Volunteer Training: Safeguarding

By the end of this session you should have a better understanding of your responsibility as a mentor to keep young people safe and the support that Career Ready provides.

student and mentor sit at desk

Content you will cover

      • Safeguarding policy and points of contact
      • Our safeguarding prevention measuers
      • Your responsibility
      • Mentoring: Meeting in person
      • Mentoring: Meeting online
      • Introduction to colleagues and contacts
      • Use of social media and communication methods
      • Things to look out for
      • Responding to disclosure
      • Chain of escalation
      • Summary
      • What's next

Firstly, about you



Safeguarding Policy & points of contact
two people talking

Our Safeguarding policy is available to read via the website, this is refreshed annually with updated advice and guidance.


If you need to alert/inform us of anything related to the wellbeing of a young person – your contacts are:


Your mentee's School/College Coordinator – You will be connected before meeting the student


Regional Managers – You will be connected before meeting the student


Designated Safeguarding Officer - Sian Robertson, Director of Programme and Operations 07525 754829


Deputy DSO - Sophie Childs, Programme Lead for England 07506 628834


Emergency services – If the young person is in immediate harm or danger, dial 999

Our safeguarding prevention measures

DBS Clearances – you must have a DBS Certificate with Career Ready within 3 years of its issue date at the start of each Career Ready cohort, or belong to the DBS update service so that you can provide the information required for Career Ready to carry out a check on you via this service.


Without a valid DBS check you must not contact or meet your mentee unless supervised by a member of school or college staff.


We will usually ask you to meet students at a Regional Icebreaker for your first meeting (if possible), before you meet one-to-one either in person or online for subsequent mentoring sessions.


If a student leaves school/college before the programme finishes (e.g. between their first and second year of study), we ask that you no longer continue to mentor the student as you will not have the safeguarding support of Career Ready or their school/college.


Please be aware, if you are going into a school/college they may ask you for your DBS certificate and photo ID. Career Ready do not have a copy of  your certificate.

QUESTION ONE


You must not meet or communicate with your mentee until you have a DBS check in place. You may meet your mentee if you are supervised by either a member of school/college staff or a member of the Career Ready team. 

You must not meet or communicate with your mentee until you have a DBS check in place. You may meet your mentee if you are supervised by either a member of school/college staff or a member of the Career Ready team.
Your responsibility

While we expect our young people to act as young professional adults, they are still legally viewed as 'minors' (under 18).


Volunteers have the same duty of care as a paid employee.


Your insight into a young person’s life may be the missing 'jigsaw piece' that helps to build a full picture. 


Always make it clear to a student that you must pass concerning information on and cannot keep secrets. 


However, do not feel the need to obtain further information.


If in doubt, shout it out.


Note: Our safeguarding processes continue for any students that become 18 years old during the programme as their needs do not shift in this time.

Meeting in person
A mentor speaks to a student
  • Do not give students a lift in your car
  • Meet in a 'professional' environment such as a meeting room or a communal area of your office.
  • If this is not possible then opt for a professional public area such as a coffee shop (please avoid places that sell alcohol).
  • Leave doors open in meeting rooms/offices where possible
  • Ensure that meetings are taking place at a location and time when and where students can travel to and from safely.
  • Ask how the student intends to get home after the meeting.
  • Add details of your meeting to an accessible calendar and encourage your student to do the same
  • Do not take or use photos of your mentee unless photo consent has been gained/approved
  • Check school/college policy regarding methods of communcation with students
QUESTION TWO


You should not take your mentee in your car. It puts both yourself and your mentee at risk.  You can travel on public transport together.

However, if a young person happens to miss a train/bus or is unable to get home after a meeting, please encourage them to contact their Parent/Guardian, school or college co-ordinator and Regional Manager. We encourage you to meet your mentee within school or college hours to avoid these situations and to ensure there is a point of contact available within the school or college. 
QUESTION THREE


You should leave the door open of a room or office when meeting where possible. If this is not possible you might want to consider choosing a location such as a café or communal area instead. 

