1. Introduction

MyTutorWeb Ltd (MTW) was founded to offer life-changing tuition for all.

Our site was developed with the aim of making sure that high-quality lessons take place in a safe environment and this is reflected in several key built-in features.

We are committed to ensuring the highest possible standard of personal safety, well-being and safeguarding of each student and tutor using MTW.

Safeguarding Statement:

Safeguarding is everyone’s business – MyTutorWeb is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all Directors, staff and tutors to share this commitment.

MTW will make sure that good governance and quality standards are maintained within the organisation and establish clear policies and procedures based on legislation and guidance.

We will apply robust risk management processes for the identification of situations which may require the organisation to make professional judgements to protect students from harm.

2. Policy Statement

This policy makes it clear that staff and tutors can raise concerns without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination or disadvantage. The policy seeks to make it possible for all staff and tutors to raise serious concerns within MTW rather than overlooking a concern or raising that concern outside the organisation.

This policy is in addition to the MTW’s complaints procedures and other relevant statutory reporting procedures applying to certain departments. The policy is designed to complement other policies and procedures relating to irregularities or improper behaviour which occurs within the workplace. This policy links with the following MTW policies and guidance:

3. Aims & Scope of the Policy

The procedures for Whistleblowing are laid out in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. We also take account of the government guidelines as outlined in the documents, Whistleblowing: guidance for employers and code of practice, 2015 and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021.

Any disclosure from someone working at MTW disclosing something about MTW qualifies for protection from the aforementioned law.

A disclosure must be about something that affects the general public, such as, but not limited to:

MTW aims to create an open, transparent and safe working environment where staff feel able to speak up. The existence of this policy is evidence of our commitment to listening to the concerns of staff and that we welcome information being brought to the attention of the Leadership Team.

This commitment is further demonstrated by:

Whistleblowing should be seen as distinct from a complaint.

A complaint is when an employee or tutor (or someone close to either of these parties) has been treated unfairly and that individual is seeking redress or justice for themselves or the person close to them.

Complaints of this nature should be dealt with in accordance with MTW’s Complaints Policy which is available on the website.

This policy aims to:

There are existing procedures in place to enable employees to lodge a grievance relating to their own employment, e.g. bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

Concerns from an employee about the handling of their personal data by MTW would unlikely form a whistleblowing concern unless it presented wider issues in the public interest.

An employee concerned about the use of their personal data should speak with their line manager and/or the Data Protection Officer (DPO). Further information can also be found on the Information Commissioner’s website.

This policy is intended to cover major concerns that fall outside the scope of the grievance procedures. Such concerns include:

Thus, any serious concerns that staff and tutors have about any aspect of service provision or the conduct of staff or tutors or others acting on behalf of MTW can be reported under this policy. This may be about something that:

This Procedure does not replace MTW’s complaints policy, or any other policy and procedure.

4. Safeguards

MTW recognises that the decision to report a concern can be a difficult one to make. Thus, MTW will fully support any member of staff or tutor who reports, in good faith, any concerns that they have.

MTW will not tolerate any harassment or victimisation [including informal pressures] of staff and tutors who report concerns and will take appropriate action to protect those who raise a concern in good faith.

Any investigation into allegations made under this policy will not influence or be affected by any Disciplinary or Redundancy Procedures in relation to staff or tutors who raise concerns under this Procedure.

5. Confidentiality

All concerns will be dealt with in confidence and every effort will be made not to reveal the identity of a member of staff or tutor who raises a concern.

If, however, a concern leads to disciplinary action against a member of staff or tutor who is accused of improper conduct, it may be necessary for any member of staff or tutor who raised the concern to give evidence as a witness in disciplinary proceedings, or to provide information to an out body i.e., the Police.

6. Anonymous Allegation

Concerns expressed anonymously may be considered at the discretion of MTW. However, staff and tutors are encouraged to put their names to any concerns raised to aid the investigation of those concerns.

In exercising discretion in relation to anonymous allegations the factors to be taken into account would include:

7. Untrue Allegations

If a member of staff or tutor makes an allegation in good faith, but it is not substantiated by the investigation, no action will be taken against that staff member or tutor. If, however, a staff member or tutor makes an allegation frivolously, maliciously or for personal gain, disciplinary action may be taken against them.

8. Procedure for Raising Concerns

Staff and tutors should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practices and potential failures in MTW’s safeguarding regime.

As a first step, members of staff should normally raise concerns in writing with their immediate Line Manager, and tutors should use the ‘Report a concern' button on the website.

This depends, however, on the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues involved and who is involved. If employees feel unable to raise concerns with their Line Manager, the concern should be addressed to the DSO.

Employees who wish to make a written report are encouraged to use the following format:

Although staff and tutors are not expected to prove beyond doubt the truth of an allegation, they will need to demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds for concern.

Staff members and tutors may wish to discuss their concerns with a member of staff and may find it easier to raise the matter if there are two [or more] people who have had the same or similar experiences or concerns.

