Our commitment

The welfare of the students we work with comes before every commercial consideration. We expect every consultant to act in a child's best interests, to keep clear boundaries, and to report any concern immediately rather than wait to be certain.

Who this covers

This statement applies to everyone who works with students on our behalf — consultants, tutors, course leaders and administrative staff — in every session we run.

Recruitment and vetting

Before a consultant is matched with a student, we:

• review their academic record and verify the grades and qualifications they claim;
• review their co-curricular record;
• interview them, which includes how they would handle working with a student under 18.

Every consultant is required to work to the conduct rules set out below, and a consultant who does not is not given further work.

We do not carry out criminal record checks. All of our sessions are online, on an account we provide, and a parent or guardian is welcome to be present at any of them — the arrangements described in the next two sections are how we manage that.

How sessions are conducted

• Consultants work with students in a professional capacity only, and do not form personal relationships with them outside it.
• Physical contact, gifts and social invitations are not appropriate and are not permitted.
• All sessions are online. We do not arrange in-person tutoring, and consultants do not meet students face to face.
• Any concern about a student's welfare is reported the same day.

Online sessions

• Sessions take place on Google Meet using an account provided by us, not a consultant's personal account.
• Parents and guardians are welcome to be present, or in the room, at any session.
• Sessions are not recorded. We do not record video or audio of a session, and consultants are not permitted to.

Communication with students

• Contact with a student under 18 goes through channels the parent or guardian can see, and through accounts we provide.
• Consultants do not contact students on personal phone numbers or social media accounts.
• Messages are limited to the subject of the engagement.

Raising a concern

If you are worried about the welfare of a student, or about the conduct of anyone working with us, tell us straight away.

Our designated safeguarding lead is Nicholas Finn. Concerns can be raised directly at nicholasfinn@theunimentor.com, which is a direct address and not a shared inbox.

We will acknowledge a concern within one working day and act on it. We will not penalise anyone — student, parent or consultant — for raising one in good faith.

Records and confidentiality

Safeguarding records are kept separately from ordinary engagement records, with access limited to those who need it. We share information about a concern only with those who need to know, or where we are required to by law. How we handle personal information generally is set out in our Privacy Policy.

Review

This statement is reviewed at least annually, and immediately after any safeguarding incident.