For yours and your mentee's safety and wellbeing you should keep doors of offices open or meet within an open/public space.
Guidance on virtual mentor meetings
A student works in front of a laptop
If you are having a virtual mentor meeting rather than face to face, please follow the guidance below. We recommend no more than 3 of your meetings be virtual.

Video conference best practice
  • Check your internet connection
  • Test your mic and speaker
  • Quiet and open space
  • Speak clearly and one at a time
  • Remove distraction
  • Dress as you would in a face-to-face meeting
How to choose a platform to meet online
  • Choose a platform you are familiar with - the Career Ready preference for this is Microsoft Teams. If not possible, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, WhatsApp, FaceTime
  • Check that your mentee has access to this platform as well
  • Check the basic security settings of your chosen platform
Safeguarding
  • Choose a plain/blurred background
  • Meet in an open space within your home or keep the door of your meeting room open. Avoid doing your meeting in your bedroom.
  • Do not record the session.
  • Log in to meetings with work devices (work email/phone number)
! If you struggle to get in touch with your mentee, we recommend that you contact the school/college coordinator as soon as possible. If this is not possible, you can always contact your Regional Manager or Career Ready directly.
QUESTION FOUR


No, you should not record any meetings with your mentee.

You should not record any meeting with your mentee online or any in-person conversations either.
QUESTION FIVE


Where possible you should always use your work email address and phone number as your primary contact information for your mentee.

Where possible you should always use your work email address and phone number as your primary contact information for your mentee. 
Introductions to colleagues & contacts
Young person chats with colleagues

On occasion it might seem useful to introduce your mentee to some of your work colleagues or contacts. This can help provide them with knowledge and information about different job roles and sectors.


It is great for you to do this where you can, however, below are some best practice guidelines for you to follow:

  • You  must be present in any meeting or call whether that be in person, online or a telephone call as you have a DBS check with Career Ready. You must not leave your mentee unattended, unless the contact they are meeting with has a Career Ready DBS check
  • If you are unable to attend a meeting that has been arranged, contact the school/college coordinator or your regional manager who might be able to be present instead. If they can't, the meeting will need to be rescheduled.
  • All meetings should be arranged via yourself, please do not share your mentee's contact information with colleagues
  • Remind your colleague that they should not contact the mentee directly after the meeting
QUESTION SIX


There maybe times when it is seen as a benefit to your student to hear from and meet colleagues within your organisations or business contacts you may have. Remember you must be present though and not share your mentee's contact information with others. 

Yes, you can introduce colleagues to your mentee, however you should not pass on personal contact information for your mentee. You should set up any meetings on behalf of the mentee, only using relevant contact details to do this.


You or a Career Ready co-ordinator should be present at any meeting whether it be online or in person (unless the contact has a Career Ready DBS).


Remind your colleague that they should not contact the mentee directly after the meeting should be held in an open space or if in an office then with the door left open.  
Use of social media & other communicaton

You should not connect with your mentee or any other student on social media. The only exception is LinkedIn, as this is a social media business platform.


You should not share pictures or personal information, such as your mentee's name, on your or your company's social media account, unless express permission has been gained from:

  • Student (if over 18 only)
  • Student and school or college/parent/guardian (if under 18)

Please consider if you are aware of any specific safeguarding issues which mean a student should not be identified on social media or media in general. 


Methods of communication

Always contact students via work devices (work email address, contact number and address)


Text and Whatsapp should only ever be used where a school/college has agreed this is a more efficient way to communicate with your mentee, again any messages should only be sent from a work device 


Set boundaries regarding appropriate times for your mentee to contact you, typical working hours are a good guide. 



QUESTION SEVEN


You should not engage or invite your mentee to any social media accounts aside from LinkedIn as this is a professional network. 

Mentoring is a professional relationship and as such you should not invite or accept any invites from your mentee to connect on social media platforms. The only appropriate platform is LinkedIn as this is a professional network site. 
QUESTION EIGHT


Sometimes this is the best method of getting a response from your mentee. Ideally we would prefer you use email where possible. 

