Effective date: 14 July 2026 · Last reviewed: 11 July 2026
1. Our position
LifeLearn is designed for parents, carers and independent providers. Children can benefit from the opportunities families find through LifeLearn, but they cannot create accounts, post in the community, message users, or contact providers through the platform.
Although children do not use LifeLearn, the platform exists to help families arrange real-world learning for children. That gives us safeguarding responsibilities we take seriously: keeping under-18s off the platform, being honest about what provider badges do and do not mean, and acting quickly when a concern is raised.
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Jessica Jackson, Founder — hello@lifelearn.co.uk. The DSL is responsible for this policy, safeguarding decisions, referrals and records.
2. Keeping the platform adults-only
- Registration requires confirmation that the user is 18 or over.
- Community accounts found or reasonably believed to belong to under-18s are suspended immediately and closed. This includes an under-18 using a parent’s account.
- The platform contains no features directed at children: no child profiles, no child messaging, no child-facing content areas. The journal records information about children, entered and controlled solely by their parent or carer.
- Suspected under-18 accounts can be reported by anyone — see the Reporting and Complaints Policy.
3. Protecting children’s information
- Community Rules prohibit posting identifying details of children (full names with location, schools, routines) and photos of other people’s children.
- Journal data about children is private to the parent’s account, never public, never used for marketing, and deletable at any time. See Privacy Policy sections 4 and 8.
4. Providers and real-world safety
- LifeLearn is a directory and community, not an agency. Providers are independent businesses; families are always responsible for their own checks and for supervision decisions.
- Directory badges are provider-declared (see Provider Declarations & Listing Standards): they are statements providers make about their own criminal-record checks, insurance, qualifications and SEND experience, and are not independently checked by LifeLearn. Every badge says so where it appears. Families should ask providers to show certificates and policies directly.
- Providers must comply with all safeguarding law applicable to their service and must not use LifeLearn to contact or gather data on under-18s.
5. If a concern is raised about a provider
- The DSL reviews the concern within one working day.
- Where the concern is credible and relates to child safety, the listing is suspended while we review — suspension is precautionary, not a finding.
- We do not investigate child protection matters ourselves. Credible concerns are referred to the appropriate statutory body: the police (999 if immediate risk, otherwise 101), the local authority designated officer (LADO) for the provider’s area, and/or the NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000).
- We preserve relevant records and cooperate fully with any statutory investigation.
- Outcome: listing restored, restricted (e.g. badges removed), or permanently removed.
6. Illegal content involving children
Any content sexualising or endangering children is removed immediately, the account permanently banned, evidence preserved, and a report made to the police/CEOP and the Internet Watch Foundation as appropriate. There are no warnings and no appeals path that restores such content.
7. Concerns about a member
Community content suggesting a child is at risk of harm (including at home) is escalated to the DSL. We will act proportionately: this may include signposting the member to support, or — where a child appears at risk — referral to statutory services. Member confidentiality is respected except where a child’s safety requires disclosure.
8. Training and review
The DSL maintains current knowledge of statutory guidance (Working Together to Safeguard Children; Keeping Children Safe in Education where relevant to providers) and Ofcom’s Online Safety Act codes. This policy is reviewed annually and after any incident.
9. Contact
Safeguarding concerns: hello@lifelearn.co.uk, subject line “Safeguarding”. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 first.
