Procedures

Introduction

Air Maths Tuition (AMT) is committed to ensuring the highest possible standard of safeguarding. The personal safety and wellbeing of each student and tutor using AMT is paramount.

Our site was developed with the aim of ensuring that Online Lessons take place in a safe environment. This is reflected in a number of key built-in features and defined a set of policies and procedures for the students, parents/responsible adults and tutors who use this service.

The following sections set out the procedures that should be followed if an incident occurs.

The safety and wellbeing of any student or other person using AMT is paramount. These procedures aim to ensure a prompt response to any incident and to minimise any further harm to a student or other person.

There are differing severities of behaviour which could be witnessed during an Online Lesson. Some behaviour would warrant only a report to AMT; other behaviour maybe of a more serious nature where a direct report to the police may be necessary.

Each section below sets out the recommended procedure which should be followed. It is always the responsibility of the person alerted to the incident to take some action to protect the student or other person. AMT will not be responsible for any non-compliance with the recommended procedure.

The procedures are not an exhaustive list; therefore if an incident occurs that is not covered in this document you are advised to contact AMT, or the police if you believe that it may be a criminal matter.

Tutors

If a tutor sees/experiences:

Inappropriate language

The tutor will request, in a polite manner, that the student or other persons using inappropriate language refrains from doing so during the Online Lesson session. If the language continues the tutor will explain that they will terminate the session due to the language and will report the matter to AMT who will decide on any further use of the service by the student or other person involved. The tutor will have no further contact with the student unless by mutual agreement with AMT. Any unsolicited contact from the student or other persons following the termination of the session should be reported to AMT.

Inappropriate behaviour

The tutor will request, in a polite manner, that the student or other persons involved in the inappropriate behaviour refrains from the behaviour during the Online Lesson session. If the behaviour continues the tutor will explain that they will terminate the session due to the behaviour and will report the matter to AMT who will decide on any further use of the service by the student or other person involved. The tutor should have no further contact with the student unless by mutual agreement with AMT. Any unsolicited contact from the student or other persons following the termination of the session should be reported to AMT.

Inappropriate or abusive images

Any display of adult pornographic images whilst in the presence of a student may constitute an offence under UK law. Any tutor witnessing the display of adult pornographic images by or towards a student should explain that the images should not be displayed during an Online Lesson session, terminate the session and report the matter to AMT.

Any display of child abuse images or indecent images of a child (for these purposes, a ‘child’ is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years) is an offence under UK law. Any tutor witnessing a display of indecent images of a child by or in the presence of a student should explain that due to the nature of the images they will terminate the session. The tutor should then inform the UK police. The tutor should also inform AMT of the incident to ensure any recordings can be preserved and made available for any police investigation. The tutor should have no further contact with the student or any other person involved in the incident. Any unsolicited contact from the student or other persons following the termination of the session should be reported to the police and AMT immediately.

This action should be taken so that the correct authorities can be alerted and can deal appropriately with the incident.

The display of any other images perceived to be inappropriate, either due to the age of the student or the content of the image shall be reported to AMT at the discretion of the parent/responsible adult.

Disclosure of/witness to abuse towards or in the presence of a student

Any physical or sexual abuse of a child is an offence under UK law. If a tutor receives information about such abuse from the student or other person present they should reassure the person that they can get assistance for them. It is the responsibility of the tutor to contact the UK police and report what has been witnessed.

If the tutor witnesses any such abuse at first-hand they should immediately contact the police and report the incident. The tutor should also inform AMT of the incident to ensure any recordings can be preserved and made available for any police investigation. The tutor should have no further contact with the student or other person involved in the incident. Any unsolicited contact from the student or other persons following the termination of the session should be reported to the police and AMT immediately.

Disclosure of inappropriate/sensitive information

During an Online Lesson session sensitive information may be offered by a student or other person present. If the information relates to any kind of abuse the tutor should refer to ‘Disclosure of/witness to abuse towards or in the presence of a student’, above. The student or other person present should be discouraged from disclosing sensitive information by the tutor. If the information continues to be shared the tutor will determine the impact of the information and decide whether to continue or terminate the session and report the incident to AMT.

Any information disclosed regarding the safety of a child should always be reported immediately to the UK police

Students

If a student sees/experiences:

Inappropriate language

The student will inform a parent/responsible adult of the tutor using inappropriate language. The parent/responsible adult should ask the tutor to refrain from using inappropriate language during the Online Lesson. If the language continues the parent/responsible adult should explain that they will terminate the session and will report the matter to AMT, who will decide on any further use of the service by the tutor. The student and parent/responsible adult should have no further contact with the tutor unless by mutual agreement with AMT. Any unsolicited contact from the tutor after termination of the session should be reported to the AMT.

If a parent/responsible adult are not present or readily available the student should report the language as soon as possible to a parent/responsible adult who will take the decision to report the incident.

Inappropriate behaviour

The student will inform a parent/responsible adult of the tutor using inappropriate behaviour. The parent/responsible adult should ask the tutor to refrain from using inappropriate behaviour during the Online Lesson session. If the behaviour continues the parent/responsible adult will explain that they will terminate the session due to the behaviour and will report the matter to AMT who will decide on any further use of the service by tutor. The student, parent/responsible adult should have no further contact with the tutor unless by mutual agreement with AMT. Any unsolicited contact from the tutor after termination of the session should be reported to AMT.

