Safeguarding Entelechy Learners

We believe that all learners deserve to feel safe when developing character. We believe that we have the responsibility and accountability to ensure this safety within the limits of our reasonable capacity and capability.

We must play our part in creating a safe learning environment, and encourage our clients to do the same, because:

• We are asking people to delve deeply into issues of character in the workplace and on a digital platform.
• The learners are asked to seek the opinion of people in higher positions. Where there are power differentials between participants in an online and work environment, safeguarding should always be considered.
• The nature of reflection encourages disclosures. We should be ready to respond to such disclosures when they occur.
• Continued use of digital platforms can impact our learners' mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.
• We value kindness as a quality. We believe it is right to do all we can to protect our learners' emotional and psychological well-being, regardless of age.

We are an organisation committed to helping everyone become their best version. We believe each person has something unique to offer. As part of this commitment, we must offer structured, common-sense support that allows all to flourish. The Entelechy environment is a safe one.

• What risks may our learners face when interacting in the Entelechy environment?
• Who is responsible for maintaining the safety of learners?
• How can Entelechy create an environment where learners are adequately protected?
• And how do we balance kindness with fairness, ensuring that everyone has a right to express views in a way that is mindful of others’ needs?

Before we can hope to safeguard our community, we need to understand the risks our learners take when engaging with our product and service.

Online risk can be categorised into:

• Conduct
• Content
• Contact
• Commercialism
• Data

Conduct

There are points of contact between our learners and others where there is an opportunity for conduct that could be perceived as a risk. This conduct may link to the sharing of inappropriate information, the bullying or intimidation of another person, or giving feedback that may damage a vulnerable individual’s psychological and social well-being. Equally, the conduct between learners can be problematic, and we must take a proactive approach to promote the right behaviours that allow all to enjoy the Entelechy experience without fear.

Content

The content shared on the Entelechy Academy platform must be age and culturally appropriate and based on reliable information. We will guard against using unsuitable or potentially illegal content that may be viewed as offensive or pirated. We are also committed to being part of Prevent and helping to identify and prevent extremist views and behaviours that can lead to violence, hate crime and abuse. Should the content shared publicly by our community cause concern, we will undertake the appropriate reporting procedures.

The content our learners share with assessors and mentors may also offer an opportunity for disclosure. Consequently, appropriate procedures for reporting will be applied.

Contact

Bullying, trolling, and online grooming are unwelcome contact that will not be tolerated within the Entelechy Academy environment. There should never be any unwelcome or unsolicited contact about the character-based development undertaken.

Contact is a two-way dilemma. Human contact is essential for our social and psychological well-being. It is why so much of the philosophy of Entelechy drives people to actualise learning in their everyday experiences. We want people to blend the learning done on this digital platform with experiential learning done in context. Therefore, there is potential for contact beyond the technical platform, and considering how to shape the safe action of such learning is appropriate.

Commercialism

We should safeguard against hidden costs for our learners. We should be transparent about the cost of our products and services. We will need to guard against any phishing activity in our social spaces and content that might encourage the purchase of other products away from the platform. Entelechy needs to safeguard against using our content for the commercial gain of others, especially where we need to be sure of the level of compliance of the third party.

Data

There are also safeguarding issues related to data, which are covered in our GDPR policy.

Entelechy Academy is a community comprising the EA team, facilitators, assessors, and learners. All those connected to this Entelechy community have an essential role in ensuring our learners' safety. We encourage all community members to share anything they perceive is counter to this ethos and suggest that all must do so.

The COO and Head of Learning oversee this policy and its application. All reports into privacy@entelechy.academy regarding any safeguarding issue in this policy should be immediately forwarded to the COO and Head of Learning. It should be forwarded even where no action is required or the details of the concern have been addressed. The Head of Learning will keep a central log of all issues and actions taken.

All Entelechy team members have a duty to report concerns immediately, no matter how minor they judge the issue. In the event of a disclosure, a full report of the incident must be communicated to the two safeguarding officers. No promise of keeping the information secure should be made to the learner or other community members.

