Safeguarding Policy

Scope of the policy

This policy is provided for The TEFL Academy customers, including learners and staff members who
are using or delivering the qualifications The TEFL Academy offer.

Location of the policy

This policy is available for all staff members, third parties and learners to access.

Communication of the policy

It is important that staff involved in the management, delivery, assessment, and quality assurance of
The TEFL Academy qualifications and learners undertaking these qualifications, are fully aware of the
contents of the policy.

Review of the policy

The TEFL Academy will review the policy annually and revise it as and when required in response to
customer and stakeholder feedback, changes in practices, actions required by Qualifi or changes in
legislation. Our review will ensure that our procedures continue to be consistent with the regulatory
criteria and are applied properly and fairly in arriving at judgements.

1. The TEFL Academy’s approach to Safeguarding

The TEFL Academy takes a child-centred and coordinated approach to safeguarding. The TEFL
Academy believes that:

• The welfare of the child and/or vulnerable person is paramount.

• All children and/or vulnerable people irrespective of age, disability, gender, racial heritage,
religious belief, sexual orientation, or identity have the right to equal protection from all
types of harm or abuse.
• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children/vulnerable adults is everyone’s
responsibility. Everyone who encounters children and their families and/or carers has a role to
play in safeguarding children. To fulfil this responsibility effectively, all professionals should

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 make sure their approach is child centred. This means that they should consider, at all times,
what is in the best interests of the child and/or vulnerable adult. (KCSIE - September 2016).
• All staff have an important part to play in the wider safeguarding system for children/vulnerable
adults, as described in statutory guidance Working together to safeguard children. (KCSIE –
September 2016)
The TEFL Academy believes that it is always unacceptable for a young person or vulnerable adult to
experience abuse of any kind and recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all young
people and vulnerable adults, by a commitment to practice which protects them.

2. The purpose of the policy is to:

Provide protection for the children and and/or vulnerable people who study with The TEFL Academy
on either our online courses (16+) or the weekend face-to -face courses (18+).
Provide Management, staff and tutors with guidance on procedures they should adopt to maintain
Safeguarding safe practice.
Make stakeholders aware of the key legislation.

3. Key legislation for online abuse

Across the UK, criminal and civil legislation aims to prevent a range of abusive activities online
including:

• stalking

• harassment

• improper use of a public communications network

• sending indecent, offensive, false or threatening communications

• sending private sexual photos or videos of another person without their consent.

4. Online harassment

Throughout the UK, the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to make improper use of a
public communications network. Section 127 specifically makes it an offence to send an electronic
message that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

In England and Wales, the Malicious Communications Act 1988 makes it an offence to send a
communication with the intention of causing distress or anxiety.

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In Northern Ireland, the Malicious Communications (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 sets out this
offence.

In Scotland, breach of the peace common law may be used to prosecute any behaviour that causes
fear or distress, including harassment (Scottish Government, 2013).

5. Online sexual abuse

Across the UK, the legislation setting out sexual offences also applies to online child sexual
abuse, including:
• sexual communication with a child
• causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
• causing a child to watch a sexual act
• paying for sexual services of a child
• causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child
• engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
Sexting
Young people may exchange sexual messages and self-generated sexual images or videos
through a mobile phone network or the internet (sexting).

6. Legal responsibilities for website hosts and social media platforms

In England and Wales, the Defamation Act 2013 makes the website host responsible for
removing defamatory material posted to a site.
Section 103 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 requires social media platforms across the UK to
follow a code of practice which sets out the actions they must take to protect individuals from
bullying, intimidation, and insulating behaviour online.
In April 2019 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Home Office
opened a public consultation on their Online Harms White Paper. This sets out the measures the
government intends to take to keep UK users safe online, including a new regulatory framework
for online platforms (DCMS, 2019).
The Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) Age-appropriate design: code of practice for
online services sets out 15 standards that providers of online products or services likely to be
accessed by children should comply with. The code explains how providers can design services
that appropriately safeguard children's personal data and comply with data protection and
privacy laws. The code is expected to come into force by autumn 2021, following Parliamentary
approval (Information Commissioner's Office, 2020).

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7. Statement of principles
The duties of The TEFL Academy:
• Ensure that all data storage and access comply with data protection and privacy laws.
• Ensure that all communications go through The TEFL Academy email, the ticketing systems
or recorded telephone messages.
• Ensure that all communications between The TEFL Academy and all staff, delegates, trainees
and third parties can and will be recorded.

