How we protect every student.
From real-time monitoring to direct contact with your Designated Safeguarding Lead, this is exactly how the platform keeps students safe.
per aspera ad astra
Last updated: May 2026, pending legal sign-off by DMH Stallard LLP before final publication
Our commitment
Every student who uses Career Compass is sharing their hopes, uncertainties, and private thoughts about their future with an AI. We have a moral obligation, and in many cases a legal one, to handle that trust responsibly.
Career Compass is a career guidance tool. It is not a counsellor, therapist, or crisis service. When a conversation moves outside that scope, Compass responds appropriately and points the student toward real-world support. It does not try to be something it is not.
Three things we believe about safeguarding
Speed matters. Safeguarding responses are automatic and immediate. A student never waits for a human to read their message before receiving help. Crisis resources are delivered in the same moment the concern is detected.
No single layer is enough. The platform uses three independent layers of detection in sequence, so that serious signals are never left to the AI alone. If any layer detects a concern, the response is immediate.
Students should know how this works. Students are told at sign-up that Aspiro monitors for wellbeing signals as part of its duty of care, and that in serious cases a school or parent may be informed. No hidden surveillance. A transparent, honest approach builds trust rather than undermining it.
What we detect
Every student message is assessed in real time across five categories.
Category 1a: Danger to self
Direct or indirect expressions of self-harm, suicidal ideation, abuse disclosures, or personal crisis.
This includes explicit language (“I want to hurt myself”, “I've been cutting myself”) and indirect or euphemistic expressions (“I wish I had never been born”, “no one would miss me”, “everyone would be better off without me”, “I just want to disappear”, “there's no reason to go on”).
The AI is not involved in detecting or responding to these messages. Pattern matching runs before the AI is reached. If triggered, the student receives this response immediately:
“That sounds really tough, and it matters. Compass isn't the right place for this one. Please reach out to someone who can actually help: Samaritans, call or text 116 123, available any time, free. Shout, text SHOUT to 85258. Your school, talk to a teacher or your school's safeguarding lead. When you're ready to talk about your future, I'm here.”
Category 1b: Danger to others or harmful content
Requests for information about weapons, how to harm another person, or illegal drug acquisition. The AI is not involved, same immediate hard stop as Category 1a, with Childline (0800 1111) signposted.
Category 2: Emotional dependency on Compass
Expressions of romantic feelings toward Compass, treating Compass as a primary emotional relationship, or becoming dependent on Compass for social support (“you're my only friend”, “I love you”, “would you go out with me”).
Compass responds, not with a hard block, but with warm, clear boundary-holding. It redirects toward real-world connection. A student receives a warning from Compass before any external escalation.
Category 2b: Social isolation and emotional distress
Expressions of loneliness, peer rejection, or low self-worth that do not rise to crisis level but should not be ignored (“everyone hates me”, “I don't have any friends”, “nobody cares about me”).
Compass leads with the human moment before anything else. It acknowledges what the student said, asks if they want to talk, stays with it briefly if they do, and mentions once, naturally, without pressure, that speaking to someone they trust at school can help. It does not jump straight to career guidance.
Category 2c: Age-inappropriate content
Explicit sexual content requests or persistent sexualised language. The AI is stopped before it responds. The student receives a brief, non-preachy redirect. Normal teenage conversation about relationships and dating is not affected.
What happens after a flag
A safeguarding flag does not expire at the end of a session.
When a Category 1 concern is raised, that student's account enters a state of elevated monitoring that persists indefinitely, until a named member of the Aspiro team reviews and removes it. At the start of every subsequent session, Compass checks in before moving to career guidance: “Hey, how are you doing today?”, warm and natural, not clinical. If the student indicates distress, crisis resources are provided again immediately.
If a concern arises mid-session and the student continues chatting in the same session, Compass is aware of what happened earlier. It does not treat the next message as a fresh start.
This is not surveillance. It is the heightened attention any responsible adult would apply when they know a young person may be struggling.
Who gets notified
| Event | Who is notified | When |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1a or 1b | Full safeguarding team (Steve, Dave, Alex, Janet) | Immediately, does not delay the student's response |
| Category 2, first occurrence | Full safeguarding team | Email (for information) |
| Category 2, 3 or more flags | Full safeguarding team | Email (action needed) |
| School DSL (partner school students) | Steve Paulachak (CEO) contacts directly | Within 4 hours of Cat 1, immediately for acute risk |
| Parents (non-subscribed school students) | Steve Paulachak contacts directly | Within 4 hours of Cat 1, immediately for acute risk |
Escalation to schools and parents
When Steve receives a Category 1 alert and judges that escalation is warranted, the path depends on how the student reached the platform.
Partner school students:Steve contacts the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead directly, by phone in the first instance. DSL contact details are collected during school onboarding and stored securely. Aspiro shares: that a concern was flagged, the student's name, the category, and the timestamp. No message content. The school's own safeguarding procedures take over from there.
Non-subscribed school students(students who signed up via a parent or independently, without a school subscription): Steve contacts the student's parents directly. If parents cannot be reached and the concern is acute, local children's services are contacted.
This applies whether or not the school is a paying subscriber. Safeguarding overrides commercial relationships at all times.
Who can access what
| Who | Access |
|---|---|
| Student | Full access to their own conversation history |
| Parents | Never, at any tier, ever |
| Schools | Session summaries only (AI-generated, no raw conversation content) |
| Aspiro admin | Red flag signals only (category, timestamp), not conversation content |
| Legal disclosure | Category 1 at serious threshold may require disclosure to the school DSL or authorities. This is the law, not Aspiro's choice. |
Our safeguarding team
All safeguarding alerts go to the full team immediately. Decisions about escalation rest with Steve Paulachak as CEO and named Designated Safeguarding Officer.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Steve Paulachak | CEO, Named Safeguarding Officer. Escalation decisions. Direct DSL contact. |
| Dave Jetuah | Head of GTM and Media, receives all alerts |
| Alex Williams | Co-Founder, receives all alerts |
| Janet Hayward OBE | Education Expert and Strategist, 25 years as a serving headteacher, digital education advisor. Safeguarding review and school escalation guidance. |
Legal framework
This policy aligns with the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2024, the ICO Children's Code (Age Appropriate Design Code), UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Online Safety Act 2023.
Aspiro is not a school and does not carry a school's statutory safeguarding responsibilities. But organisations that hold private conversations with young people carry a practical and moral obligation to act on those conversations responsibly. That is what this policy reflects.
This policy is under review by DMH Stallard LLP. Legal sign-off covers the escalation protocol, automated DSL notification, content retention for under-16s, and parental consent requirements.
Contact
For safeguarding enquiries or questions about this policy, contact [email protected].
Schools wishing to discuss DSL procedures or the escalation process are welcome to contact Steve Paulachak directly at [email protected].
For schools and parents: A more detailed version of this policy, including the full escalation process, data handling specifics, and legal compliance framework, is available on request. Contact us.