Safer Recruitment Policy

Version	Update	Staff
3.0	03.10.2023	Daniela Prataviera
4.0	01.10.2024	Daniela Prataviera
5.0	02.10.2025

Definitions

1a. Recruitment is defined as the act by a business of inviting others to join. This can include (but not limited to)

Hiring of new employees
Partnering with third party agencies
Partnering with educational institutions like schools or universities
Outsourcing of company tasks to third party companies.

1b. This policy details how Study Mind is committed to ensuring that all employees, partners and representatives of Study Mind are safe people for their clients to come into contact with and to make Study Mind an inhospitable place for anyone looking to take advantage of children and young people to work.

1c. For further information on abuse, disclosing and procedures, please see our Safeguarding Policy.

Recruitment procedures

2a. Study Mind requires all applicants to:

Complete application forms
Complete video interviews
Complete online live interviews
Disclose gaps
Provide references that specifically pertain to ability to work with children and young people
Complete Code of Conduct agreement

2b. Study Mind has clear policies and procedures around Safeguarding that are communicated with all recruits, in order to demonstrate our commitment and ethos.

2c. All employees must complete an Enhanced DBS check or relevant police check to demonstrate their ability to work with children and young people safely. No employee is permitted to come into contact with clients until this has been passed.

2d. Recruitment is completed by the senior management team, including the DSL, who has current Safer Recruitment training (see attached certification).

2e. The aims of the Safer Recruitment Policy and procedures are as follows:

ensure that the best possible people are recruited on the basis of their merits, abilities and suitability for the position
to ensure that all applicants are considered equally and consistently
to ensure that no applicant is treated unfairly on any grounds including race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or religious belief, sex or sexual orientation, marital or civil partner status, disability or age
to incorporate recommendations and guidance including any guidance published by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
to ensure that Study Mind meets its commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of tutors and children by carrying out all necessary checks.

Recruitment Process

3a. Study Mind has strict recruitment procedures that must be adhered to in order to ensure that the safest candidates are hired.

Advertising

To provide equality of opportunity, Study Mind will advertise the opportunity to become a tutor to as wide a field of applicants as possible.For tutors, this will typically include Facebook and social media advertising, whereas for admin roles it is more likely to be Indeed or professional job sites.

Role Descriptions are available on a separate document: Role Descriptions of Study Mind Personnel.

All advertisements and campaigns will make clear Study Mind’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The following statement will be included in all job advertisements:

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

All documentation relating to applicants will be treated confidentially in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

Applications

The minimum educational requirements for tutors are:

The title of the university course they are studying and the date it concludes, OR
The university course from which they graduated together with the date of their graduation (maximum of 3 years prior to application) and grade awarded
Their GCSE and A-Level grades (or equivalent e.g. IBs) with a minimum of one A/A* or 7/8/9 in a core subject at GCSE level (Core subjects being Maths, English Language, English Literature, the Sciences).
These requirements will be reviewed regularly and updated if any changes are made.

In accordance with safer recruitment practices applicants for online tutoring are subject to a number of other employment checks.

Where an expression of interest for online tutoring does not meet the minimum educational requirements, together with verification of their eligibility to work in the UK an email is automatically generated within 24 hours to notify them. Their expression of interest will not be taken forward.

It is unlawful for Study Mind to employ anyone who is barred from working with children. It is a criminal offence for any person who is barred from working with children to apply for a position at Study Mind. Any discovery as such may result in police referral.

All applicants will be made aware that providing false information is an offence and could result in the application being rejected or the tutor removed from the platform if the applicant has been selected, and referral to the police and/or the Enhanced DBS.

For all roles, a full job description including the commitment to child protection and safeguarding is made available from the point of initial screening.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Abilities

Those applying to become an online tutor will be provided with an overview of the role, which will outline the knowledge, skills, experience and abilities required. All roles will have full job descriptions to ensure fair and safe recruitment.

All applicants must demonstrate and prove an ability and experience of working with young people in an educational setting, ability to work in the UK (and information on any necessary restrictions with visas etc.) and an awareness of appropriateness. These will be proven through required documentation, CVs and through interview criteria (in Annex A).

Interviews

The interview process will explore the applicant’s ability to carry out the duties as stated in the role description. It will allow the interviewer to explore any anomalies or gaps that have been identified in order to satisfy themselves that the chosen applicant can meet the safeguarding criteria.

