What is safeguarding? Safeguarding is the measures one takes to make sure children are not taken advantage both physically and mentally and are able to live freely. We live in a world where our children can be contacted through not only physical means but virtually too. This can be a serious issue as our children are at a higher risk of being taken advantage of now more than ever. Todays article will be tackling this very issue and I will give tips on what safeguarding guidelines to look for when searching for a Quran online platform.
DBS/CRB checks can not be stressed enough. A lot of people blindly trust Quran teachers due to them being religious teachers. This type of lenient thinking puts your child in a lot of risk. A lot of the times its in these types of situations where a child is taken advantage of. A person who we may think is Godly could very well have a past riddled in criminal activity.
Demanding a CRB/DBS ensures that the person who is to teach your children has no ill past records. We want to make sure that the person we may leave alone with our children has good intent. The first thing to do to eliminate this risk is to get a CRB/DBS check- so do it!
A lot of Quran online platforms give free communication to child and tutor. Tutors and children are able to communicate privately and schedule/reschedule classes. This does not meet safeguarding guidelines as it can potentially put your child at risk of being taken advantage of.
Look for a platform that takes over all these tasks. The tutor should only be teaching the child during the class. Anything before or after that should be dealt with the parents and the platform representatives.
Make sure that the classes that children participate in is monitored by the platform. Tutors should know that their actions and teaching is being watched so as to make sure they stay within the safeguarding guidelines. Moreover, a recording feature should be available on these platforms so parents are able to watch how the child is being taught after a class has taken place.
As mentioned above, you can never be too sure when it comes to exposing your children to the virtual world. Even though a CRB/DBS check may be squeaky clean, there are still preventative methods that can ensure that the teacher remains that way. Safeguarding training should take place regularly where teachers are taught what they should and shouldn't do when it comes to the matter of children. Some teachers can be oblivious and may cause distress to children without even knowing. Therefore, safeguarding training is necessary even though some teachers may mean no harm.
We understand that the teachers we are dealing with are scholars of the Quran but they are humans just like all of us. The idea that Quran teachers are Godly people creates this leniency that we show towards them that can then cause and create an environment where children can be potentially be abused. Things go wrong when our guard is down so its essential to stay defensive at all times, no matter who or what the circumstances are.
Most of these measures are deterrents more than anything else. When teachers are aware that a platform takes safeguarding seriously, it reduces the chances of any risks towards children.
The Quran Hour implements the above methods and is one of the only platforms that follows safeguarding guidelines religiously. Make sure to not only look for qualified teachers, but also look for platforms that protect your child.
