Safeguarding young learners

At the British Council, safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for all young people learning with us online.

Our commitment

IELTS Coach Teens is designed specifically for learners aged 16–17. We recognise that young learners have different needs from adult students, and our policies and practices reflect this.

Parental and guardian consent

Before a student aged 16–17 can enrol, a parent or legal guardian must provide written consent. This ensures families are fully informed about the course, the learning environment, and how their child’s data will be used.

Teacher training and recruitment

All teachers delivering IELTS Coach Teens classes have been recruited in line with the British Council’s safer recruitment procedures. Every teacher has completed mandatory safeguarding training and is required to maintain up-to-date certification. Background checks are conducted in accordance with local and international requirements.

Safe online learning environment

Your child’s safety is our top priority.

• All live classes take place on a secure, monitored platform.
• Classes are teen-only – no adult learners are placed in the same group.
• Private messaging between students and teachers outside of class is not permitted.
• Group sizes are capped at 10 students to ensure adequate supervision.
• Content and themes are age-appropriate and selected by the British Council content team.
• All private classes/mock tests between a British Council teacher and a Young Learner are recorded to provide an extra layer of protection and ensure the highest quality of teaching. Recordings are stored securely, accessed only by authorised personnel, and kept for up to three years in line with our safeguarding standards.

Reporting concerns

If you have any safeguarding concerns about a young person on one of our courses, please contact us immediately. The British Council takes all concerns seriously and will respond in accordance with our global safeguarding procedures.

Contact our safeguarding team

Data protection

We process personal data of young learners in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK GDPR. Parental consent is obtained before any personal data is collected. For full details, please refer to our Privacy Notice.

https://englishonline.britishcouncil.org/english-online-privacy-policy-page/