Last updated: 18/06/2026

1. Our commitment

Exam Beacon (operated by Exam Papers Plus Ltd) provides an online learning platform, including an AI study companion, that is used by children, primarily those aged 8 to 11 preparing for 11+ exams. Because our service is designed for and used by children under the age of 18, the welfare of every learner is central to how we build and run the platform.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children who use Exam Beacon, to creating a safe online environment, and to responding promptly and appropriately whenever a concern about a child's safety or wellbeing comes to our attention. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

This policy explains the standards we hold ourselves to, the measures we have built into the platform, and what we do when a concern arises.

2. The frameworks that guide us

Our safeguarding approach is informed by, and aligned with, the following law, statutory guidance and best practice.

• Working Together to Safeguard Children (2026). The Department for Education's statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children. It sets clear expectations for organisations across all sectors, including private organisations that work with children, to have appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place and to work with local safeguarding partners where needed. We have regard to this guidance and align our arrangements with it.
• Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). The Department for Education's statutory guidance for schools and colleges. While Exam Beacon is not a school or college and so is not directly subject to KCSIE, we voluntarily adopt its core safeguarding principles, including a child-centred approach and clear routes for recognising and responding to concerns, as a standard of best practice.
• NSPCC best practice for organisations working with children and young people. This includes the principle that concerns about a child's wellbeing should be shared with those responsible for their care, so that the adults around a child can support and protect them.
• Our legal duties. We recognise the welfare principles underpinning the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004, and we take seriously our duties under the Online Safety Act 2023 as an online service used by children, including the expectation that we protect children from harmful content and promote their safety online.
• Generative AI product safety standards. We have regard to the Department for Education's Generative AI: product safety standards, which set out the capabilities and features that generative AI products used in education should meet to be considered safe, including effective filtering and monitoring and protection from harmful and inappropriate content.

3. How the platform protects children

We have designed Exam Beacon so that safety is built in, not added on. Our measures include the following.

• Guardrails on the AI study companion. The AI study companion is configured with safety controls that constrain how it responds, keep its responses age appropriate, and prevent it from producing or surfacing content that children should not see. It is built to stay within the educational purpose of the platform.
• Content safety and filtering. We apply filtering and safety measures intended to prevent children from being exposed to harmful, explicit, frightening or otherwise inappropriate material through the service.
• Secure systems. We hold learner information securely and limit access to it, in line with our Privacy Policy and our obligations under data protection law.
• Monitoring for concerns. The platform is designed to recognise messages or activity from a learner that may indicate a possible risk to their safety or wellbeing, and to escalate these for human review.
• Human oversight. Concerns identified by the platform are reviewed by a person, not resolved by automated systems alone. A responsible member of our team has responsibility for safeguarding decisions.

More about the AI study companion. Because the AI study companion is the part of the service a child interacts with most directly, we hold it to specific safeguarding behaviours.

If a child shares something that suggests they may be struggling, the AI study companion is designed to:

• respond gently and without judgement, in language suitable for a primary-age child
• be clear that it is there to help with learning and is not a counsellor or a replacement for a trusted adult
• encourage the child to speak to a parent, carer, teacher or another trusted adult
• pause the session rather than continue the lesson as though nothing has been said

The AI study companion is designed never to:

• give advice that could put a child at risk
• act as a counsellor or therapist, or press a child for detail about a disclosure
• dismiss or play down something a child has shared
• claim to be human or to have feelings
• encourage a child to keep a worry secret or to avoid talking to the adults around them

Testing and assurance. We test the AI study companion's safeguarding behaviour regularly, including by simulating the kinds of things a child might say, to check that it recognises a concern, responds supportively and in a way that suits the child's age, signposts the right support, and pauses rather than continuing the lesson.

A note on limits. No automated system detects every concern, and a child may not always raise a worry through the platform. The AI study companion is never a substitute for a real person, which is why we always encourage children to speak to a trusted adult and why support details are signposted within the app.

These protections reflect a privacy by design and age appropriate approach consistent with the ICO Age Appropriate Design Code (the Children's Code).

4. Recognising and responding to a concern

Where a learner's messages or activity suggest they may have something worrying them, or that they may be at risk, we err on the side of caution. Our standard response is to:

1. Pause the learner's account so that the child takes a break from the platform.
2. Provide a gentle, age-appropriate response to the child at the time, encouraging them to speak to a trusted adult.
3. Log the concern for review by a responsible member of our team.
4. Notify the parent or guardian so that the adults responsible for the child are aware and can check in with them. The account can be reactivated by the parent or guardian once they have acknowledged the notification.
5. Escalate externally where appropriate. Following review of a concern by a responsible member of our team, where we believe a child may be at risk of significant harm we will report it to the relevant authorities (such as local authority children's social care or the police), in line with our legal obligations and the principles of the statutory guidance above.

5. Sharing concerns and information

Following NSPCC best practice, our default is to share a concern about a child's wellbeing with the parent or guardian responsible for their care, so they can support the child.

Where a child may be at risk of significant harm, we recognise that information may need to be shared with external safeguarding partners, and that this may, in limited circumstances, mean not informing a parent or guardian first (for example, where doing so could place the child at greater risk). Consistent with Working Together to Safeguard Children, we understand that data protection law and confidentiality do not prevent the sharing of information where this is necessary to keep a child safe. Any such sharing will be proportionate and limited to what is necessary.

6. Safeguarding concerns

Exam Beacon takes responsibility for safeguarding across the platform. Concerns about a child's safety or wellbeing are reviewed by a responsible member of the Exam Beacon team, who decides what action to take, including whether to notify a parent or guardian and whether to escalate to the relevant authorities. We keep our safeguarding practice under review as the service grows. Concerns can be raised at safeguarding@exambeacon.com. We take all safeguarding contacts seriously and will respond as quickly as possible.

7. Support for families

If a concern is raised, or at any time a family is worried about a child, the following support is available.

For parents and guardians:

• NSPCC Helpline (advice for adults worried about a child): 0808 800 5000
• YoungMinds Parents Helpline: 0808 802 5544
• Your GP, or NHS 111

For children, if they would like to talk to someone outside the family:

• Childline (free and confidential, for under 19s): 0800 1111, or childline.org.uk

In an emergency, where a child is in immediate danger, always call 999.

8. Records, data protection and review

We keep records of safeguarding concerns and our response to them securely and confidentially, and we retain them only for as long as necessary. Our handling of personal data is explained in our Privacy Policy. We review this policy and our safeguarding measures regularly, and whenever there is a significant change to our service, our systems, or relevant law and guidance.

9. Contact

For questions about this policy, please contact us at policy@exambeacon.com.

To raise a safeguarding concern, please contact us at safeguarding@exambeacon.com.