Safeguarding Policy | Beyond IQ & Limitless

Policy owner and scope

This policy is owned by Beyond IQ, Neuweg 330, 1215 JH Hilversum, the Netherlands, and applies to Beyond IQ and Limitless activities involving children and young people. It applies to the founder, employees, contractors, facilitators, guest speakers and volunteers (“representatives”), whether work takes place in person, online, at a school, at another venue or through a digital platform.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Lihi Engelsman, Founder of Beyond IQ, is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Contact: info@beyond-iq.com | +31 (0)6 383 36 422.

If a concern relates to the DSL, do not report it only to the DSL. Report it to the participating school’s DSL or senior leader, and/or seek advice directly from Veilig Thuis. If a child is in immediate danger, call 112.

External reporting and advice in the Netherlands

Immediate danger or urgent police/medical response: 112.
Advice or a report concerning domestic violence or child abuse: Veilig Thuis, 0800-2000 (free, 24/7); from outside the Netherlands: +31 70 311 9007.
Non-emergency police contact: 0900-8844.
When an activity is hosted by a school, follow the school’s reporting procedure as well, unless doing so could increase the risk to the child or compromise an external investigation.

This policy is a Beyond IQ operational policy. It is aligned with the safeguarding arrangements of each host school and venue before programme delivery.

Our commitment

Beyond IQ and Limitless are committed to creating learning environments in which children and young people are respected, listened to, appropriately challenged and protected from harm. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and is part of programme design, recruitment, communication, data handling and daily practice.

Key principles

Every child and young person has an equal right to protection, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, family circumstances, language, neurodivergence, attainment or perceived giftedness.
Abuse can occur in any family, school, culture, organisation, community or online environment.
A child’s behaviour, silence, communication style, additional needs or high ability must never be used to dismiss a concern.
Adults hold responsibility for maintaining safe professional boundaries. A child is never responsible for an adult’s breach of those boundaries.
Information is shared on a need-to-know basis to protect the child. Confidentiality cannot be promised when safety is at risk.
Concerns are taken seriously even when evidence is incomplete. Reporting a concern is not the same as deciding that abuse occurred.
The child’s wishes and feelings are heard in an age-appropriate way, while adults make the decisions necessary for safety.

Forms of harm

Harm may include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or exploitation, neglect, domestic violence, bullying, discriminatory abuse, online abuse, grooming, peer-on-peer abuse, self-harm risk, harmful sexual behaviour, trafficking or other conduct that threatens a child’s safety or wellbeing. Safeguarding also includes concerns about an adult who may pose a risk or may be unsuitable to work with children.

Professional code of conduct — all representatives must

Treat children fairly, respectfully and without humiliation, intimidation, discrimination or favouritism.
Use language, activities and feedback appropriate to the child’s age, needs and context.
Work in observable and accountable ways. One-to-one activity must be known to a parent/guardian and/or school, use an agreed space or platform, and avoid unnecessary isolation.
Use only approved organisational or school communication channels. Keep programme communication purposeful and, where appropriate, visible to a parent or school contact.
Avoid private social-media connections, secret communication, sexualised language, romantic conduct, gifts that create obligation, or asking a child to keep an adult’s conduct secret.
Avoid unnecessary physical contact. Any contact must be appropriate, proportionate, child-led where possible and never sexual, punitive or coercive.
Never use physical punishment, degrading treatment, threats, illegal substances, or work while impaired.
Never take, store or publish photographs, recordings or identifiable student work without the required consent and agreed purpose.
Report boundary breaches, unsafe practice, disclosures and concerns promptly, including concerns about their own conduct.

Transport, toilets and personal care

Representatives do not transport a child alone, enter a toilet/changing area with a child, or provide personal/intimate care unless this is necessary for immediate safety or is covered by a written, risk-assessed arrangement agreed with the parent and school. Any exceptional incident must be documented and reported.

Gifts and favouritism

Small programme-wide tokens may be appropriate. Individual gifts, money, special privileges or relationships that could create dependency, secrecy or perceived favouritism are not permitted without transparent prior agreement.

