Safeguarding Policy.

Last updated: 21 May 2026.

1. Our commitment

GSOS exists to give each student a safe, kind, and well-informed first week in the UK. Safeguarding — protecting the welfare of every student we work with — is a core operational responsibility.

This policy sets out how we vet our hosts, the rules they follow when they are with the student, what we do if something goes wrong, and how you can raise a concern at any time.

For the September 2026 intake, GSOS services are available in London and Manchester. Current Host languages include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Yoruba, Igbo, and English.

2. Definitions

• Student — the international university student receiving the GSOS service.
• Host — the current UK university student vetted by GSOS to provide in-person support to the student.
• Booking parent — the parent or guardian who made the booking on the student's behalf.
• Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) — the named GSOS staff member responsible for safeguarding decisions, escalations, and external reporting.

3. How we vet hosts

Every host must pass every stage. No exceptions.

1. Application — full identity, current university enrolment confirmation, languages, references, and a statement of why they want to be a host.
2. Background check — basic DBS check via an approved provider. Verification of student status and right to work in the UK.
3. References — two references called personally by GSOS: one academic, one personal. We ask each referee whether they would trust the host with a younger student arriving from abroad.
4. Interview — 30 minutes by video with a GSOS team member. We assess judgement, communication, and explicit understanding of safeguarding boundaries.
5. Shadowed trial run — for the host's first booking, a GSOS team member is present at key moments (airport pickup, accommodation handover, first meal) to observe and to confirm the host is suitable.

Only after all five stages does a host become a full GSOS host. We re-verify enrolment and right-to-work each academic year.

4. Host code of conduct

Every host signs a code of conduct that includes the following rules.

Behaviour with the student

• Hosts are friendly, professional, and respectful. They are not the student's friend, partner, or guardian.
• No romantic or sexual conduct of any kind, ever.
• No alcohol or drugs during a booking, regardless of the student's age.
• No transporting the student in the host's personal vehicle unless explicitly agreed in advance with GSOS and the booking parent.

Boundaries on contact

• All host–parent and host–student communication during a booking goes through GSOS-approved channels (WhatsApp, WeChat, SMS, or email).
• After a booking ends, the host may stay reachable to the student as a friendly contact, but the formal GSOS support relationship has ended; the host is not paid for ongoing contact.
• Hosts do not exchange personal social media accounts with under-18 students.

Money and gifts

• Hosts do not accept gifts of money from students or parents.
• The cost of meals covered by GSOS (one for Welcome, two for Settle) is paid by GSOS, not by the host or the student.

5. Under-18 students

Many international students arrive aged 17. We apply additional protections for any student under 18 at the start of the booking:

• Same-gender host by default, unless the booking parent explicitly waives this in writing.
• No overnight presence by the host in the student's accommodation. The host drops the student at the accommodation and leaves.
• Daily wrap message to the booking parent as standard (not optional).
• Written parental consent required at booking, with separate confirmation of photo consent.
• We do not currently accept students under the age of 17.

6. Lone-working policy

Host and student spend time together one-to-one (in supermarkets, restaurants, on public transport, in cafés, at the university). This is the core of the service and cannot be avoided. We mitigate the risks through:

• The vetting process described above.
• Location-aware milestone messaging — GSOS knows roughly where the host and student are at every step.
• A GSOS emergency contact route active throughout the booking window; the direct contact details are shared with the booking parent and host in the booking confirmation.
• The host's training that any concerning behaviour (from the student, from a third party, or from the host themselves) must be reported to GSOS within 30 minutes.

7. Photographs and recordings

• Photographs of the student during arrival-day milestones (at arrivals, in the taxi, at the flat) are taken only with the booking parent's explicit consent.
• Marketing use of a student's photograph requires a separate, written, named consent — never assumed from operational consent.
• Hosts may not share student photographs on their personal social media.

8. Incident response

An incident is any event during a booking that puts the student, host, or a third party at risk of harm; any criminal activity; or any breach of this Policy.

The host must:

1. Make the student safe (or themselves safe) first.
2. Call the GSOS emergency number within 30 minutes.
3. Provide a written account of the incident within 24 hours.

GSOS will:

1. Notify the booking parent immediately, where reasonably practicable in their preferred language, with the facts as known.
2. Take the host off the booking if the incident relates to host conduct, and assign a backup host.
3. Notify the police, social services, or other relevant authority where legally required.
4. Conduct an internal review within 72 hours; share the outcome with the booking parent.

9. Designated Safeguarding Lead

Overall responsibility for safeguarding policy, decisions, escalations, and external reporting sits with GSOS's directors, who act as the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

To raise a safeguarding concern at any time, email [email protected] with "Safeguarding" in the subject line. We treat these as a priority and escalate immediately.

10. Training

Every host completes safeguarding briefing as part of onboarding. The booking parent receives the same briefing in summary form before service begins. We review this Policy and the briefing content at least annually.

11. Your rights as a parent

You have the right at any time to:

• Receive a full copy of this Policy
• Know the identity and credentials of your assigned host
• Receive a written incident report if anything occurred during the booking
• Withdraw photo or operational consent at any time
• Cancel the booking under our standard refund policy if you no longer feel comfortable

12. How to raise a concern

If you are worried about anything — during, before, or after a booking — please contact us. We respond within 24 hours; for urgent safeguarding concerns we respond within 1 hour during a booking window.

Email: [email protected] with "Safeguarding" in the subject line. During your booking window, a direct emergency contact number is provided in your booking confirmation and is available throughout the GSOS days.

13. External reporting routes

If for any reason you do not wish to report a concern to us, or if you believe a concern has not been handled appropriately, you can also contact:

• NSPCC Helpline (UK): 0808 800 5000
• Police (UK, non-emergency): 101 — emergency: 999
• UK Information Commissioner's Office (data concerns): ico.org.uk