By Elizabeth Carter, Founder, Designated Safeguarding Lead & Head Agent at Arise Talent Collective
Let me start by saying something that might surprise you. Safeguarding is not the finish line. It’s the starting point.
In my role at Arise Talent Collective safeguarding is paramount, from our contracts, our processes, our conversations with parents. And yet, the more time I spend in this industry, the more I’ve come to realise that doing safeguarding well still isn’t enough. Because safeguarding, at its core, is about protection and protection alone doesn’t tell us whether a child is actually happy. That’s an important conversation we should all be discussing.
The gap nobody is talking about
When we talk about child safety in the creator space, we tend to focus on the visible stuff. Are the working hours within legal limits? Has the content been approved? These are important questions, absolutely, but they only tell us whether the environment around the child is compliant. They don’t tell us how the child feels.
This is the gap. A child can be in a fully compliant, professionally managed environment and still be quietly carrying more than they let on. The pressure to perform and not let anyone down. Safeguarding tells us the environment is safe. Emotional wellbeing tells us the child is okay. We need both.
Growing up on camera is a unique kind of pressure
I was a child performer myself working from age nine, including productions at the Old Vic and on screen for Warner Brothers and the BBC. I remember navigating multiple West End shows a week, keeping on top of school work, learning lines and trying to maintain friendships, all at the same time. It was an extraordinary experience but it also gave me a personal understanding of just how much a young person can be quietly holding whilst continuing to show up, perform and smile. That understanding never left me and it’s a big part of why emotional wellbeing sits at the heart of everything we do at Arise.
The creator space has introduced something genuinely new into this conversation. It’s another addition to what it means to be a child in this industry and it brings with it a layer of visibility that extends well beyond the production itself. A child who films a commercial may also find themselves at the centre of a brand’s social campaign, their image circulating across platforms which is fantastic for their career exposure but on the other side of that, attracting comments and engagement they have no control over.
This is where the signs can become subtle but significant. A child who becomes quieter than usual. A young performer who seems a little less present or starting to withdraw from interactions. A teenager who seems unsettled after content goes live. These aren’t dramatic red flags, they’re the quiet signals of a child beginning to feel the weight of something they don’t yet have the language to name. These combinations deserve far more thoughtful attention.
What does emotional wellbeing actually look like in practice?
This is the part I’m most passionate about because I think it’s where real change happens.
Emotional wellbeing isn’t a single policy or a one-off conversation. It’s a culture, built through consistent, thoughtful action over time.
At Arise, one of the things we felt most strongly about from the very beginning was making sure our young talent had access to genuine, qualified emotional support. That’s why we’ve been intentional about building a wider support network around our talent. Working alongside children’s wellbeing specialists, from acting coaches who specialise in safeguarding and understand the wellbeing aspects of working life on set for a child, to children’s wellbeing charities who can offer qualified emotional support. We want every young person we represent to have access to the right kind of help, from the right people, in a way that feels safe, private and completely separate from their professional world.
But this isn’t something only agencies can lead on. There are things every organisation, creator and manager working with young talent can begin building into their practice right now. Regular, subtle mental health check ins should become standard. Not formal assessments, simply consistent, genuine moments where a trusted adult makes space for a young person to share how they’re really feeling. Done well, these don’t feel like check ins at all. They feel like relationships.
Mental health awareness training for anyone working with young talent is equally important. Not to turn agents and managers into therapists but to ensure that when something feels off, the people closest to that child know how to respond with care and confidence rather than uncertainty.
The through line in all of this is prevention. Building the conditions where children are supported before they struggle and where, if they do, the right people and the right resources are already in place.
A message to creators
If you feature children in your content whether that’s your own child or a child talent you work with, I’d encourage you to think beyond the rules.
Ask them how they’re feeling, regularly, honestly, without any expectation attached to the answer. Pay attention to the moments they seem hesitant or distracted. Notice the subtle shifts and the change in energy that might be easy to overlook in a busy schedule. Make sure they have a life where they are simply being a child and if you’re working with an agency, ask them directly what their approach to emotional wellbeing looks like. If they can’t answer that question, it’s worth asking why.
Safeguarding will always matter. But emotional wellbeing is what takes us from protecting children to truly supporting them. And in an industry moving as fast as the creator economy, that shift in thinking can’t come soon enough