Online and digital safeguarding — live online sessions

Use an approved platform and meeting link; do not publish access details openly.
A parent/guardian or school knows when the session occurs. For younger students, an adult should be available nearby.
Use waiting rooms, participant controls and appropriate host settings.
Do not require a child to use a bedroom as a background or disclose private home information. Cameras should be optional unless a clear, proportionate educational reason has been explained.
Private chat, direct messaging and breakout rooms are used only where needed and with appropriate oversight.
Do not record unless the purpose, access, retention period and consent have been confirmed in advance.

Limitless platform and student work

Use username-only student accounts where possible; public-facing usernames must not reveal a child’s full identity.
No open child-to-child or adult-to-child private messaging.
Gallery or community submissions are moderated before or promptly after publication according to risk.
Remove personal contact details, location information and other identifying data from public work.
Report harmful, threatening, sexual, discriminatory or identifying content immediately and preserve only the evidence needed for safeguarding.
Do not upload identifiable student information to AI tools. AI-assisted analysis uses anonymised student IDs and remains subject to meaningful human review.

Personal devices and social media

Representatives must not use personal social-media accounts or disappearing-message services to communicate privately with students. Programme images and records must be stored only in approved locations and deleted from personal devices as soon as securely transferred, if use of a personal device was exceptionally authorised.

Recognising, receiving and reporting concerns

Act promptly. Do not investigate the matter yourself.

Possible indicators. Indicators can include an unexplained change in behaviour, fear of a person or place, injuries, sexualised behaviour or knowledge, persistent hunger or poor hygiene, repeated absence, concerning online contact, self-harm statements, a direct or indirect disclosure, or an adult’s repeated boundary violations. No single indicator proves abuse, and a child may show no obvious signs.

If a child tells you something:

Stay calm, listen and take the child seriously.
Do not promise secrecy. Explain that you must share the information with people who can help keep them safe.
Use only open and necessary prompts, such as “Tell me what happened.” Do not ask leading questions or seek proof.
Reassure the child that they did the right thing by speaking and that the harm is not their fault. Do not confront the alleged person.
Check whether anyone is in immediate danger and call 112 when necessary.
Make a factual written record as soon as possible, using the child’s exact words where you can. Record date, time, location, who was present, what was observed and what action was taken. Sign and date the record.
Report immediately to the Beyond IQ DSL and the host school DSL. If the concern relates to the Beyond IQ DSL, use the alternative route in this policy.

Decision and referral

The DSL will assess immediate risk, consult the host school where appropriate, preserve records and seek advice or make a report to Veilig Thuis, police or another competent authority when necessary. The DSL does not conduct a criminal or child-protection investigation. Parents are normally informed unless doing so may increase risk, compromise an enquiry or conflict with professional advice.

Whistleblowing and retaliation

A representative who raises a safeguarding concern in good faith will not be penalised for doing so. Knowingly malicious allegations may be addressed under applicable contractual or conduct procedures, but uncertainty or an unsubstantiated concern is not itself misconduct.

Allegations and incidents involving adults

Allegation about a representative. Any allegation that an adult harmed a child, may pose a risk, breached a serious professional boundary or may be unsuitable to work with children must be reported immediately to the DSL and the host school’s safeguarding lead. Beyond IQ may pause the adult’s contact with children as a neutral protective measure while advice is sought. The adult must not be promised confidentiality or a particular outcome.

Allegation about the DSL. Report directly to the host school’s DSL or senior leader and seek advice from Veilig Thuis and/or police as appropriate. The DSL who is the subject of the concern must not control the record, referral or response.

Peer-on-peer harm. Harmful conduct between children is treated as a safeguarding issue, not dismissed as “banter” or an inevitable part of gifted-group dynamics. Both the child who may have been harmed and the child whose behaviour caused concern receive an appropriate response. Safety planning, parent/school communication and external advice are considered according to risk.

