Safeguarding

Draft

1. Our commitment

   onDesk works with young people, many of them under 18. Their safety and wellbeing come first in everything we do. Everyone who works with onDesk shares responsibility for keeping students safe, and acts on any concern straight away.

   This policy follows UK safeguarding practice, including the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children, and NSPCC guidance on working with children online. It applies to everyone who works with onDesk, including our advisors, and covers all students under 18, as well as adult students who may be at risk.

2. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead

   You can contact the DSL at info@getondesk.com (please put “Safeguarding” in the subject) or on WhatsApp at +44 7440 346747.

   The DSL:

   • receives and acts on every safeguarding concern;
   • decides whether to refer a concern to children’s social care, the police or the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO);
   • makes sure advisors are DBS-checked and briefed on this policy before they work with students under 18;
   • keeps safeguarding records secure; and
   • reviews this policy.

3. DBS-checked advisors

   Students under 18 work only with DBS-checked advisors. A DBS check is the criminal record check run by the UK Disclosure and Barring Service for people who work with young people.

   Every advisor who works with students under 18 reads this policy and agrees to follow it before their first session.

4. Parents and guardians

   • Students under 18 are contacted through a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian books the call, agrees the programme and pays.
   • Parents know when every session takes place, receive a written update every month and can see progress in the parent portal.
   • We do not send marketing to students under 18.
   • Once a student is 18, they choose whether their parents see their progress.

5. Online session rules

   Our advisors will

   • run sessions only on Google Meet links issued from an onDesk account, at times agreed in advance with the parent or guardian;
   • join from a quiet, private, professional setting with a neutral background, and dress appropriately;
   • keep to the agreed time and to the purpose of the session;
   • not record a session, or take screenshots, unless everyone has agreed in advance, including a parent or guardian for a student under 18;
   • not share personal contact details, social media accounts or personal phone numbers with students, or contact students under 18 outside the approved channels below;
   • not arrange to meet a student under 18 in person; and
   • end a session if anything inappropriate happens, and report it to the DSL straight away.

   We ask students and families to

   • join from a suitable shared space at home rather than a bedroom where possible, dressed as for school or college;
   • keep the session link private and not invite anyone else without telling us;
   • not record sessions; and
   • tell a parent, the advisor or our DSL about anything that makes them uncomfortable.

   Parents and guardians are welcome to check in at the start or end of any session.

6. How we communicate

   We use only these channels to communicate with students and families:

   • Email from onDesk accounts. For students under 18, a parent or guardian is included.
   • WhatsApp for support, using onDesk’s number. For students under 18, this is through the parent or guardian, or a group that includes them.
   • Google Meet for sessions.
   • The student and parent portals for set tasks, documents and updates.

   Advisors do not use personal social media, personal messaging accounts or private direct messages to contact students under 18.

7. Photos, results and testimonials

   We publish a student’s name, photo, quote or result only with their permission and, for a student under 18, the permission of a parent or guardian. Permission can be withdrawn at any time.

8. If a student tells us something

   If a student tells an advisor something worrying, or an advisor notices signs that a student may be at risk, the advisor will:

   • listen calmly and take it seriously;
   • not promise to keep it secret, and explain that they may need to tell someone who can help;
   • not ask leading questions or investigate;
   • write down what was said and seen, in the student’s words, with the date and time; and
   • tell the DSL the same day, or straight away if the student may be in danger.

9. Reporting a concern

   If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.

   If you are a student, parent or anyone else and you are worried about a student’s safety, or about how an advisor has behaved, contact our DSL at info@getondesk.com (subject “Safeguarding”) or on WhatsApp at +44 7440 346747. You do not need proof to raise a concern.

   The DSL will acknowledge the concern, decide on next steps and, where needed, refer it to children’s social care in the area where the child lives or to the police. Where the student lives outside the UK, we contact the relevant local authorities.

   If a concern is about an advisor, they will stop working with students while it is looked into, and the DSL will contact the LADO within one working day.

10. Records and confidentiality

    We record safeguarding concerns, decisions and actions in writing, keep them secure and share them only with people who need to know to keep a young person safe, in line with our Privacy policy. Data protection law does not prevent us from sharing information to keep a child safe.

11. Help outside onDesk

    • Emergency: call 999.
    • NSPCC helpline, for adults worried about a child: 0808 800 5000, help@nspcc.org.uk, nspcc.org.uk
    • Childline, free and confidential for anyone under 19: 0800 1111, childline.org.uk
    • CEOP, to report online sexual abuse or grooming: ceop.police.uk

12. Review of this policy

    We review this policy at least once a year, and after any serious incident or change in the law or guidance. The date at the top of this page shows the last update.

DraftDraft prepared for onDesk. Have it reviewed by a qualified UK solicitor before relying on it.