Some responsible adults and teachers may have reservations about bringing their young people online and we can understand that. We take safeguarding seriously and our site is secure and moderated. To reassure you, here are the steps we take to safeguard young people with us.
Who’s in charge here?
We have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL, actually we have two) and a Data Protection Officer (DPO).
Our Chief Executive Office is one of our DSL’s, the other is a Trustee (in case there is an allegation against the CEO). The DSLs ensure all staff (including volunteers) are trained on safeguarding procedures and reviews and actions any concerns raised by the team. We have a Safeguarding Policy and Flowchart, along with a Whistleblowing policy should any concerns arise about our safeguarding.
Our DPO makes sure student data is kept safe in accordance with our Data and Privacy Policy.
Who’s DBS checked?
All staff & volunteer Ambassadors managing the activities are DBS checked and receive safeguarding training.
What about safeguarding users from other students?
We have a clear Code of Conduct regarding expected behaviour (in physical clubs as well as for online). This is also posted on our online forum (we use slack). There are always a minimum of two Ambassadors participating in any voice chat session.
Staff and volunteers have the ability to delete comments and ban students from the chat. We can also permanently remove users from the site should we need to.
Do you promote e-safety?
We’re committed to keeping young people safe online and teaching them how to use the internet positively.
| Risk identified | Procedure in place to manage risk |
| Ambassadors or DigiLocal team cause harm to students or allow harm to students through negligence. | DigiLocal team and volunteer Ambassadors are subjected to UK DBS checks and receive annual safeguarding training. We have a clear Safeguarding flow chart to manage any safeguarding concerns, and a Whistleblowing flowchart if there are concerns that the Safeguarding process is not being adequately handing. |
| Students cause harm to each other through the site. | All text based contact between young people is logged and logs reviewed regularly. DigiLocal staff and volunteer ambassadors can remove harmful content immediately. Young people cannot remove content. We have a clear Code of Conduct and everybody is required to adhere to it at all times. |
| Student makes a disclosure / comment that indicates they are at risk. | DigiLocal team members receive safeguarding training to help them identify and report concerns. Potential safeguarding concerns are reported confidentially by volunteers or DigiLocal team to the DSL and recorded on the Safeguarding Concern Record. DSL reviews concerns and actions where necessary. The concerns may be reported to CEOP (UK), TUSLA (Ireland) in accordance with our Safeguarding policy. In absence of the DSL, the DSL Trustee picks up this responsibility. |
| Details of safeguarding concerns are accessed by people who could use this information to cause harm to students | The Safeguarding Concern Record is confidential. Only the DSL and DSL Trustee have access to this document. Where necessary, concerns may be reported to CEOP (UK) or TUSLA (Ireland) in accordance with our Safeguarding policy. |
| Data breach resulting in site user data becoming public | Our Data Protection policy described the security measures in place to protect data shared with DigiLocal. |
| Misuse of data by DigiLocal team or volunteer to make direct contact with a student (not via DigiLocal Online). | Failure to comply with mandatory Safeguarding policy and procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation and if relevant, legal authorities will be contacted. The incident will be investigated by the DSL in the first instance and the DSL Trustee as necessary. The incident may be reported to CEOP (UK), TUSLA (Ireland). |