About Sunny Kids Shine
Safeguarding Policy
Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. Please note the terms ‘child’,’ children’ and ‘young person’ describe any person under the age of 18.
Definitions
The Children Act 1989, later revised in 2004, defines a child as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday, even if they are living independently, serving in the armed forces, or in hospital.
Child Abuse: Children may be vulnerable to neglect and abuse within their family or harm outside of the family. There are 4 main categories of abuse, which are: sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect. It is important to be aware of more specific types of abuse that fall within these categories, they are:
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- Bullying and cyberbullying
- Child sexual exploitation
- Child criminal exploitation
- Child trafficking
- Domestic abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Female genital mutilation
- Grooming
- Neglect
- Non-recent abuse
- Online abuse
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
Safeguarding children is defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children as:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children–2
- Protecting children from maltreatment.
- Preventing impairment of children’s health or development.
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcome.
Legislation provides the framework for safeguarding and child protection in England. It makes clear the expectations and requirements around the duties of care to children and creates accountability for these. The main legislation in England is the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, and the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06787/
Our Statement
Sunny Kids Shine Ltd work with children, families and professionals. We acknowledge our duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people within our Mental Health and Advocacy Services, and are committed to ensuring that our safeguarding practices reflect statutory responsibilities and government standards, guidance, and comply with best practice and Working Together to Safeguard Children Act 2023 requirements.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children–2
This policy recognises that the welfare and interests of children are paramount in all circumstances. It aims to ensure that regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, socio-economic background, all children:
- Have a positive, enjoyable experience in a safe, child-centred environment.
- Are protected from abuse whilst participating in our services and outside of our services.
- Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.
- Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents/carers, and other agencies is essential in promoting children’s welfare
Our Policy
As part of our safeguarding policy, we will:
- Promote and prioritise the safety and well-being of children and young people.
- Value, listen to and respect children.
- Ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and procedures are in operation.
- Adopt safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and codes of conduct.
- Ensuring every member of staff has a DBS check prior to commencing any work with Sunny Kids Shine, and will be automatically registered with the update service thereafter.
- Ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding, and is provided with appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify, and respond to signs of abuse, neglect, and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people. This includes undertaking appropriate safeguarding training at least once every two years.
- Ensure appropriate action is taken in all incidents or concerns.
- Provide support to the individual(s) who raise or report the concern, ensuring that confidential, detailed and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns are maintained and securely stored.
- Record and store information securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance.
- Prevent the employment or deployment of unsuitable individuals by recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made.
- Develop and implement an effective online safety policy and related procedures.
- Endeavour to keep up-to-date with any new information about safeguarding and child protection and update this policy accordingly to include any changes.
- Reporting safeguarding concerns correctly to the relevant Local Authority Safeguarding Lead for the appropriate county where the child resides.
- Make sure that children, young people and their parents know where to go for help if they have a concern.
Reporting of Safeguarding Concerns
It is mandatory for all regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England to report ‘known cases’ of female genital mutilation (FGM) in under 18s to the police (Home Office, 2016).
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) recommended that the government make it a legal requirement for certain people to report child sexual abuse when:
- They’re told about it by a child or perpetrator
- They witness it happening
- They observe recognised indicators of child sexual abuse.
The legal duty to report child sexual abuse in England will be included in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament.
> Find out more about the proposed mandatory reporting duty
In the event that a child discloses information that raises a safeguarding concern, we will:
- Show that we have heard what they are saying, and that we take their allegations seriously.
- Encourage the child to talk without prompting or leading questions.
- We will not interrupt a child when they are recalling significant events, and we will not make them repeat their account.
- We will reassure the child that they can tell us anything that is worrying them, but that we cannot promise not to tell anyone, because some things have to be passed on to keep them safe.
- We will explain the actions we must take in a way appropriate to the child’s age and understanding.
- We will record what we have been told, as soon as we can, using exact words where possible.
- Make a note of the date, time, place, and people present during the disclosure.
- We will contact the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authority where the child resides.
- If we are concerned that the child is in immediate danger, we will call the police.
- If we have suspicions of a safeguarding or welfare concern regarding one of our students, we will contact the Safeguarding Lead for the relevant Local Authority where the child resides.
As we work online, we therefore work with children and families throughout the UK, across different Local Authorities.
If you need to raise a safeguarding concern with Sunny Kids Shine, please contact:
Jodie Smart,
Sunny Kids Shine Safeguarding Lead
07960977359 or email info@sunnykidsshine.com
In a safeguarding emergency, where a child is at immediate risk of harm, call 999.
Further information on safeguarding and child protection can be found via the NSPCC website: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection
This policy was last reviewed on 1st April 2026 by Jodie Smart. DBS Number: 001938745078
We update these policies and terms and conditions from time to time, so please check them regularly to stay up to date with the latest revision.