Designated safeguarding lead

Name: Nichola Jacques

Role: Founder

Email: frenchtoasthome@gmail.com

Phone: 07812998900

The purpose and scope of this policy 

French Toast Lessons provides an introductory service between self-employed private tutors and prospective students to deliver French GCSE, A Level and adult conversational tuition online. 

The purpose of this document is to set out French Toast Lessons’ Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and our overarching commitment to keeping children and young people safe. It is also intended to act as a guide for the self-employed tutors we represent, introduce or work with in any other legitimate manner to help them follow our approach to safeguarding.

We do not maintain educational premises, and we do not hold or arrange events at which children are likely to be present. The tutors we work with are self-employed and are responsible for the conduct of their own tuition. The students using our services are in full-time education, and the tuition arranged through our company takes place online.

Legal Framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England. A summary of the key legislation and guidance is available from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-protection-system

Policy Statement

We believe everyone has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practice in a way that protects them. We will give equal priority to keeping all children and young people safe regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. We recognise that some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of discrimination, previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.

French Toast Lessons will meet our commitment to keeping children safe by:

• Listening to children, valuing and respecting them
• Appointing a designated safeguarding officer (Nichola Jacques) who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding at the highest level in the organisation, including writing safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Have robust safer recruitment, selection and appointment procedures for staff and tutors.
• Making sure all staff and tutors working on behalf of French Toast Lessons understand and follow the safeguarding and child protection procedures
• Ensuring children, young people and their families know about the organisation’s safeguarding and child protection policies and what to do if they have a concern.
• Developing and maintaining a culture of vigilance within all areas of the organisation’s work.
• Handling allegations or incidents in accordance with policies and procedures, including reporting to the relevant authorities.
• Requiring our tutors to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Tutors (available on request)

Safer Recruitment

Specific vetting procedures will be carried out to ensure that all tutors are qualified and suitable as far as can be reasonably ascertained.

These include:

• Proof of photo identification
• Proof of relevant qualifications and experience
• An Enhanced DBS Check with Barring check which is less than 12 months old, or be signed up to the DBS Update Service.
• Tutors who have taught or reside in Scotland, Wales, NI or abroad may be subject to additional checks.
• A minimum of 2 reference checks from previous employment, an academic source or a recognised professional who has been known to the applicant for a minimum of two

Definitions

Tutors should understand and recognise indicators of the types of abuse that some children experience and work to the following definitions:

 Abuse: a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others (e.g. via the internet). They may be abused by an adult or adults or another child or children.

 Physical abuse: a form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

 Emotional abuse: the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development.

It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.

It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate.

It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction.

 It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.

It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children.

 Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.

Sexual abuse: involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

Neglect: the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

• provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment);
• protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger;
• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers);
• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.
• include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Complex Safeguarding

Complex safeguarding is used to describe criminal activity (often organised) or behaviour associated with criminality, involving often vulnerable children where there is exploitation and/or a clear or implied safeguarding concern.

Guidance for each local authority varies, however, for the purpose of this document domestic abuse has been included within this definition in acknowledgement of the similarities between the process of grooming and controlling victims of domestic abuse and those subject to complex abuse and the need for a specialist and sensitive approach to working with children and families at highest risk of all these areas of concerns to reduce risk and effect positive outcomes. For the purposes of this document, the following areas are encompassed within complex safeguarding:

• Domestic Abuse including honour-based violence and forced marriage
• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
• Serious Organised Crime – including Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)
• Modern Slavery and Trafficking
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Radicalisation and ExtremismTutors understand and recognise indicators of the types of abuse that some children experience and work to the following definitions:
• All tutors are aware that abuse, neglect and safeguarding issues are rarely standalone events that can be covered by one definition or label. In most cases multiple issues may overlap with one another.

What to do if you have a safeguarding concern

Where a child is identified at immediate risk of harm then a tutor will immediately contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead, who will in turn contact the police. In circumstances where the DSL is not immediately contactable, the tutor will call the police directly using 999.

All safeguarding concerns must be reported to French Toast Lessons’ Designated Safeguarding Officer as soon as possible so we can investigate fully. All safeguarding concerns will be investigated within 1 working day of French Toast Lessons receiving the report.

If a child tells you they are experiencing abuse, it’s important to reassure them that they’ve done the right thing in telling you. Make sure they know that abuse is never their fault. Never promise a child that you will keep the things they’re telling you a secret. Explain that you need to share what they’ve told you with someone who will be able to help.

Any concerns must be kept confidential and should not be discussed with anyone other than the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Any written information regarding a disclosure or concerns must be recorded by the Designated Safeguarding Lead following the NSPCC’s Child protection records and storage guidelines. Any reports should be objective and detailed.

French Toast Lessons will deal appropriately and promptly with all allegations or concerns and refer any about its staff or tutors immediately to the appropriate Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) in accordance with local safeguarding procedures and guidance.

If considered necessary and appropriate, French Toast Lessons will immediately suspend tuition, pending investigation.

Keeping children safe online

As our tuition with children takes place online, keeping them safe online is of paramount importance at French Toast Lessons. All tutors are expected to adhere to the tutors code of conduct and will be made aware of this during their inducti

French Toast Lessons will only ever interact with children using their services through agreed means and times – arranged through a responsible adult – for example, a parent or carer, or through a school representative. Note that an adult may have vulnerabilities but still be able to arrange their own tuition – this should be considered when booking.

Staff and volunteers of French Toast Lessons will not contact children using their services through social media platforms or through their own personal profiles. The only time staff or volunteers will talk to children through social media is if they contact French Toast Lessons company profiles in order to seek support or ask about their services.

French Toast Lessons will also advise tutors connecting to families through French Toast Lessons to follow this guidance.

French Toast Lessons tutors must check all resources shared with or sent to children to

ensure they are appropriate. Content should not include anything which could harm children or expose them to harm. For example, anything depicting illegal activity, violence or extreme views.

If sensitive topics arise in educational content, resources will be carefully chosen and will be checked by other staff to ensure they are appropriate for purpose.

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

This policy was last reviewed on: 9th March 2026 

Relevant Documents

NSPCC Child protection records retention and storage guidelines

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2025

What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused (DfE Guidance)

Equality Act 2010