To sum up, concerns can be reported to the individual’s line manager, the DSO either in person, in writing or through the ‘Report a concern’ button. Said persons will deal with the complaint in accordance with section 9 below.

Where a staff member or tutor feels unable to raise the issue with their manager, or member of staff or feels that their genuine concerns are not being addressed, other whistleblowing channels are open to them:

In addition, independent advice can be sought from Protect which is an independent whistleblowing charity that offers confidential advice about whistleblowing. They can be contacted on their free helpline at 020 3117 2520 or on their website.

9. How MTW will Respond

MTW will respond to all concerns raised except those anonymous allegations where discretion is exercised not to do so as outlined in section 6 of this policy.

MTW will deal appropriately and promptly with all allegations or concerns and refer all safeguarding concerns or allegations about its directors, staff or tutors immediately to the appropriate local authority designated officer (LADO).

It is a matter of policy that any director, staff member or tutor, against whom a safeguarding allegation is made, will be suspended without prejudice immediately pending investigation. This will be the case even if the allegation is not linked to their role or activity with MTW.

Such instances will be rare occasions and any decision to suspend will not be taken lightly. The decision will be taken after full discussions with the Designated Safeguarding Officer, in consultation with the HR Department.

During any investigation of an allegation against a director, staff member or tutor suspended from the workplace or website, MTW recognises that it has a continuing duty of care.

It will make sure a link person is nominated (not connected to the investigation) to provide support and guidance and be able to signpost those suspended to other external support networks. e.g. local trade union reps, Occupational Health, G.P., Samaritans etc.

When a concern is raised, initial enquiries will be made by the person(s) receiving the complaint, to decide whether an investigation is appropriate and, if so, what form it should take. Some concerns may be resolved by agreed action without the need for investigation. The overriding principle is to act in the public interest.

Concerns or allegations which fall within the scope of specific procedures [for example, child protection, discrimination, or disciplinary issues] will normally be referred to the appropriate person(s) for consideration under those procedures.

If urgent action is required this will be taken before any investigation is conducted. If it is decided that an investigation is required, this may be undertaken using MTW’s existing procedures and/or by involving the police.

Within ten working days of a concern being raised, the staff member or tutor will be contacted by the appropriate member of staff:

The level of contact between the persons investigating the concern and the staff member[s] or tutor[s] who raised the initial concern will depend on the nature of the concern, the potential difficulties involved and the complexity of the information provided. If necessary, further information will be sought from the staff member[s] or tutor[s] who raised the initial concerns.

Where any meeting is arranged, if they so wish, the staff member[s] or tutor[s] who raised the initial concerns can be accompanied by a union or professional association representative or a friend.

This policy seeks to minimise any problems which may arise as a result of raising a concern. For instance, if required to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the staff member or tutor will be given advice and guidance on the procedures.

MTW accepts that staff and tutors need to be assured that the matter has been properly addressed. Subject to legal constraints, any member of staff or tutor who raises initial concerns will be informed of the outcome of any investigation.

10. DBS Requirement and Duty to Report

Under legal duties to make referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service, MTW will report any concerns about unsafe practices by any of its directors, staff or tutors to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

If at any time MTW dismisses a director, member of staff or tutor due to relevant conduct, risk of harm or receiving a caution or conviction for a relevant offence (or the person has resigned or left that post in circumstances where they may have been removed), then a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service will be made by the Designated Safeguarding Officer.

11. The Responsible Body

The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the maintenance and operation of this policy and will maintain a record of concerns raised and the outcome of any investigation.

12. How A Concern Can Be Taken Further

This policy is intended to provide an avenue within MTW to raise concerns. If members of staff or tutors are dissatisfied and feel it is right to take the matter out of MTW, they have the right to do so.

This should normally be done after the conclusion of MTW’s investigation into the staff member’s or tutor’s concerns.

This policy if properly applied should prevent the need for such action by staff or tutors. If concerns are raised outside MTW by staff or tutors, they must endeavour to protect the confidentiality of matters relating to MTW’s business, its employees and any tutors operating on the website.

MTW accepts that there may be circumstances where employees can properly report matters to outside bodies e.g. The Police, The Health and Safety Executive etc.

Provided that the staff member or tutor has acted honestly and reasonably they will be protected from any Disciplinary Action arising from such disclosures. However, this procedure has been devised to minimise the need for individuals to report matters to outside bodies or agencies. Members of staff and tutors must therefore be able to justify external disclosures.

There are other options if you do not want to report your concern to MTW, for example, you can get legal advice from a lawyer, or tell a prescribed person or body.

NSPCC – whistleblowing helpline is available as an alternative route for staff. They can call 0800 028 0285 – line is available from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Friday and email help@nspcc.org.uk

Further information is available from https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing and https://protect-advice.org.uk/

13. Monitoring and Review

MTW is committed to striving for excellence in the provision of all its services. We do this by actively reviewing our policies, procedures and systems in place.