Safeguarding Policy

1. Purpose

This policy outlines how we keep users safe, how we handle safeguarding concerns, and what steps we take to ensure our platform is a safe environment for students.

This policy is guided by the principles of the Children Act 2004 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All users of the LaunchPt. platform (primarily Year 12–13 students aged 16–18)
• The founder and any current or future team members, volunteers, or collaborators
• All content displayed on the platform, including third-party opportunity listings
• All communications between LaunchPt. and its users (e.g. support emails)

3. Platform design — safety by design

LaunchPt. has been designed to minimise safeguarding risks. Key design decisions include:

4. Opportunity vetting and content safety

LaunchPt. collects opportunities from third-party websites. We take the following steps to ensure listed opportunities are appropriate and safe:

• Opportunities are sourced from reputable organisations including established employers, universities, professional bodies, and recognised career programmes
• Scraper configurations are reviewed before being added to ensure source websites are legitimate
• Opportunities are automatically checked for expired or stale listings and removed after 7 days if no longer found at the source
• AI enrichment is used to generate summaries and categorise opportunities — this output is reviewed by the platform founders as part of each scraper cycle

If harmful content is found

If an opportunity listing is found to contain inappropriate, misleading, or potentially harmful content:

• It will be removed immediately upon discovery or report
• The source URL will be reviewed and may be permanently removed from the scraper configuration
• If the content poses a direct risk to users, affected users will be notified

5. Data protection of minors

Protecting the personal data of young people is a core priority. Our approach includes:

• We collect only the minimum data necessary to provide the service
• Demographic data (gender, ethnicity, disability status) is recognised as special category data under UK GDPR Article 9. It is collected solely to match users with eligible opportunities (e.g. programmes for women, BAME scholarships, disability support schemes). Users can choose “Prefer not to say” for all fields. This data is processed on the basis of explicit consent given during onboarding
• User data is never sold and is never used for advertising
• User data is stored securely with vetted third-party infrastructure providers (Supabase for database and authentication, Netlify for hosting). Details of all third-party data processors are documented in our Privacy Policy
• Only the platform founders have direct administrative access to user data
• When a user deletes their account, all data is permanently removed including profile data, session data, and saved opportunities

Full details are available in our Privacy Policy.

6. Disclosure procedure

Our procedure is as follows:

If there is an immediate risk of harm, we will contact the police (999) without delay.

Response times

LaunchPt. is run by its founders and does not have a 24/7 safeguarding team. We aim to acknowledge and act on safeguarding disclosures within 24 hours. If a disclosure indicates immediate danger, users should contact the police (999) or Childline (0800 1111) directly without waiting for a response from us.

Record keeping

Written records of safeguarding concerns are stored securely, separate from general support correspondence, and accessible only to the platform founders. Records are retained for up to 3 years or until the individual turns 25, whichever is later, in line with common safeguarding record retention practice. Records are securely deleted after this period.

If a school raises a concern

If a school, teacher, or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) contacts us with a safeguarding concern about a student using LaunchPt., we will cooperate fully, share relevant information as appropriate, and follow their lead on next steps, as the school has the primary safeguarding relationship with the student.

7. Support services and helplines

If you or someone you know needs help, the following services are available 24/7:

8. Staff conduct

All individuals involved in operating LaunchPt. are expected to:

• Maintain professional boundaries in all communications with users
• Never request personal information from users beyond what the platform collects
• Never arrange to meet users in person
• Respond to all user communications in a professional and appropriate manner
• Report any safeguarding concerns immediately following the procedure in section 6

LaunchPt. is currently operated by its founders. As the platform does not involve regulated activity (no direct, unsupervised contact with children), a DBS check is not legally required for this role. However, obtaining an enhanced DBS check is under consideration to demonstrate additional commitment to safeguarding.

Any future team members, volunteers, or collaborators who have contact with young people or access to their data will be required to undergo a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check before being granted access.

9. Reporting a concern

If you have a safeguarding concern about content on LaunchPt. or about the welfare of a young person using the platform, please contact us using the dedicated safeguarding email below:

10. Policy review

This safeguarding policy will be reviewed at least once a year, or sooner if:

• There is a safeguarding incident
• There are changes to relevant legislation or guidance (e.g. updates to KCSIE)
• The platform adds new features that affect how users interact with the service

Next review date: February 2027
Reviewed by: Platform founder