Modern Slavery Act Statement

About Bright Horizons

At Bright Horizons, our legacy is built on our commitment to Keeping Everyone Safe and providing exceptional care and education. Each day, we are trusted to care for approximately 24,000 children across circa 300 unique learning environments.

At Bright Horizons, we are guided by our HEART Values and Principles; Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork. These are central to our organisation’s ethos and culture, and identify how each member of Bright Horizons’ family contributes to the whole.

Our Commitment

Bright Horizons and its affiliated companies are committed to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking in all parts of its business. Modern slavery is a serious crime. It encompasses slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Victims of modern slavery can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example if they are sold to another trafficker and then forced into another form of exploitation. A person is trafficked if they are brought to (or moved around) a country by others who threaten, frighten, hurt and force them to do work or other things they don’t want to do. We have implemented systems and controls to help identify risks and prevent slavery and human trafficking within our workforce and supply chain.

Due to the nature of our business and our policies, procedures and practices, we assess our overall risk to modern slavery is low. It continues to be a priority for us to ensure that we operate ethically, source responsibly and work to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our organisation and in our supply chain.

Our People

Bright Horizons’ workforce in the United Kingdom consists of employed staff who are supported as necessary by agency workers and consultants. We ensure our people have a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking and we undertake the following measures to help ensure that we operate ethically, source responsibly and work to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our organisation:

  • We provide training to our staff.
  • We implement robust recruitment and ongoing employment policies and procedures for all our employees and workers.
  • We use respected and reputable agencies, when needed, who adhere to our high standards of recruitment checks on any staff they provide to us.
  • Our recruitment and ongoing employment practices, include checks on identity, right to work, references and criminal records.
  • Our workforce has access to a confidential and anonymous whistleblowing hotline operated by an independent third party.
  • A confidential Employee Assistance Programme allowing staff to seek advice on issues of modern slavery which may affect them, is available to everyone in our organisation.

It is important that everyone can raise any concern and a resolution is reached as quickly as possible. This ethos is actively advocated throughout our business where concerns can be addressed via our OneHR Inbox and support line or directly with the HR team or through our whistleblowing hotline.

Bright Horizons prohibits intimidation, retribution, or retaliation of any kind against someone who makes a good faith report to any of our reporting resources.

Our Supply Chain

Bright Horizons has a zero-tolerance approach to slavery and human trafficking. We ensure all those in our supply chain and contractors comply with our values and ethics and are dedicated to preventing slavery and human trafficking.

Bright Horizons’ supply chain consists of suppliers for food, equipment and other products; services for cleaning, facilities and enrichment offerings; and child/adult care and employment agencies. To help ensure those in our supply chain and contractors comply with laws aimed to prevent slavery and human trafficking, we have undertaken the following:

  • We implement robust policies and procedures for all our supply chain.
  • Our procurement practices include, where applicable, modern slavery risk assessments for each of our supply chain categories.
  • Our Procurement department conducts due diligence on our suppliers prior to their on-boarding.
  • Our Supplier Code of Conduct covers the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
  • Our supplier contracts contain Modern Slavery contractual obligations.

Our Policies

Bright Horizons has robust policies and procedures in place that underpin our commitment to ensure that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. Our policies and procedures are continuously reviewed and updated to reflect our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere within our business.

Our Governance

Bright Horizons’ activities and operations are overseen by our UK Leadership Team (UKLT) which has ultimate responsibility for all that we do. Our UKLT is made up of senior directors from Bright Horizons’ different teams and is chaired by our Managing Director.

The UKLT guides and oversees Bright Horizons in achieving the mission to enrich the lives of children, families and communities where we live and work.

Our day-to-day management is guided by a wealth of knowledge and expertise from all its staff both from an operational and a support office function.

Bright Horizons is accountable for its actions and decisions and ensures that learning is implemented from any situation across the whole of the Bright Horizons family including its commitment to preventing modern slavery and human trafficking.

Ros Marshall - Managing Director International

Ros Marshall

Managing Director International

Date: 3rd October 2023

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited (and its affiliated group companies) have taken and will continue to take to address the risk of modern slavery or human trafficking occurring within its business.

Date financial year ended: 31st December 2022.

Board approval was given to this statement on: 28th September 2023

Previous years statements