Safeguarding · PVG · Disclosure Scotland
Safeguarding, PVG & Disclosure Scotland
The public source for student welfare, safer teaching, appropriate checks, professional boundaries and reporting concerns.
The Glasgow School of Music works with children, teenagers and adults. This page explains how safeguarding applies to recruitment, in-person and online lessons, communication, supervision, recordings, professional boundaries and the handling of concerns.
Do not wait to speak to the school if a child, young person or adult is at immediate risk of harm, needs urgent help, or a serious incident is happening.
Our safeguarding commitment
Safeguarding is part of how the school operates.
This is GSofM’s authoritative public safeguarding and welfare page for parents, carers, students, tutors, staff and visitors. Internal procedures, case records and staff instructions are maintained separately.
Scope of this pageUse this page for public responsibilities, reporting routes and lesson-boundary expectations. Where a statutory process or external referral is required, the relevant police, social-work, child-protection or Disclosure Scotland route takes precedence.
Lessons should feel structured and professional.
Lesson arrangements should be clear, appointment-based and appropriate to the student’s age, needs and learning context.
Checks are one part of the safeguarding system.
PVG / Disclosure Scotland checks, references, role expectations and professional boundaries all contribute to safer recruitment.
Concerns should not stay informal.
Concerns about student welfare, tutor conduct, another person connected to the premises, online lessons or serious boundary issues should be raised through the school safeguarding route rather than left only with an individual tutor.
PVG & Disclosure Scotland
Appropriate checks are part of safer recruitment.
The PVG scheme is managed by Disclosure Scotland. A person must hold the appropriate PVG membership before carrying out a regulated role with children or protected adults. Membership now operates on a five-year basis, with existing lifetime members moving across through applications or Disclosure Scotland’s phased transition. GSofM assesses the duties and contact involved in each role and treats PVG information as one part of safer recruitment, not as a complete safeguarding system.
Disclosure Scotland carries out checks.
When someone applies to the PVG scheme, Disclosure Scotland carries out criminal record checks and issues a disclosure showing the result of those checks.
PVG membership is required for regulated roles.
Official guidance includes teaching, instructing or delivering training to children among the activities relevant to regulated roles. GSofM uses the appropriate PVG and disclosure route before a tutor begins work that meets the regulated-role criteria.
Checks must be completed before regulated teaching begins.
GSofM assesses the actual duties, contact and workforce involved, then completes the appropriate Disclosure Scotland process before regulated work is authorised.
The five-year model is now in force.
People joining the scheme, or existing members making a PVG application from 1 April 2026, enter five-year membership. Other lifetime members remain valid until moved across by Disclosure Scotland. Renewal, workforce changes and disclosure applications follow the official process.
Official PVG and disclosure guidance can change. Employers, tutors and applicants should check Disclosure Scotland / mygov.scot guidance directly where a role or statutory process is involved.
Lesson safety and boundaries
Safeguarding also depends on day-to-day conduct.
A safe teaching environment depends on practical arrangements as well as formal checks: communication, supervision, professional boundaries and clear reporting.
Structured lessons
Lessons and visits are arranged through agreed school routes rather than informal drop-in teaching.
Professional boundaries
Tutors are expected to maintain professional, age-appropriate conduct with students and families.
School contact routes
Families should use agreed GSofM communication channels for scheduling, welfare or formal concerns.
Contact must be necessary, explained and proportionate.
Any physical guidance used for posture, position or instrumental technique should have a clear teaching purpose, be explained before it happens, remain limited to what is necessary and stop immediately if the student is uncomfortable. Alternative verbal or demonstrative guidance should be used wherever practical.
If a child tells you something concerning
Listen calmly, reassure them that they have done the right thing, avoid leading questions, do not promise absolute confidentiality, write down the key facts as soon as possible, and escalate through the appropriate safeguarding route.
Online boundaries
Online teaching follows the same professional standards as in-person teaching. The camera view and learning space should be appropriate, a parent or carer should know when a child’s lesson is taking place, and lesson communication should remain through agreed school routes.
Consent comes before capture or reuse.
Student photography, audio, video, lesson recording or reuse of student work is not routine. A defined purpose, prior permission, appropriate consent, secure handling and a clear retention or publication basis are required. The Privacy Policy explains the wider data position.
Changes should remain visible to the school.
Parents and carers should use agreed school routes for lateness, absence, collection changes or welfare information. Tutors should not create separate private arrangements that bypass the school.
Arrival, collection, attendance and supervision should be clear.
Parents and carers remain responsible for appropriate travel, arrival and collection arrangements outside the booked lesson. Parent or carer attendance may be agreed or requested where the learner’s age, access, communication or welfare needs make this appropriate. For online lessons involving a child, a parent or carer should know when and where the lesson is taking place and remain reasonably available.
Concerns are recorded factually and shared when necessary.
Safeguarding information is recorded promptly, factually and without speculation. Absolute confidentiality cannot be promised. Information is restricted to those who need it for safeguarding, legal or operational reasons and may be shared with police, social work or another appropriate authority where necessary to protect a child or adult at risk. See the Privacy Policy.
Reporting a concern
Use the route that matches the level of risk.
Concerns should be raised early. If there is immediate danger, emergency services come first. Concerns connected to GSofM lessons, tutor conduct, student welfare or school arrangements should also be reported to the school.
