Legal

Safeguarding Learner Policy

Diligent Safety Training & Consultancy Ltd · Reviewed annually

1. Introduction

All staff working with children and vulnerable adults have a legal duty to work together to protect them from harm or abuse. Diligent Safety Training & Consultancy Ltd's designated Safeguarding Officer, Andrew Foster, has overall responsibility for the safeguarding of learners, and for ensuring the effectiveness of all work done to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people on programme. This policy covers:

• the recruitment and employment of staff working with vulnerable adults, and the provision of a safe learning environment;
• safer recruitment procedures — including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on all staff working with vulnerable learners every three years, even where staff have already been checked by a previous employer.

2. Statement of intent

The Company's first priority is to ensure the safety and protection of all learners taking part in learning. In order to protect young people and vulnerable adults from harm, we act in accordance with relevant legislation and guidance, including the Government's "No Secrets" guidance (Department of Health, 2000).

3. Scope

This policy statement applies to all learning provided by the Company, and includes:

• all learning provision for adults delivered directly by employed staff;
• all learning provision for adults commissioned through partnership arrangements.

4. Definitions

Safeguarding

"Safeguarding" describes the broader preventative and precautionary approach to planning and procedures necessary to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from any potential harm or damage. It means: protection from abuse and neglect; promotion of health and development; ensuring safety and care relating to the environment and activity; and ensuring optimum life chances.

Child or young person

An individual is considered to be a child or young person up to their 18th birthday.

Vulnerable adult

A vulnerable adult is any person aged 18 or over "who is, or may be in need of, community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who is, or may be, unable to take care of him or herself or protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation" (No Secrets, DH 2000). This may include — though the list is not exhaustive — someone who is elderly and frail; has a mental disorder; has a physical or sensory disability or severe physical illness; is a substance misuser; is homeless; or has a learning disability.

Abuse

Abuse is "a violation of an individual's human and civil rights by any other person or persons" (No Secrets, DH 2000). It may consist of a single act or repeated acts, may happen intentionally or unintentionally, and can take place in any relationship or setting. Examples that could occur in a learning environment include:

• Physical abuse — e.g. shoving, hitting, slapping;
• Sexual abuse — involvement in any direct or indirect activity against the learner's will or knowledge;
• Emotional / psychological abuse — e.g. intimidation, bullying or humiliation;
• Discriminatory abuse — e.g. racial, sexual or religious harassment;
• Financial or material exploitation — e.g. coercing money or goods;
• Institutional abuse — e.g. failure to ensure privacy, dignity or uphold individual human and civil rights;
• Neglect or acts of omission — e.g. ignoring physical or medical needs, failing to access appropriate health, social care or educational services, or withholding medication.

An abuser may be anyone — including relatives, friends, professional staff, other learners and service users, neighbours, care workers, volunteers and strangers.

5. Our commitment

The Company is committed to promoting safeguarding through the provision of an inclusive, supportive and safe environment for its learners, staff and others closely associated with its work, and affirms the right of individuals to be treated fairly and with respect. We pursue this commitment by:

• promoting a culture of value and respect for all within a supportive and safe learning environment;
• ensuring all internal tutoring, learning and personal-support staff in contact with learners hold a current DBS check for working with adults and/or children;
• providing accessible information on equality, diversity, bullying, harassment, dignity and respect in the learning environment;
• providing opportunities for learners to voice concerns about inappropriate behaviour, abuse, harassment or misconduct, with strong sanctions to deter victimisation or cover-up of malpractice;
• requiring all tutoring staff and associates to carry and produce appropriate identification on request;
• ensuring premises and learning activities are risk-assessed by appropriately trained staff, and that care and safety concerns are reported;
• including safeguarding information as part of learner induction, and providing training and briefings on safeguarding vulnerable adults and children;
• gathering and analysing learner feedback on how safe they feel in the learning environment, and acting on the results;
• monitoring the effectiveness of this policy, identifying and sharing good practice, and reviewing the policy annually with reference to local-authority safeguarding guidance.

6. Reporting a concern

All enquiries relating to safeguarding should be addressed in the first instance to the designated Safeguarding Officer, Andrew Foster, at info@dstccoltd.com. After direct or indirect disclosure, or where signs of abuse are spotted, please inform the Training & Development Manager with the following information:

• what your concerns are;
• where, when, who from and how you came by the concerns;
• what you have done;
• whether the parents/carers and learner are aware of the referral;
• any additional information about the learner, and contact details for anyone involved.

Write a report within 48 hours including all details of the disclosure, who was present, and the reasons for your decision to make a referral; store it in a secure file and send it to the Safeguarding Officer. If there is immediate danger, call 999.

7. Contact & approval

To raise a safeguarding concern or ask about this policy, contact our Safeguarding Officer, Andrew Foster, at info@dstccoltd.com or +44 (0) 7495 768562. This policy was approved and authorised by Andrew Foster, Founder & Managing Director, on 7 June 2026, and is reviewed annually.