Safeguarding Children & Young People Policy
Organisation: From the Heart Energy Healing
Practitioner / Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Emma Randell, practising professionally as Emma Hunt
Professional Body: The International Institute of Complementary Therapists (IICT)
Membership Number: GB2597957191
Effective Date: 2 October 2026
Review Date: 1 October 2027
1. Purpose and Scope
1.1 Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to protect children and young people who receive remote holistic care or distance energy healing sessions from From the Heart Energy Healing (referred to as ‘From the Heart’ in this document). ‘Child’ or ‘young person’ means anyone under the age of 18. From the Heart is fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all individuals under the age of 18 who interact with the practice.
1.2 Legal and Ethical Duties: This policy outlines our legal and ethical duties under UK safeguarding legislation, including the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, the Data Protection Act 2018 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023. It applies to all online, telephone, and distance email sessions delivered to young people.
2. Core Safeguarding Principles
2.1 Paramount Welfare: The welfare of the child or young person is the primary and overriding consideration in all decisions.
2.2 Equal Protection: All children and young people have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
2.3 Heightened Vigilance: Remote practice requires enhanced attention regarding online safety, identity verification, privacy boundaries, and digital environments.
3. Remote Practice & Safeguarding Guidelines
Because From the Heart’s services are delivered entirely online, via video call or email, or over the telephone, specific protocols are in place to ensure a safe environment:
3.1 Parental Responsibility & Consent: Formal, written consent from a parent or legal guardian holding legal parental responsibility must be obtained via our secure digital intake form before any remote session with a client under 18.
3.2 Mandatory Chaperone Rules for Live Calls - Children Aged 15 and Under: A parent or legal guardian must remain physically present in the room with the child for the entire duration of every live video or telephone consultation.
3.3 Mandatory Chaperone Rules for Live Calls - Young People Aged 16-17: A parent or legal guardian must remain on the premises (in the immediate vicinity) for the entire duration of the call.
3.4 Open-Door Visibility: For all clients under the age of 18 attending a live session from any space, the door to the room where the session is taking place must remain open throughout the appointment to allow for parental or legal guardian overview and to protect both the practitioner and the young person.
3.5 Remote Email Sessions: If booking a non-live email session, the child or young person does not need to be present online. All post-session notes and summaries will be sent directly to the parent or legal guardian's designated email address.
3.6 Digital Boundaries and Visual Safety: Both the practitioner and the client (including any supervising adults) must be fully and appropriately dressed for the duration of the call. Sessions will be held against a neutral background. No visual screenshots, audio recordings, or electronic recordings of the live call will be taken by either party.
3.7 Zero-Touch and Remote Nature: All energy healing work is conducted completely remotely. There is no physical contact involved at any stage.
3.8 Right to Terminate: The child or young person, parent or legal guardian or practitioner can stop a live video or telephone session at any time if anyone feels uncomfortable.
4. Confidentiality and Its Boundaries
We respect the privacy of young people and treat all personal information in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. However, confidentiality is a critical part of the therapeutic relationship, but it is never absolute.
4.1 General Rule: Conversations, emails, and details shared during sessions are kept private between the practitioner, the child or young person, and their parents/guardians. For sessions for 16-17 year olds, the practitioner will not routinely disclose general session processing to parents without the young person's consent, honouring their personal space.
4.2 The Safeguarding Exception: If a child or young person discloses information, or if the practitioner observes indicators during a video/audio call that cause them to believe they are suffering from, or at risk of, significant harm (including physical, emotional, sexual abuse, cyberbullying, or neglect), confidentiality must be broken.
4.3 Action: In such cases, the practitioner will always share information with the relevant authorities where a child is at risk of harm, as permitted under data protection law. In such instances the practitioner will not seek a parent or guardian's consent before sharing if doing so could put the child at greater risk.
5. Handling Disclosures in a Digital Space
5.1 Disclosures: If a child or young person makes a safeguarding disclosure or shows signs of profound acute distress during a remote session, the practitioner will follow these immediate steps:
1. Ensure Immediate Safety: If the child is in immediate physical danger the practitioner will contact emergency services in the UK or internationally directly.
2. Listen and Document: The practitioner will listen calmly and attentively, without judgement, providing a supportive space. The practitioner will reassure the child and will write clear, factual, dated notes using the child’s own words where possible. The practitioner will not investigate or cross-examine. The practitioner will be honest about boundaries. They will gently let the child know that they cannot keep secrets if the child or someone else is in danger and that their job is to help to keep them safe.
3. Inform Child: The practitioner will gently inform the child that they will contact relevant UK Authorities (Children’s Social Care Team) or International Emergency Services to share the information. The practitioner will ask the child’s parent/legal guardian if they consent to the practitioner sharing this information with the relevant authorities only if doing so does not put the child at greater risk. The practitioner may contact the NSPCC helpline for guidance: 0808 800 5000.
4. Escalate to Statutory Services: The practitioner will directly contact the relevant UK Local Authority Child Social Care team, via the Government’s Find Your Local Council tool. For international clients, we will contact emergency services in their country.
