1. Our commitment
At IH Istanbul, we want everyone attending our CELTA and DELTA courses to feel safe, respected and supported.
This policy applies to face-to-face and online courses, course communications, and situations outside the classroom that affect a candidate’s wellbeing or participation.
Everyone is expected to respect personal and professional boundaries.
2. What we mean by safeguarding and welfare
Safeguarding
Taking steps to provide a safe and respectful environment, protect people from harm, and respond appropriately to concerns about their safety. Harm may be physical, emotional or psychological.
Candidate welfare
Supporting candidates’ physical and emotional wellbeing during their course.
A concern
Any interaction, behaviour or situation that makes you feel uncomfortable, pressured or unsafe, or causes you to worry about someone else’s wellbeing.
3. When and how to contact us
Please contact us if something connected to your course affects your wellbeing or sense of safety. Your concern may involve another candidate, a tutor, a member of staff or someone connected to your course.
You do not need proof or a complete account to raise a concern. You do not need to decide how serious it is, speak to the person involved, or make a formal complaint before asking for support.
You can:
- Speak privately to a course tutor or a member of centre staff.
- Contact Narges Sancak, Centre Exams Manager, our safeguarding contact, at [email protected]
- Contact Yigit Alp, Director, at [email protected] if you prefer to speak to someone else, cannot reach Narges Sancak, or your concern involves her.
- Use our Share a Concern online form, which allows you to raise a concern anonymously. https://forms.gle/gaSCQgQxnxoRaxRo9
The form allows you to submit a concern without providing your name or contact details. Anonymous submissions will also be reviewed. Without a safe contact method, however, we cannot reply or ask for further information. The circumstances you describe may identify you or another person even if no name is given.
These channels are checked each working day and are not monitored continuously. In an emergency, call 112 in Türkiye, or the local emergency number where you are. Do not wait for a response from the centre.
4. How we will respond
We will listen, take your concern seriously and consider what support or action may be needed.
Our safeguarding contact, or the alternative contact where appropriate, will assess any immediate or continuing risk and discuss your wishes with you wherever possible.
Support may include a private conversation, help accessing appropriate services, or practical changes to course or contact arrangements. Where necessary, we may take proportionate protective action or refer the concern to an appropriate external service.
Where appropriate, we will seek guidance from Cambridge English and follow any applicable reporting requirements.
If you provide safe contact details, we aim to acknowledge your report within one working day and keep you informed about relevant next steps.
Raising a concern in good faith will not itself affect your academic assessment or access to support. Please tell us if you experience pressure or disadvantage because you have raised a concern.
5. Confidentiality
We will handle concerns sensitively and share information only with those who need it to provide support, address risk or meet applicable obligations.
We cannot promise complete secrecy, but we will normally explain any necessary sharing of information. Records will be stored securely with restricted access and handled in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
If a concern involves one of our safeguarding contacts, that person will not be responsible for handling it. Where both contacts are involved, the centre will arrange for an appropriate independent person to handle the matter.
6 Responsibility and review
The Director is responsible for implementing this policy. The Centre Exams Manager coordinates responses to concerns, with the Director acting as the alternative contact. All staff must pass concerns to the appropriate contact without delay.
Candidates receive this policy before their course and are introduced to the reporting routes at induction. Staff receive guidance on recognising and responding to concerns.
Ordinary academic and service complaints continue to follow the centre’s Complaints Procedure. Any concern involving safety will be addressed promptly under this policy.
This policy is reviewed annually and after any significant incident.
Effective date: 11/10/2026
Next review: 11/10/2027