Under 18’s & Safeguarding policy

This policy specifies procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of all prospective students under the age of 18. This policy also extends to adults who:

who identifies themselves as unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves against significant harm, exploitation, or neglect; and/or
is understood to be at risk, which may be due to frailty, homelessness, mental or physical health problems, learning or physical impairments, and/or is impacted by disasters or conflicts.

This policy is deemed necessary for agencies to follow as all employees of the agency could be in direct communication with prospective students who are under the age of 18 when seeking guidance about applying for courses abroad.

Here at Studee we have adopted The United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child and classify anyone under the age of 18 as a child regardless of the accepted age in their country of origin or University destination.

Studee believes everyone has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all under 18’s, to keep them safe, and to practice in a way that protects them. Studee is committed to ensuring that every under 18 year old, regardless of their disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation, has a right to equal protection from harm.

Safeguarding is defined as:

protecting children from maltreatment
preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

What we’d like you to do

The agency must appoint a safeguarding lead who is responsible for ensuring these standards are adhered to. Reference requests for prospective agency employees must include inquiries about suitability to work with U18s and criminal record checks. You can find the international directory here.

The agency must ensure all of their employees follow the points below and Studee’s code of conduct including the section titled U18’s in order to meet our commitment to keeping under 18’s safe. All employees of the agency must:

Listen to and respect those under 18.
Recognize the symptoms of abuse. The 4 areas of abuse are physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect.
Make sure all agency staff understand and follow the safeguarding procedures below.
Have a list of helplines and support organizations for the 4 different types of abuse.
Be aware, vigilant, and know to report any concerns or allegations; who to contact within the agency and also outside the agency.
Ensure under-18s and their families know about the agency’s safeguarding policy and what to do if they have a concern.
Keep detailed records of allegations of abuse. Secure provision is required for these records, with access only to the designated safeguarding lead, and if necessary, an official outside agency.

The agency must ensure the following procedures are in place for reporting a concern.

Safeguarding concern involving a staff member and student

In the event an employee of the agency has a safeguarding concern regarding the involvement of another staff member with a prospective student for one of Studee’s partner universities, please implement the following procedure:

Stage 1 - The concern

The concern can be written or explained verbally. In all cases, the owner of the agency and Studee must be informed about the safeguarding concern immediately and keep them updated on the outcome. In the first instance, the owner must establish the seriousness of the concern and follow this formal procedure.

Stage 2 - Investigation

Concerns will be fully investigated by the owner of the agency to determine whether there has been an abuse of power/position within the agency. During this investigation, the employee who has the safeguarding concern against them shall be immediately put on leave until the investigation has been concluded. The correct authorities should also be contacted if there is suspected abuse.

Stage 3 - Conclusion

If the investigation concludes there was a safeguarding concern, the member of staff will have their contract with the agency immediately terminated.

General Safeguarding concern

In the event an employee of the agency has a safeguarding concern regarding with a prospective student for one of Studee’s partner Universities, please implement the following procedure:

Stage 1 - The concern

The concern can be written or explained verbally. In all cases, the owner of the agency and Studee must be informed about the safeguarding concern immediately. In the first instance, the owner must guide the employee to who the prospective student disclosed the issue to ask the prospective student if they are at risk of harm. If they are, you should follow stage 2 (A) below.

Stage 2 (A) - Investigation

The correct authorities should be contacted if there is a risk of harm to the prospective student.

Stage 2 (B)

The prospective student should be sent to appropriate helplines and support agencies that can support them further.