Everything a student types or says, such as a story idea, a written answer or something said to Pip, goes through our safety checks. When something is worth a grown-up knowing about, Pip answers the student gently, and an alert goes to the class's teachers and the school's safety lead. Nothing is ever shown to the rest of the class.
Classes are opening soon, so there are no class alerts yet. This article describes how they work once the school agreement is in force.
Who is told, and how
- The class's own teachers and the school's safety lead are emailed. When a student writes about not wanting to be here, about a real person in an unkind way, about somebody who has died or is very ill, or about trouble at home, the email goes the same day. Most other alerts come in one daily note, "A note about your class". Some things, such as a little cartoon danger, send nothing.
- A parent who has linked their account to that student is emailed too. They are told what kind of thing it was, and that the school keeps the student's words.
- Other school admins are not emailed. They see how many alerts each class had and of what kind, but not the words, unless they also teach the class.
No email ever contains what the student wrote. Only the class's teachers and the school's safety lead can read the words, on the safety pages. These emails cannot be switched off. If the school has no safety lead, alerts reach each class's own teachers and any linked parents.
The student is never told that anybody was written to. When a student writes about not wanting to be here, no story is made, and Pip says "Thank you for telling me. This is something for a grown-up you trust. Can you find one now?" For other kinds, Pip suggests a different idea, or the story is made with extra care.
Where to read an alert
- Safety, in your sidebar, lists alerts from every class you teach, newest first, with the class named beside each student.
- A class's Safety tab lists that class's alerts, beside "What students in this class can do".
- The school's [Safety](/school/safety) page lists every class's alerts, in the students' own words, for a safety lead who is also a school admin.
Each alert names the student and the kind of thing it was, shows "In their own words" what they wrote, and says what Pip did about it. An alert about a student who may not want to be here is marked "Needs you now". "Not yet seen" shows the alerts you have not marked yet, and "All alerts" shows every one.
What to do
- Open the safety page from the email, and read the alert in full.
- If it is marked "Needs you now", follow your school's safeguarding procedure today.
- If a student is in danger right now, a "Needs you now" alert lists the lines to call: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988, any time, free), Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741), and the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (call 1-800-422-4453).
- Speak to your school's safety lead about anything you are unsure of.
- On the class's Safety tab, choose "Mark as seen", or "Mark all as seen". The mark is only for you, so the safety lead and the class's other teachers still see the alert as new until they mark it too. With our current settings, only the safety lead can mark alerts from the Safety page in the sidebar.
Answers the checks held
A written answer that the checks would not allow is kept as having been given, without its words. On the assignment it shows "The safety checks held this answer" and cannot be marked. If it needs you, it is on the class's Safety tab.
The school's safety lead
A school has at most one safety lead. Whoever set the school up is the safety lead until an admin chooses somebody else, on the school's Teachers page with "Make safety lead". Choosing a new one takes the role from the old one.
The safety lead is emailed about every alert from every class, and reads the words on the school's Safety page. That page opens only for school admins, so choose an admin as the safety lead. If the safety lead leaves or is removed, or an admin chooses "No longer the safety lead", nobody holds the role until an admin chooses someone, so choose a new one straight away.
Where to go next
For anything urgent about a child's information, write to privacy@taletykes.com. For anything else, write to support@taletykes.com or use Contact.