The Entelechy experience combines in-app learning, training, consultancy, and community-based learning. We use this blended learning approach to take every opportunity to develop the learner.

The learning is divided into five stages, and each stage must be safeguarded within our capability and capacity as a learning provider.

To operate an effective Safeguarding policy, all those associated with Entelechy Academy must be aware of the definitions of the potential risks faced when learning. The following is given for information.

Entelechy Academy recognises that all learners and other community users have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their background or protected characteristics (which are: age, disability, gender re-assignment status, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation) and encourages all students to behave in such a manner towards each other. Bullying or harassment will not be condoned or tolerated.

To ensure that all colleagues within Entelechy Academy can effectively manage any suspicions of potential harm that may come to students, members, or staff in forms of harassment, bullying or cyber-bullying.

To ensure that Entelechy Academy will:

• Follow the correct procedures put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all members of the Entelechy community
• Be fully trained and briefed on how to handle any incident or potential situation involving a learner’s welfare
• Establish and maintain an environment where all community members are secure, encouraged to share, and are validated when there are any worries or concerns
• Ensure community members understand how to share concerns and worries
• Ensure all safeguarding laws are followed.

This policy is applicable to all learners and other community members working with and within Entelechy Academy. The policy applies to all conduct when working within the learning journey set out by Entelechy Academy, whether online or in-person. Entelechy Academy wishes to maintain a reputation of being a safe space when undertaking any action in relation to our offer and will act where this reputation is damaged.

Entelechy cannot regulate or be held accountable for views shared on social media by members of the community when they are done through personal accounts. This includes any group set up by Entelechy for use by members of the community. We do reserve the right to apply our policy to limit the impact of such comments, which may result in people being removed from our forums.

For the purpose of this policy, harassment is defined as unwelcome comments (written or spoken) or conduct which:

• Violates an individual's dignity, and/or
• Creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

This reflects the statutory definition of harassment as outlined in the Race and Employment Directive. It should be noted that racial harassment and harassment relating to disability are now considered to be examples of direct discrimination.

The examples given below, which include unacceptable physical and verbal conduct, are not exhaustive. Harassment on grounds of race, gender and disability now constitute forms of discrimination under the law.

Gender-related harassment​: Examples include displaying power over a man or a woman because of gender through disparaging gender-related remarks and threatening behaviour.

Sexual harassment: Examples include unnecessary touching, unwelcome jokes of a sexual nature, inappropriate use of suggestive visual display unit material, intimidating behaviour such as asking for, or offering, sexual favours in return for positive assessment or promotion.

Harassment on grounds of sexual orientation: Examples include homophobic remarks or unwelcome jokes, threats to disclose sexuality and intimate questions about sexual activity.

Racial harassment​: Examples include inappropriate questioning and/or jokes about racial or ethnic origin, offensive graffiti and intimidating behaviour, including threatening gestures.

Personal harassment: Examples include making fun of personal circumstances or appearance, as well as physical and electronic intimidation.

Harassment of disabled people:​ Examples include discussion of the effects of a disability on an individual’s personal life, uninvited touching or staring, and inappropriate questioning about the impact of someone’s disability. 

Age harassment​: Examples include derogatory age-related remarks and unjustifiable dismissal of suggestions on the grounds of the age of the person.

Stalking: This can be physical or psychological. Examples include leaving repeated or alarming messages on voice mail, social media, direct messages, or e-mail, following people home, or approaching others to ask for personal information.

Entelechy Academy community members could be harassed for a variety of reasons including:

• Ethnic background, religion, or culture
• Disability, special educational needs or being particularly able, gifted and talented
• Sexual orientation
• Gender (including sexualised bullying)
• Size, appearance, or health conditions
• Social or economic status (poverty, class)
• Age/maturity
• Home circumstances – certain groups such as those in public care, or young carers, or those with same sex parents/carers or whose parents/carers/ other relatives have mental health difficulties may be particularly vulnerable.

Bullying has various definitions, but is generalised to include:

• Behaviour which is intended to cause distress
• Behaviour which is repeated
• An imbalance of power between the perpetrator/s of bullying and the target/s.