Immediate programme action

Separate individuals without conducting an interrogation.
Arrange appropriate adult supervision and medical help if needed.
Preserve relevant messages, platform records or other evidence without circulating it.
Record actions and reasons.
Share information only with those who need it for safety and response.

Safer recruitment and engagement

Roles involving children include a clear safeguarding commitment and code of conduct.
Identity, relevant qualifications, employment history and references are checked proportionately.
A valid VOG or equivalent criminal-record check is required where the role and law/practice require it; international history may require additional checks.
Gaps, inconsistencies or safeguarding concerns are explored before engagement.
Contractors, volunteers and guest speakers receive role-appropriate safeguarding expectations and supervision. A guest speaker is not assumed to be suitable for unsupervised contact merely because of professional status.

Induction, training and review

Representatives receive this policy, reporting routes, professional-boundary expectations, online-safety rules and information about the host school’s procedures before relevant work begins. Training is refreshed periodically and after material changes. The DSL reviews the policy at least annually and records lessons from incidents, near misses and feedback.

Programme and venue risk assessment

Confirm supervision, arrival/departure and authorised collection arrangements.
Confirm emergency contacts, medical needs and accessibility arrangements.
Identify isolated spaces, transport, toilets, photography, digital access and one-to-one activity risks.
Agree who holds responsibility during school-time participation and transitions between school, family and programme.
Ensure students know, in age-appropriate language, who they can speak to and how to raise a concern.

Privacy, records and information sharing

Recording. Safeguarding records are factual, dated, signed, stored separately from ordinary teaching notes and accessible only to authorised persons. Records distinguish observation, the child’s words, information from others and professional action or decision. Informal notes are transferred promptly into the secure record and securely destroyed.

Sharing. Information is shared lawfully, proportionately and on a need-to-know basis. Consent is considered, but lack of consent does not prevent sharing where this is necessary to protect a child, comply with law or respond to a serious risk. The reason for sharing or not sharing is recorded.

Storage and data minimisation.

Use the secure school environment or approved Beyond IQ system specified for the engagement.
Restrict access to the DSL and other persons who need the information.
Do not place identifiable student information into public AI tools. AI-assisted educational analysis uses anonymised student IDs and human oversight.
Working identification files are retained only for the agreed process and deleted according to the applicable school/Beyond IQ retention plan.
Safeguarding records are retained for the period required by the circumstances, legal duties and professional advice; they are not deleted merely because ordinary programme records reach their standard deletion date.

Data incidents

Loss, misdirection, unauthorised access or accidental disclosure of child information must be reported immediately to the DSL and the relevant school contact. Beyond IQ will assess containment, notification and documentation duties under the GDPR and applicable agreements.

Photography, consent and participation

Media consent is separate from the child’s right to participate wherever practicable.

Obtain specific parent/guardian consent before public use of identifiable photographs, video, audio, interviews or student work.
Explain purpose, channel and intended audience in understandable language. Seek the child’s assent as appropriate, even where an adult holds legal authority to consent.
Do not identify a child by full name, school, location and image together unless specifically justified and agreed.
A refusal of optional promotional consent must not disadvantage a student.
Withdrawal applies to future use. Beyond IQ will remove content under its control where reasonably possible and explain limits for material already printed, downloaded or lawfully republished.

Participation information. Parents and schools should share only the health, learning, communication, emergency and support information reasonably necessary for safe participation. Such information is used for programme delivery and safeguarding, not for unrelated marketing.

Approval and review record

Approved by: Lihi Engelsman, Founder and Designated Safeguarding Lead, Beyond IQ
Effective: 27 August 2026
Next scheduled review: 27 August 2027

Earlier review triggers: safeguarding incident or near miss; material programme/platform change; change in law or official guidance; significant feedback from a school, parent, child or representative.

Contact: info@beyond-iq.com | +31 (0)6 383 36 422 | Beyond IQ, Neuweg 330, 1215 JH Hilversum, the Netherlands | KVK 77754581