5. Document: The practitioner will document the concern and their actions fully, The practitioner will date this information and immediately save it in secure, password-protected digital file. They will log the date, time, what was disclosed/observed, their immediate assessment, who they spoke to at the local authority and the NSPCC helpline if contacted, and any reference numbers provided. These notes will be securely and confidentially in line with GDPR requirements (separately from any session notes).
5.2 Visual Flowchart: At all times we will follow our Child Safeguarding Visual Flowchart (see Appendix).
5.3 Recording: For email or chat-based disclosures, emails and text logs will be saved securely as factual evidence. For verbal disclosures, the practitioner will record what was said and seen, what the practitioner did, who the practitioner contacted, and the outcome, then sign and date it. Safeguarding records will always be kept separately from session notes.
5.4 Childline: If the practitioner feels it would be appropriate, they will direct the child or young person to Childline (0800 1111).
6. Reporting and Referrals
6.1 Immediate Danger: If the practitioner believes a child or young person is in immediate physical danger during a live call, they will contact emergency services (999) immediately and utilise the home address collected on the Client Intake Form.
6.2 Children's Social Care: For ongoing safeguarding concerns, the practitioner will contact the local Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) or Children’s Social Care team in the young person's local UK authority area. The practitioner will use gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council to find the child's home council. If a child lives outside the UK the practitioner will contact that country's local emergency services or police.
6.3 NSPCC Helpline: The practitioner may consult the NSPCC Whistleblowing / Practitioner Helpline (0808 800 5000 or help@nspcc.org.uk) for professional advice if a case is complex.
6.4 DSL Lead: As a sole practitioner, Emma Randell, practising professionally as Emma Hunt, acts as her own Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
7. Key Contact Details
7.1 UK Clients: The practitioner will use the following contact details to report a child safeguarding concern if required:
Emergency Services: 999 (Immediate Danger)
Non-Emergency Police: 101
Local Authority Child Social Care (Gloucestershire County Council):
Child Social Care Helpdesk (Office Hours): 01452 426565
Emergency Duty Team (Out of Hours): 01452 614194 or 01452 614758
Other UK Boroughs: If the child resides in a different UK borough, the practitioner will locate and contact that client’s specific local authority safeguarding hub via the GOV.UK database. Once redirected to their local council website, the practitioner will search for ‘Report an Child Safeguarding Concern’ to report their concern.
7.2 International Clients: The practitioner will report any safeguarding concerns to the relevant emergency services.
8. Data Protection & Mandatory Deletion Rules (UK GDPR)
8.1 Secure Storage: All intake details, emergency contacts, intuitive observations, and session summaries are strictly confidential and stored securely within an encrypted, password-protected environment.
8.2 Insurance Mandated Retention: In strict compliance with From the Heart’s professional indemnity insurer (BGi.uk) and the UK Limitation Act 1980, all records for clients under 18 must be safely archived until their 25th birthday (or 26th birthday if they were 17 at the time of their final treatment).
8.3 Right to Erasure Limits: Because these retention periods are a binding insurance requirement to protect against long-tail professional liability claims, session records cannot be deleted or erased prior to the expiration of these mandatory timelines.
9. Professional Standards
9.1 DBS Clearance: Emma Randell maintains an up-to-date Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.
9.2 Training: Emma Randell updates her child protection and online safeguarding training regularly to stay compliant with UK best practices and professional expectations. Emma Randell has completed the following courses and refreshes them every two years:
Introduction to Safeguarding and Child Protection Training (NSPCC, 2026)
Online Safety Training (NSPCC, 2026)
Safeguarding Young People and Adults Training (NSPCC, 2026)
Safer Recruitment Training (NSPCC, 2026)
10.Whistleblowing and Allegations
10.1 Concerns about From the Heart: If a parent, legal guardian, adult, child, young person or professional has a concern about the practitioner or From the Heart’s practice:
Non-safeguarding concerns can be raised directly with the practitioner, or through From the Heart’s complaints procedure, outlined in our Complaints Policy.
Safeguarding concerns or any allegation that someone working with children has harmed a child should be reported to the Local Authority Child Safeguarding Team in the child's local authority area, or to the police (999 in an emergency) if a crime may have happened.
10.2 Concerns about another Professional or Organisation: If the practitioner ever has concerns about another professional or organisation, they will raise them with the Local Authority Child Safeguarding Team, or seek advice from the NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line (0800 028 0285).
11. Communication Boundaries
11.1 Contact: All contact is arranged through the parent or guardian. The practitioner will not communicate with a child directly by text, private message or social media, and will not accept friend or follow requests from child clients.
12. Medical Care
12.1 Medical Care: Sessions do not replace medical or mental health care. The practitioner will advise parents to contact their GP where needed.
13. Accountability, Roles, and Policy Review
13.1 Designated Lead: The founder and principal practitioner of From the Heart, Emma Randell (practising professionally as Emma Hunt), holds ultimate responsibility for safeguarding governance, secure record retention, and statutory referrals.
13.2 Policy Review: This policy will be proactively reviewed annually to ensure alignment with any updates to UK safeguarding legislation, local authority guidelines, and remote digital safety best practices.
Date of Last Review: 2 October 2026
Date of Next Review: 1 October 2027
Signed: Emma Randell [Signed Electronically]
Role: Practitioner & Designated Safeguarding Lead, From the Heart Energy Healing
Date: 2 October 2026
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