Child safeguarding policy

1. Our commitment

Every child has the right to learn safely. At FideLearn the welfare of children comes before every other consideration, including business. This policy explains how we protect children who use FideLearn CBT through their school, who are listed in or visit schools found on FideLearn Schools, and above all who take lessons through FideLearn Tutors. It is guided by the Child's Rights Act 2003, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, the Cybercrimes Act 2015 and the NDPA.

It applies to FideLearn's staff and contractors, to every tutor, and, through our terms, to families and schools using FideLearn.

2. Our principles

• The child's welfare is paramount.
• Every child deserves equal protection, whatever their age, sex, ability, religion or background.
• Prevention first: we design the services so that risky situations are less likely to arise.
• Every concern is taken seriously and acted on, and we would rather report and be wrong than stay silent.
• We collect as little information about children as possible, and protect what we hold.

3. How we protect children in lessons

Before a tutor can teach

• Identity checks by our staff: NIN, BVN, government photo ID, a selfie holding that ID, proof of address, and a bank account in the tutor's own name.
• Every tutor must accept our code of conduct, and declare that they have no conviction or investigation for offences involving children, sexual offences, violence or dishonesty.
• Tutors don't appear in search until checks are complete. We may refuse anyone, without giving reasons, if we have any concern.

Checks reduce risk but cannot remove it. Nigeria does not yet have a single national criminal-record check that we can run for every tutor. That is why the rules below matter so much, and why parents' supervision remains essential.

Home lessons

• An adult stays at home for the whole lesson.
• Lessons happen in a shared room, never a bedroom, with the door open.
• The tutor checks in on arrival and checks out on leaving, and the parent is told both times.
• The family's address is shared only after payment, only with that tutor.

Online lessons and group classes

• Lessons take place only in FideLearn's classroom, never on other apps.
• The tutor's camera stays on. Learners join from a shared room, never a bedroom.
• Chat is open to the whole class. There are no private messages between a tutor and a child.
• Classes may be recorded for the safety team, and recordings are kept for 30 days unless needed for a concern.
• Parents may sit in on any class, and FideLearn's safety team may join any class without notice.

Contact and payments

• All messages go through FideLearn, between the tutor and the parent, never directly with the child.
• Tutors must not share or ask for phone numbers, social media or meeting places, give lifts, give gifts or meet a child outside a booked lesson.
• All payments go through FideLearn.

4. Protecting children's information

• On FideLearn Tutors we keep only a learner's first name and class, never their photo, surname or date of birth.
• Tutors may not photograph or film children, or share anything about them, unless the parent asks in writing in FideLearn.
• Photos of identifiable children may appear on school listings or school websites only with the parents' permission, which the school must obtain.
• On FideLearn CBT, schools control students' data and must use proctoring fairly and tell students and parents about it.

5. How to report a concern

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112 (the national emergency number) or go to the nearest police station first. Then tell us.

• Use the Report button on any lesson, booking, profile, class or listing. Reports go straight to FideLearn's safety team.
• Or write to hello@fidelearn.com with “Safeguarding” in the subject. Tell us what happened, when, who was involved and how to reach you.
• You don't need proof to report a worry. You can also report a concern about FideLearn's own staff in the same way. It will be handled by someone not involved.
• We will not tell the person you report about who you are, unless the law requires it or you agree.

6. What we do when a concern is raised

1. Reports that suggest a child may be at risk are treated as urgent and reviewed by the safety team as soon as they arrive.
2. Where there is a possible risk, we suspend the tutor's or user's account at once, cancel their upcoming lessons and refund families, while we look into it.
3. We keep and protect the evidence we hold: messages, check-in records, classroom join times and recordings, and reports.
4. We refer concerns to the police and, where appropriate, to state social welfare or child protection services, and cooperate fully with their investigations.
5. We tell the family what we can, and support them, without putting any investigation at risk.
6. When the facts are established, we decide whether the person may return. Anyone who has harmed a child, or broken the core rules, is removed permanently.
7. We record what happened and what we did, and learn from it.

7. Responsibilities

• FideLearn has a designated safeguarding lead, reachable at hello@fidelearn.com, who is responsible for this policy, for handling serious concerns and for liaising with the authorities.
• All FideLearn staff who review tutors, reports or classes are trained to recognise and respond to signs of abuse, and must report any concern to the safeguarding lead.
• Tutors must follow the code of conduct and report any concern straight away.
• Parents and guardians remain responsible for supervising their children and following the family safety rules.
• Schools remain responsible for safeguarding in their own premises and for how they use FideLearn CBT.

8. Reviewing this policy

We review this policy at least once a year, and after any serious incident or change in the law, and publish the latest version here.