Child Safety & Safeguarding

GentleSpeak teaches children online. The safety and wellbeing of every student in our care is our highest priority. This policy explains how we keep children safe — how teachers communicate with students, how classes are recorded and who can access those recordings, and exactly what to do if you ever have a concern.

Every member of our team — teachers, substitutes, and staff — is responsible for upholding this policy. We review it regularly and update it whenever our practices or the law changes.

All communication between teachers and students happens inside the class or through GentleSpeak’s own platform. Teachers do not contact students privately.

• Classes are the classroom. Teacher-to-student interaction happens live, on camera, during the scheduled class. There is no private messaging between a teacher and a student.
• No private channels. Teachers may not message, call, email, or connect with a student on any personal or third-party app (LINE, WhatsApp, social media, or similar). All contact goes through GentleSpeak.
• Professional tone. Teachers are trained to speak to students with warmth and respect, and to keep every interaction appropriate to the child’s age.

The only channels we use are:

• The live class — video and audio, on camera, for the 40-minute session.
• The GentleSpeak platform — class reports, homework notes, and in-app notifications sent to the parent’s account.
• Parent-facing email — official GentleSpeak emails to the parent or guardian, never to the child.

We do not operate any unofficial or personal channel between staff and students. If anyone ever contacts your child outside these channels claiming to be from GentleSpeak, please report it to us immediately (see Section 9).

We communicate with parents and guardians, not with children directly about administrative matters. After each class, the teacher’s report — what was covered, how the student participated, and any homework — is shared with the parent through the GentleSpeak platform.

If a parent has a question about their child’s class, progress, or schedule, they should contact us through the platform or by email. We welcome open communication with families and encourage parents to raise anything that feels unclear or uncomfortable.

Our teachers are professionals, and we hold them to clear boundaries:

• Teachers teach only through GentleSpeak’s platform and scheduled classes.
• Teachers do not share personal contact details with students or families.
• Teachers do not accept gifts, payments, or favours from families outside the official GentleSpeak enrollment.
• Teachers do not meet students in person or arrange any contact outside of class.
• Teachers maintain appropriate dress, language, and demeanour on camera at all times.

The following are strictly prohibited and will result in immediate action, up to termination and reporting to authorities:

• Any form of physical, verbal, emotional, or sexual misconduct toward a student.
• Grooming behaviour, personal favouritism, or any attempt to isolate a student from their family or from GentleSpeak.
• Private contact with a student outside GentleSpeak’s platform.
• Sharing personal contact information, social media, or images with a student.
• Inappropriate, suggestive, or age-inappropriate language, jokes, or content in class.
• Any behaviour that a reasonable person would consider harmful to a child.

We take every report seriously. A teacher who breaches these rules is removed from teaching immediately while we investigate.

Teachers use only GentleSpeak-approved teaching materials. They may not share external links, files, videos, or images with students during or outside class unless those materials have been approved by GentleSpeak.

If a student is exposed to any content that is inappropriate, frightening, or age-unsuitable during a class — whether shown by a teacher, another student, or a technical glitch — we want to know. Please report it so we can review the recording and take action.

Yes — GentleSpeak records every class. Recording is a safeguard, not a feature. It exists to protect your child and their classmates, and to give us a clear record if anything ever needs to be reviewed.

Who can access recordings:

• Recordings are accessible only to GentleSpeak’s Designated Safeguarding Lead and authorised senior staff.
• Teachers do not have access to recordings of their own classes after the session ends.
• Recordings are never shared with parents, students, third parties, or the public. They are not published, downloadable, or sent to anyone. Any marketing use of a recording excerpt is governed separately by the Photo, Video & Recording Consent section of our Privacy Policy.

How recordings are stored and deleted:

• Recordings are stored on secure, access-controlled cloud storage.
• Recordings are kept for 90 days, then automatically deleted.
• If a safeguarding concern is open, the relevant recording is preserved until the concern is resolved, then deleted.
• Parents and students may not record classes themselves (see our Class Policies).

If you or your child ever feels unsafe, uncomfortable, or unsure about anything that happened in a class — please tell us. You do not need to be certain that something is wrong; a concern is enough.

To report a safeguarding concern, email our Designated Safeguarding Lead at safety@gentlespeak.com. Please include:

• Your child’s name and the class date and time.
• A short description of what happened or what you observed.
• Any other detail you think is relevant.

What happens next:

• We acknowledge every report within 24 hours.
• The Designated Safeguarding Lead reviews the relevant class recording.
• If a teacher is involved, they are removed from teaching while we investigate.
• If a child may be at risk of harm, we report to the appropriate Taiwan authorities.
• We follow up with the family on the outcome and any changes we make.

You will never be penalised, ignored, or treated differently for raising a concern in good faith.

When a concern is raised, GentleSpeak follows a clear process:

• Immediate safety. If a child is in immediate danger, we contact the appropriate authorities without delay.
• Preserve the recording. The relevant class recording is preserved from auto-deletion and reviewed by the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Remove the teacher. If a teacher is involved, they are suspended from all GentleSpeak classes pending investigation.
• Investigate. We review the recording, speak with the family, and, where appropriate, the teacher.
• Act. We take whatever action is needed — retraining, termination, reporting to authorities — to make sure children are safe.
• Follow up. We tell the family what we found and what we changed, and we record the incident so we can learn from it.

GentleSpeak has a Designated Safeguarding Lead responsible for child safety across the Service. The Lead:

• Owns this policy and reviews it at least once a year.
• Is the single point of contact for any safeguarding concern.
• Reviews recordings when a concern is raised.
• Decides on and oversees any action taken.

To reach the Designated Safeguarding Lead, email safety@gentlespeak.com.

This Child Safety & Safeguarding Policy works alongside our other policies:

• Privacy Policy — how we collect, use, and protect personal data.
• Class Policies — how classes work and what we ask of students and parents.
• Terms & Conditions — the full terms of using the Service.
• Cancellation & Refund Policy — cancellations, the 7-day cooling-off right, and refunds.