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Safeguarding policy

Keeping children and young people safe.

Some of our sessions reach students under 18, always through their school. This page explains how we protect them, what parents and schools can expect from us, and how anyone can raise a concern.

  • Applies to all five programmes
  • Last reviewed [date to confirm]
Raise a concern Read our code of conduct

the djed: endurance and stability

In short

  • Under-18s join our sessions only through their school.
  • Parents are always told before a session.
  • No adult is ever alone with a child or young person.
  • Anyone can raise a concern, and every concern is followed up.

For every programme

Our promise

Every child and young person who takes part in a Mogtama3 activity has the right to feel safe, respected and listened to. Their safety comes first, always.

This policy covers all five of our programmes: Dafa (warmth), Wa3i (awareness), Geel (generation), Hemma (determination) and Mizan (balance). It applies to everyone who works in our name: staff, volunteers, partners and anyone who helps run a session.

By children and young people, we mean anyone under 18. Most of our activities are for adults. When young people do take part, we follow every rule on this page, every time.

If you are ever worried about a child, tell us. You do not need to be sure, and you will never be in trouble for asking.

Who follows this policy

Everyone who meets young people through us, before, during and after a session.

  • Staff
  • Volunteers
  • Speakers
  • Mentors
  • Sign language interpreters
  • Hosts
  • Partners

Under 18

Sessions for under-18s run only through schools

When we work with students under 18, we do it through their school. Schools book sessions for their students directly with us.

Our public events, and registration for them, are for adults aged 18 and over. Young people cannot sign up to a public event on their own, and we do not run open sessions for children.

Some programmes are for adults by design. Geel is for young people aged [18 to 30, confirm], and Dafa will be open only to adults aged 18 and over.

Every school session is planned with the school in advance. A member of the school’s staff stays with the students from start to finish [confirm].

Under 18 and keen to take part? Ask a teacher to get in touch with us. We will gladly work with your school.

For schools

How a school books a session

  1. Get in touch

    A teacher or school leader emails or calls us.

  2. Plan it together

    We agree the topic, the date, the place and who will lead.

  3. Tell parents

    The school lets parents and carers know before the day.

  4. Meet the students

    Our trained facilitators lead the session, with school staff present throughout.

Book a session for your school

Parents and carers

Parents are always informed

Before any session with students under 18, parents and carers know what will happen.

We work with the school so that parents hear about the session ahead of time: the date, the topic, who will lead it and how to ask a question. Parents can ask the school or us for more detail at any time.

Where the school asks for parental consent, it collects that consent before the session [consent process to confirm].

We photograph only people who agree. For students under 18, a parent or carer and the school must both agree first, in writing. Without that, there are no photos and no recordings.

We collect only what we need to run the session, and we never ask about a student’s health or disability. Our privacy notice explains how we handle personal data.

Checklist

What parents are told before the day

  • The date, time and place
  • The topic, and what students will learn
  • Who will lead the session
  • How photos are handled
  • How to ask a question or raise a concern
How to raise a concern

Our people

Trained, vetted facilitators

Only trained and vetted people lead or help at sessions with young people.

Before anyone works with under-18s on our behalf, we check who they are and that they are suitable to work with children [vetting checks to confirm].

They complete our safeguarding training before their first session with young people, and refresh it regularly [how often, to confirm]. The training covers how to keep young people safe, how to notice when a child may be at risk, and what to do with a concern.

Everyone agrees to our code of conduct. Our facilitators are working practitioners who come to teach, never to sell. There are no sales pitches at our sessions.

Checked

Identity and suitability are checked before anyone starts.

Trained

Safeguarding training comes before the first session with young people.

Accountable

Bound by our code of conduct, and supported by our safeguarding lead.

Our firmest rule

No adult is ever alone with a minor

It protects young people, and it protects the adults who work with them too. We apply it wherever we work with under-18s.

No exceptions, at any session, in any place.

At least two adults are with young people at all times, together and in sight of each other. One of them is a member of the school’s staff [confirm].

  • No one-to-one time with a student, in person or online.
  • Doors stay open, or the room can be seen from outside.
  • No private messages, calls or social media contact with students.
  • No lifts home, and no meetings outside the session.
  • If an adult ever finds themselves alone with a young person, they move at once to a shared space and tell the safeguarding lead.
  • If you see this rule broken, please tell us. We will thank you for it.

[practical rules to confirm with the designated safeguarding lead]

Online

Online safety for young people

The same care applies online. Our online events are for adults, and our facilitators never contact students privately.

If a school session takes place online, it runs through a link the school shares, with school staff present [confirm]. We do not record sessions with students unless the school and parents agree first, in writing.

Our facilitators never add students on social media, never message them privately and never ask for their personal contact details.

Dafa will be for adults only. When it launches, every member will be verified, and there will be no messages between strangers.

If something online worries you, tell us in the same way as any other concern. See how to raise a concern.

the wedjat: watchfulness and protection

Help for parents

Wa3i runs free sessions for parents on keeping children safe online: settings, gaming and bullying.

Find a Wa3i session

If you are under 18

Three things to remember online:

  1. Keep passwords and codes to yourself.
  2. Think before you share a photo or your location.
  3. If something feels wrong, tell an adult you trust.

Speak up

How to raise a concern

If you are worried about a child or young person, please tell us. Any worry is worth sharing, however small. You do not need to be sure.

Do not try to look into it yourself. Tell us what you saw or heard, and we will take it from there.

It helps if you can tell us:

  • what happened, or what worried you
  • when and where it happened
  • who was involved, if you know
  • how we can reach you

Urgent

If a child is in danger right now

Call the emergency services first. Then tell us.

[emergency and child helpline numbers to confirm]

Email

Write to us

[email protected]

Put “Safeguarding” in the subject line so it goes straight to our safeguarding lead.

Safeguarding lead

Our designated lead

[designated safeguarding lead, to appoint]

Every concern reaches our safeguarding lead, who makes sure it is followed up.

At a session or event

Tell the facilitator, a teacher or any member of our team straight away. They will pass it to our safeguarding lead.

If you are a young person

You can tell a teacher, a parent or any adult you trust. You can also email or call us yourself. We will listen, and we will take you seriously.

After you tell us

What happens next

Every concern is taken seriously and handled with care. Here is what you can expect.

  1. We listen

    We thank you, write down what you tell us, and ask only what we need to understand it.

  2. We keep the child safe

    If anyone is at risk, we act straight away. That can mean involving the school and, where needed, the relevant authorities.

  3. We get back to you

    We confirm that we have your concern within [2 working days, confirm], and tell you what happens next where we can.

  4. We follow up and learn

    Our safeguarding lead records what happened, what we did and why. We use what we learn to make our sessions safer.

Kept confidential

We share a concern only with the people who need to know to keep a child safe. We never use it for anything else.

If the concern is about one of us

If a concern involves a member of staff, a volunteer or a partner, they step back from all work with young people while we look into it.

Reviewing this policy. We review this policy regularly, and always after a serious concern. Last reviewed: [date to confirm]. Next review: [date to confirm].

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