Safeguarding Network

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Safeguarding Network Safeguarding support for Designated Safeguarding Leads, training, audits & more! safeguarding.network

Established in 2017, the founding team behind Safeguarding Network are John Woodhouse & Andrew Martin. We are two social workers, who have over 40 years combined experience in working with children and young people. We are concerned that there is an increasing requirement on schools to fill the void left by decreasing social care budgets, with little by way of support particularly when something is not deemed to meet the social care thresholds. Head teachers repeatedly tell us that they are teachers, not social workers, and that they feel ill equipped to lead the school in relation to safeguarding responsibilities. The role of designated safeguarding lead is often in addition to an already busy work day, and the requirement of Keeping Children Safe in Education to ensure that staff are “regularly updated” is significant. Safeguarding Network is therefore designed with the aim of reducing this burden.

Healthy Babies support is being expanded to every Best Start Family Hub in England, with the programme due to be availab...
16/10/2026

Healthy Babies support is being expanded to every Best Start Family Hub in England, with the programme due to be available through more than 1,000 hubs by 2028.

The aim is to provide families with more joined-up support during pregnancy and a baby’s early life, including enhanced infant feeding support, parental mental health support, help to build strong parent–baby relationships, and closer links with health visiting and midwifery services.

For Early Years and safeguarding practitioners, this is particularly relevant because it strengthens opportunities for earlier support around parental wellbeing, attachment, infant development and family pressures before difficulties escalate. It also reinforces the importance of practitioners knowing what Family Hub and Healthy Babies services are available locally so families can be signposted or referred at the earliest opportunity.

Read more: https://zurl.co/iwf0m

The new Safeguarding Bulletin is out!- Feedback on Ofsted's new inspection framework- Prevent Update 2026: making the ri...
15/10/2026

The new Safeguarding Bulletin is out!

- Feedback on Ofsted's new inspection framework
- Prevent Update 2026: making the right referral
- Talking about consent & why it matters
- Responding to incidents of intimate image sharing in education settings
- Online harm groups: what professionals need to know
- Kinship care guidance
- New Domestic Abuse & Violence E-learning available

Read more: https://zurl.co/LwObF

Last chance to book!The Statutory Guidance that came into force in England on 30th Sept radically changes the way we app...
14/10/2026

Last chance to book!

The Statutory Guidance that came into force in England on 30th Sept radically changes the way we approach information sharing, placing children’s well-being and safety as the primary concern in any information sharing conversation.

The Information Sharing Duty removes many of the perceived barriers to information sharing and has enormous implications for how we work together. The duty is a substantial move away from making judgements about child protection thresholds to a general duty (not judgement) to share information about a child and about others connected to a child to support the statutory duties of other agencies.

This webinar will explore the guidance, examine how we go about sharing information, transparency with families and the limited exemptions from the duty in more detail.

Find out more and book: https://zurl.co/jzM0G

Organisations working with children have a crucial role to play in both preventing & addressing Child-on-Child abuse.It ...
14/10/2026

Organisations working with children have a crucial role to play in both preventing & addressing Child-on-Child abuse.

It is vital to recognise that just like any other form of abuse, Child-on-Child abuse can lead to severe & enduring trauma, isolation, physical harm, mental health issues, educational disruptions, & negative outcomes. On this course, you will:

- Define and understand child-on-child abuse
- Deal with an incident using a contextual approach
- Be able to develop a strong preventative culture
- Understand risk assessment and multi-agency working
- Understand the legal and policy framework

Find out more and book your place: https://zurl.co/OkOTW

The Department for Education published updated Prevent duty guidance for DSLs on 26 September. The update is timely, ref...
13/10/2026

The Department for Education published updated Prevent duty guidance for DSLs on 26 September. The update is timely, reflecting growing national concern following recent serious case reviews, the tragic events in Southport and the Children’s Commissioner for England’s latest report on Prevent.

Dame Rachel De Souza’s report, published in August this year, includes new data that reveals that in 2024-25, nearly three in five referrals came from education settings. Of the referrals made by schools and colleges, 65 per cent were returned to education settings when the referral was closed. Furthermore, 93 per cent did not progress to panel discussion or further intervention through the Prevent programme.

