding concerns.
8. Reporting Safeguarding Concerns
Any safeguarding concern must be reported immediately to the DSL. Where a Student tells a Tutor something that raises a concern, the Tutor should listen, stay calm, and not ask leading questions or promise to keep it secret. The Tutor should write down what was said, in the Student's own words where possible, and pass it to the DSL the same day.
The DSL will assess the concern and determine whether external referral (for example, local authority children's social care or police) is required. Concerns about radicalisation will be referred through the Prevent route via the police or local authority. Records of safeguarding concerns will be kept securely and confidentially.
9. Sharing Concerns with a Student's School
Where a safeguarding concern arises about a Student whose school is known to the Business, the DSL will share it with the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead, as well as making any external referral that is needed. Information will be shared only where it is necessary and proportionate, in line with government guidance on information sharing.
The DSL will not share a concern with the school where doing so could place the child at greater risk. In that case the DSL will follow the advice of children's social care or the police.
10. Allegations Against Tutors
Any allegation made against a Tutor will be investigated promptly and may result in immediate suspension pending investigation.
Where an allegation suggests a Tutor may have harmed a child, or behaved in a way that indicates they may pose a risk to children, the DSL will report it to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within one working day. This will be the LADO for Kent, where the Business is based, and where relevant the LADO for the area where the child lives. The DSL will follow the LADO's advice and will not carry out its own investigation until the LADO agrees it can proceed.
Where a Tutor is removed because they have harmed a child or posed a risk of harm, the Business will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service as required by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
11. Confidentiality & Data Protection
Safeguarding information is handled in accordance with the Business Privacy Policy and UK GDPR. Information may be shared with relevant authorities, and with a Student's school as set out in section 9, where required by law or in the vital interests of the child.
12. Supervision During Sessions
Where a Student joins a session from home, parents/guardians retain primary responsibility for supervision of the Student during online sessions. Where a Student joins from school, for example from a boarding house during prep, the school's own supervision arrangements apply.
13. Policy Review
This Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually or sooner if legislation or guidance changes.