London Immersion is committed to the safety and welfare of every student in our care. This policy sets out how we protect the children on our programmes and what everyone involved must do. It is written to reflect UK safeguarding law and the standards expected of providers working with under-18s, including the British Council’s Accreditation UK safeguarding requirements.
1. Our commitment
The welfare of the student is our paramount concern. We are committed to providing an environment in which every student is safe, respected, and able to speak up if something is wrong. Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone who works with us, not just designated staff.
2. Designated Safeguarding Lead
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) holds overall responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, supported by a trained Deputy DSL who acts in the DSL’s absence. Both complete recognised DSL-level safeguarding training, kept up to date. The DSL is the first point of contact for any concern about a student’s welfare and can be reached at safeguarding@londonimmersion.com.
The name and direct contact details of the current DSL and Deputy are provided to every family before their child travels, and are displayed at the programme site.
3. Safer recruitment and staff checks
Everyone who works with our students is recruited safely and vetted before contact with any child. This includes:
- enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, with barred-list checks, for all staff in regulated activity;
- verification of identity, qualifications, and references, with any gaps in employment explored;
- for football coaches, a current FA-recognised coaching qualification and an in-date FA Safeguarding Children certificate;
- overseas criminal-record checks where a staff member has lived abroad, as appropriate.
4. Staff conduct and position of trust
All staff follow a written code of conduct. Because staff are in a position of trust, it is a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for any adult in that position to engage in a sexual relationship with a person under 18, even where that person is over the age of consent. Staff must:
- maintain clear, professional boundaries with students at all times;
- never be alone with a student in a way that cannot be observed, and never arrange unsupervised private contact;
- not communicate privately with students through personal phones or social media;
- report any concern, disclosure, or breach of this policy to the DSL immediately.
5. Supervision and student safety
We maintain high levels of supervision appropriate to a small residential programme for under-18s. Our cohorts are limited to fifteen students, which allows for close, attentive care, including:
- pastoral staff living on site with the cohort, with a trained adult awake and responsible at all times;
- generous staff-to-student ratios for care and supervision;
- clear procedures for knowing where students are, and for handling lateness or absence;
- age-appropriate rules about students not leaving the site unaccompanied;
- risk assessments for the accommodation and for every activity and excursion.
6. Responding to a concern or disclosure
If a student tells us something, or a member of staff has a concern, we act quickly and carefully. Staff will:
- listen, take the student seriously, and not promise to keep secrets;
- not investigate or question beyond what is needed to understand the concern;
- record what was said as soon as possible, in the student’s own words;
- report to the DSL without delay.
The DSL will decide on the appropriate action, which may include contacting parents, the relevant local authority designated officer (LADO), children’s services, or the police. We hold the current local safeguarding contact details for the area in which the programme operates, and we cooperate fully with any statutory investigation.
7. Communication with families
We keep parents and guardians informed, in Mandarin and English, and provide a direct line of contact throughout the programme. Parents receive our full safeguarding information before their child travels.
8. Working with agents and referral partners
Any agent or referral partner who works with us must understand and respect this policy. Where an agent provides a group leader who accompanies students, that group leader must be appropriately background-checked, and we confirm this before the programme.
9. Training and review
All staff complete safeguarding training before they begin working with students, and this is refreshed for each programme. This policy is reviewed at least annually, and after any significant incident or change in the law.
本兒少保護政策之完整中文版本可供家庭索取。 A full Traditional Chinese version is available to families on request.