Protecting young people

Safeguarding.

We work with students in schools, many of them under 18. This page says what we expect of our people, what we ask of yours, and how anyone raises a concern.

The commitment

A student's safety comes before the programme. If the two ever conflict, the programme stops.

What we expect of our mentors and staff

Never alone, never unrecorded
Sessions with students happen in the open, in a school setting, with school staff present or nearby. One to one meetings behind a closed door do not happen.
Communication stays on the record
Contact with a student under 18 goes through channels the school can see. Mentors do not message students privately or connect with them on personal social accounts.
No photographs without consent
No image of a student is taken or used without consent held by the school. Consent for a class photo is not consent to publish a face on a website.
Report, do not investigate
Anyone who has a concern reports it the same day. They do not attempt to establish whether it is true first, and they do not promise a student secrecy.
Vetting before placement
Mentors and teaching assistants are checked before they are placed with students. Partner institutions receive our full vetting standard in writing as part of the partnership agreement.

What we ask of a host institution

A named staff sponsor
One member of your staff owns the club and is our point of contact. Concerns route through them as well as through us.
Consent stays with you
Guardian consent for under 18s is held by the school. We do not collect or store it, and we do not need to see it.
Your policy governs your premises
Where your safeguarding policy is stricter than ours, yours applies. We will not ask you to lower it.

How we hold data about young people

Club participation is stored as aggregate counts only: how many students enrolled in a club in a year, and how many completed. We hold no names, contacts or individual records for club members. This is enforced in the way the system is built, not just promised in a document.

Our privacy policy sets out the rest.

Raising a concern

Anyone can raise a concern: a student, a guardian, a teacher, a mentor, or someone who simply saw something. You do not need proof and you do not need to be certain.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Eric Khumalo

Founder and Designated Safeguarding Lead, TES safeguarding training

You can also raise a concern with the staff sponsor at the host institution. If a concern is about the safeguarding lead, raise it with the staff sponsor, who will take it to the school's own designated officer rather than to us.

Last reviewed 01 August 2026.