GSofM safeguarding contact
Concerns connected to the school should have a clear contact route.
Use this route for concerns connected to GSofM lessons, tutor conduct, student welfare, online lessons, communication or school arrangements.
GSofM Safeguarding Contact
Use the school email address and a clear subject line so the concern can be identified and handled appropriately.
For immediate danger, contact emergency services first. The school telephone and email are not emergency services and should not delay urgent action.
If the concern relates to the safeguarding contact, the Director or school management, use an appropriate external route such as Police Scotland, local social-work services, NSPCC or Childline rather than routing the concern back through the person involved.
For non-emergency concerns that are not safeguarding matters, use the Complaints, Concerns & Feedback route.
Give enough information for the concern to be understood.
Where it is safe and appropriate, include clear details so the school can understand the concern and decide the appropriate next step.
- Student name and lesson route, where relevant.
- Tutor name, date, time and location, where known.
- What happened and who was involved.
- Whether anyone is currently at risk.
- Whether any immediate action has already been taken.
- The person’s own words where a disclosure has been made, recorded as accurately as possible.
If someone is at immediate risk, call 999 first. Do not investigate the concern yourself or ask repeated or leading questions.
The concern is documented factually.
GSofM records the information provided, the time and source of the report, any immediate risk and any action already taken. The school does not ask the reporter to investigate.
The next step follows the level of risk.
The school reviews immediate safety, preserves relevant information and decides whether internal action, contact with a parent or carer, or referral to police, social work or another authority is required.
Information is restricted and shared proportionately.
Safeguarding information is not circulated as ordinary administration. It is shared only where needed to protect welfare, meet legal responsibilities or support an appropriate external referral.
External help and official guidance
Use official routes when a concern needs external support.
These links are included so families, students, tutors and staff can quickly reach external safeguarding, child protection and Disclosure Scotland information.
Emergency and non-emergency reporting
Call 999 for immediate danger. For non-emergency police reporting, Police Scotland lists contact routes including 101.
NSPCC Helpline and Childline
The NSPCC Helpline supports adults concerned about a child. Childline provides confidential support for children and young people.
Glasgow child protection, adult support and social work routes
Where a concern needs local-authority support, use the current Glasgow child-protection or adult-protection route linked below. For an urgent social-work matter that cannot wait until offices reopen, Glasgow and Partners Emergency Social Work Services lists 0300 343 1505 for the public.
Concerns about an adult at risk may also need Police Scotland, local social work services or adult protection routes.
Child protection and PVG information
Scottish Government and mygov.scot pages provide official child protection and PVG guidance for reporting concerns and checking regulated roles.
Safeguarding FAQs
Common questions and reporting boundaries.
These answers explain the public route. Official guidance and external authorities govern statutory processes and emergency action.
What is the PVG scheme?
The Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme is managed by Disclosure Scotland. It is a five-year membership scheme for people carrying out regulated roles with children or protected adults, with continuous checking of relevant criminal-history information.
Does every role need PVG membership?
No. PVG membership is required where the actual duties and contact meet the regulated-role criteria. Teaching, instructing or delivering training to children is among the activities relevant to regulated roles, so GSofM assesses each role and completes the appropriate process before regulated work begins.
Does PVG membership replace safeguarding?
No. PVG information supports safer recruitment, but safeguarding also depends on references, supervision, professional boundaries, communication, record keeping and the handling of concerns.
What should I do if someone is in immediate danger?
Call 999 immediately. Do not wait to contact GSofM where someone is at immediate risk, needs urgent help or a serious incident is happening or about to happen.
How do I report a safeguarding concern connected to GSofM?
Email info@theglasgowschoolofmusic.co.uk with the subject line “Safeguarding Concern”. Include what happened, who was involved, when and where it occurred, whether anyone is currently at risk and any immediate action already taken. If the concern relates to school management, use an appropriate external route.
Is my issue a safeguarding concern, a complaint or routine administration?
Use the safeguarding route where there may be a risk to welfare, unsafe conduct, abuse, exploitation or a serious professional-boundary issue. Use Complaints, Concerns & Feedback for non-emergency service dissatisfaction, and Current Students or Contact for routine lesson, timetable, portal or invoice matters.
What happens after GSofM receives a safeguarding report?
The concern is recorded factually, immediate safety is considered and the next step is determined by the level of risk. Information may be restricted internally, preserved as a record and referred to police, social work or another appropriate authority where necessary.
Can a parent or carer attend a lesson?
Parent or carer attendance may be agreed or requested where the learner’s age, access, communication or welfare needs make this appropriate. Arrival, collection and online supervision arrangements should remain clear to the school.
Can lessons or students be photographed or recorded?
Not as a routine assumption. Photography, audio, video, lesson recording or reuse of student work requires a defined purpose, prior permission, appropriate consent, secure handling and a clear retention or publication basis.
Will a safeguarding concern be kept confidential?
Safeguarding information is handled carefully, but absolute confidentiality cannot be promised. It may need to be recorded and shared on a proportionate need-to-know basis with GSofM, police, social work or another appropriate authority to protect a child or adult at risk.
Safeguarding contact
Raise concerns early. Use the right route for the level of risk.
For immediate danger, contact emergency services first. For a safeguarding or welfare concern connected to GSofM, use the safeguarding email. For a non-safeguarding complaint or routine lesson issue, use the dedicated route shown on this page.