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codehamsters.com

Safeguarding

Online safety policy

How we keep children safe when they use computers and the internet at Code Hamsters.

All policies and forms

Code Hamsters (Simple Platform Work Limited)
Version 1.0, approved 13 October 2026 by Mathew Long, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Next review: October 2027, or sooner after any incident or change in the law or guidance.

1. Our aim

Children at Code Hamsters learn to code on computers, so keeping them safe online is part of every session. We want children to enjoy technology, to understand the risks, and to know what to do if something goes wrong. This policy covers the devices and internet access we provide, how tutors behave online, and how we respond to an online safety concern.

The risks we guard against are usually described as the four Cs:

  • content: seeing something harmful, upsetting or not meant for children
  • contact: being contacted by someone who means them harm
  • conduct: behaving in a way that harms themselves or others, such as online bullying
  • commerce: scams, in-app spending, gambling and inappropriate advertising

2. Devices and internet access

  • Children use only the laptops, Raspberry Pi computers and robotics kits that we provide and set up for club activities.
  • Children use child accounts on our devices that cannot install software or change settings. They do not sign in to personal email, social media, gaming or messaging accounts.
  • Most activities run without the internet. Where an activity needs it, children use a filtered connection, go only to the sites the tutor has chosen, and are supervised throughout.
  • Screens face into the room so the tutor can see them.
  • Webcams and microphones are off unless an activity needs them and the tutor has switched them on.
  • We do not create online accounts for children or ask them to enter their name, address, school or photograph into any website or tool.
  • Children’s work is saved on our devices or storage, not on personal accounts. Devices are wiped of children’s personal information when it is no longer needed.
  • Our devices are kept up to date and are checked before sessions.

3. Children’s own devices

  • Phones, smart watches and tablets stay switched off or silent and in bags during sessions.
  • Children do not take photographs, video or audio recordings at sessions.
  • If a child needs to contact home, the tutor will call their parent or carer.

4. Rules we agree with children

We go through these with every group at their first session, in words that suit their age:

  • I will only use the computer for the activity my tutor has set.
  • I will only go to websites my tutor has said I can use.
  • I will not share my name, address, school, photo or passwords online.
  • I will be kind in anything I write or make, and I will not use a computer to upset anyone.
  • I will look after the equipment and not try to get round the settings.
  • If I see anything that worries or upsets me, I will tell my tutor straight away. I will not be in trouble for telling.

5. How tutors behave online

  • Tutors contact parents and carers only through Code Hamsters email, phone or booking system, and never contact children directly.
  • Tutors do not connect with children or their families on personal social media, gaming or messaging accounts.
  • Tutors do not use personal devices to photograph, film or record children.
  • Tutors check any website, video or tool all the way through before using it with children.
  • The full rules are in our code of conduct for tutors and our photography and video policy.

6. If something goes wrong

  1. The tutor closes the laptop lid or turns the screen away. They do not shut the device down.
  2. The tutor reassures the child and any others who saw it, and makes sure they are safe.
  3. The tutor tells the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) on the same day and writes down what happened: the device, the time, the website or program, and what the child saw or did.
  4. The DSL tells the parents or carers of the children involved on the same day, and finds out how it happened so that it cannot happen again.
  5. If a child may have been harmed, groomed, bullied or exploited online, the DSL follows our safeguarding and child protection policy and, where needed, reports it to children’s social care, the police or CEOP.

Indecent images of children. If a device may contain a nude or sexual image of a child, the tutor must not view, copy, print, share, save or delete it, and must not ask the child to show it. The tutor secures the device and tells the DSL immediately. The DSL contacts the police and children’s social care.

7. Online bullying

Bullying online is treated as seriously as bullying in person. If it happens at a session, or we learn that children in a group are bullying each other online, we talk to the children involved and their parents or carers, record it, and act to stop it. If it puts a child at risk of harm it is a safeguarding concern.

8. Teaching children to stay safe

Online safety is part of what we teach: strong passwords, keeping personal information private, checking whether something online can be trusted, being respectful to others, and telling a trusted adult when something does not feel right.

9. Help for parents and carers