POLICY OWNER
Designated Safeguarding Lead
APPLIES TO
All staff, specialists (employed and self- employed), volunteers, office staff
THE ONE RULE TO REMEMBER
Any concern about a child goes to the DSL the same day. Never promise a child secrecy.
1. Purpose and standard adopted
We teach children from Year 3 to A-Level, in person at the Edgbaston centre and live on Zoom. We are a private out-of-school provider, so the statutory duties placed on schools do not apply to us. We nonetheless adopt the standards of Keeping Children Safe in Education voluntarily, and we follow the Department for Education's non-statutory guidance Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings. Every adult who works with our students has a duty to keep them safe.
2. Key people
Role What they do Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Receives every concern; decides on referral; keeps safeguarding records separately and securely; trains staff.
Deputy DSL Covers all DSL duties when the DSL is absent or the concern involves the DSL.
Director Handles allegations against staff and specialists; leads safer recruitment.
Independent Safeguarding Adviser External. Receives any concern about the Director.
3. Recognising a concern
Staff watch for changes in behaviour or appearance, unexplained injuries, a child seeming frightened of going home or of being collected, signs of neglect (hunger, poor hygiene, tiredness), inappropriate knowledge or language, and anything a child tells us directly. Online, staff also watch what is visible in a child's background, who else is in the room, and any messages a child sends privately.
We stay alert to specific forms of harm as well as general welfare, including:
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy How every concern about a child is recognised, recorded and acted on — in the centre and online.
Pass 11 Plus Grammar · Policy 01 JMS Publishers and Providers Ltd · Edgbaston, Birmingham Version 1.1 · October 2026 · Page 1 of 4 Harm from adults Physical, emotional or sexual abuse, and neglect Domestic abuse witnessed or experienced at home Grooming, online or in person Exploitation, including criminal exploitation and county lines Radicalisation and extremism So-called honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation Harm between children Bullying, including online bullying (Policy 6) Physical abuse such as hitting, kicking or restraining Sexual harassment, sexualised language and unwanted touching Sharing nude or semi-nude images Initiation or hazing, and humiliation We never dismiss child-on-child abuse as banter or part of growing up
4. If a child tells you something
Stay calm, listen, and let the child talk. Don't ask leading questions.
Tell them you will need to share it with the person whose job is to help keep them safe. Never promise to keep it secret.
Write down what was said in the child's own words, with the date, time and your signature, on the Safeguarding Concern Form.
Pass it to the DSL the same day. If the child is in immediate danger, call 999 first.
You see, hear or are told something that worries you YES Call 999, then tell the DSL straight away NO Record it on the Concern Form in the child's own words Hand it to the DSL the same day REFER Children's Advice & Support Service or police SUPPORT Monitor, speak to parents, early help RECORD Log and keep under review Figure 1 — What to do with a safeguarding concern about a child.
?
Is the child in immediate danger?
?
DSL reviews and decides Pass 11 Plus Grammar · Policy 01 JMS Publishers and Providers Ltd · Edgbaston, Birmingham Version 1.1 · October 2026 · Page 2 of 4
5. Concerns about an adult
ABOUT A SPECIALIST OR STAFF
MEMBER Tell the Director the same day Director contacts the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within one working day
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Tell the Independent Safeguarding Adviser Adviser contacts the LADO
ABOUT THE DSL
Tell the Deputy DSL or the Director Handled without the DSL's involvement Figure 2 — Where an allegation about an adult goes. Never investigate it yourself.
Not every worry about an adult meets that threshold. Concerns that fall below it — a specialist whose manner with a child feels wrong, a rule bent, something that simply does not sit right — are still reported, to the DSL, and are handled under Policy 20.
6. Online lessons — protecting students and specialists
Online and in-person classes run at the same time. Online safeguarding protects the child from harm, and protects the specialist (the tutor teaching the class) from risk, misunderstanding and false allegation.
🧒 Protecting students Centre-managed Zoom accounts only; waiting room and passcode on; the specialist is sole host.
Students admitted only if they are on that day's register, under their real name.
Private chat between participants switched off;
screen sharing by host only.
A parent or carer is at home and aware of every online lesson; students join from a shared space, not a bedroom where possible.
No contact outside the lesson through personal phones, social media or private messages.
Anything worrying seen or heard on screen is reported to the DSL the same day.
👩🏫 Protecting specialists Teach from the centre or a neutral, private background; no family members or personal items on view.
No one-to-one online lesson without the parent's agreement and a record in the session log;
recording only with written consent.
Never message a student directly; all follow-up goes through the Office team.
End or pause the lesson if a student or adult behaves inappropriately, then report to the DSL.
Abuse or threats from a parent or student are reported to the Director and recorded.
Specialists' personal details (numbers, addresses, social accounts) are never shared with families.
Before Centre account, waiting room, passcode, register ready Start Admit named students only;
check a parent is at home During Sole host; chat to host only; no private breakouts Concern Pause, remove from call, note what was seen After Report to the DSL the same day;
log the session Figure 3 — Online lesson safety — the five checkpoints for every Zoom class.
Pass 11 Plus Grammar · Policy 01 JMS Publishers and Providers Ltd · Edgbaston, Birmingham Version 1.1 · October 2026 · Page 3 of 4
7. When online and in-person classes run at the same time
Each class has its own named specialist; one person never supervises both a room and a Zoom call unsupervised.
Where a lesson is streamed from the classroom, the camera faces the board, not the in-room students, unless photo consent is on file.
The DSL or Deputy DSL is reachable by phone throughout every session, in person or online.
Registers for both groups are completed within the first 10 minutes.
8. Safer recruitment
Everyone in regular contact with students holds an enhanced DBS with barred-list check before starting. For self-employed specialists the centre applies for the check on their behalf. References, identity and right-to- work are checked, and a single central record is kept by the Director. Conduct expected of everyone who works with our students is set out in Policy 20.
9. Contacts
Service Contact Birmingham Children's Advice & Support Service (CASS) 0121 303 1888 (Mon–Thu 8.45am–5.15pm, Fri 8.45am– 4.15pm) CASS@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk Out of hours — Emergency Duty Team 0121 675 4806 Birmingham LADO (allegations against adults) Through Birmingham Children's Trust, within one working day Police — emergency / non-emergency 999 / 101 NSPCC helpline for adults 0808 800 5000 Pass 11 Plus Grammar · Policy 01 JMS Publishers and Providers Ltd · Edgbaston, Birmingham Version 1.1 · October 2026 · Page 4 of 4