1. Introduction

I. AMC EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT (the organisation) is a for-profit organisation run for the following purpose:

To provide Special Educational Needs (SEN) support and educational provision that is otherwise than at school in accordance with S61 CFA 14.

II. The organisation is based at:

6 Glebe Cottages
Epsom Road
West Clandon
Guildford
Surrey
GU4 7RJ

III. The organisation has adopted this safeguarding children policy and expects every adult working or helping at AMC EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT to support and comply with it. Consequently, this policy shall apply to all staff, volunteers, students, or anyone working for AMC Educational Support.

2. Purpose of the Policy

I. This policy is intended to protect children and young people who receive any service from AMC Educational Support, including the children of adults who may receive services from us.

II. The organisation believes that no child or young person should experience abuse or harm and is committed to the protection of children and young people. This policy is intended to provide guidance and overarching principles to those who represent us as volunteers or staff to guide our approach to child protection and safeguarding.

3. The Risks to Children

Nearly every child grows up in a safe and happy environment, and it is essential not to exaggerate or overestimate the dangers. Nevertheless, there are situations where children need protection including but not limited to:

- Sexual abuse;
- Grooming;
- Physical and emotional abuse and neglect;
- Domestic violence;
- Inappropriate supervision by staff or volunteers;
- Bullying, cyberbullying, acts of violence and aggression within our schools and campuses;
- Victimisation;
- Self-harm;
- Unsafe environments and activities;
- Crime; and
- Exploitation.

4. Universality of Protection

The organisation recognises that:

- The welfare of the child is paramount;
- All children, regardless of race, gender, religious belief, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity, have a right to equal protection from harm;
- Some children are more vulnerable to harm as a result of their circumstances, prior experiences, communication needs or level of dependency and
- Working with children, young people, their parents and/or guardians, carers, or other agencies is essential to protecting their well-being.

5. Safeguarding Children/young adults for mentoring within the community and within their home.

(For the purposes of mentoring within the community.)

(A). Children MUST be accompanied by an adult parent/carer or person with parental responsibility; and/or

(B). by a person employed by AMC Educational Support (where background, DBS, ID checks and references have been made/obtained by the organisation and the LA (where applicable).

II. All children/young persons under the age of 18 must be accompanied throughout by at least two adults (See 5A/B). Signed consent will be obtained before any community mentoring, and relevant (such as emergency and medication) information will also be sought (under the organisation’s data protection policy). It is the parent/carers’ responsibility (that have parental responsibility to notify Anne-Marie Barton (owner) immediately of any medical needs, medication changes, emergency contact details, or any other information that is important to safeguard the child/young person. 

III. In the event of a first aider administering any first aid, verbal consent will be obtained from the child/young person (unless unable to do so) and recorded (in line with the organisation’s data protection policy). Prior consent from a person with parental responsibility will be sought in advance. 

IV. All children/young persons will be accompanied by at least two staff members (depending on their risk assessment – as additional staff may be required) from AMC Educational Support and/or an adult with parental responsibility. No member of AMC Educational Support staff shall lone work with any child/young person or vulnerable adult. This includes remote support; an appropriate adult must still supervise any child/young person during any remote session. This does not mean that the appropriate adult must sit with the young person during a remote session, but they must supervise the young person and ensure they can hear what is being discussed. 

V. For the purposes of any support within the child/young person’s home, an appropriate adult (see 5A & 5B) must always be present. This safeguards the child/young person and any staff member supporting them. 

6. Disclosure and Barring

I. The organisation offers the following support for children:

SEN tutoring, 1:1 emotional coaching, behaviour support, and mentoring.

II. All our support will be provided by adult staff (over 18 years), including the owner of AMC Educational Support, who has undergone DBS and/or police checks under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. The required level of checking will be a fully enhanced check/certificate, and staff will be required to register with the update service so that regular checks can be made.

III. AMC Educational Support will take any allegation of impropriety on the part of any member of staff employed by the organisation very seriously. A member of the organisation who discovers anything amiss should get in touch immediately with the following:

ANNE-MARIE BARTON – Safeguarding Lead.