Any information in regard to past disciplinary action or allegations, cautions or convictions will be discussed and considered in the circumstance of the individual case during the interview process, if it has been disclosed on the application form.

For tutors, inductions are held with a member of the induction team to assess suitability and to go through policies in regards to contact and safety. Any issues must be reported immediately to the senior management, who will review the full application and may decide to interview the applicant again. If any doubts exist around suitability, then Study Mind’s policy is not to hire.

For admin, interviews are conducted by one of the Study Mind senior management team and will have completed the required training prior to interviewing. In most cases, all applicants will need to be interviewed by at least 2 of the 4 members of senior management, and the DSL will need to be consulted with regards to suitability.

Interviews are carried out in hourly slots and last for 15 minutes, with the interviewer following a script to make sure there is consistency across all interviews. Please see Annex A for Interview Criteria. For each section of the interview there is a tick box which can be ticked. Interviewers are prompted when and when not to tick these boxes in response to the answers the candidate gives.

At the end of the interview based on the number boxes ticked the applicant will be offered a tutoring position subject to satisfactory completion of the pre-work checks or they will be notified they have been unsuccessful.

Offers of work and induction

All employees who are offered work must be able to present evidence of Enhanced DBS checks and provide two references which explicitly state their suitability for working with children and young people. Pre-written references will not be accepted. References can be from schools, university or other educational establishments if work references are not available.

All employees must complete a period of induction prior to commencing with any client facing tasks, which will include familiarising themselves with Safeguarding, Whistleblowing and Code of Conduct documents. Tutors will also be required to submit first recordings to management to ensure that all policy is followed. Submissions are sent to tutorfeedback@gmail.com and lesson recordings are reviewed by senior managers and tutor managers as assigned.

Withdrawal of offers may occur in circumstances where it is discovered that documents or experiences have been falsified and may result in reporting to the GMC, police or other authorities as needed.

Maintaining employment

In order to maintain employment at Study Mind, tutors are expected to maintain a good level of safeguarding awareness and training. This includes passing the yearly Safer Study Mind retraining quizzes (each November) and taking part in any additional training, which is delivered by the safeguarding team if any changes occur to the policy. Tutors can opt to watch training seminars through recordings, but all quizzes must be completed by set deadlines.

Tutors are also responsible for ensuring that their documents are maintained and up to date, and Study Mind checks these documents (including ID and Enhanced DBS) before tutors tutor any under 18s or work on school groups.

References

4a. Study Mind will provide open and honest feedback on any disciplinary action taken against former employees, especially if the action was in regards to a safeguarding issue and the former employee is applying to work with young people.

4b. Study Mind cannot accept references which do not explicitly state that the candidate is suitable to work with children- this includes standardised feedback references. All references must be completed by a contactable person so that references can be followed up and checked as needed.

Safeguarding, Prevent and Whistleblowing

5a. Study Mind has policies for Safeguarding, Prevent and Whistleblowing, all of which factor into how Study Mind handles recruitment. Please check individual policies for further information.

Annex A- Interview criteria

Criteria	Example questions	Acceptable responses	Unacceptable responses	Met?
Applicant demonstrates an ability to work in the UK	Discussions around nationality, studies, visa conditions etc.	Applicant can work in the UK, even if limited.	Applicant cannot work in UK.
Applicant has experience working with young people.	Previous work experience.	Applicant has worked with young people before, even if supervised.	Applicant has not worked with young people.
Applicant has an understanding of safeguarding and can demonstrate an understanding of appropriate behaviour and commitment to policy.	Roleplays including a disclosure, questions around policy at Study Mind.	Applicant is knowledgeable about policy and is appreciative of seriousness. They perform well in roleplay.	Applicant dismisses policy, acts inappropriately or in response to questions, or demonstrates contempt for safeguarding.
Applicant has a basic knowledge of Prevent and anti-radicalisation and can demonstrate an understanding of disclosing.	Roleplays including a disclosure, questions around disclosing.	Applicant may have some knowledge, but more importantly demonstrates an ability to report to senior staff, even if not sure what they are reporting.	Applicant suggests that there would be nothing to report or anything to that effect.
Applicant is able to recall situations in which they have spotted an issue and disclosed.	Questions around previous work experience.	Applicant may or may not have an incidence.	Applicant has an anecdote which reveals they did not disclose when they ought to have done.
Applicant has never been subject to an investigation for a safeguarding issue.	Questions around previous work experience.	Applicant has not been investigated.	Applicant has been investigated.