Safeguarding Concerns

Tawaasal provides a secure, confidential system for raising safeguarding concerns about students. If you observe or suspect that a student may be at risk, you have a professional duty to report it. This guide explains how to raise a concern through the system.

When to Raise a Concern

You should raise a concern whenever you observe or are told about something that suggests a student may be at risk. This includes but is not limited to:

• Signs of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
• Signs of neglect
• Peer-on-peer bullying or abuse
• Online safety issues
• Self-harm or mental health concerns
• Signs of radicalisation
• A student witnessing domestic abuse
• Anything a student discloses to you

Act Immediately

If a student is in immediate danger, contact your Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) directly and follow your school's emergency safeguarding procedures. You can record the concern in Tawaasal afterwards.

Raising a Concern

1. Navigate to Safeguarding from the sidebar.
2. Click the Record Concern button.

1. 1Safeguarding in the sidebar opens the dashboard.
2. 2Record Concern starts a new concern.
3. 3The Concerns tab lists everything already submitted, with its status.

3. Search for and select the student the concern is about.

1. 1The form opens on Step 1: Select Student.
2. 2A reminder that concerns must be reported immediately and are kept confidential.
3. 3Search by name to find and select the student.

4. Fill in the concern details:
   • Category — Choose the type of concern (e.g., Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Neglect, Online Safety, Self-Harm, Mental Health, or Other).
   • Description — Describe what you observed or were told. Be factual and specific. Include direct quotes where possible.
   • Incident Date — When the incident occurred.
   • Incident Time (optional) — The approximate time if known.
   • Incident Location (optional) — Where it occurred.
   • Persons Involved (optional) — Other people who were involved or present.
   • Urgency — Set the urgency level (Low, Medium, High, or Critical).
5. Attach Evidence (optional) — Upload any supporting documents, images, or files.
6. Click Submit to send the concern to the safeguarding team.

What Happens After You Submit

Once you submit a concern:

1. The safeguarding team receives a notification and reviews the concern.
2. The concern is triaged and assigned to a team member for investigation.
3. The concern moves through a workflow: Submitted, Triaged, Under Investigation, Action Taken, Monitoring, and finally Closed.
4. You may or may not be able to see updates depending on your school's visibility settings.

1. 1Back returns to the Concerns list.
2. 2Case Notes holds updates from the safeguarding team as the concern moves through the workflow.
3. 3Add Note adds a note to the case, when visibility settings allow it.

Confidentiality

Safeguarding concerns are strictly confidential. Only the safeguarding team and designated staff can access concern details. Do not discuss concerns with other teachers, students, or guardians unless instructed to do so by the safeguarding team.

Concern Statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	You have started a concern but not yet submitted it.
Submitted	The concern has been sent to the safeguarding team.
Triaged	The team has reviewed and prioritised the concern.
Under Investigation	The concern is being actively investigated.
Action Taken	Actions have been taken to address the concern.
Monitoring	The student is being monitored following the investigation.
Closed	The concern has been resolved and closed.

Important Principles

• Record facts, not opinions — Write down what you saw or were told, not what you think happened. Use the student's own words where possible.
• Do not investigate — Your role is to report, not to investigate. Do not question the student beyond what they have voluntarily shared.
• Do not promise confidentiality to the student — If a student discloses something, explain that you may need to share this information with someone who can help.
• Report promptly — Raise the concern as soon as possible after the incident. Delays can affect the safety of the student.
• Do not share with guardians — Unless the safeguarding team specifically instructs you to, do not inform the student's guardians about the concern.

Tips

• Save as draft — If you need time to gather your thoughts, save the concern as a draft and return to it later. However, do not delay submission unnecessarily.
• Be specific about dates and times — Accurate timing helps the investigation process.
• Attach evidence carefully — Only attach relevant documents. Ensure any images or files are appropriate and necessary for the concern.
• Follow up verbally — After submitting a concern, speak with your Designated Safeguarding Lead if the urgency is high or critical.