IV. Allegations will be appropriately reported to the relevant agencies (such as the LADO, Social Care, MASH referral and/or the police for investigation). Any disclosures and safeguarding concerns will be recorded in accordance with safeguarding training and only shared on a need-to-know basis with those who have permission to receive such information for the sole purpose of safeguarding and legal duties. (ALL staff of AMC Educational Support will receive safeguarding training so that they record such information correctly.)

7. Health and Safety Aspects of Safeguarding Children

I. Before any event to support a child/young person with mentoring within the community occurs, AMC Educational Support will carry out a risk assessment and then take steps to minimise all risks to health and safety. This includes a young person risk assessment and an activity risk assessment.
Parents and children will be made aware of any high-risk assessments (parents/carers may be required to sign waivers so that their young person can participate in mentoring activities) and of the steps to be taken to minimise those risks. A record of all risk assessments will be kept in line with the AMC Educational Support data protection policy.

II. There must always be at least two adults (staff of AMC Educational Support) present or another adult with a staff member (see 5A & 5B). This enables one adult to deal with emergencies while another assists/supervises. This may be to protect the child/young person if they are not directly affected by the emergency or to witness any first aid treatment given to the child/young person, assist with recording any such emergency (in line with the data protection policy) and/or to call for urgent assistance as quickly and if safe to do so. 

III. Remote sessions—Students and staff must NOT share any personal information. Students and staff must NOT connect for remote support via their personal information (email, mobile, etc.). ONLY parents/carers should have access to or use the links that contain the remote information to access remote support.

IV. During remote sessions, it is advised that parents/carers use the blurred background setting when joining. Screen sharing may be required during the session, so please ensure that all documents and other personal information are not open on the device being used.

V. Please ensure that no person who has not given permission and does not wish to be on camera is not within the camera range during any session.

VI. Please ensure that any child/young person, or anyone that can be viewed via the camera during a session, is wearing appropriate clothing (otherwise, the session will need to be immediately ended and recorded on an incident sheet. If there are any safeguarding concerns, these will be reported to the relevant agencies.

8. Prevention of Bullying

We will not tolerate any form of bullying towards children or young people. Allegations of adult staff bullying children will be dealt with in accordance with this policy.

9. Photographing Children

No photos will be taken or published of any child/young person or vulnerable adult receiving support unless prior written permission is sought from a person with parental responsibility. If any photos are taken, the child/young person must also be permitted at the time, and photos taken by staff only of AMC Educational Support will try to ensure that the young person’s face is not recognisable. Any photos taken will be deleted after being sent to the parent/carers in the presence of another member of staff or the parent/carer.

If anyone has any concerns about anyone taking photos during any support activity, that person should contact the owner, Anne-Marie Barton, immediately. Contact details will be shared with all agencies involved with the support of any child/young person and their parents/carers.

10. Managing Behaviour, Discipline and Acceptable Restraint

I. Any staff of AMC Educational Support supervising children or providing support must never use any form of corporal punishment. Suppose physical restraint is necessary to prevent injury to any person or serious property damage. In that case, the minimum necessary restraint may be used for that purpose only (following a dynamic risk assessment.)

II. Any unacceptable behaviour by any child/young person will be recorded as an incident (in line with data protection and safeguarding policies), and an adult with parental responsibility will be informed. However, if doing so would put any child/young person at risk of harm, then such person/s with parental responsibility will not be informed. The procedure for reporting a concern will then be followed, and any relevant agencies will be notified to safeguard the child/young person from any risk of harm.

Suppose a staff member makes physical contact with a student accidentally or following a dynamic risk assessment. In that case, the staff member must notify the young person's parents/carers and the safeguarding lead (AMB), even if it is not considered a physical restraint.

11. Legal Framework

This policy has been drawn up in accordance with the following legislation and guidance:

- Children Act 1989
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- General Data Protection Regulation
- Data Protection Act 2018
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Children Act 2004
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
- Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
- Children and Families Act 2014
- Children and Social Work 2017
- What to do if you're worried a child is being abused: advice for practitioners (Department of Education, 2015)
- Working together to safeguard children (Department for Education, 2018)
- KCSIE 2023

This Policy is approved and robustly endorsed by AMC EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT and is due for review every YEAR.

Updated by ANNE-MARIE BARTON (OWNER)

Date: 30.06. 2024