Safeguarding Policy

1. Our Commitment

Smash Your Tutoring is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults who are supported through tutoring agencies using our platform. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and take our obligations seriously.

This policy sets out the safeguarding measures built into our platform, the responsibilities of agencies using our Service, and the procedures for reporting concerns. It applies to all users of the Smash Your Tutoring platform.

2. Platform Role and Responsibilities

Smash Your Tutoring provides software tools to help tutoring agencies manage their operations. We are a technology provider and do not directly employ tutors, deliver tutoring sessions, or manage the relationship between tutors and students.

Agencies using our platform are independently responsible for their own safeguarding practices, policies, and compliance with all applicable legislation. Our platform is designed to support and facilitate good safeguarding practice, but it does not replace the agency’s own safeguarding obligations.

3. DBS Checking and Monitoring

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are a critical component of safeguarding for anyone working with children and vulnerable adults. Our platform provides tools to help agencies track and manage DBS compliance, but agencies remain responsible for obtaining and verifying DBS checks for their tutors.

What the Platform Does

• Tracks DBS certificate numbers and expiry dates for each tutor
• Sends automatic alerts to Agency Admins when a tutor’s DBS check is approaching expiry (60 days, 30 days, and 7 days before)
• Allows Agency Admins to suspend tutors whose DBS checks have expired, preventing them from being assigned to lessons
• Maintains a full audit trail of DBS status changes, including when records were added, updated, or marked as expired
• Provides a DBS compliance dashboard showing the status of all tutors at a glance

What Agencies Must Do

• Ensure all tutors have a valid enhanced DBS check (or equivalent for their jurisdiction) before they begin any tutoring work
• Verify the authenticity of DBS certificates and enter accurate information into the platform
• Act promptly on expiry alerts to ensure tutors renew their DBS checks in good time
• Not permit any tutor to deliver sessions if their DBS check has expired or has not been obtained
• Subscribe to the DBS Update Service where possible to enable ongoing monitoring

4. Agency Safeguarding Obligations

All agencies using Smash Your Tutoring must:

• Have their own written safeguarding policy that is regularly reviewed and shared with all tutors
• Designate a safeguarding lead within their agency who is responsible for handling concerns
• Ensure all tutors have completed safeguarding training appropriate to their role
• Report any safeguarding concerns to the appropriate authorities (e.g. local authority children’s services, police) without delay
• Maintain records of safeguarding training, incidents, and actions taken
• Not use the platform in any way that circumvents safeguarding requirements or regulations
• Comply with the requirements of “Keeping Children Safe in Education” (KCSIE) and other relevant statutory guidance where applicable

5. Online Safety

Many tutoring sessions managed through our platform are delivered online. Smash Your Tutoring does not provide video conferencing or lesson delivery tools. Agencies choose their own video platform (e.g. Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams) and are responsible for ensuring it is used safely.

Agencies should ensure that:

• Online lessons take place in an appropriate environment on both sides
• Sessions are not recorded without explicit consent from all parties
• Tutors follow the agency’s code of conduct for online interactions
• Parents or guardians are made aware of when online sessions are taking place and are able to supervise if they wish
• Any concerns about inappropriate online behaviour are reported immediately

6. Reporting Concerns

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child or vulnerable adult in connection with a tutoring agency using our platform, you should:

1. Contact emergency services immediately if someone is in immediate danger (call 999 in the UK or 911 in the US)
2. Report to the agency’s designated safeguarding lead — the agency is the primary point of contact for safeguarding concerns
3. Contact local authority children’s services if you believe a child is at risk of harm
4. Notify Smash Your Tutoring at safeguarding@smashyourtutoring.com so that we can take appropriate action regarding the agency’s use of the platform

We will investigate any safeguarding concerns reported to us and may suspend an agency’s access to the platform if we have reason to believe that safeguarding practices are inadequate or that the platform is being misused.

7. Data Protection of Minors

We take the protection of children’s data extremely seriously. Our approach includes:

• Collecting only the minimum data necessary to provide the Service (name, year group, subject, and scheduling information)
• Requiring parental or guardian consent before any student data is entered into the platform
• Ensuring that student data is only accessible to authorised users within the agency (the Agency Admin and assigned tutors)
• Never sharing student data with third parties except as required by law or to provide the Service
• Deleting student data promptly when it is no longer needed or when requested by a parent or guardian
• Encrypting all personal data at rest and in transit

For full details of our data handling practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

8. Staff Training

Agencies are responsible for ensuring that all tutors within their agency receive appropriate safeguarding training. This should include, as a minimum:

• Recognising the signs and indicators of abuse and neglect
• Understanding the procedures for reporting concerns
• Awareness of the agency’s safeguarding policy and code of conduct
• Online safety and appropriate digital communication with students
• Understanding the importance of professional boundaries

Training should be refreshed annually. Our platform allows agencies to track training dates and set reminders for renewal.

9. Review Schedule

This Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually, or sooner if there are significant changes in legislation, guidance, or our Service. The next scheduled review date is April 2027. Any updates to this policy will be communicated to all registered Agency Admins via email and published on this page.

10. Key Contacts

For safeguarding queries or to report a concern: