Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy

1. Scope

This policy applies to all staff, volunteers, partners, and contractors working with or on behalf of Onia Education. It covers all children and young people under the age of 18 who interact with Onia Education's platform, services, or representatives in any capacity.

2. Designated Safeguarding Lead

Onia Education has a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) responsible for all safeguarding matters. The DSL is the company founder and director.

3. Principles

Onia Education operates in accordance with the following safeguarding principles:

• The welfare of the child is paramount in all decisions and actions.
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation, or identity, have equal rights to protection from abuse and harm.
• Working in partnership with children, young people, and their families is essential.
• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to promptly and appropriately.
• We maintain safe recruitment practices for all staff and contractors who interact with children.

4. Child Protection Policy

4.1 Types of Abuse

We recognise the four main categories of abuse as defined by UK legislation: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. We are vigilant in identifying signs of all forms of harm.

4.2 Online Safety

As an online education platform, Onia Education takes online safety seriously. We:

• Do not permit direct unmoderated communication between adults and students through our platform.
• Only share student data with partner schools that have demonstrated compliance with safeguarding requirements.
• Do not collect or store unnecessary personal data about children.
• Require parental consent for all student data collection and sharing.

4.3 School Partner Requirements

We only refer students to UK online schools that:

• Are registered with the UK Department for Education (DfE) or equivalent authority.
• Have a published safeguarding and child protection policy.
• Conduct DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks on all teaching and support staff.
• Have a designated safeguarding lead on staff.
• Are willing to provide evidence of safeguarding compliance upon request.

5. Reporting Concerns

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child, you should contact Onia Education's safeguarding lead immediately:

6. Data Protection and Privacy

All personal data about children is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law, including GDPR principles as adopted in the UK. Children's data is never sold, shared with third parties for marketing, or used for any purpose other than delivering educational services with explicit parental consent.

7. Parental Consent

Onia Education requires verified parental or guardian consent before:

• Creating an account for a student under 18.
• Sharing any student information with a school partner.
• Conducting any consultation or advisory session involving a student.

8. Policy Review

This policy is reviewed annually or following any significant safeguarding incident. The next scheduled review is June 2026.

9. Contact

For questions about this policy, please contact [email protected].