Safeguarding / Child-Protection Statement
BioCraftEd Lab · used by under-18 learners
⚠️ DRAFT — pending legal & safeguarding review.
Safeguarding obligations sit primarily with schools, but an under-18 EdTech provider
is expected to have a clear, proportionate statement and a designated contact. Items
marked [REVIEW: …] — including the named safeguarding lead and
escalation route — must be confirmed before launch.
1. Our commitment
BioCraftEd Lab is used by children through schools. We are committed to keeping
children safe online and to supporting the safeguarding responsibilities that schools
and parents hold. We design the Service to put the best interests of the child
first (ICO Children's Code) and to minimise safeguarding risk.
2. Scope and roles
- Schools hold primary safeguarding responsibility for their pupils,
including under statutory guidance (e.g. Keeping Children Safe in Education in
England). [REVIEW: confirm which UK nations' guidance applies —
KCSIE (England), and equivalents in Scotland/Wales/NI.]
- BioCraftEd's role is to provide a safe-by-design platform, respond promptly
to safeguarding concerns we become aware of, and cooperate with schools and, if
necessary, the authorities.
- Designated contact: [REVIEW: name + email of BioCraftEd's
safeguarding contact]. Concerns can be raised at
[REVIEW: safeguarding email].
3. Safe-by-design measures already in place
- No public social features by default: the product is mission/learning based;
there is no open social network, public profiles, or stranger-to-stranger messaging.
[REVIEW: confirm the in-app mail/inbox feature cannot be used for
pupil-to-pupil or stranger contact, or constrain it to teacher↔pupil and system
messages only.]
- No behavioural tracking, profiling, advertising, or geolocation.
- Minimal personal data (see Privacy Policy §3).
- Role-based access: pupils cannot reach admin, CRM, grading, or other pupils'
data; access is enforced server-side.
- Display names: chosen by the user — [REVIEW: add a
profanity/PII filter or teacher moderation so children don't expose real identities
or see harmful names.]
4. Content risk
The subject matter (genetic engineering / molecular biology) is handled as a
simulation for education. The Terms and the registration gate make clear it
confers no authorisation to do real genetic-engineering or DIY-bio, reducing the
risk that a child treats the game as real-world instruction. We avoid content that could
plausibly serve as a real-world harmful protocol. [REVIEW: confirm
content review so no simulated content reads as actionable real-world wet-lab
instructions for hazardous activity.]
5. Reporting a concern
- Children: the registration gate and Privacy Policy tell pupils to speak to
their teacher or a trusted adult if anything online worries them.
- Teachers/parents: report concerns about a child's safety on the platform to
their school's Designated Safeguarding Lead and, where it concerns the platform, to
BioCraftEd at [REVIEW: safeguarding email].
- BioCraftEd: if we become aware of a child at risk, we will act promptly,
support the school, and escalate to the relevant authorities or the NSPCC / local
safeguarding partners where appropriate. We will not let a data-protection rule
prevent us sharing information to protect a child where the law allows it.
6. Staff and access
[REVIEW: state whether any BioCraftEd staff/contractors who could
access children's data require DBS checks given their role; document who has admin
access and that it is least-privilege.]
7. Review
This statement is reviewed at least annually and after any incident.
[REVIEW: set review owner and date.]