Bullying is ‘Behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.’ (Safe to Learn, DCSF 2007)

Bullying can take place between learners, between learners and employees of the purchasing organisation or between team members, and can include:

• Name-calling, taunting, mocking, and making offensive comments
• Offensive graffiti
• Excluding people from groups
• Gossiping and spreading hurtful or untruthful rumours
• Kicking, hitting, pushing
• Taking belongings.

It is very difficult to distinguish between harassment and bullying and there is much overlap between the two. The following lists some of the differences between the two:

Entelechy will work to prevent any bullying and harassment by:

• Promoting a positive ethos within our community
• Building strong relationships with employers, so that creating a safe environment is a collaborative undertaking.
• Offering opportunities for community members to share experiences of past harassment and bullying to help develop the character of our community, and so working to develop the required empathy and compassion.
• Offering learning experiences that inform and empower people. The community needs to understand what is bullying, cyber-bullying, and harassment and how they play a part in making it no part of the Entelechy Academy community.

Hate incidents and hate crimes are acts of violence or hostility directed at people because of who they are or who someone thinks they are. Anyone can be a victim of a hate incident.

Hate incidents include:

• Verbal abuse such as name-calling and offensive jokes
• Intimidation
• Threats of violence
• Online abuse
• Circulating discriminatory literature
• Malicious complaints

The Crown Prosecution Service has defined hate incidents as those where the victim or anyone else feels that the incident was motivated by hostility, or was prejudiced based on disability, race, religion, transgender identity, or sexual orientation. If you believe it is a hate incident, then report it to privacy@entelechy.academy. We will record the incident and forward the concern to the police.

Hate incidents become hate crimes when the incident breaks the law of the land. A criminal offence is committed when the act of hostility or prejudice is based on disability, race, religion, transgender identity, or sexual orientation. If an incident is thought to be provoked by hate, then a judge can impose a tougher sentence under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Incidents based on other personal characteristics are not considered hate crimes by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Hate mail under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and harassment, alarm or distress under the Public Order Act 1986 will be considered a hate crime and reported as such to the police. Entelechy will explicitly state whether the crime was committed based on disability, race, religion, transgender identity, or sexual orientation and support this with the evidence available.

Entelechy will report such hate incidents and hate crimes via the True Vision website that then forwards these reports to the relevant police force.

The code of conduct of learners within an Enterprise learning space in Entelechy’s app is governed by the behavioural policies of the client. Any concerns raised with Entelechy Academy will be passed to the appropriate representative from the client.

Definitions

Assessment: Assessment is the process of determining progress. Progress with Entelechy Academy is measured in an individual learner’s journey from a starting point to a destination where there is clear impact and future takeaways established.

There are two outcomes of an Entelechy assessment: ‘yes’, or ‘not yet’.

Feedback: Feedback has the most compelling impact on learner achievement. It is a significant means of improving achievement, using insightful guidance at key moments in the journey. Feedback assists the learner in reflecting on their learning and adjusting behaviours to experience better outcomes.

In this Code of Conduct, ‘assessment’ refers to any activity or assessment set as part of the learning journey. ‘Feedback’ refers to oral or written developmental advice on performance that ensures the recipient has a better understanding of values, standards, criteria, etc.

Purpose

This Code of Conduct for Assessment and Feedback is intended to inform policy and practice on assessment and in the giving of feedback to learners. Entelechy Academy learners have a right to high quality assessment and feedback, which [a] meets their needs as learners, [b] upholds Entelechy’s obligations and responsibilities to treat them all fairly and equitably and [c] ensures the maintenance of our high standards for character-based development.

Feedback may be given during the 360 or when returning an assessment to a learner. Feedback may also be given informally during mentoring sessions, and the quality of this feedback will influence the quality of the learning undertaken.

Feedback should provide learners with objective and balanced information on their achievements to inform their approaches to learning and improve their performance. Feedback should also give students opportunities for reflection and allow them to make specific improvements in future assessment.

Principles

Assessment is designed to aid a learners’ development, helping them to continue with a learning journey in that Character Quality. It is also designed to hold the learner accountable to continued progress, with certificates and changes to their Signature as a differentiator to employers. The assessment must uphold a standard that gives credibility to the certificate and Signature, so that it communicates work-readiness and employability.

