Safeguarding boundaries

Learner support and safeguarding often involve the same learners and the same staff. They are still different processes, with different legal frameworks, different people in charge and different rules about who may see what. Inclusion Studio is built for learner support. This page sets out where its boundary lies and what to do when something crosses it.

Is Inclusion Studio a safeguarding system?

No. Inclusion Studio is not a safeguarding case management system and must not be used as one. It is designed to help you hear what helps a learner, agree a support plan, record whether support was delivered and review whether it worked. It is not designed to record, triage or manage safeguarding concerns, referrals, investigations or multi-agency work.

What should I do if a learner discloses a safeguarding concern?

Follow your organisation’s safeguarding policy and report it to your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) or deputy straight away, using the route your organisation has set, whether that is a specialist system, a form or a phone call. If a learner is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services. Do not wait to record it in Inclusion Studio first, and do not use Inclusion Studio as the place where the concern is recorded.

For colleges, the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping children safe in education sets out safeguarding responsibilities, including the role of the DSL. Other providers, including independent training providers, follow their own safeguarding policies and contractual requirements. Concerns about adults at risk follow adult safeguarding procedures. Your DSL will know which apply.

What belongs in Inclusion Studio, and what does not?

Sometimes support and safeguarding overlap. For example, a support plan might include an adjustment agreed after a DSL has been involved. In that case the support plan should record the adjustment the learner has agreed, not the safeguarding detail behind it. Your DSL decides what, if anything, can be shared with support staff.

Why keep occupational health records separate?

Occupational health records relate to employment and fitness for work. In apprenticeships, they belong to the employer’s or occupational health provider’s processes, under different rules from education records. Inclusion Studio’s employer collaboration is limited to the workplace adjustments an employer needs to act on and the employer’s own actions. Employers never see a learner’s full history, and occupational health reports should not be uploaded to Inclusion Studio.

Will Inclusion Studio connect to safeguarding systems?

There is no safeguarding system integration today, and we will not build one that copies safeguarding records into Inclusion Studio. Any future connection would be designed with providers and DSLs and would respect the boundary on this page. See imports and integrations for what is planned.

What if something in a support record suggests a safeguarding risk?

Act on it through your safeguarding procedures, as you would if you read it in an email or on paper. Inclusion Studio does not detect, score or flag safeguarding risk, and its AI drafting feature is not designed to. People, not software, recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns.

Who is responsible?

Your organisation remains responsible for its safeguarding arrangements. Inclusion Studio supports the learner support process. It does not replace your safeguarding policy, your DSL’s judgement or your duties to share information with other agencies. If you are setting up Inclusion Studio for a pilot, we will ask your DSL to review this boundary with us. Contact us if you have questions.