What happens when a learner tells us something serious

1. 1. Listen and respond

   Who: The adult the learner told (a facilitator, teacher or any member of staff)

   • Stay calm. Listen. Do not interrupt, show shock or ask them to repeat it.
   • Thank them for telling you, and tell them it is not their fault.
   • Do not promise to keep it secret. Say that you must tell the person whose job is to keep children safe.
   • Do not ask leading questions, do not ask for more detail than they offer, and do not confront anyone.

2. 2. If a child is in danger right now

   Who: The adult the learner told

   • Keep the child with a safe adult. Do not leave them alone.
   • Call 112, or ask another adult to, and tell your safeguarding lead at once.
   • Do not wait for a meeting. Safety first.

3. 3. Write it down the same day

   Who: The adult the learner told

   • Write what the learner said, in their own words, with the date, the time and who was present.
   • Write what you said and did. Write facts, not opinions or guesses.
   • Keep the note private and give it only to the safeguarding lead.

4. 4. Tell the safeguarding lead

   Who: The adult the learner told, the same day

   • Pass on the note, and speak to the lead in person if you can.
   • If the lead is the person who may be causing the harm, or you cannot trust the lead to act, go to the head or proprietor, or another trusted adult in authority. Keep going until someone acts.

5. 5. Decide what happens next

   Who: The safeguarding lead, with the head or proprietor

   • Decide, following your school's policy and the law, who else needs to be involved, such as child protection services, a health worker or the police where required.
   • Decide whether and how the family is told. Involve the family unless doing so would put the child at risk.
   • Make sure the child knows what is happening, in words they understand, and who they can talk to.
   • Record every decision and the reason for it.

6. 6. Support the child

   Who: The safeguarding lead and the learner's trusted adults

   • Make sure the child is safe and has an adult they can go to every day.
   • Offer access to a counsellor or health worker. Do not make the child repeat the story.
   • Let them keep taking part in lessons if they want to, and do not single them out.

7. 7. Keep it confidential

   Who: Everyone

   • Share only with people who need to know in order to keep the child safe.
   • Do not discuss it with other learners, parents who are not involved, or on any messaging group.
   • Never post or photograph anything about it.

8. 8. Look after the adults, and review

   Who: The safeguarding lead and the head

   • Check on the adult who received the disclosure. It is hard to hear.
   • Afterwards, ask what worked and what did not, and update this protocol.

This is a template. Your safeguarding lead should adapt it to your school's policy and to the law, and your head or proprietor should approve it. ALTDAP does not give legal advice, and this template has not yet been reviewed by a qualified child-protection professional.