Keeping children safe

Our commitment

Every child has the right to be safe. smallgrief exists to support grieving children, and we take our responsibility to protect them seriously. The welfare of the child always comes first.

This policy applies to everyone who works on smallgrief, including founders, staff, contractors, volunteers, and anyone creating content or testing it with families.

What smallgrief is, and isn't

smallgrief is a self-help resource that children use with the support of a parent or carer, and that schools use to support pupils. It isn't an emergency service, a counselling or therapy service, or a substitute for professional care.

We don't monitor children's activity, and we can't see what children write or draw, because it stays on their device. So we can't respond to an individual child in real time. That's why every screen has a help button with real helplines, and why the caring adults in a child's life matter most.

Safe by design

• Only parents and carers aged 18 or over can create accounts and set up a child's space. Children don't have accounts.
• There is no chat, messaging, commenting, sharing or public profile. Children can't contact anyone, and nobody can contact them, through smallgrief.
• Children can't upload photos, and are never asked for their surname, birthday, school or location.
• There are no adverts, no tracking, no streaks or badges, and children never see prices or offers.
• A help button on every screen shows helplines for the UK and US.
• Leaving a child's space needs a grown-up, so a child stays in the part made for them.
• Parents choose what their child can use, including turning off free writing and drawing and hiding individual activities.
• Our content is written in plain, honest words, matched to a child's age, avoids graphic detail, and is based on published research on children's grief. Parents get extra guidance when a death was sudden or violent, or was a suicide.

When a child writes something worrying

When a child writes in smallgrief, their words are checked on their device for phrases suggesting they may be thinking about dying or hurting themselves, or may not be safe. If something is found:

• the child is shown a kind message straight away, encouraged to tell a trusted adult, and shown helplines they can contact
• their parent or carer sees an alert the next time they open their family page, with the date and clear guidance on what to do, including how to ask their child directly about suicide
• the parent doesn't see the child's words, so children can keep writing honestly

This all happens on the family's device. We aren't told, and we don't see the words. Automatic checks can miss things or flag things by mistake. They support, but never replace, a caring adult paying attention.

If you're worried about a child

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 (UK) or 911 (US) now.

If you're worried about a child you know through smallgrief, or something you've seen on smallgrief worries you, contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead at hello@smallgrief.com. Put "Safeguarding" in the subject line. You can also go straight to the services listed at the end of this policy.

When we receive a safeguarding concern, our Designated Safeguarding Lead will:

• read it and act on it as soon as possible, and always within one working day
• contact the emergency services straight away if a child may be in immediate danger and we have enough information to help them find the child
• refer concerns about a child's safety to the right service, such as the local authority's children's social care, the police, or in the US, child protective services
• give the person who raised the concern information about where to get support
• not investigate concerns ourselves, which is the job of the statutory services
• keep a secure, factual record of the concern and what we did, seen only by those who need it

We'll share information to protect a child when it's necessary. Data protection law allows this, and worries about privacy should never get in the way of keeping a child safe.

Concerns about someone who works with us

If you're worried about the behaviour of anyone who works on smallgrief, tell our Designated Safeguarding Lead at hello@smallgrief.com. If your concern is about the Designated Safeguarding Lead, contact your local authority's Designated Officer (LADO) or the NSPCC helpline directly.

Safer working

Anyone who works on smallgrief and may have contact with children will:

• have the right background checks for their role, such as a DBS check in the UK
• complete safeguarding training and know how to raise a concern
• never contact a child directly, or collect a child's information outside our agreed processes
• only take part in research or testing with children when a parent or carer is present and has agreed

Content, schools and partners

We review new activities and guidance for safety before we publish them. Our school pack supports, but never replaces, a school's own safeguarding procedures and its Designated Safeguarding Lead. Hospices, schools and charities that give families access to smallgrief follow their own safeguarding policies.

The rules we follow

This policy follows the principles of the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2026), UK data protection law and the Information Commissioner's Age Appropriate Design Code, and in the United States, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. How we handle personal information is set out in our privacy notice.

Reviewing this policy

We review this policy at least once a year, and after any safeguarding incident or significant change to smallgrief.

Who to contact

In the UK

• Emergency999If a child is in danger right now
• NSPCC helpline0808 800 5000For adults worried about a child
• Childline0800 1111For children and young people, free, any time
• Local authority children's servicesSearch your council's websiteTo report a concern about a child

In the United States

• Emergency911If a child is in danger right now
• Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline1-800-422-4453For anyone worried about a child, 24/7
• 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988Free, 24/7

smallgrief: our Designated Safeguarding Lead, hello@smallgrief.com