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Safeguarding Policy

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This framework helps promote a safe and positive online learning environment, ensuring that education can be delivered without compromising the well-being of students. Our safeguarding policy for online education also ensures the safety and protection of all students in a digital learning environment. This policy outlines the measures and protocols for preventing harm, abuse, or exploitation in virtual settings. Below is a general outline of this  policy:

1. Purpose and Scope

  • Purpose: To ensure a safe and secure online learning environment for students of all ages, protecting them from harm, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

  • Scope: Applicable to all stakeholders involved in online education, including educators, students, administrative staff, parents/guardians, and third-party service providers.

2. Key Definitions

  • Safeguarding: The proactive approach to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and harm.

  • Online Abuse: Any harmful behaviour that occurs via digital platforms, including cyberbullying, grooming, inappropriate content sharing, or hacking.

  • Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): A designated person responsible for overseeing safeguarding concerns within an institution.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

  • Educators/Staff:

    • Follow safeguarding procedures.

    • Participate in safeguarding training.

    • All staff are DBS checked.

    • Ensure the online learning platform is secure.

    • Report any concerns about students’ safety to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)- Shalwa Nantume.

    • Ensuring all staff can recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse, neglect and exploitation and are aware of the school’s procedures and lines of communication

  • Students:

    • Adhere to the code of conduct.

    • Report any suspicious or harmful activities.

    • Familiarise themselves, with the help of parents, with e-safety guidelines- See leaflet in Google Drive.

  • Parents/Guardians:

    • Monitor and support their child’s online activity.

    • Report concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead by emailing info@ducksed.com with the subject ‘Safeguarding’.

  • Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL):

    • Handle and respond to all safeguarding concerns within 24 hours.

    • Ensure all staff are adequately trained in safeguarding.

    • Keep accurate records of any safeguarding incidents or concerns.

4. Safe Online Practices

  • Data Privacy: Student data is protected in compliance with regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) 

  • Secure Platforms: Use of approved, secure platforms for online classes and communications, ensuring access control, encryption, and privacy settings are enabled.

  • Monitoring: The regular monitoring of online platforms to detect inappropriate behaviour and to protect students from harmful content.

  • Supervised Online Engagement: Staff and parents should supervise online activities, including live sessions, to prevent inappropriate interactions or incidents of harm.

5. Training and Awareness

  • Staff Training: All educators and administrative staff will undergo safeguarding training specific to the online environment. This includes recognising signs of abuse in digital communication and understanding cyberbullying and exploitation. Educators will also be aware of all the other types of abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect.  

  • Parental Engagement: Parents/guardians should educate their children, with the help of our free online safety resource, about online risks. Parents should also understand the importance of monitoring their child's online activities.

6. Reporting Concerns

  • Procedure: Clear reporting procedures for raising safeguarding concerns

    • Educators or staff should immediately report any concerns to the DSL by emailing info@ducksed.com  with the subject ‘Safeguarding’.

    • The DSL will take action, including contacting external agencies if necessary.

7. Monitoring and Evaluation

  • Regular Reviews: The safeguarding practices will be reviewed annually. 

  • Incident Audits: Safeguarding incidents will be analysed to improve policies and practices.

  • Compliance with Legal and Regulatory Requirements: Our safeguarding policy aligns with national legislation in the UK.

 

Anti-Bullying

Bullying and racist incidents are not tolerated at Ducks Ed. All incidents will be investigated, and parents will be informed. All incidents will be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly. This includes all forms, e.g. cyber, racist, homophobic and gender-related bullying. We keep a record of known bullying and racist incidents.


 

Last reviewed: 15th November 2024

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