Assessment processes will be fair and there are quality assurance processes in place to monitor this fairness. Assessment criteria are available to the learner and to the assessor, as well as published on the Entelechy website for reference by employers and other interested stakeholders.

Assessors commit to marking the work submitted and not the learner submitting it. While there is an obvious overlap with the character of the person and the material submitted for assessment, the learner is asked to demonstrate progress within the assessment. If the learner demonstrates progress in the one-page assessment sheet as per the criteria, they must be awarded a badge. The learner may not have reached a mastery of the Character Quality, but this is not what is asked for. They need to have demonstrated a clear impact with specific takeaways that can be applied in the future.

Assessment consistency will be checked by Entelechy Academy and double marking will be undertaken before a certificate is issued to the learner. The marking by both the assessor and Entelechy Academy will be undertaken professionally.

Feedback will be given in a way that promotes our learners’ onward development.

Feedback will be given when the learner says “Yes” and when you say, “Not Yet”. There should be equal focus, no matter the answer, on the level of feedback given. This feedback will be objective, relevant, informative, and appropriately detailed.

Feedback should be given within a reasonable timescale. We would suggest a week is a reasonable length of time to wait for a decision from an assessor. Where this timescale is not met, the assessor should contact the learner and inform them of a date to expect comments.

Preferred Conduct

Effective feedback will:

• Be offered with an intention of improving learning, and begins with a focus on what the learner intends/ intended to develop.
• Focus on the quality of the learner’s experience and process of learning.
• Motivate and challenge the learner to continue the learning journey.
• Avoid offering praise, reward, or punishment, focusing instead on specifics of the experience and process and the behaviours presented by the learner.
• Specifically recognise what the learner has done well and clearly identify misunderstandings or underdeveloped thought processes.
• Be specific, with explicit examples.
• Be delivered with the best intentions for successful learning.
• Be delivered in a timely manner.
• Encourage further reflection in the learner with the use of questions and potential challenges posed.
• Address misunderstandings in a clear and explicit manner.

Key words: Specific. Well-intentioned. Learning focused. Timely.

Monitoring Quality

Entelechy Academy commits to monitoring the quality of the assessment and feedback experience of its learners. Our quality assurance procedures are intended to:

1. Monitor the experience of our learners through the whole of the Entelechy journey.
2. Increase the credibility of our Badges, ensuring they have currency when presented as part of an appointment process.
3. Ensure assessors feel skilled and supported in the giving of assessment judgements and appropriate feedback.
4. Guarantee we are offering a gold standard learning experience founded on the dual principle of reflection and feedback.

Addressing concerns

A learner may feel the assessor has not fulfilled the principles and better practice laid out in this document. It is the role of the Employer to address issues of concern between learner and other individuals within the organisation.

Alternatively, if the matter is sensitive and breaches Entelechy Academy safeguarding guidelines, the learner can email privacy@entelechy.academy with the subject line Cause for Concern, and someone will respond within 48 hours. It may be that Entelechy Academy feels that this is still a matter to be addressed by the Employer and we may raise this with the appropriate person within the organisation.

Before certificates are issued, assessors go through Entelechy’s quality assurance procedures. These procedures mean that assessments will be read by one of Entelechy’s validators.

Cyber-bullying is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual using electronic forms of contact repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend himself/herself.

Cyber-bullying includes sending inappropriate, offensive, or degrading text messages, emails, or instant messages via the internet, setting up websites designed to embarrass or upset individuals or excluding them from social networking sites.

By cyber-bullying, we mean bullying by electronic media:

• Bullying by texts or messages or calls on mobile phones
• The use of mobile phone cameras to cause distress, fear, or humiliation
• Posting threatening, abusive, defamatory, or humiliating material on websites, to include blogs, personal websites, and social networking sites
• Using e-mail to message others inappropriately
• Hijacking/cloning e-mail accounts
• Making threatening, abusive, defamatory, or humiliating remarks in chat rooms, to include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tik-tok, and other such sites set up.