If a parent/responsible adult are not present or readily available the student should report the behaviour as soon as possible to a parent/responsible adult who will take a decision to report the incident.

If the behaviour is of a sexual nature towards a student by a tutor, the student should immediately inform a parent/responsible adult and terminate the session. The parent/responsible adult should inform the UK police and AMT immediately.

Inappropriate or Abusive images

Any display of adult pornographic images whilst in the presence of a student may constitute an offence under UK law. Any student witnessing the display of adult pornographic images by a tutor should immediately terminate the session and report this to a parent/responsible adult who should inform the UK police.

Any display of child abuse images or indecent images of a child (for these purposes, a ‘child’ is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years) is an offence under UK law. Any student witnessing a display of indecent images of a child should immediately terminate the session and report this to a parent/responsible adult, who should inform the UK police.

The parent/responsible adult should also inform AMT of the incident to ensure that any recordings can be preserved and made available for any police investigation. The student, parent/responsible adult should have no further contact with the tutor involved in the incident. Any unsolicited contact from the tutor following the discontinuation of the session should be reported to the police and AMT immediately.

This action should be taken so that the correct authorities can be alerted and can deal appropriately with the incident.

The display of any other images perceived to be inappropriate either due to age of the student or content of the image shall be reported to AMT at the discretion of the parent/responsible adult.

Disclosure of/witness to abuse

Any physical or sexual abuse of a person is an offence under UK law. If a student receives information about such abuse from the tutor or other person present they should immediately inform a parent/responsible adult. It is the responsibility of the parent/responsible adult to contact the UK police and report what was witnessed.

If the student witnesses any such abuse at first-hand they should immediately contact a parent/responsible adult who should immediately inform the UK police. The parent/responsible adult should also inform AMT of the incident to ensure that any recordings can be preserved and made available for any police investigation. The student, parent/responsible adult should have no further contact with the tutor involved in the incident. Any unsolicited contact from the tutor following the termination of the session should be reported to the parent/responsible adult immediately.

This action should be taken so the correct authorities can be alerted and can deal appropriately with the incident.

Disclosure of inappropriate/sensitive information

During an Online Lesson session sensitive information may be offered by a tutor (If the information relates to any kind of abuse the student should refer to ‘Disclosure of/Witness to abuse’). The tutor should be discouraged from disclosing sensitive information by the student, parent/responsible adult. The parent/responsible adult will determine the impact of the information and decide whether to continue or terminate the session and report the incident to AMT.

Any information disclosed regarding the safety of a child should always be immediately reported to the UK police.

Any tutor reported by a parent/responsible adult will be suspended from the site until the incident has been investigated by the appropriate authority. The parent/responsible adult may be informed of the resolution if appropriate.

Parents/Responsible Adults

As per the policy document, the parent/responsible adult has primary responsibility for the welfare and safety of the student during an Online Lesson session and should be present or available to deal with any concerns or incidents reported by the student.

It is also the duty of the parent/responsible adult to ensure the wellbeing of the child if they have been affected by anything said or done by the tutor.

If a parent/responsible adult is alerted by the student to any inappropriate behaviour/language or information by the student or they witness any inappropriate behaviour/language or information by the tutor, they should immediately speak to the tutor, state their concern and inform them they are terminating the session. The incident should then be reported to AMT to take appropriate action. As there is a recording of the session available, the parent/responsible adult may review the session before taking further action.

The parent/responsible adult should have no further contact with the tutor involved in the incident. Any unsolicited communication from the tutor should be reported to the police and AMT as soon as possible.

If a parent/responsible adult is alerted by the student to any inappropriate or abusive images or they witness any inappropriate or abusive images displayed by the tutor, they should immediately speak to the tutor, state their concern and inform them they are terminating the session. The parent/responsible adult should inform the UK police (if appropriate) and (in all cases) AMT of the incident to ensure that any recordings can be preserved and made available to any police investigation.

As there is a recording of the session available, the parent/responsible adult may review the session before taking further action.

Schools, teachers and schools representative

The teacher or school representative shall follow the procedures outlined for ‘Parent/Responsible adult’ in Section 4.

Additionally the teacher or school representative should inform the parent of the student about the incident and, as appropriate, the school’s Child Protection officer.

For the purpose of this policy document a ‘responsible adult’ includes teachers and school representatives.

Director/Management Air Maths Tuition Services

The Safeguarding Policy and procedures of the AMT website and services are the responsibility of the Director and management.

Any report of a contravention of the Safeguarding Policy will be reviewed by AMT, who may engage its safeguarding officer or independent Child Protection consultants to ensure that an appropriate course of action is taken.

Any incident reported to AMT shall be reviewed as soon as possible to ensure a timely resolution.

If a report concerns minor breach of the safeguarding policy, AMT can make a decision as to appropriate action which may include barring the reported person from using the AMT services (also see Safeguarding Policy Section 12).

If a report is received by AMT which concerns the immediate safety of a student or any illegal activity during an Online Lesson session, they will be required to contact UK police and report the incident (also see Safeguarding Policy Section 12).