Child and Media Safeguarding Policy

Child account authority

IELPS separates the learner, payer and parent/guardian or school authority. Before a child account activates, the platform records a verified authority event: authority type, child relationship, permitted scope, evidence method, verification time, expiry where applicable and revocation. Missing, expired or revoked authority fails closed. Parent/school monitoring is limited by role and verified relationship and is audited.

Only the date-of-birth precision or age band approved by the DPIA may be stored. Child-facing notices use age-banded plain language. Adult notices explain what parents and schools can see, how to withdraw authority, and the limits imposed by safeguarding and law.

Privacy and learning personalisation

Child settings default to the highest privacy. Advertising, sale of child data, behavioural advertising, public profiles, discoverability, precise location, unnecessary profiling and session replay are prohibited. Necessary learning personalisation must be explainable, limited to education delivery and reviewable by the authorised adult/school. Automated output cannot make a solely automated decision with legal or similarly significant effect without an approved lawful process.

Safeguarding reporting

Safeguarding reports create restricted, encrypted audit records and page the approved on-call safeguarding owner or deputy. Routine support can see only that a restricted case exists and must not access the body. Access, export, disclosure, legal hold and closure are audited. Immediate danger is directed to local emergency services; IELPS is not an emergency service.

Tutoring and communications

Live tutoring, booking, classroom creation and recording remain held and off. Future approval requires current identity, competence/qualification, contractual status, safeguarding training and market-appropriate criminal-record/clearance evidence. Expired or failed evidence prevents assignment. Tutor-child communication must stay on approved, monitored platform routes; no off-platform contact or secret communication is allowed. Parent/school visibility and escalation must be defined before launch.

Recording

Recording defaults off. A future approved recording must have a specific purpose, lawful basis, required notice/consent, participant and child rules, encryption, access audit, restricted export, retention and deletion. Recording cannot be enabled merely because a conferencing provider supports it.

Media and people claims

Every image, video, voice, music track, illustration and generated asset requires a media asset record with provenance, rights holder, permitted territories/channels, term, restrictions, evidence link and status. Only approved and unexpired assets resolve to a public URL. Person names, educator identities, qualifications, testimonials and experience claims require a separately approved person claim record.

Alt text is content with an author, reviewer, locale, accessibility purpose and approval date. Introduction-video deployment remains blocked until releases, music/voice licences, script/claim approvals, territory/channel rights, expiry and takedown ownership form a complete linked rights packet.