Who is responsible for safeguarding and minors protection at StoryNative.uk?
Safeguarding at StoryNative.uk is led by the Editor-in-Chief, Vanessa Cole, and enforced daily by Patrick Nolan, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead. Strait Line Media Ltd., registered in Gibraltar (company number 129570) at Suite 8, Leanse Place, 50 Town Range, Gibraltar GX11 1AA, owns the publication and bears ultimate responsibility for all content involving children and young people.
Vanessa Cole (vanessa.cole@storynative.uk, +44 20 4587 9441) oversees editorial policy, celebrity privacy standards and publication decisions. Patrick Nolan (patrick.nolan@storynative.uk, +44 20 4587 9446) leads fact-checking, source verification, image attribution and the additional editorial review required for any story that names, images or discusses a minor. Our full editorial team is listed on the Our Team page.
How does StoryNative.uk approach coverage of children and young people?
StoryNative.uk treats the safety and wellbeing of minors as a non-negotiable editorial priority. We apply additional care when covering celebrity families, schools, youth organisations, events involving children or any story where a person under 18 is mentioned, photographed or interviewed.
No story about a minor is published without explicit consideration of whether the public interest outweighs the child’s right to privacy. We never treat a minor as a news commodity simply because they are related to a famous individual. Our Editorial Policy sets out the same standards of accuracy, fairness and respect that apply to all subjects, with heightened sensitivity for children.
What do we avoid when reporting on minors?
We avoid sensationalising children, publishing unnecessary private details about their lives, or using invasive imagery. We never name a child who is not a public figure unless doing so is demonstrably in the public interest and the child’s legal guardians have given informed consent.
Specifically, StoryNative.uk will not publish: home addresses, school names, daily routines, medical information, or any photograph taken without genuine editorial justification. We do not interview minors without a parent or guardian present and explicit written consent. We also refuse to speculate about a child’s future career, relationships or behaviour. Any image of a minor must be clearly attributed and verified as non-invasive; images of children at school, playgrounds or private gatherings are rejected unless the subject is a legitimate public figure and the context is a red-carpet or public event.
What additional editorial review is required for stories involving minors?
Any story that names, images or identifies a minor must be reviewed by the Standards & Fact-Checking Lead, Patrick Nolan, before publication. This review checks compliance with our Celebrity Privacy Policy and general privacy protections under our Privacy Policy.
The review includes confirming the age and consent status of any minor subject, verifying the source of all images, and ensuring that the story’s public-interest justification is documented. If the minor is under 13, additional sign-off from the Editor-in-Chief is required. Any doubt about the appropriateness of content leads to automatic rejection or removal until the issue is resolved. The same process applies to user-generated images or tips submitted via our Contact page.
How can readers report a safeguarding concern?
Anyone with a concern about StoryNative.uk’s coverage of a minor should contact our complaints team immediately at complaints@storynative.uk. All reports are handled confidentially and reviewed within 48 hours by the Editor-in-Chief and the Standards & Fact-Checking Lead.
If the concern involves a breach of privacy, an image that appears intrusive or a story that may cause harm to a child, we will consider takedown, correction or apology as appropriate. Our full Complaints Procedure explains the steps and timelines. We also encourage readers to contact the UK press regulator or the Information Commissioner’s Office if they are unsatisfied with our response.
Our commitments
- We will never publish a story about a minor without a clear and documented public-interest justification.
- All content involving children or young people will receive additional editorial review by the Standards & Fact-Checking Lead before publication.
- We will not use invasive imagery, unnecessary private details or sensational language in any minor-related coverage.
- We will immediately investigate and, where appropriate, remove or correct content when a safeguarding concern is raised via complaints@storynative.uk.
- We will train every editor and contributor on this policy and review it annually to reflect best practice in child protection and media standards.