Safeguarding at Awab

This policy covers every child who learns with Awab Quran Academy, and every teacher, staff member and volunteer who works with us, whether they are based in the UK or abroad.

A child is anyone under the age of 18.

• Every child has the right to learn safely and to be treated with respect.
• A child's welfare always comes before anything else, including a lesson or a teacher's convenience.
• We work openly with parents and keep them involved in their child's learning.
• We act on every concern, however small it seems.
• [We follow UK safeguarding guidance, including the Department for Education's code of practice for out-of-school settings.]

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): [Full name]. Responsible for this policy, staff training, recording concerns and referring to outside agencies.

Deputy DSL: [Full name]. Covers when the DSL is unavailable, so a concern is never left waiting.

Every teacher and staff member: knows how to spot a concern and must report it to the DSL the same day.

Before anyone teaches a child at Awab, we:

• Check their identity and their teaching qualifications, including any ijazah.
• [Obtain an Enhanced DBS check for UK-based staff, or an equivalent criminal record certificate from the country where an overseas teacher lives.]
• Take up two references, at least one from previous work with children.
• Hold an interview that includes safeguarding questions.
• Observe their first [number] lessons during a probation period.

Every teacher will

• Be patient, kind and professional with every child.
• Keep all contact on the Awab platform, and with the parent.
• Dress modestly and teach from a quiet room with a plain background.
• Start and end lessons on time.

No teacher will ever

• Contact a child directly by phone, social media, email or private message.
• Ask a child for personal details, photos or to keep a secret.
• Arrange to meet a child, or give them gifts, outside Awab.
• Shout at, shame or embarrass a child.

• Lessons are booked through a parent's account, and lesson links are never shared publicly.
• We ask that children join from a shared room in the home, with an adult nearby.
• Parents may join or watch any lesson without notice.
• If anything inappropriate appears on screen, the teacher ends the lesson and tells the parent and the DSL.

[Lessons are recorded and stored securely for [number] days. Only the DSL and senior teachers can view them, and only for quality and safeguarding checks.]

We handle all personal information under UK GDPR. See our privacy policy for details.

If a child tells a teacher something worrying, or a teacher notices something, the teacher will:

• Listen calmly and take the child seriously.
• Never promise to keep it a secret.
• Write down what was said or seen, in the child's own words.
• Report it to the DSL the same day.

The DSL decides the next step, which may include contacting the parent, the local authority's children's services or the police. If a child is in immediate danger, we call 999.

Any concern about a teacher goes straight to the DSL. If the concern is about the DSL, contact [Deputy DSL or director name] instead.

The teacher is paused from lessons while we look into it. Where needed, we refer the matter to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for the area where the child lives, and we keep a full record.

• Every teacher completes safeguarding training before their first lesson, and a refresher every year.
• [The DSL holds Level 3 safeguarding training, renewed every two years.]
• We review this policy every year, and after any serious incident.