We welcome Holly Goodwin, board member and head of safeguarding at The Tutors' Association who kindly wrote this blog for us.
Let's start with a statement of fact:
There needs to be more regulation in safeguarding when it comes to tuition.
As Designated Safeguarding Lead of The Tutors’ Association, I’m passionate (alongside the whole Board) about campaigning for more checks to weed out those who choose to avoid scrutiny. I’ve worked with tuition agencies for years, and I know it’s a fact that tutors can easily move from one family to another, never properly checked, never suspected, and causing harm before anyone catches on.
When I talk about safeguarding on my training courses for tuition businesses, we discuss ‘safer recruitment’, because what we’re trying to do is put in place safeguards to dissuade those we don’t want joining our organisations from signing up.
No recruitment can ever be completely safe, but we can, from advert to induction, put people off.
Safeguarding Starts With The Very First Phone Call
When a tutor enquires about working with or for you (depending on your business model), you need to think about looking out for those red flags.
- Use the internet to check for any concerning media stories.
- Is there anything in their initial presentation which concerns you?
- Any gaps in employment that they can’t or won’t explain?
It’s not just spotting warning signs during one-to-one lessons or group sessions. Safeguarding also means making sure you’re not hiring someone who could cause harm in the first place.
Safeguarding shouldn’t end with an appointment
Make sure you’ve got clear processes in place to tackle concerns during and post-induction. A probationary period ensures staff are aware they’re being monitored and checked and allows for a contract to come to an end. If a permanent contract is issued then there should still be clear reporting systems in place; even highly-experienced staff can make mistakes. All staff should know to report concerns to the DSL, and can access the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) if needed.
Recruitment as a Deterrent
Safer recruitment isn’t just about background checks and references. It’s about sending a clear message right from the advert:
- We take safeguarding seriously.
- Everyone undergoes the same checks.
- Concerns, however small, are reported and addressed.
- No one looks the other way.
A potential abuser will move on, but if every tuition centre had the same strong culture and processes then these opportunities would disappear and so does their opportunity to create harm.
Risks Can Occur in Tuition Anywhere
Even outside of lessons, harm can happen. Tutors and staff may have access to:
- Student contact details
- Online messaging or video platforms
- Social media profiles
This is where it’s important to train your staff in online safety. For big companies who mostly tutor online, there needs to be an awareness for staff in how to approach the lessons, which may feel more informal, but should have the same boundaries and associated codes of conduct as face to face lessons.
Where to find more information
There is a lot of regulatory information on safeguarding available, none of which currently applies to tuition, but much of which is nevertheless useful reading.
- Keeping Children Safe in Education (Part 1) offers definitions and an awareness of the responsibilities of school staff.
- Working Together to Safeguard Children offers an understanding of how safeguarding works in England. There are different documents for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- The NSPCC offers a guide to these here.
The key is to know where to look, to feel confident to act, and to assume it could happen ‘here’: to your business, agency, or as a lone provider.