8. Duties of all staff

The duties of all The TEFL Academy staff are to: -
• Take reasonable care for the safeguarding of trainees and others who may be affected by their acts
and omissions while on The TEFL Academy premises and the sites where learners are working.
• Promote good practice through the quality of learning and understanding of Safeguarding
concerns in all communication whether in the classroom or online, by email or telephone.

9. How to respond to concerns

Responding to concerns, allegations, or disclosures
MEMBER OF STAFF PROCEDURE:
1. Stay calm.
2. Listen carefully to what is said.
3. Find an appropriate early opportunity to explain that it is likely that the information will need to
be shared with others - do not promise to keep secrets.
4. Allow the child to continue at his/her own pace.
5. Ask questions for clarification only and avoid asking questions that suggest a particular answer. Do
NOT ask closed questions. ASK open questions, such as TED questions (Tell …, Explain …, Describe …)
6. Reassure the child that they have done the right thing in telling you.
7. Tell them what you will do next and with whom the information will be shared.
8. Record in writing using the ‘Safeguarding - Incident Reporting Form’ (Appendix 1) what was said
using the child’s own words as soon as possible.
9. Inform a Designated Lead Safeguarding Officer – L Herbert.

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REMEMBER: The person who first encounters a case of alleged or suspected abuse is not responsible
for deciding whether or not abuse has occurred. That is a task for the professional child protection
agencies following a referral to them of concern about a child.
NOTE: Any staff member can make a referral to children’s social care. If anyone other than the
Designated Safeguarding Team makes the referral, they should inform the Designated Safeguarding
Team as soon as possible. If a child/vulnerable adult is in immediate danger or is at risk of harm, a
referral should be made to children’s social care and/or the police immediately.
Lead Safeguarding officer L Herbert
Staff can also use the NSPCC Whistleblowing Helpline (0800 028 0285) to go direct to Local Area
Designated Officer (LADO), not via DSPs.

8. Recognising symptoms of abuse

What are abuse and neglect?
Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a
child/vulnerable adult by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be
abused in a family or in an institutional or community or community setting, by those known to
them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or
children.

9. A child telling an adult

The Child’s rights:
• Every student has the right to make an allegation if it happens.
• Allegations against members of staff will be taken seriously.

10. Record keeping

If you have a concern, allegation or disclosure related to a child or vulnerable adult speak to a
member of the Designated Safeguarding Team or a level 2 trained member of staff.
You may be required to record in writing your concerns, or what was said in a disclosure using the
child’s own words as soon as possible.

11. If an adult is accused

(Complaints and allegations against members of staff)
The TEFL Academy has a complaints procedure, with clear written procedures for complaints. For
more information see our Complaints Procedure.

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If a child is accused (Complaints and allegations against a child) it is the company’s decision if a
student’s behaviour is unacceptable or not. If unacceptable behaviour is very serious, the student
will not be allowed to continue the course (be expelled) immediately with no refund of any fees.

The seven golden rules to sharing information

1. Remember that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018 and
human rights law are not barriers to justified information sharing but provide a framework to ensure
that personal information about living individuals is shared appropriately.
2. Be open and honest with the individual (and/or their family where appropriate) from the outset
about why, what, how and with whom information will, or could be shared, and seek their
agreement, unless it is unsafe or inappropriate to do so.
3. Seek advice from other practitioners, or your information governance lead, if you are in any doubt
about sharing the information concerned, without disclosing the identity of the individual where
possible.
4. Where possible, share information with consent, and where possible, respect the wishes of those
who do not consent to having their information shared. Under the GDPR and Data Protection Act
2018 you may share information without consent if, in your judgement, there is a lawful basis to do
so, such as where safety may be at risk. You will need to base your judgement on the facts of the
case. When you are sharing or requesting personal information from someone, be clear of the basis
upon which you are doing so. Where you do not have consent, be mindful that an individual might
not expect information to be shared.
5. Consider safety and well-being: base your information sharing decisions on considerations of the
safety and well-being of the individual and others who may be affected by their actions.
6. Necessary, proportionate, relevant, adequate, accurate, timely and secure: ensure that the
information you share is necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, is shared only with
those individuals who need to have it, is accurate and up to-date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is
shared securely.
7. Keep a record of your decision and the reasons for it – whether it is to share information or not. If
you decide to share, then record what you have shared, with whom and for what purpose.