In response to emerging trends and findings from recent reviews, the government has revised its Prevent guidance for education settings. Previous resources have been replaced with three practical toolkits designed specifically for DSLs and safeguarding teams. The revised framework places much greater emphasis on structured assessment, professional decision-making and clear referral thresholds.

Read more on the blog: https://zurl.co/PJqKU

This Department of Health & Social Care guidance outlines how alcohol & drugs used by parents or carers can affect child...
12/10/2026

This Department of Health & Social Care guidance outlines how alcohol & drugs used by parents or carers can affect children & how adult treatment & recovery & children’s services should work together to support & safeguard children. It is not aimed directly at education professionals, but it contains lots of useful information & up-to-date best practice.

Read the guidance: https://zurl.co/TopCe

Last week we published our new resource page on Parental Substance Misuse as part of our safeguarding curriculum calendar.

Check it out here: https://zurl.co/nEdKc

Affluent neglect can often sit outside the thinking of professionals in respect of harm, not fitting the commonly held s...
11/10/2026

Affluent neglect can often sit outside the thinking of professionals in respect of harm, not fitting the commonly held stereotypical views that neglect must be associated with poverty. This can mean that harm to the child can be overlooked and subsumed by the professionals into their relationships with the parents. It can be difficult to spot and equally challenging to deal with.

This session will give an overview of the context of affluent neglect, discuss key indicators and highlight the challenges faced by professionals in addressing the concerns with parents / carers.

More info: https://zurl.co/Ig22l

Safeguarding responsibilities are complex and ever-changing. Staying compliant, training staff, and responding to emergi...
10/10/2026

Safeguarding responsibilities are complex and ever-changing. Staying compliant, training staff, and responding to emerging risks all require time, consistency, and up-to-date expertise.

Our memberships are designed to make these daily demands easier for you and your team.

Membership covers one education setting, regardless of how many safeguarding staff or pupils you work with.

Safeguarding Network membership:

- Strengthens safeguarding practice across the whole school
- Supports staff and leadership with practical tools and expert advice
- Reduces workload while improving quality and consistency
- Helps settings comply with statutory requirements
- Provides reassurance through access to specialist support

Explore our membership options and find out what our members receive, or book a quick no-obligation call to discuss your requirements.

https://zurl.co/nAQ8x

During 2026 there has been an increased focus and attention drawn to the use of illegal care homes. More older children ...
09/10/2026

During 2026 there has been an increased focus and attention drawn to the use of illegal care homes. More older children with complex trauma are entering Care, while there simply aren’t enough places in Ofsted-registered homes that can meet their needs. As a result, Authorities are using unregulated settings run by small private companies or bringing in agency staff to support children in Airbnbs or rented properties.

Work by those such as The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has highlighted that illegal care homes can be incredibly unsafe.

The law gives Ofsted a range of powers to regulate children’s social care settings and they have just updated the section of their enforcement policy around prosecution and imposing of fines on unregistered social care providers. Whilst increased enforcement has a role, it is unclear whether it fully addresses the reasons why the use of illegal care homes has risen.

Find out more: https://zurl.co/vSnA0

A year after new-look inspections began, most education providers feel generally positive about their experience under O...
09/10/2026

A year after new-look inspections began, most education providers feel generally positive about their experience under Ofsted’s renewed education inspection framework, according to independent research published last week. Findings include:

- Most education providers positive about ‘collaborative’ and ‘respectful’ inspections under Ofsted’s renewed framework .
- A clear majority said inspection would help improve their school, nursery or college.
- Around three-quarters agreed inspection took account of, and was tailored to, the context in which they work.
- New report cards welcomed by providers for accuracy in capturing children and learners’ experiences.
- Workload and wellbeing highlighted as ongoing challenges, but most providers say inspectors took actions to minimise stress.

Read the press release and report: https://zurl.co/xbj1l

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that 9/10 school heads who responded say inspections still ‘negatively affected’ staff mental health. The independent survey of school leaders who had undergone the revised inspections since last year found that 88% said it had “negatively affected” the mental wellbeing of school staff, including 29% who said it affected them “a lot”.

Read the article: https://zurl.co/16yC2

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