We encourage a professional relationship be maintained at all times across all channels of communication. You should not make any contact with your student unless you are DBS checked. We also advise to keep all messaging within work hours. 
QUESTION NINE


The student's parent or guardian must provide parental consent before any photos can be used. If a student is over the age of 18 they may provide consent themselves. Please speak to your Regional Manager about photo consent. 

In some cases you can. You would need to gain consent from the parent/guardian or the student if over the age of 18 to use an image or name. Please speak to your Regional Manager about photo consent. 

Not always, some young people or their parent/ guardian may not wish to have their images or names shared on social media or in any types of promotional materials. This maybe personal choice or in some cases it is to protect the young persons identity. Please speak to your Regional Manager about photo consent. 
Things to look out for
Examples of possible Safeguarding concerns:

  • Student not turning up to a meeting without sending apologies beforehand. (especially if they have a good track record of alerting you of lateness)
  • Change in behaviour (e.g. appearing withdrawn, lack of hygiene or seeming lethargic or over-excitable).
  • Student goes absent without informing you (no phone/email contact either)
  • Student talks about a lifestyle not typical or legal to a 16/17-year-old.
  • Student mentions they have not had lunch/dinner on more than one occasion
  • Clothes looking unclean on frequent occasions, or you notice regular poor hygiene.
  • Reluctance to go home.
  • Saying that friends they spend time with are not very friendly/bullying them or encourage them to do things they don’t want to do such as; skipping lessons, smoking, antisocial behaviour.
  • Dating someone much older than themselves (whatever gender or orientation).
Please remember, these are all not proof of a concern, however by raising them with the school or college coordinator, your regional manager or our safeguarding lead they can be looked in to. It is better to mention it than not.


Remember: If in doubt, shout it out

QUESTION TEN


If you feel your young person seems distracted during your meeting please inform the school or college coordinator to let them know.

This is a Safeguarding concern and you should inform the school/college coordinator as soon as you can if you are expecting your mentee and they have not turned up or let you know they are delayed. If you are unable to get hold of your coordinator you can contact your regional manager or our safeguarding officer.

Although you may like your mentee to take your advice, your mentee is not obliged to follow it. This is not a safeguarding concern. 
Responding to disclosures

DO

  • Stay calm
  • Listen carefully
  • Write down what you’ve been told using the exact words if possible (after the conversation)
  • Report the disclosure as soon as possible (how to do so is discussed next)

DON'T

  • Show shock/disgust
  • Promise to resolve/keep secret
  • Ignore what you’ve been told
  • Dismiss your concerns/worry that you cannot help
Chain of escalation
If you need to escalate a concern, please refer to this diagram.

escalating a concern
QUESTION ELEVEN


The first person/authority you should contact must be 999 to prevent harm coming to your mentee. If appropriate you can contact the school or college coordinator after you have reported it. 

If you feel your mentee is at risk of immediate harm or in danger you must call 999. You can then inform the school or college coordinator and the Career Ready safeguarding officer afterwards. Your immediate action must be to prevent harm or danger and this is through calling 999.

The first person/authority you should contact must be 999 to prevent harm coming to your mentee. It would be more appropriate for you to contact the Career Ready Safeguarding officer once you have reported it. 

The first person/authority you should contact must be 999 to prevent harm coming to your mentee. You can contact the Career Ready safeguarding officer once you have reported it. 
So, what's next?

From here, your next step depends on where you are in your journey as a volunteer.

  • To mentor you must have completed the DBS process with Career Ready or provided the information  we require to check the DBS update service.  

  • If you are a returning volunteer you will need to renew your DBS check if it is over 3 years old or coming up to 3 years since issue date at the start of each programme cohort year

  • Visit your volunteer portal under the “My Resources” section where you will find other useful documents.

Thank you
Thank you for completing safeguarding training, if you have any further questions or comments please contact the Volunteer Operations Manager, Caroline Fairman via caroline.fairman@careerready.org.uk.

Contact Information